Avian Community Response to a Landscape Undergoing Restoration in Eastern South Dakota

Lee M. Erickson

The study focuses on the avian response to ongoing restoration efforts at the EcoSun Prairie Farm. The Prairie Farm is a 258ha farm located in Moody County, SD along the Prairie Coteau. Prior to the start of the restoration process the farm consisted primarily of row crop fields, drained wetlands, pastureland, and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands. The restoration process will include the restoration of wetlands, rehabilitation of degraded CRP lands, and the conversion of cropland into native grasses. The objective of this study is to document the timing and extent of change in the avian community to the restoration process. Variables measured as potential influences are management practices, field size, vegetation composition, vegetation structure, and field age. Knowledge of these interactions will be useful in making management decisions and coordinating other restoration efforts. The bird communities will be sampled during the 2009 and 2010 breeding seasons using standard techniques for grassland and secretive wetland species. Descriptive statistics will be used to describe the avian community and vegetation characteristics. Shannon-Weiner indices (Shannon and Weaver 1963) for species diversity (H’) and species evenness (J’) will be calculated for comparisons between field treatments and year. Species frequency, density, and species richness will be calculated for the avian and vegetation community. These estimates will allow for a description of the avian and plant communities and allow for comparisons of species between fields. Stepwise regression (Neter et al. 1985) will be used to assess the relative importance of habitat characteristics and field size on breeding birds.

Literature Cited

Neter, J., W. Wasserman, and N. H. Kutner. 1985. Applied linear statistical models. Richard. D. Irwin, Homewood, Illinois, USA.

Shannon, C.E. and W. Weaver. 1963. The mathematical theory of communication. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.