Correlations Between Insects and Birds in Tallgrass Prairie Riparian Habitats
نویسنده
چکیده
Previous observations in riparian habitats of Kings Creek, Konza Prairie Research Natural Area, Kansas indicated that emerging aquatic insects represent a concentrated source of food for insectivorous birds, particularly the flycatcher and gleaner guilds. This hypothesis was tested by concurrent measurements of net insect emergence (total emergence minus adults returning to the stream) and densities of birds at six sampling sites from June to August 1987 and May to June 1988. Significant positive correlations with emergence were found for flycatchers (r = 0.93) and gleaners (r = 0.91), the two insectivore guilds containing the majority of individuals along Kings Creek. Observations also showed that flycatcher and gleaner populations rapidly respond to temporal changes in insect emergence.
منابع مشابه
Breeding Bird Communities Associated With Tallgrass Prairies in Southeast Nebraska
39 Introduction Within Nebraska, the Tallgrass Prairie Ecoregion occupies the approximate eastern one–third of the state and was historically characterized by extensive grassland habitats with scattered areas of upland deciduous forests and savannas, and lowland prairie or deciduous forests along riparian drainages (Kaul et al. 2011, Schneider et al. 2011). A nearly complete conversion of tallg...
متن کاملFire Regimes and Avian Responses in the Central Tallgrass Prairie
Grasslands make up the largest vegetative province in North America, and one that has been signifi cantly altered over the past two centuries. The tallgrass prairie of the eastern Great Plains and Midwest has declined to a greater extent than any other ecosystem, primarily due to plowing for cereal grain production. Grassland bird populations have declined at a greater rate and over a wider are...
متن کاملEffects of Sexual Dimorphism and Landscape Composition on the Trophic Behavior of Greater Prairie-Chicken
Partitioning of ecological niche is expected in lekking species that show marked sexual size dimorphism as a consequence of sex-specific ecological constraints. However, niche partitioning is uncertain in species with moderate sexual dimorphism. In addition, the ecological niche of a species may also be affected by landscape composition; particularly, agricultural fragmentation may greatly infl...
متن کاملCorrection: Fire and Grazing Influences on Rates of Riparian Woody Plant Expansion along Grassland Streams
Grasslands are threatened globally due to the expansion of woody plants. The few remaining headwater streams within tallgrass prairies are becoming more like typical forested streams due to rapid conversion of riparian zones from grassy to wooded. Forestation can alter stream hydrology and biogeochemistry. We estimated the rate of riparian woody plant expansion within a 30 m buffer zone surroun...
متن کاملGraph and circuit theory connectivity models of conservation biological control agents.
The control of agricultural pests is an important ecosystem service provided by predacious insects. In Midwestern USA, areas of remnant tallgrass prairie and prairie restorations may serve as relatively undisturbed sources of natural predators, and smaller areas of non-crop habitats such as seminatural areas and conservation plantings (CP) may serve as stepping stones across landscapes dominate...
متن کامل