Date of Award
2017
Publisher
North Dakota State University
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Awarded
Master of Science (MS)
Program
Natural Resources Management
Department
Natural Resources Management
College
Agriculture, Food Systems and Natural Resources
Faculty Advisor
Sedivec, Kevin K.
Description
Investigators surveyed avian and vegetation composition on- and off- black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus; hereafter prairie dog) colonies to gain greater insight into community dynamics of grassland passerines. Few studies have investigated grassland bird community associations with prairie dogs, and of those limited studies aim to quantify nesting passerine habitat selection and nest success. The objective of this study was to identify community associations and factors that shape the community of grassland birds on grazed mixed-grass prairie, both on- and off-prairie dog colonies. Bird and vegetation communities, avian densities, nesting survival, and resource selection was investigated in relativity to a landscape occupied with prairie dogs. Individual species exhibited different selections in regards to different vegetation communities created by prairie dogs. This makes heterogeneity an important landscape component for maintaining diverse, robust bird and plant communities at the landscape scale.
Recommended Citation
Mack, Wyatt Mackenzie, "Grassland Birds Community Dynamics, Resource Selection, and Nest Survival on Mixed-Grass Prairie Grazed by Native Colonial and Domestic Herbivores" (2017). Natural Resources Management. 97.
https://digitalcommons.ndsu.edu/nrm/97
Rights
NDSU policy 190.6.2
Rights Link
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf
Handle Identifier
https://hdl.handle.net/10365/28598