Bird‐habitat associations and local‐scale vegetation structure in lowland brushlands

Brushlands support a diverse suite of bird species, including species of conservation concern in the western Great Lakes region of central North America. Information on how to effectively manage lowland brushlands for birds and associations between breeding birds and local‐scale vegetation structure...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of wildlife management 2024-05, Vol.88 (4), p.n/a
Main Authors: Hawkinson, Annie J., Montgomery, Rebecca A., Roy, Charlotte L., Shartell, Lindsey M., Andersen, David E., Stevens, Thomas K., Knosalla, Lori J., Frelich, Lee E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Animal breeding
bird abundance
bird species richness
Birds
Breeding
brushland
Catharus fuscescens
Chestnut
Cistothorus
Density
Disturbances
Empidonax
Geothlypis trichas
Height
Melospiza georgiana
Minnesota
patchiness
Plant species
Plant structures
Plants (botany)
Regression analysis
Regression models
Setophaga pensylvanica
shrublands
Small mammals
Species richness
stem density
stem height
Stems
swamps
Vegetation
vegetation structure
Wildlife conservation
wildlife management
Woody plants
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Summary:Brushlands support a diverse suite of bird species, including species of conservation concern in the western Great Lakes region of central North America. Information on how to effectively manage lowland brushlands for birds and associations between breeding birds and local‐scale vegetation structure and composition is lacking. We surveyed lowland brushlands from 2016–2018 in Minnesota, USA, to assess bird‐habitat associations using avian point‐count surveys and fixed‐radius vegetation plots. We used Poisson regression models to assess the associations between breeding bird species richness, total abundance, and abundance of frequently detected species (using counts as an index for abundance) to woody stem density and height, patchiness of woody stem density, variation of woody stem height, and number of woody plant species. Sedge wrens (Cistothorus stellaris), the most abundant species, were negatively associated with multiple woody plant metrics and positively associated with patchiness. Common yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas) were the second‐most abundant species and associated with low‐stature woody plants (
ISSN:0022-541X
1937-2817
DOI:10.1002/jwmg.22568