Nesting ecology of grassland birds following a wildfire in the southern Great Plains

We studied the response of nesting grassland birds occupying short-grass and mixed-grass prairie sites 2 and 3 y following two, large-scale wildfires that burned ≥360,000 ha in the Texas Panhandle in March 2006. Nest success was greater on burned plots compared to unburned plots, though this varied...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Southwestern naturalist 2017-03, Vol.62 (1), p.39-45
Main Authors: Roberts, Anthony J, Boal, Clint W, Whitlaw, Heather A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ammodramus savannarum
Animal behavior
Animal breeding
Behavior
Birds
Bison bison
Buffalo
Chondestes grammacus
Ecology
Environmental aspects
Feature s
Flowers & plants
Forest & brush fires
Forests
Fringillidae
Grasses
Grasslands
Heterogeneity
Nest building
Nesting
Nests
Prairies
Prescribed fire
Studies
Success
Topography
Vegetation
Vegetation cover
Wildfires
Woody plants
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Summary:We studied the response of nesting grassland birds occupying short-grass and mixed-grass prairie sites 2 and 3 y following two, large-scale wildfires that burned ≥360,000 ha in the Texas Panhandle in March 2006. Nest success was greater on burned plots compared to unburned plots, though this varied by species and year. Woody vegetation cover was greater around nests on unburned plots compared to burned plots for Cassin's sparrow (Peucaea cassinii) and lark sparrow (Chondestes grammacus). Cassin's sparrows and lark sparrows nested in more-woody vegetation than did grasshopper sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum), and woody vegetation was reduced following the wildfires. The wildfires appear to have had few if any negative influences on the avian community 3 years postfire. This may be due to grassland breeding birds being adapted to landscapes in which, historically, periodic disturbance (e.g., wildfire, intensive grazing by bison [Bison bison]) resulted in vegetation heterogeneity.
ISSN:0038-4909
1943-6262
DOI:10.1894/0038-4909-62.1.39