Andrew A. Bishop

Effects of Surrounding Land use on Playa Inundation following Intense Rainfall

Many isolated wetlands that fill by rainfall, such as playas, have been affected by sedimentation in heavily modified agricultural landscapes. Conservation plantings and buffers reduce sedimentation in wetlands but also may reduce the frequency of inundation. We studied the effects of surrounding landcover on the responses of playas in southwestern Nebraska to heavy rain events using aerial photography, ground surveys, and GIS landscape analyses. Using a generalized linear mixed model, we found that playas in rangeland were more likely to become inundated than playas in cropland, and both were more likely to become inundated than playas in fields enrolled in USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), typified by tall, dense grasses. Inundation was also positively related to rainfall amount and playa size. Our results highlight the significance of maintaining playas in native prairie and underscore the importance of planting and managing appropriate mixes of native shortgrass and/or mixed-grass prairie species surrounding playas to mimic the vegetative structure of native prairie. In light of historic wetland losses, a reduction in the probability of flooding for individual playas in CRP must be weighed against the protection from sedimentation that buffers afford wetlands in cropland and other beneficial influences of CRP in the landscape.

Assessing Landscape Constraints on Species Abundance: Does the Neighborhood Limit Species Response to Local Habitat Conservation Programs?

Landscapes in agricultural systems continue to undergo significant change, and the loss of biodiversity is an ever-increasing threat. Although habitat restoration is beneficial, management actions do not always result in the desired outcome. Managers must understand why management actions fail; yet, past studies have focused on assessing habitat attributes at a single spatial scale, and often fail to consider the importance of ecological mechanisms that act across spatial scales. We located survey sites across southern Nebraska, USA and conducted point counts to estimate Ring-necked Pheasant abundance, an economically important species to the region, while simultaneously quantifying landscape effects using a geographic information system. To identify suitable areas for allocating limited management resources, we assessed land cover relationships to our counts using a Bayesian binomial-Poisson hierarchical model to construct predictive Species Distribution Models of relative abundance. Our results indicated that landscape scale land cover variables severely constrained or, alternatively, facilitated the positive effects of local land management for Ring-necked Pheasants.

Agricultural Practices and Residual Corn During Spring Crane and Waterfowl Migration in Nebraska

ABSTRACT Nebraskas Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) is a major spring-staging area for migratory birds. Over 6 million ducks, geese, and sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) stage there en route to tundra, boreal forest, and prairie breeding habitats, storing nutrients for migration and reproduction by consuming primarily corn remaining in fields after harvest (hereafter residual corn). In springs 2005–2007, we measured residual corn density in randomly selected harvested cornfields during early (n = 188) and late migration (n = 143) periods. We estimated the mean density of residual corn for the CPRV and examined the influence of agricultural practices (post-harvest field management) and migration period on residual corn density. During the early migration period, residual corn density was greater in idle harvested fields than any other treatments of fields (42%, 48%, 53%, and 92% more than grazed, grazed and mulched, mulched, and tilled fields, respectively). Depletion of residual corn from early to late migration did not differ among post-harvest treatments but was greatest during the year when overall corn density was lowest (2006). Geometric mean early-migration residual corn density for the CPRV in 2005–2007 (42.4 kg/ha; 95% CI = 35.2–51.5 kg/ha) was markedly lower than previously published estimates, indicating that there has been a decrease in abundance of residual corn available to waterfowl during spring staging. Increases in harvest efficiency have been implicated as a cause for decreasing corn densities since the 1970s. However, our data show that post-harvest management of cornfields also can substantially influence the density of residual corn remaining in fields during spring migration. Thus, managers may be able to influence abundance of high-energy foods for spring-staging migratory birds in the CPRV through programs that influence post-harvest management of cornfields.

Diets and Food Selection of Female Mallards and Blue-Winged Teal During Spring Migration

Abstract Waterfowl nutritional requirements and food availability at migration stopover habitats may differ from those at nesting or wintering areas. Although there is little information on factors that influence waterfowl diets and food selection during migration, we hypothesized that bird age and wetland density in the surrounding landscape would influence food selection. Thus, the objective of this study was to quantify mallard Anas platyrhynchos and blue-winged teal Anas discors diets during migration and evaluate effects of age and wetland density on waterfowl food selection. We collected 30 mallards and 29 blue-winged teal with food items present in esophagi from wetlands in south-central Nebraska during spring 2008 and 2009. Smartweed Polygonum spp. and barnyard grass Echinochloa spp. were the most common seeds found in both mallards and blue-winged teal, while Naididae and Chironomidae larvae were the most common invertebrates in mallard and blue-winged teal diets, respectively. Invertebrates were...

