Effects of Prescribed Fire on Northern Bobwhite Nest Success and Breeding Season Habitat Selection

Effects of Prescribed Fire on Northern Bobwhite Nest Success and Breeding Season Habitat Selection PDF Author: Sarah Byrnes Rosche
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Effects of Prescribed Fire on Northern Bobwhite Nest Success and Breeding Season Habitat Selection

Effects of Prescribed Fire on Northern Bobwhite Nest Success and Breeding Season Habitat Selection PDF Author: Sarah Byrnes Rosche
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Nest Success and Brood Habitat Selection of the Northern Bobwhite in Southeast Iowa

Nest Success and Brood Habitat Selection of the Northern Bobwhite in Southeast Iowa PDF Author: Lisa M. Potter
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) is one of the most popular upland games species in North America, and in turn has been a focus of game management and research from as early as the 1920s. However, bobwhite populations continue to decline throughout their geographic range. The cumulative effects of advanced succession and monoculture farming are often cited as a primary cause of range wide declines. As productivity may be one of the most important factors associated with changes in population size, identifying and managing quality nesting and brood habitats is vital to reversing the steady downward trend in bobwhite populations. In 2003 and 2004, we compared nest success and brood habitat selection of radiotagged bobwhite between a managed and unmanaged (private) landscape in southeastern Iowa. Using program MARK, we estimated daily nest survival with the best approximating model that included an area and year effect only. The daily survival rate in 2003 was higher within the managed area (managed: 1.00, SE = 0.00; private: 0.953, SE = 0.023), whereas 2004 daily survival rates were similar between sites (managed: 0.969, SE = 0.011; private: 0.964, SE = 0.011). Microhabitat characteristics, landscape composition and configuration within 210 m of a nest, and applied management techniques did not have a measurable effect on nest success. At both the home range and patch scale, broods on the managed and private study areas used habitat types differently. At the home range scale, broods on the private area simply selected for all habitat types not in row crop production, while broods on the managed area selected for habitats with early successional habitat characteristics and showed an avoidance of timber patches. At the patch scale, broods 2-weeks of age on the managed area selected for early successional habitats. At 4 weeks of age, broods showed only an avoidance of timber patches. There was no statistical evidence for brood habitat selection at the patch scale on the private study area. The percent of forb canopy cover within a habitat patch was a significant predictor of brood use, as were fields burned the previous year.

Effects of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Fish and Wildlife

Effects of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Fish and Wildlife PDF Author: National Agricultural Library (U.S.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural conservation
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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"The bibliography is a guide to recent scientific literature covering effects of agricultural conservation practices on fish and wildlife. The citations listed here provide information on how conservation programs and practices designed to improve fish and wildlife habitat, as well as those intended for other purposes (e.g., water quality improvement), affect various aquatic and terrestrial fauna"--Abstract.

Effects of Prescribed Fire Management on Northern Bobwhite Colinus Virginianus

Effects of Prescribed Fire Management on Northern Bobwhite Colinus Virginianus PDF Author: Jesse Theodore Kamps
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 57

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Pine savannas of the Southeastern United States are generally managed using prescribed fire, which creates the vegetation structure required by their associated fauna. However, little is known about the effects that size and spatial pattern of prescribed fire have on wildlife. During a 3 year radio-telemetry study, I monitored movement and hazard of adult bobwhites in a landscape managed with prescribed fires of varying size. I also monitored growth and survival of bobwhite chicks in response to fire size and spatial pattern. Adult movement was negatively related to percentage of home range burned. Hazard rates were negatively related to movement and percentage of home range burned. Chick growth was negatively related to movement and home range size. Chick survival was positively related to percentage of home range burned, and likelihood of brood success was negatively related to hatch date and positively related to number of eggs hatched.

Birds and Burns of the Interior West

Birds and Burns of the Interior West PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bird populations
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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This publication provides information about prescribed fire effects on habitats and populations of birds of the interior West and a synthesis of existing information on bird responses to fire across North America. Our literature synthesis indicated that aerial, ground, and bark insectivores favored recently burned habitats, whereas foliage gleaners preferred unburned habitats.

Wildland Fire in Ecosystems

Wildland Fire in Ecosystems PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Animal ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Special Reference Briefs

Special Reference Briefs PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Northern Bobwhite Breeding Season Ecology in Southern New Jersey

