The Influence of Land Cover and Conservation Areas on Priority Bird Species in British Columbia, Canada

Abstract Conservation areas (CAs) are critical tools in biodiversity conservation, yet their relationship to species of highest conservation need (i.e., species that are rare, range-restricted, sensitive to habitat change, or under significant threat) and the habitats they depend on is understudied. We apply a dynamic occupancy modeling framework to point count data from surveys both in and outside of Canadian Intermountain Joint Venture (CIJV) and Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture (PBHJV) CAs in British Columbia (BC), Canada and data from the BC Marsh Monitoring Program from 2021 to 2024, asking whether sites within CAs contain greater proportions of priority habitat compared to sites in adjacent unprotected areas, and thus promote the occupancy of conservation priority birds. We uncovered strong relationships between priority bird occupancy and environmental conditions, but little difference in most priority habitat proportions between sites in CAs and unprotected areas. We only detected a relationship between a site’s conservation status and priority bird occupancy in two of ten priority bird groups. Aerial insectivores and species at risk act-listed birds in CIJV showed reduced site extinction probability in CA sites, perhaps due to greater foraging opportunities from the more prevalent wetland habitat. Using insights gained from our models, we make recommendations for conservation practitioners looking to ensure CAs can better benefit bird species with the greatest need. Our results contribute to the broader understanding of the role CAs play in biodiversity conservation, and suggest that they require special attention to effectively preserve priority species. Keywords Protected areas · Conservation areas · Species at risk · Dynamic occupancy modeling · Migratory bird joint ventures