Effects of Leafy Spurge Infestation on Grassland Birds

By Daniel M. Scheiman, E. Bollinger, Douglas H. Johnson. 2003

95 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Grassland bird populations are declining. Invasive plant species may be contributing to these declines by altering habitat quality. However, the effects of invasive plants on grassland birds are largely unknown. Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) is an exotic, invasive weed in the northern Great Plains. We examined the effects of leafy spurge infestation on densities of breeding birds, nest-site selection, and nest success in grasslands on the Sheyenne National Grassland (SNG), North Dakota, USA, 1999-2000. We categorized spurge-infested grasslands into 3 groups (low, medium, high), based on the area covered by spurge patches. We surveyed 75 100-m-radius circular points (25 in each group), and searched for nests in 6 16-ha plots (2 in each group). Grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) and savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) densities were lower on high-spurge points than on low-and medium-spurge points. Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) and western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) densities were not significantly different among spurge cover groups. Spurge cover did not appear to be an important factor in nest-site selection. However, western meadowlark nest success was positively associated with spurge cover. Vegetation structure is an important indicator of habitat quality and resource availability for grassland birds. Changes in vegetation structure caused by introduced plant species, such as spurge, can alter resource availability and hence affect bird community composition. Managers of spurge-infested grasslands should continue current spurge control measures to help prevent further declines in grassland habitat quality and grassland bird populations.

Subfields: Global and Planetary Change, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/025f520b1d1d78ad8220ad2c96c762f3b139e2e5

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Global and Planetary Change

1. E. J. Taylor
2. M. Winter
3. Dana L. Thomas
4. Todd A. Grant
5. Elizabeth M. Madden
6. Carola A. Haas

In Nature and Landscape Conservation

1. E. J. Taylor
2. M. Winter
3. Dana L. Thomas
4. Magdalena Lenda
5. P. Skórka
6. Carola A. Haas

In Plant Science

1. E. J. Taylor
2. M. Winter
3. Dana L. Thomas

Citations in the corpus

• Conservation of Grassland Birds in North America: Understanding Ecological Processes in Different Regions: "Report of the AOU Committee on Conservation" (2007, background): “Invasion by exotic plants (Wilson and Belcher 1989, Robbins and Dale 1999, Scheiman et al. 2003, Grant et al. 2004) reduces avian occupancy of grassland.”
• Invasive alien goldenrods negatively affect grassland bird communities in Eastern Europe (2010, background): “However, the impact of alien invasive plant species on farmland birds has rarely been studied (Scheiman et al., 2003; Flanders et al., 2006) and the effects of alien goldenrods on grassland birds is unknown.”
• Study Designs and Tests for Comparing Resource Use and Availability II (2006, methodology): “…location, nest, den, roost, or bed site of a uniquely identified animal during a fixed time period for study design 2 (e.g., Rowland et al. 2000, Dickson and Beier 2002), design 3 (e.g., Hartke and Hepp 2004), and design 4 (e.g., Weller and Zabel 2001, Drennan and Beier 2003, Scheiman et al. 2003).”
• Tree and shrub invasion in northern mixed-grass prairie: implications for breeding grassland birds (2004, background): “Grasshopper sparrow nest success was negatively associated with shrub cover in tallgrass prairie in North Dakota (Scheiman et al. 2003), and McCown’s longspur (Calcarius mccownii) nests associated with shrubs had the highest predation rate by 13-lined ground squirrels (Spermophilus…”
• Patch Size and Landscape Effects on Density and Nesting Success of Grassland Birds (2006, background): “However, most published studies on grassland birds investigated the effect of only 1 habitat scale, either the local scale (e.g., Wiens 1969, Best et al. 1997, Scheiman et al. 2003) or the patch scale (e.g., Helzer and Jelinski 1999, Walk and Warner 1999, Winter and Faaborg 1999, Davis 2003).”