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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Funding fo r this study was provided by the U.S. Fish and W ildlife Service Region Six, Benton Lake National W ildlife Refuge, Montana C ooperative W ildlife Research Unit, and International Avicultural Resources Incorporated. I thank my co m m ittee chairm an. Dr. J Ball fo r his encouragem ent, support, critical review of this manuscript, having his door open, and willingness to get involved in im prom ptu discussions of w aterfow l. I am also appreciative of m y other com m ittee m em bers. Dr. L. Marcum and Dr. L. M etzgar, for their critical review of this m anuscript and fo r always having tim e to discuss my study. Many individuals contributed to th e success of this study. I thank R. Pearson, m anager of Benton Lake National W ildlife Refuge, for his attention to the study, encouragem ent, and w illing assistance. T. Tornow , assistant m anager, provided needed help, a listening ear, and friendship. E. Benway, refuge assistant, provided constant smiles, words of encouragem ent, and help getting through various paper shuffles. V. Marko, refuge m aintenance man, provided ingenuity in creating needed equipm ent, especially an im proved nest trap, and great bull sessions over beer after work. N. Hall and B. Rogers w orked on this project w ith dedication and enthusiasm. Their help, suggestions and friendship w ere thoroughly appreciated. Dr. D. Patterson helped m e understand the statistical processes Involved w ith this study and always had his door open. M r W. W heeler, Wise. Dept. Nat. Res., provided helpful suggestions in radio design and attachm ent techniques. Y. Vadeboncoeur VI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. and G. Jakubco did an excellent job of invertebrate Identification and sorting. Ms. A. Hetrick provided the excellent graphics and illustrations. Dr. D. G ilm er and Dr. L. Cowardin gave m e encouragem ent to go back to school and obtain this degree. I thank them fo r their faith in m e and their friendship. I thank A. Clarke MD, fo r providing encouragem ent when I had doubts in my ability. My fe llo w graduate students provided help in all phases of school and m ost of all friendship. I thank Dr. D. and S. Edge for th eir friendship, critical review of this m anuscript, allow ing m e to partake in the ROCK-N-ROLL m eat hunt, and fo r the hours spent teaching m e th e use of com puters. I thank Dr. S. Knick for his encouragem ent, critical review of this manuscript, and our "SUPER" gam es of racquetball. M y whole fam ily provided support and encouragem ent throughout this w hole endeavor. Bob, Lori, Angella, M ichelle, and Christine all provided needed smiles and letters. Tim and Laurel, provided needed phone calls, skiing distractions, and a great hunt in eastern Montana. Sandy and M ark provided needed laughs and encouragem ent on my trips hom e. M y parents, Frank and Inez O rthm eyer w ere always encouraging and support...

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We developed a measure of biological integrity for grasslands (GI) based on the most influential habitat types in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota. GI is based on proportions of habitat types and the relationships of these habitat types to breeding birds. Habitat types were identified by digital aerial photography, verified on the ground, and quantified using GIS. We then developed an index to GI based on the presence or abundance of breeding bird species. Species abundance data were obtained from 3 min roadside point counts at 889 points in 44, 4050 ha study plots over a 2-year period. Using a modified North American Breeding Bird Survey protocol, species were recorded in each of four quadrants at each point. Fifty species selected for analysis included al1 grassland species that occurred in at least 15 quadrants and al1 other bird species that occurred in at least 1% of quadrants. We constructed preliminary models using data from each of the 2 years, then tested their predictive ability by cross-validation with data from the other year. These cross-validation tests indicated that the index consistently predicted grassland integrity. The final four models (presence and abundance models at 200 and 400 m scales) included only those species that were statistically significant (P 5 0.05) in al1 preliminary models. Finally, we interpreted the components of the indices by examining associations between individual species and habitat types. Logistic regression identified 386 statistically significant relationships between species and habitat types at 200 and 400 m scales. This method, though labor-intensive, successfully uses the presence of grassland-dependent species and absence of species associated with woody vegetation or cropland to provide an index to grassland integrity. Once regional associations of species with habitat types have been identified, such indices can be applied relatively inexpensively to monitor grassland integrity over large geographic areas. Indices like the ones presented here could be applied widely using bird abundance data that are currently being collected

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