Category Archives: grasslands

Bird Journal Round-up

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Condor cover Aug 14In honor of two major reports on bird conservation released last week, it is going to be bird week here at State Wildlife Research News. First, the science journals. If the State of the Birds has you wondering what and where your state can be doing bird conservation better, the latest issue of The Condor has some answers for you.

Some highlights:
Development, such as farms and the building of transmission lines, in the sagebrush ecosystem favors raven populations over sagebrush specialists, such as ferruginous hawks. Landscape alterations influence differential habitat use of nesting buteos and ravens within sagebrush ecosystem: Implications for transmission line development

Radar analysis has revealed several important fall migratory stop-over sites for birds in the northeastern United States, including coastlines of Long Island Sound, throughout the Delmarva Peninsula, in areas surrounding Baltimore and Washington, along the western edge of the Adirondack Mountains, and within the Appalachian Mountains of southwestern Virginia and West Virginia. Radar analysis of fall bird migration stopover sites in the northeastern U.S.

In grasslands, getting rid of trees helps populations of savannah sparrows and sedge wrens much more than improving the quality of the grasslands does. A multiscale assessment of tree avoidance by prairie birds

This issue of the Condor is particularly rich in papers relevant to bird conservation in North America. Check out the table of contents here.

In the Wilson Journal of Ornithology:
Analysis of thousands of eared grebes that died on the Great Salt Lake in December 2011 found that the downed birds had elevated levels of mercury and selenium compared to the eared grebes that migrated through the area without incident. Factors Influencing Mortality of Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) during a Mass Downing

And No Sex Bias in Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) Captured by Using Audio Playback during the Non-breeding Season

Dickcissels and Restored Grasslands

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There are more dickcissels (Spiza americana) on grasslands restored with native grasses and they nest more frequently than on grasslands with exotic grasses, a study reported in the most recent issue of The Southwestern Naturalist found, but the rate of nesting success on the restored grasslands was not significantly higher.

Dickcissels are in steep decline, particularly in the heart of their range. Restoring grasslands with native species seems like a good way to slow their population decline. This paper suggests that other factors may be as important as whether the grasses in the grassland are native or exotic, such as the size of the grassland and the height of the grasses, but that overall, dickcissel nesting is more productive at restored sites .

Read the paper here (subscription or fee required to read the full text).
A little digging found that this paper is based on a master’s thesis. Read it here.

Photo: Dickcissel by Steve Maslowski, courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service

March Roundup of New Research

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Spring is here and a bunch of wildlife surveys are underway around the country.

In Delaware:
-It’s the fifth and final year of the Delaware Breeding Bird Atlas.
-A special effort is being made in 2012 to tally owls as part of the atlas.
–Horseshoe crabs are being tallied again, and volunteers are being trained.
-The annual osprey count is offering a volunteer training for the first time since 2007.

Maryland is two years in to four years of surveys for an amphibian and reptile atlas and is looking for volunteers.

In Kansas, they are searching for lesser prairie chicken breeding areas, or leks, from the air with helicopters. Field crews will train on March 29-31 and conduct official survey work across all of western Kansas until the middle of May. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism is also asking people to report leks. The survey is part of a five-state effort, and the survey technique will be evaluated.

In North Dakota, the Game and Fish Department has launched a two-year study of white-tailed deer in intensely farmed agricultural areas.

In Maine, biologists at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife have visited up to 100 dens each winter for 37 years, making the survey in the nation’s oldest radio-collar monitoring program for bears. This year the Maine Sunday Telegram wrote a story about it, with lots of pics. Read it here.

And in Washington, commuters have been reporting wildlife sightings for over a year on the I-90 corridor in anticipation of road improvements. The project’s first annual report was released recently, generating articles in the Everett Herald  and The Seattle Times, and coverage other media.

Photo of I-90 Wildlife Watch billboard by Paula MacKay/Western Transportation Institute, used by permission.

Bobwhite Report

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Last fall, the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, self-admittedly “a late entry in the long-running national drama” of bobwhite quail conservation,” published a 46-page report on the State of the Bobwhite. The report provides a valuable summary of population data, research and contacts for the 25 states participating in the initiative.

The report concludes that despite conservation efforts, bobwhite populations are still declining, all though they are not declining as steeply as they have in the past. A blog post on the report in the Charlotte Observer notes that all species dependent on the same grassland habitat are in decline.

What are other states doing that your state isn’t? Which states have notable bobwhite programs?

Read the Charlotte Observer’s blog post on the report, here.

Read the report itself, here.

Grassland Research Grants

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 Bobolink, a grassland bird, courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Grants of up to $1,000 to study prairies and savannas are available from Prairie Biotic Research, a Wisconsin nonprofit organization.

The good news is that these small grants support both natural history and experimental science for any grassland taxon anywhere in the U.S. The bad news (for state wildlife biologists) is that the program is “eager to support” independent researchers. But anyone is welcome to apply. At worst, you can pass this information along to your favorite independent grasslands researcher, and come out a winner anyway.

For more about the organization and past grants, visit the Web site.

For the Prairie Biotic Research’s announcement, follow this post after the break.


FUNDING FOR PRAIRIE RESEARCH
offered by Prairie Biotic Research, Inc.

