A simple method to estimate capture height biases at landbird banding stations: opportunities and limitations

Abstract

Mist-nets are one of the most important tools for the capture of wild birds in ornithological research. The probability of capturing birds may vary by net height, which may drive capture biases. Such biases are rarely estimated, likely because of the relatively high cost and effort associated with constructing and operating elevated mist-net rigs where multiple mist-nets are stacked above one another. Therefore, a low-cost and -effort method to collect capture height data may allow broader investigation and better accounting of potential bias in existing banding protocols. Here, we investigate whether recording net panel of capture (with net panels indicating capture height, e.g., “upper panel”) in ground-level mist-nets provides sufficient information to estimate capture height biases and compare these estimations to those obtained with traditional elevated mist-net rigs. Of 29 taxa analyzed, we detected elevated capture biases for 11 (37.9%) and ground-level capture biases for seven (24.1%). When compared to estimates derived from elevated mist-net rigs at the same study site, we found high agreement with ground-level biases (75.0%) and low agreement with elevated biases (23.1%). These results suggest panel height of ground-level nets is a reliable method to estimate ground-level biases; however, scale of sampling may influence elevated biases, particularly for species that center their activity at the mid-story. Recording panel height may be quickly integrated into a station’s processing protocols and broader application may improve our understanding of these biases.