The Caribbean is home to over 20 passerine species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi) is listed as critically endangered and is now restricted to Andros, a single island complex in The Bahamas. We investigated this species' habitat use and produced the first statistically robust estimate of population size. We conducted point counts during the Bahama Oriole's breeding season in May and June 2017, extensively surveying the northern part of North Andros over a study area covering 713 km². Hierarchical distance sampling models estimated 1269–2765 individuals within our study area, a substantially larger population on North Andros than was indicated by the previously published estimates. Earlier studies, which disproportionately sampled anthropogenic and coppice habitats, likely underestimated this species' abundance in pine forest. We found that the Bahama Oriole is widespread, most abundant in pine forest, and not dependent on developed habitats during the breeding season. These findings provide a better outlook for the species' persistence and indicate that conserving pine forest would benefit this critically endangered species. Our results also emphasize the importance of rigorously evaluating habitat use when developing conservation plans for endangered species. Systematic population counts and statistical analyses that account for detection probability are needed for endangered and vulnerable endemic birds across the Caribbean, especially in the face of increased hurricane strength and sea level rise due to climate change.

中文翻译：

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分层距离采样揭示了濒临灭绝的巴哈马金莺的种群数量增加，栖息地使用范围更广

加勒比海地区是国际自然保护联盟列出的20多种雀形目物种的家园，它们被列为脆弱，濒危或极度濒危。巴哈马莺（Icterus northropi）被列为极度濒危物种，现在仅限于安德罗斯（Andros），这是巴哈马群岛中的一个岛屿。我们调查了该物种的栖息地使用情况，并得出了种群数量的第一个统计上可靠的估计。我们在2017年5月和2017年6月的巴哈马金莺繁殖季节进行了点计数，在覆盖面积713km²的研究区域内广泛调查了北安德罗斯北部。分层距离抽样模型估计了我们研究区域内的1269–2765个人，与先前公布的估计数字相比，北安德罗斯岛的人口要大得多。较早的研究，对人类和野外栖息地的采样不成比例，这可能低估了该物种在松树林中的丰度。我们发现，巴哈马莺（Bahama Oriole）分布广泛，在松树林中最为丰富，并且在繁殖季节不依赖发达的栖息地。这些发现为该物种的持久性提供了更好的前景，并表明保护松林将使这一极度濒危的物种受益。我们的结果还强调了在制定濒危物种保护计划时严格评估栖息地使用的重要性。整个加勒比地区濒临灭绝和脆弱的地方性鸟类都需要进行系统的人口计数和统计分析，以应对发现的可能性，特别是在飓风强度增加和气候变化导致海平面上升的情况下。