We Are
Prairie Biotic Research (PBR) is an all-volunteer, Wisconsin nonprofit established in 2000 to foster basic biotic research in prairies and savannas. One way we do this is through a competitive Small Grants Program that funds grants up to $1,000 to individuals for the study of any grassland taxon anywhere in the USA. We support both natural history and experimental science.

We are especially eager to support independent researchers (those lacking institutional support), but anyone may apply. Since 2002, we’ve awarded 100 grants worth $94,849 to people in 24 states to study insects, plants, mammals, reptiles, slime molds, mycorrhizal fungi, spiders, snails, amphibians, invasive species, and effects of management. Many of these grants supported graduate student research.

In 2011, we expect to fund at least 12 grants of up to $1000 each with the donations we have received, including some restricted by donors to support research in the Upper Midwest and in Missouri, where research on Missouri Prairie Foundation properties is of special interest.

To Apply for a Grant 
Visit our website (prairiebioticresearch.org) to learn more, to download our proposal form, instructions, and a sample researcher agreement form that winners of this competition must sign. Check out the history and overview files in the Small Grants section of the website to see what sorts of proposals have won funding in the past. Review the reports submitted by researchers of past years.

We must receive your proposal through the mail before January 7, 2011. Those who won funding in 2010 are ineligible for this funding in 2011, but those who won funding longer ago are welcome to submit proposals to further that same work or to support a new project.

Our Supporters 
 We are grateful for gifts recently received from individuals, foundations and nonprofit organizations in support of our Small Grants Program: Andria Blattner, Kurt Christoffel, Citizens Natural Resources Association of Wisconsin, Robert & Nancy Dott, James E. Dutton Foundation, Hildy Feen, Tamara Felden, Catherine Gimse-Owen & Robert Owen, Don & Helen Hagar, MJ Hatfield, Hillsdale Fund, George & Marilyn Johnson, Kyle Johnson, Herbert H. Kohl Charities, Roma Lenehan, The Fred Maytag Family Foundation, Emily & Richard Moore, Connie Mutel, The R. D. and Linda Peters Foundation, Ursula Petersen, Irwin Andrew Porter Foundation, Ron Priest, Dennis Schlicht, Jim & Rose Sime, The Paul E. Stry Foundation, Glenn Teschendorf, Elaine & Richard Tinberg, Tom & Eva Wedel, Andrew Williams, and Ken Wood.

Become a Supporter 
Please make a donation to support PBR. Any amount is welcome. PBR is volunteer-run so our overhead is very low. You may specify that your entire tax-deductible donation be given to researchers through our Small Grants Program, or to expand our research endowment that produces income we give away annually through this program.

Please help us to help others!

Michael Anderson, Craig Brabant, Rebecca Christoffel, Jaime Edwards, Brick Fevold, Kerry Katovich, Douglas LeDoux, Victoria Nuzzo, Ursula Petersen, Dennis Schlicht, Scott Swengel, David Voegtlin, Andrew Williams, and Daniel Young, who comprise the Board of Directors and Scientific Advisors of Prairie Biotic Research, Inc.

“We Foster Curiosity”

Rebecca Christoffel
Assistant Professor and Extension Wildlife Specialist
Iowa State University
Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
339 Science II
Ames, Iowa 50011
(515) 294-7429
christof@iastate.edu

Prairie dogs, cattle, and grass

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Photo: U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Western folklore says that prairie dogs and cattle compete for grass. However, a cattle-exclusion study found that the prairie dog population increased in plots where there were cattle compared to the prairie dog population in plots where cattle were excluded. The authors say the two species have a synergistic impact on the grassland habitat. Read more in the journal Ecology.
A 2007 paper in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment said that prairie dog populations over a certain level would reduce weight gain in cattle grazing in the area. You can read a Denver Post newspaper article onthe study here.

Light, fertilization, and biodiversity

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Fertilizing a grassland will cause plant biodiversity there to decrease. It’s not known why this is so, and one theory says that it is because some fast-growing species shade out slower-growing species. A recent study in the journal Ecology Letters says that it’s not a lack of light, or at least not just a lack of light, that is stifling diversity. The study found that the impact of light availability varied greatly in years when there were droughts.

In dry years more light meant less diversity, but in wet years, more light meant more diversity. Either way, fertilization meant species diversity went down, no matter what the light situation was.

With nutrient pollution such a widespread problem, getting to the bottom of this would be useful in protecting rare plants and threatened ecosystems.This paper doesn’t offer the answer, but adds another piece to the puzzle.

Find the paper here.

A previous paper on the subject appeared in the journal Science two years ago. Find that paper here.

Photo: Bobolink, a grassland bird, courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Light, fertilization, and biodiversity

Posted on by
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Fertilizing a grassland will cause plant biodiversity there to decrease. It’s not known why this is so, and one theory says that it is because some fast-growing species shade out slower-growing species. A recent study in the journal Ecology Letters says that it’s not a lack of light, or at least not just a lack of light, that is stifling diversity. The study found that the impact of light availability varied greatly in years when there were droughts.

In dry years more light meant less diversity, but in wet years, more light meant more diversity. Either way, fertilization meant species diversity went down, no matter what the light situation was.

With nutrient pollution such a widespread problem, getting to the bottom of this would be useful in protecting rare plants and threatened ecosystems.This paper doesn’t offer the answer, but adds another piece to the puzzle.

Find the paper here.

A previous paper on the subject appeared in the journal Science two years ago. Find that paper here.

Photo: Bobolink, a grassland bird, courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service