Northern Bobwhite Breeding Season Ecology in Southern New Jersey PDF Author: Bridget M. Collins
Publisher: ProQuest
ISBN: 9780549945598
Category : Northern bobwhite
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have been declining over much of their range, but some of the steepest declines have been documented in New Jersey. Negative population trends in New Jersey and elsewhere have been attributed to a reduction in habitat quality and quantity. Managers in New Jersey are interested in how additional aspects of bobwhite ecology and demography may be mitigating or aggravating bobwhite declines. I conducted a two year (2006-2007) breeding season (1 May-30 September) telemetry study in southern New Jersey to collect baseline data on bobwhite movement, habitat selection, survival, reproductive rates, and nest and brood microhabitat. Pooling data between 2006 and 2007, I recorded 2,513 locations on 80 radiomarked bobwhites. Mean hourly movement rate (HMR) between consecutive day locations was 6.29 += 0.49 m/h (n = 21 bobwhites). I observed 11 extreme movements, the greatest of which was 12,372 m in 169.8 h. Breeding season 95% adaptive kernel home ranges averaged 38.7 += 6.1 ha (range 8.5 - 112.3 ha, n = 27 bobwhites). In order of greatest to least relative selection within the home range, bobwhites used scrub-shrub, followed by mixed grass, forest, agriculture, and other habitats. Breeding season survival was 0.343 += 0.064 (95% CI 0.238 - 0.493, n = 80 bobwhites), and mortality risk did not differ by age, sex, year, or HMR (P> 0.242). I located 23 bobwhite nests and 21 were usable for survival analyses. Incubation period nest survival rate was 0.454 += 0.010 (95% CI 0.280-0.727). Mean clutch size was 14.2 += 0.58 (range 10-19, n = 20) and hatchability in successful nests was 96.1 += 2.0% (range 86-100%, n = 10). The estimated probability an individual that entered the breeding season would initiate incubation on = 1 nest was 0.687 for females and 0.202 for males. Nest microhabitat selection was positively related to visual obstruction and percentage of litter. Brood microhabitat selection was positively related to visual obstruction, vegetation height, and percentage of forb but negatively related to percentage of cool season grass and litter. Ecological and demographic parameters for bobwhites in southern New Jersey appear to be similar to those reported elsewhere in the species' range. Management efforts to improve bobwhite in southern New Jersey should focus on increasing the quantity of available breeding and brood-rearing habitat.

Factors Related to Nest Survival and Over-winter Survival of a Northern Bobwhite (Colinus Virginianus) Population in Southwest Florida

Factors Related to Nest Survival and Over-winter Survival of a Northern Bobwhite (Colinus Virginianus) Population in Southwest Florida PDF Author: Steven Kenneth Brinkley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bird populations
Languages : en
Pages : 129

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The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) is a gallinaceous upland game bird dependent on early successional grassland habitat for reproduction and survival. Bobwhite populations have been declining range-wide for nearly a half century. The habitat of Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area (BWWMA) in southwest Florida is mostly virgin, early successional grassland and pine flatwoods. Although BWWMA is located in the far southern end of the bobwhite range, the area is a popular public land for bobwhite hunting. The BWWMA bobwhite population has declined evidenced by a dramatic decrease in harvest over the last 20 years. The two objectives of my research were to (1) describe nest habitat selection and daily nest survival of the bobwhite population on BWWMA, and (2) evaluate factors related to over-winter (1 October - 30 March) survival of the BWWMA bobwhite population. Specifically, I evaluated nest-site habitat selection and modeled daily nest survival as a function of biologically meaningful spatial, temporal, climatic, and habitat related covariates (Part II). I tested the hypothesis that bobwhites selected nesting habitat at the landscape level. There was no evidence that bobwhites selected specific habitats for nesting, but basin marsh and wet flatwoods cover types were used for nesting slightly more than they were available. The incubation period nest survival rate was 0.477 (SE = 0.027). Daily nest survival rates did not differ among years, the hunting zone in which the nest was located, or between genders of the incubating bird. Nest survival was positively related to the percent of basin marsh habitat within a 1000-m radius of the nest. Daily nest survival declined over the nesting period. I modeled the over-winter survival rates of bobwhites as a function of hunting pressure and other spatial, temporal, climatic and habitat covariates (Part III). The average over-winter survival rate was 0.402 (SE = 0.023). Year, time, and hunting zone were important factors influencing over-winter survival. Hunting pressure was the factor most related to over-winter survival. I evaluated management oriented questions related to over-winter survival of bobwhites on BWWMA. Food strip management and prescribed fire did not appear to be related to over-winter survival. Harvest rates were greater than others reported from studies in the Southeast and results suggested that, to some extent, harvest was additive to natural mortality. If the goal of management is to increase the BWWMA bobwhite population, reduction in harvest rate is one likely effective management strategy for achieving that goal.

Nesting Ecology of White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia Albicollis)

Nesting Ecology of White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia Albicollis) PDF Author: Melissa Olmstead
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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The study of nesting success is one of the most widely-used methods for examining the factors governing recruitment in birds. Many ecological influences act together to increase or decrease nesting success, and knowledge of these mechanisms is crucial for determining the habitat or conservation requirements of a given species. One ecological influence is the timing of breeding, which in many species is related to a decline in nest success later in the breeding season. Much of the research on this subject has focused on cavity-nesting species, and the hypothesis that this seasonal decline is caused by a mismatch between clutch-initiation date and peak food availability for young. I tested this hypothesis in a population of white-throated sparrows ( Zonotrichia albicollis ) in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, and I offer the alternate hypothesis that this decline may be caused by increased predation later in the season. Another influence on nest survival is disturbance caused by habitat management, such as the use of prescribed fire to conserve open- and early-successional habitats. While the goal of these restoration initiatives is to maintain landscape heterogeneity, the level of disturbance required to improve a habitat cannot exceed the tolerance of target species. Much of the research on this subject has focused on community-level studies quantifying the change in species abundances after a fire event. These studies capture only the most coarse-grained effects of fire, and may not be used to elucidate the mechanisms driving these changes in population size. I investigate the effect of spring burning on the nesting success of a single species, white-throated sparrows, and reveal that, while overall nesting success is not affected, fire has a substantial impact on nest site selection. This has implications for future controlled burn initiatives, since a matrix of suitable nesting habitat must be left untouched in order to allow breeding in the first year after the burn. Observing the same population in both a natural and managed system represents a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the effects of management strategies on avian nesting success.