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Effects Of Distance From Cattle Water Developments On Grassland Birds, Andrea L. Fontaine, Patricia L. Kennedy, Douglas H. Johnson
Effects Of Distance From Cattle Water Developments On Grassland Birds, Andrea L. Fontaine, Patricia L. Kennedy, Douglas H. Johnson
USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Many North American grassland bird populations appear to be declining, which may be due to changes in grazing regimes on their breeding areas. Establishment of water developments and confining cattle (Bos taurus L.) to small pastures often minimizes spatial heterogeneity of cattle forage consumption, which may lead to uniformity in vegetative structure. This increased uniformity may provide suitable habitat for some bird species but not others. We assessed how cattle use, vegetative structure, and bird population densities varied with increasing distance from water developments (0-800 m) on the Little Missouri National Grassland (LMNG) in North Dakota. Lark buntings ( …