Density and success of bird nests relative to grazing on western Montana grasslands

Fondell, Thomas F.; Ball, I. J.

doi:10.1016/s0006-3207(03)00293-3

Cited by 81 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The structure of the grassland in their study is quite different from the more homogenous, low litter grass found in invasive grasslands in the Intermountain West. Short-eared Owls in other studies appear to occur less often in landscapes similar to the invasive grasslands of the west (Clark 1975, Fondell andBall 2004). Sagebrush habitats in Idaho usually provide more structural complexity than local grasslands, which may explain the association of the owls with this land-cover type in our area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…The association with other agricultural stages may be related to prey availability as well, but could also be the result of recent changes in the landscape after the owls settled in the area, i.e., owls settled when fields were fallow, but stayed when plowed to dirt and green plants began to grow. The higher use of agricultural lands in relation to nonagricultural lands within a transect could be the result of local adaptation to agriculture, or the result of habitat degradation occurring in the nonagricultural landscape as a result of the cheatgrass invasion or open lands grazing (West 2000, Fondell andBall 2004). Because our surveys were limited to roads and many of the roads were built to support agriculture, we may not have adequately sampled undisturbed natural habitat (Gelbard and Belnap 2003), which is becoming increasingly rare in the region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) surveys in the North American Intermountain West: utilizing citizen scientists to conduct monitoring across a broad geographic scale

Miller¹,

Paprocki²,

Stuber³

et al. 2016

ACE

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ABSTRACT. The Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) is an open-country species breeding in the northern United States and Canada, and has likely experienced a long-term, range-wide, and substantial decline. However, the cause and magnitude of the decline is not well understood. We set forth to address the first two of six previously proposed conservation priorities to be addressed for this species:(1) better define habitat use and (2) improve population monitoring. We recruited 131 volunteers to survey over 6.2 million ha within the state of Idaho for Short-eared Owls during the 2015 breeding season. We surveyed 75 transects, 71 of which were surveyed twice, and detected Short-eared Owls on 27 transects. We performed multiscale occupancy modeling to identify habitat associations, and performed multiscale abundance modeling to generate a state-wide population estimate. Our results suggest that within the state of Idaho, Short-eared Owls are more often found in areas with marshland or riparian habitat or areas with greater amounts of sagebrush habitat at the 1750 ha transect scale. At the 50 ha point scale, Short-eared Owls tend to associate positively with fallow and bare dirt agricultural land and negatively with grassland. Cropland was not chosen at the broader transect scale suggesting that Short-eared Owls may prefer more heterogeneous landscapes. On the surface our results may seem contradictory to the presumed land use by a "grassland" species; however, the grasslands of the Intermountain West, consisting largely of invasive cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), lack the complex structure shown to be preferred by these owls. We suggest the local adaptation to agriculture represents the next best habitat to their historical native habitat preferences. Regardless, we have confirmed regional differences that should be considered in conservation planning for this species. Last, our results demonstrate the feasibility, efficiency, and effectiveness of utilizing public participation in scientific research to achieve a robust sampling methodology across the broad geography of the Intermountain West.Recensement de Hiboux des marais (Asio flammeus) dans la région Intramontagnarde Ouest nordaméricaine : utilisation de la participation citoyenne pour effectuer un suivi à grande échelle RÉSUMÉ. Le Hibou des marais (Asio flammeus), espèce de milieux ouverts nichant dans le nord des États-Unis et au Canada, a vraisemblablement subi une baisse importante de longue date et à grande échelle. Toutefois, la cause et la magnitude de cette baisse ne sont pas bien comprises. Nous avons choisi d'étudier les deux premières de six priorités de conservation proposées antérieurement pour cette espèce : 1) mieux établir l'utilisation de l'habitat; et 2) améliorer le suivi de la population. Nous avons recruté 131 bénévoles pour inventorier plus de 6,2 millions d'ha dans l'État de l'Idaho durant la saison de nidification 2015 du Hibou des marais. Nous avons inventorié 75 transects, dont 71 à deux reprises, et avons détecté le Hibou des marais dans 27...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) surveys in the North American Intermountain West: utilizing citizen scientists to conduct monitoring across a broad geographic scale

Miller¹,

Paprocki²,

Stuber³

et al. 2016

ACE

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“…Several studies have found either positive or negligible effects of low-or variable-intensity grazing on bird communities, supporting the idea that grazing can create habitat heterogeneity without broad-scale degradation (Page et al 1978, Bock and Webb 1984, Fuhlendorf et al 2006. Studies that have found negative effects of grazing on groundnesting grassland birds have largely been conducted in areas with higher intensity (>7.2 AUM/ha) grazing (Fondell andBall 2004, Sutter andRichison 2005).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Within British Columbia, the rate of decline has been less severe for Vesper Sparrows (-0.6%, non-significant), but more severe for Western Meadowlarks (-1.5%, significant; Sauer et al 2008). Habitat loss and degradation due to grazing is one factor that is commonly blamed for the decline of grassland birds (reviewed in Bock et al 1993and Saab et al 1995, Fondell and Ball 2004, Sutter and Richison 2005. Tree encroachment due to long-term fire suppression is an additional factor that is limiting habitat availability in the area, but that is not being explicitly examined in this study.…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Livestock grazing is one of the principal land uses in grasslands and can alter the composition, structure, and functionality of grassland habitats (Bock et al 1993, Fleischner 1994. Several studies have found that the habitat changes associated with livestock grazing have affected grassland bird populations (reviewed in Bock et al 1993and Saab et al 1995, Fondell and Ball 2004, Sutter and Richison 2005. The nature and severity of the effects of grazing on grassland birds and their habitats depend largely on the intensity, i.e., stocking rates, timing, and duration of the grazing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vesper Sparrows and Western Meadowlarks Show a Mixed Response to Cattle Grazing in the Intermountain Region of British Columbia