Location and Agricultural Practices Influence Spring use of Harvested Cornfields by Cranes and Geese in Nebraska

ABSTRACT Millions of ducks, geese, and sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis; hereafter cranes) stop in the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) of Nebraska to store nutrients for migration and reproduction by consuming corn remaining in fields after harvest. We examined factors that influence use of cornfields by cranes and geese (all mid-continent species combined; e.g., Anser, Chen, and Branta spp.) because it is a key step to efficient conservation planning aimed at ensuring that adequate food resources are available to migratory birds stopping in the CPRV. Distance to night-time roost site, segment of the CPRV (west to east), and agricultural practices (post-harvest treatment of cornfields: idle, grazed, mulched, mulched and grazed, and tilled) were the most important and influential variables in our models for geese and cranes. Probability of cornfield use by geese and cranes decreased with increasing distance from the closest potential roosting site. The use of cornfields by geese increased with the density of corn present there during the early migration period, but field use by cranes appeared not to be influenced by early migration corn density. However, probability of cornfield use by cranes did increase with the amount of wet grassland habitat within 4.8 km of the field. Geese were most likely to use fields that were tilled and least likely to use fields that were mulched and grazed. Cranes were most likely to use fields that were mulched and least likely to use fields that were tilled, but grazing appeared not to influence the likelihood of field use by cranes. Geese were more likely to use cornfields in western segments of the CPRV, but cranes were more likely to use cornfields in eastern segments. Our data suggest that managers could favor crane use of fields and reduce direct competition with geese by reducing fall and spring tilling and increasing mulching. Moreover, crane conservation efforts would be most beneficial if they were focused in the eastern portions of the CPRV and in fields as close as possible to both known roosting and large amounts of wet grassland habitats.

Translating statistical species-habitat models to interactive decision support tools

Understanding species-habitat relationships is vital to successful conservation, but the tools used to communicate species-habitat relationships are often poorly suited to the information needs of conservation practitioners. Here we present a novel method for translating a statistical species-habitat model, a regression analysis relating ring-necked pheasant abundance to landcover, into an interactive online tool. The Pheasant Habitat Simulator combines the analytical power of the R programming environment with the user-friendly Shiny web interface to create an online platform in which wildlife professionals can explore the effects of variation in local landcover on relative pheasant habitat suitability within spatial scales relevant to individual wildlife managers. Our tool allows users to virtually manipulate the landcover composition of a simulated space to explore how changes in landcover may affect pheasant relative habitat suitability, and guides users through the economic tradeoffs of landscape changes. We offer suggestions for development of similar interactive applications and demonstrate their potential as innovative science delivery tools for diverse professional and public audiences.

Predictions of future ephemeral springtime waterbird stopover habitat availability under global change

In the present period of rapid, worldwide change in climate and landuse (i.e., global change), successful biodiversity conservation warrants proactive management responses, especially for long-distance migratory species. However, the development and implementation of management strategies can be impeded by high levels of uncertainty and low levels of control over potentially impactful future events and their effects. Scenario planning and modeling are useful tools for expanding perspectives and informing decisions under these conditions. We coupled scenario planning and statistical modeling to explain and predict playa wetland inundation (i.e., presence/absence of water) and ponded area (i.e., extent of water) in the Rainwater Basin, an anthropogenically altered landscape that provides critical stopover habitat for migratory waterbirds. Inundation and ponded area models for total wetlands, those embedded in rowcrop fields, and those not embedded in rowcrop fields were trained and tested with wetland ponding data from 2004 and 2006–2009, and then used to make additional predictions under two alternative climate change scenarios for the year 2050, yielding a total of six predictive models and 18 prediction sets. Model performance ranged from moderate to good, with inundation models outperforming ponded area models, and models for non-rowcrop-embedded wetlands outperforming models for total wetlands and rowcrop-embedded wetlands. Model predictions indicate that if the temperature and precipitation changes assumed under our climate change scenarios occur, wetland stopover habitat availability in the Rainwater Basin could decrease in the future. The results of this and similar studies could be aggregated to increase knowledge about the potential spatial and temporal distributions of future stopover habitat along migration corridors, and to develop and prioritize multi-scale management actions aimed at mitigating the detrimental effects of global change on migratory waterbird populations.