Laurentian Great Lakes coastal wetlands (GLCWs) provide habitat and resources for marsh-dwelling birds. Invasive species, such as invasive cattail (Typha x glauca, hereafter Typha), have altered the plant composition of GLCWs and impacted marsh bird populations. Passive acoustic monitoring is a promising species survey method using acoustic recording units (ARUs), given low boundaries to entry and lack of disturbance to natural habitat. ARUs have the potential to monitor long-term bird use and assess invasive plant impacts at large scales. However, it is unknown how marsh bird ARU detections are affected by plant communities and invasive plant populations within GLCWs. This study assessed the impact of plant community [open water, Typha stand, bulrush stand, sedge meadow] and distance from the ARU [0 – 150 meters] on marsh bird detection rates. Focal marsh bird playbacks were recorded with a SongMeter SM4, analyzed with BirdNET-Analyzer, and verified with Raven Lite 2.0. Detections declined substantially beyond 75 meters in all community types. Detections were lower in Typha stands and sedge meadows compared to bulrush stands. This study informs passive acoustic monitoring strategies for marsh bird surveys by identifying accurate sampling areas within different wetland plant communities.
