Tallgrass prairie management and bird nest success along roadsides

Shochat, Eyal; Wolfe, Don H.; Patten, Michael A.; Reinking, Dan L.; Sherrod, Steve K.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2004.05.012

Cited by 32 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Importantly, so long as individual hosts disperse enough between undisturbed prairie and patches with high cover of woody vegetation, anti-parasite defences may not evolve (Røskaft et al 2006). The benefit ground nesters receive in lower rates of brood parasitism may offset the costs in increased predation (Shochat et al 2005b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hierarchical cues in brood parasite nest selection

Patten

Reinking²,

Wolfe³

2010

J Ornithol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Numerous hypotheses have been developed to explain how a brood parasite selects a host nest into which it lays its eggs. Most hypotheses address various aspects of nest placement. We used an extensive dataset to tease apart the relative strength of various hypotheses associated with nest placement and timing. These data were from North American tallgrass prairie and included nearly 2,000 nests of 17 host species known to accept eggs of the brood parasitic Brown-headed cowbird Molothrus ater. Regression tree analyses, with host species as a categorical covariate built around successive logistic regressions, implied that the ''edge effect'' and ''perch proximity'' hypotheses, the latter assessed as distance to woody vegetation, received the strongest support. Hypotheses concerning nest height, livestock proximity, habitat density, nest exposure, laying date, and host clutch size received weaker or subsidiary support, the latter meaning that the hypotheses received significant support only after edge effects or distance to woody vegetation were accounted for first. Host species was associated significantly with parasitism rate, but host species was itself correlated with various vegetation and landscape variables that we assessed. Brood parasitism rate and nest height were associated non-linearly. In addition to a clear hierarchical pattern among factors associated with rates of parasitism, several key explanatory variables had marked interactions, such as prairie edge and extent of woody vegetation or nest height and nest exposure. Such interactions, including between host species and certain landscape and vegetation variables, such as nest height and distance from woody vegetation, suggest caution is warranted when assessing the various competing hypotheses, which are not mutually exclusive. Keywords Brood parasitism Á Edge effects Á Molothrus ater Á Nest placement Á Regression trees Zusammenfassung Es gibt zahlreiche Hypothesen zur Erklärung, wie ein Brutparasit ein Nest für die eigene Eiablage aussucht, wobei sich die meisten dieser Hypothesen an der spezifischen Lage der Nester ausrichten. Wir benutzten eine umfangreiche Datensammlung, um die relative Stärke derjenigen Hypothesen zu entwirren, die sich auf Nestlage und Eiablage-Zeitpunkt beziehen. Die Daten stammten aus der nordamerikanischen Tallgrass-Prärie, von fast 2000 Nestern 17 unterschiedlicher Wirtsarten, von denen bekannt ist, daß sie Eier des Brutparasiten Braunkopf-Kuhstärling (Molothrus ater) in ihren Nestern akzeptieren. Regressionsbaumanalysen mit den Wirtsspezies als kategorialen Kovariaten, um sukzessive logistische Regressionen herum gerechnet, unterstützten am stärksten die Hypothesen zum,, Rand-Effekt'' und zur ,,Sitzplätze-Nähe'' (Entfernung zu Gebüsch-Vegetation). Andere Hypothesen, die die Nesthöhe, die Nähe zu Vieh, die Habitatdichte, die Nestlage, oder den Zeitpunkt der Eiablage und die Gelegegröße des Wirtes heranziehen, wurden schwächer oder nur ,,subsidiär'' unterstützt -wobei letzteres bedeutet, dass diese Hypothesen nur dann signif...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hierarchical cues in brood parasite nest selection

Patten

Reinking²,

Wolfe³

2010

J Ornithol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, 92% of the nests in central Illinois and 74% in central Iowa were red-winged blackbird nests (Warner, 1992;Camp and Best, 1994). Much lower percentages for red-winged blackbirds, however, were recorded in eastern and south central Nebraska (34%) and north central Oklahoma (16%), with red-winged blackbirds still the most abundant nesting species (Hergenrader, 1962;Shochat et al, 2005).…”

Section: Discussion Species Abundancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, in nearly all published literature involving roadside surveys that assessed avian use or nesting, red-winged blackbirds were the most numerous species (Hergenrader, 1962;Warner, 1992;Camp and Best, 1993;Camp and Best, 1994;Shochat , 2005). In our surveys the brown-headed cowbird was the second most abundant species for the 2 y combined, although there was large variation in density between years.…”

Section: Discussion Species Abundancementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Avian Use of Rural Roadsides with Cattail (Typha spp.)

Safratowich

Linz²,

Bleier

et al. 2008

Am Midl Nat

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT.-We surveyed 30 roadsides in North Dakota's Prairie Pothole Region for birds and active nests between May and July 2001-2002. Each roadside transect was 1608 m and had $200 linear meters of standing cattail (Typha spp.). We recorded 45 bird species; four species of Icteridae dominated the avifauna. Red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) were both the most abundant species and most abundant nester, averaging 53 birds/10 ha (SE 5 7.7) and 30 nests/10 ha (SE 5 9.7). Among non-icterid species, song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) and common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) ranked first and second consecutively in 2001 and 2002. Canonical correspondence analyses of species compositions indicated that species abundance was related to two roadside variables, length and water depth of cattail stands. Cattails added habitat diversity and acceptable conditions for wetland-dwelling avian species not typically found in rural roadsides outside of the Prairie Pothole Region. We documented use of roadsides by three species of grassland birds of national or regional conservation concern. Roadsides in North Dakota, although dominated mostly by generalist bird species with edge tolerance, may have some management potential for area-dependent grassland birds.

show abstract

“…This statistical method has become widely used (Nur et al 2004, Shochat et al 2005. In the analysis we used the term 'age of the nest' to signify the length of the nesting attempt in days.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breeding success and nest-site characteristics of Red-breasted FlycatchersFicedula parvain a primeval forest

Mitrus¹,

Soćko²

2008

Bird Study

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Capsule Predation is a major factor influencing the breeding success of Red-breasted Flycatchers under natural conditions. Aims To examine the breeding success of Red-breasted Flycatchers in relation to nest-site characteristics and time of breeding. Methods Data were collected during seven breeding seasons under natural conditions in Białowieża National Park. We used survival time analysis to estimate changes in survival probability over time and breeding success in relation to first-egg date and nest-site characteristics. Results Offspring fledged successfully from 51% of clutches, but the Kaplan-Meier estimate of survival was lower at 0.43. Of the unsuccessful clutches, 82% were lost to predators. The highest probability of loss was during egg-laying and in the second half of incubation. Breeding success was influenced by the height of the nest above the ground, but no relation to other nest-site characteristics was found. Conclusion To avoid predation Red-breasted Flycatchers build nests in various sites that are more open than most cavity-nesting species. The position of the nest-sites allows the sitting female to observe her surroundings and to escape rapidly from the nest, giving the chance for a replacement clutch.

show abstract

Tallgrass prairie management and bird nest success along roadsides

Cited by 32 publications

References 32 publications

Hierarchical cues in brood parasite nest selection

Hierarchical cues in brood parasite nest selection

Avian Use of Rural Roadsides with Cattail (Typha spp.)

Breeding success and nest-site characteristics of Red-breasted FlycatchersFicedula parvain a primeval forest

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About