Nestling Diet of Eastern Meadowlarks in East-central Illinois

Ostrand, Susan Linn; Bollinger, Eric K.

doi:10.1676/11-128.1

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 22 publications

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“…We did not detect any effects on Orthoptera, the predominant food for dickcissels in this study. Although results should be interpreted cautiously, the potential for a negative impact on spiders is worrisome, given they are especially important resources for other birds that breed earlier in the summer (Maher 1979; Ostrand & Bollinger 2012). Although we did not observe reduced nestling mass or provisioning rates, reduced arthropod biomass could potentially have larger impacts in resource‐poor habitats or when herbicide is applied over especially large areas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased abundance and productivity of a grassland bird after experimental control of invasive tall fescue

Coon

Nelson

Bradley

et al. 2022

Restoration Ecology

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Tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus) is a widespread invasive grass in the United States that degrades habitat quality for biodiversity. Herbicide followed by seeding of native plants reduces tall fescue and is predicted to restore habitat quality over time, but little is known about short-term (1-2 year) impacts on native species. We conducted a landscape-scale controlled experiment to assess the short-term effects of herbicide and seeding on the reproduction of an obligate grassland bird, the dickcissel (Spiza americana). In 2014, four sites in southern Iowa were each subdivided into three patches (mean 7 ha). One patch in each site was treated with glyphosate herbicide (spray-only), one with herbicide and native seeding (spray-and-seed), with the third serving as a control. Two sites were grazed by cattle from April to July and two sites were ungrazed. We monitored dickcissel reproduction in 2016, finding that they were more abundant, built more nests, experienced less cowbird parasitism, had increased nest survival, and produced more fledglings on spray-only and spray-and-seed treatments compared to control patches. Dickcissels nested infrequently on grazed sites-especially grazed control patches. We did not detect any impacts on clutch size, provisioning rates, or nestling mass, but Araneae (spiders) and Lepidoptera larvae (caterpillars) may have been smaller on sprayed patches. Positive responses by dickcissels were likely due to successful reduction of tall fescue and improved access to suitable nest sites through increased vegetation heterogeneity. Our results indicate that using herbicide and seeding to restore tall fescue-dominated sites improves habitat quality for this grassland bird, shortly after restoration.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%