Passive monitoring of avian habitat on working lands
Loading...
Author/Creator
Date
2023-04-24
Type of Work
Department
Program
Citation of Original Publication
Dixon, A.P., Baker, M.E. and Ellis, E.C. (2023), Passive monitoring of avian habitat on working lands. Ecological Applications. Accepted Author Manuscript e2860. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2860
Rights
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Dixon, A.P., Baker, M.E. and Ellis, E.C. (2023), Passive monitoring of avian habitat on working lands. Ecological Applications. Accepted Author Manuscript e2860. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2860, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2860. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
Access to this item will begin on 04/24/2024
Access to this item will begin on 04/24/2024
Subjects
Abstract
Intensive agricultural landscapes are a challenge for wildlife managers, policy makers, and landowners hoping to increase the diversity of desired wildlife species, such as grassland birds, which require urgent conservation action. In intensive agricultural landscapes, like those of the midwestern USA, most land area is privately owned and operated and managed primarily for production. Conducting ecological research in intensive agricultural landscapes thus requires collaborative approaches aimed at farm owners and operators. Recent advances in acoustic data collection and high-resolution habitat mapping, including low-cost acoustic recorders and satellite remote sensing, may be well positioned to address this challenge by enabling expanded assessments and monitoring of wildlife populations and habitats across regions. This study examined fine grain habitat characteristics and their relationship with avian biodiversity in intensive agricultural landscapes at 44 agricultural sites across Iowa, USA. Passive acoustic monitoring and manual identification of bird species allowed for measurement of vocalizing bird richness. High resolution mapping of noncrop vegetation provided detailed information on small noncrop vegetation habitat complexes within row-crop agriculture. Measures of image texture provided characterizations of compositional heterogeneity within noncrop vegetation. General linear Poisson modeling demonstrated robust associations between noncrop vegetation and vocalizing bird richness, yet variation in grassland bird richness was not well predicted by noncrop vegetation. Noncrop vegetation texture demonstrated potential as a predictor of vocalizing bird richness, though not better than or when combined with noncrop vegetated area, indicating it may not be an independent measure of habitat quality. Passive acoustic monitoring resulted in useful data at 44 out of 60 originally selected sites, with some lost to failed recorders and/or collaboration issues. Challenges remain in detecting habitat characteristics that promote grassland birds in row crop landscapes. Working toward probabilistic research design across privately owned working landscapes and incorporating more detailed management practice information would improve the transferability of this approach to farmland management and policy.