Botteri's Sparrow (Peucaea botterii)

Webb, Elizabeth; Bock, Carl E.

doi:10.2173/bna.216

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Riparian grasslands composed primarily of big sacaton have historically declined in the region because of a variety of factors, including agricultural conversion and historic stream entrenchment (Webb and Bock 1996). In comparison with woody riparian-vegetation types, grassland and desert scrub have low structural diversity and maintain low overall densities and richness of breeding birds on the San Pedro River, as in other systems (Wiens 1973, Mills et al 1991.…”

Section: Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avian Density and Nest Survival on the San Pedro River: Importance of Vegetation Type and Hydrologic Regime

2010

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: Lowland riparian vegetation in the southwestern United States is critically important for maintaining a high richness and density of breeding birds. Further investigation is needed within riparian corridors, however, to evaluate the relative importance of vegetation type and hydrologic regime for avian density and nest survival as targets for regional conservation or restoration efforts. We estimated the densities of 40 bird species and for species grouped on the basis of nest height and dependence on surface water in gallery cottonwood–willow (Populus spp.–Salix spp.) forests, saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) shrub lands, and terrace vegetation types along a gradient in the hydrologic regime of the San Pedro River, Arizona, USA. We also assessed nest survival for shrub‐nesting insectivores and herbivores. Canopy‐nesting birds as a group and 14 individual bird species reached their greatest densities in cottonwood forests regardless of the hydrologic regime. Water‐dependent birds as a group reached their highest density in both intermittent‐ and perennial‐flow cottonwood stands, but certain species occurred almost exclusively in perennial‐flow sites. Two shrub‐nesting species and the brown‐headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) were most abundant in saltcedar shrub lands, and the brown‐headed cowbird was most abundant in saltcedar stands with intermittent flows. Mesquite (Prosopis spp.) and big sacaton (Sporobolus wrightii) grassland each maintained the highest densities of certain species within ≥1 hydrologic regime. Shrub‐nesting insectivores had the greatest nest survival in cottonwood, including Arizona Bell's vireo (Vireo bellii arizonae), and also had lower proportions of nests parasitized and preyed upon, although 95% confidence intervals among vegetation types overlapped. Nest survival for both shrub‐nesting insectivores and herbivores was lowest in intermittent‐flow saltcedar, although, again, confidence intervals overlapped. Nest survival was lower in parasitized than nonparasitized nests in mesquite and across vegetation types for Arizona Bell's vireo and in cottonwood for Abert's towhee (Pipilo aberti). Riparian management that maintains heterogeneous riparian vegetation types, including floodplain vegetation comprising cottonwood–willow gallery riparian forests with some stretches of perennial flow, are important for maintaining the high diversity and abundance of breeding birds on the San Pedro River and probably across the region. Cottonwood stands also appear to maintain highest nest survival for some shrub‐nesting birds.

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Section: Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avian Density and Nest Survival on the San Pedro River: Importance of Vegetation Type and Hydrologic Regime

2010

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The Botteri's Sparrow and Exotic Arizona Grasslands: An Ecological Trap or Habitat Regained?

Jones

Bock

2005

The Condor

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The Botteri's Sparrow (Aimophila botterii) is a bird of tall grasslands that temporarily disappeared from Arizona following heavy livestock grazing in the 1890s. Its return was noted first in sacaton (Sporobolus wrightii), an uncommon native floodplain tallgrass often >2 m in height, and subsequently in stands of exotic lovegrasses (Eragrostis spp.) spreading into adjacent uplands that otherwise supported shorter native grasslands. We examined whether the exotic grasslands provided suitable breeding habitat for Botteri's Sparrows, compared to native grasslands. We counted birds for three years on 18 plots, monitored 314 nests on 323 home ranges, banded 583 birds, and measured vegetation on plots and home ranges, and at nests and fledgling locations. Abundance and site fidelity were positively associated with grass height and cover, being greatest in sacaton, intermediate in exotics, and lowest in native upland grasslands. The three habitats did not differ in young fledged per capita. Vegetation cover on Botteri's Sparrow home ranges did not differ from the surrounding available habitat, but locations of flightless recently fledged young included taller and more dense vegetation than either nest sites or random locations, especially in sparsely vegetated native grasslands. These results suggest that fledglings required substantial cover to avoid predation while they completed development. Far from being an ecological trap, the exotic lovegrasses apparently are providing essential cover for the Botteri's Sparrow in Arizona, perhaps allowing it to regain an abundance similar to what existed regionally prior to overgrazing of the late 19th Century.

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Nest Success and Reproductive Ecology of the Texas Botteri's Sparrow (Peucaea botterii texana) in Exotic and Native Grasses

Miller

McCarthy

Woodin³

et al. 2013

Southeastern Naturalist

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Botteri's Sparrow (Peucaea botterii)

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Avian Density and Nest Survival on the San Pedro River: Importance of Vegetation Type and Hydrologic Regime

Avian Density and Nest Survival on the San Pedro River: Importance of Vegetation Type and Hydrologic Regime

The Botteri's Sparrow and Exotic Arizona Grasslands: An Ecological Trap or Habitat Regained?

Nest Success and Reproductive Ecology of the Texas Botteri's Sparrow (Peucaea botterii texana) in Exotic and Native Grasses

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