Ornithology Commons^™

Songbird-Mediated Insect Pest Control In Low Intensity New England Agriculture, Samuel J. Mayne

Masters Theses

Global agricultural intensification has caused large-scale wildlife declines, but agricultural lands that maintain natural habitats can support healthy wildlife populations and receive significant ecosystem services from these natural communities. However, how on-farm biodiversity results in beneficial ecosystem services is highly variable and is reported to differ among taxa and guilds. One group that has attracted attention for their potential beneficial role in reducing pest abundance are birds. Understanding the role of bird communities and individual species in pest control could be important for managing farms under a low intensity agroecological framework. In New England, farmers are increasingly applying low intensity …

Factors Affecting Habitat Quality For Wintering Wood Thrushes In A Coffee Growing Region In Honduras, Brett A. Bailey

Masters Theses

Amongst the diversity of taxa that occur in the Neotropics, 200 migratory bird species that breed in temperate North America can be found. Many of these populations have seen significant declines since the 1960s. The Wood Thrush, Hylocichla mustelina, is one such species. Shade coffee and other agroforestry practices show potential for benefiting migratory species, but the quality of coffee habitat and optimal habitat characteristics for Wood Thrushes remain unknown.

I surveyed a spatially complex, agricultural landscape in Honduras outside the recognized winter range of the Wood Thrush and radio-tagged 46 individuals within rustic coffee farms during the winters …

Stopover Ecology Of Neotropical Migratory Songbirds In The Northern Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, Lauren E. Solomon

Masters Theses

Chapter I. Full-service hotels, convenience stores or fire escapes? Evaluating function of stopover sites for Neotropical migrants in the northern Yucatan Peninsula

Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbirds incur the highest mortality rates during their annual migrations. Migratory songbirds use a network of stopover sites to rest, refuel, or seek refuge during times of poor weather conditions; and the time and energy expended at these sites exceeds that of migratory flight. In order to conserve stopover sites with the highest value to Neotropical migrants, a conceptual framework was developed to classify stop over sites into three functional categories based on their function for …

Effects Of Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia Esula) Infestation On Breeding Birds Of The Sheyenne National Grassland, Nd, Daniel M. Scheiman

Masters Theses

Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) is an exotic invasive weed in the northern Great Plains. We examined the effects of leafy spurge infestation on densities and nest success of breeding birds in grasslands on the Sheyenne National Grassland (SNG), ND. We categorized spurge-infested grasslands into three levels of infestation, based on the area covered by spurge patches: (a) low (0-20%), (b) medium (20-60%) and, (c) high (> 60%). We surveyed 60 100-m radius circular plots (20 in each category), and searched for nests in three 16-ha plots (one in each category). There were no statistically significant differences in mean species richness …

Evaluation Of Potential Wild Turkey Habitat In Eastern Illinois, Cara B. Daugherty

Masters Theses

Reestablishment of the wild turkey has been successful in the southern part of Illinois where large established tracts of woodland occur. However, turkeys are capable of surviving in areas with less forest cover, if food, nesting materials and protection are available. This project evaluated the potential turkey habitat of a 14-county area of eastern Illinois along the drainage of the Wabash River. Six potential release sites were selected and the habitat evaluated. In these areas, oak (Quercus spp.) and hickory (Carya spp.) were the dominant tree species. Disturbance from human populations was determined in each of …