Harrison¹,

Mahony²,

Robinson³

et al. 2010

ACE

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Green. 2010. Vesper sparrows and western meadowlarks show a mixed response to cattle grazing in the intermountain region of British Columbia. Avian Conservation and Ecology -Écologie et conservation des oiseaux 5(1): ABSTRACT. Livestock grazing in the shortgrass steppe of the Intermountain region of British Columbia is predicted to have significant effects on grassland habitats and their associated ground-nesting bird communities. We tested whether grazed and ungrazed sites could be discriminated on the basis of their vegetation communities, whether the abundance of two ground-nesting bird species, Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus) and Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), differed between grazed and ungrazed sites, and whether vegetation variables found to differ between grazed and ungrazed plots could be used to predict the abundance of the two bird species at a fine scale. Grazed sites were easily distinguishable from a site that had been ungrazed for >30 years based on the structure and composition of their vegetation communities. However, more detailed grazing categories could not be distinguished on the basis of vegetation characteristics. Despite the existence of grazing effects on vegetation structure and composition, we found no consistent differences in abundance of Vesper Sparrows and Western Meadowlarks between the grazed and ungrazed sites. However, there was weak evidence that the abundance of both species was higher at fine-scale plots (100 m radius point count station) with less bare ground and taller vegetation. Bare ground cover was lower on grazed plots, but vegetation was taller on ungrazed plots. Combined, our results suggest that low intensity grazing leads to grassland habitat change with both negative and positive effects on Vesper Sparrows and Western Meadowlarks, resulting in no net change in their broad-scale abundance.RÉSUMÉ. On pense que le broutement du bétail dans la steppe de la région intramontagnarde de la Colombie-Britannique a des effets significatifs sur les milieux de prairie et les communautés d'oiseaux nichant au sol qui y sont associées. Nous avons testé les hypothèses suivantes : 1) Est-il possible de discriminer les sites broutés des sites non broutés à partir de leur communauté végétale? 2) L'abondance de deux espèces d'oiseaux nichant au sol, le Bruant vespéral (Pooecetes gramineus) et la Sturnelle de l'Ouest (Sturnella neglecta), diffère-t-elle selon le type de sites (broutés vs non broutés)? 3) Les variables relatives à la végétation qui diffèrent entre les sites broutés et les sites non broutés peuvent-elles servir à prévoir l'abondance des deux espèces d'oiseaux à une échelle fine? Les sites broutés ont été faciles à distinguer des sites qui n'avaient pas été broutés depuis plus de 30 ans, d'après la structure et la composition de leur communauté végétale. Toutefois, des catégories de broutement plus détaillées n'ont pas pu être déterminées à partir des caractéristiques végétales. Bien que le broutement ait des effets sur la structure et la composition végé...

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Bird species responses to rangeland management in relation to their traits: Rio de la Plata Grasslands as a case study

Aldabe,

Morán‐López,

Soca

et al. 2023

Ecological Applications

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Areas used for livestock production and dominated by native grasses represent a unique opportunity to reconcile biodiversity conservation and livestock production. However, limited knowledge of individual species’ responses to rangeland management restricts our capacity to design grazing practices that favor endangered species and other priority birds. In this work, we applied Hierarchical Modelling of Species Communities (HMSC) to study individual species responses, as well as the influence of traits on such responses, to variables related to rangeland management using birds of the Rio de la Plata Grasslands as a case study. Based on presence–absence data collected in 454 paddocks across 46 ranches we inferred the response of 69 species considering imperfect detection. This degree of detail fills a major gap in rangeland management, as species‐level responses can be used to achieve targeted conservation goals other than maximizing richness or abundance. We found that artificial pastures had an overall negative impact on many bird species, whereas the presence of tussocks had a positive effect, including all threatened species. Grassland specialists were in general sensitive to grass height and tended to respond positively to tussocks but negatively to tree cover. Controlling grass height via adjustments in stocking rate can be a useful tool to favor grassland specialists. To favor a wide range of bird species in ranches, a mosaic of short and tall native grasslands with patches of tussocks and trees is desirable. We also found that species‐specific responses were modulated by their traits: small‐sized birds responded positively to tussocks and tree cover while large species responded negatively to increasing grass height. Ground foragers preferred short grass while birds that scarcely use this stratum were not affected by grass height. Results on the influence of traits on bird responses are an important novelty in relation to previous work in rangelands and potentially increase our predicting capacity and model transferability across grassland regions.

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Density and success of bird nests relative to grazing on western Montana grasslands

Cited by 81 publications

References 31 publications

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) surveys in the North American Intermountain West: utilizing citizen scientists to conduct monitoring across a broad geographic scale

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) surveys in the North American Intermountain West: utilizing citizen scientists to conduct monitoring across a broad geographic scale

Vesper Sparrows and Western Meadowlarks Show a Mixed Response to Cattle Grazing in the Intermountain Region of British Columbia

Bird species responses to rangeland management in relation to their traits: Rio de la Plata Grasslands as a case study

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