Office of the Regional Executive for Biology - Central Region
 |
| About USGS / Science Topics / Maps, Products & Publications / Partnerships / Education / Newsroom / Jobs |
National Park Service Research Needs
TITLE:
Grassland
Bird Ecology and Conservation in National Parks of
the Northern Great Plains
SUBMITTING BUREAU: National Park Service
Originating Office: Intermountain and Midwest Field Areas
DATE SUBMITTED: March 24, 1995
BIN NUMBER: NPS09CR98
BRD REGION: Central
DESCRIPTION OF NEED: Birds comprise a prominent segment ( 50%) of the terrestrial vertebrate fauna in the northern Great Plains. As a significant faunal element they interact at many levels within the plains ecological system and the ongoing management activities which include grazing, grasshopper control, and farming. Historically game species in the Great Plains have been well studied, but the status of non-game grassland birds is an enigma. Recent reviews, based upon scattered Breeding Bird Surveys, suggest that native grassland bird species are experiencing alarming and widespread population declines; with the most serious declines noted for those species that are both obligate grassland forms and nearctic-neotropic migrants. These reported declines among grassland birds have focused recent attention on the Great Plains and its dwindling biotic diversity. Both quantitative and qualitative data are needed from national park and other public lands in the northern plains because they contain the few remaining undeveloped portions where baseline data can be acquired. Consequently, national park areas are uniquely poised to serve as models for conservation and restoration of other more disturbed areas.
It is necessary to ascertain the status of these animals and their direct and indirect associations or influences on other native species. Thereafter, management efforts to conserve dwindling species or restore extirpated native species can be undertaken and assessed meaningfully. Birds may be encountered in all prairie habitats where they often are the most conspicuous vertebrates present.
MANAGEMENT PROBLEM WITH NEED: The Great Plains of North America, a region of grasslands or former grasslands, occupy an area approximately one third the continental landmass of the United States that extends from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada to Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico and the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountain cordillera to the Wabash River basin in Indiana (see Kchler, AW 1964, Spec Publ Amer Georg Soc). Although prairie vegetation may appear homogeneous, significant differences in species composition occur across the Great Plains. The marked moisture gradient from east to west (mesic to xeric) and mean temperature gradient from north to south (cold to hot) probably account for much of the vegetation differences. As a result three predominant subregions are distinguishable by climate and/or vegetation: "short grass" prairie in the west, "tall grass" prairie in the east, and "mixed grass" prairie in between (Risser, PG et al, 1981 The true prairie ecosystem). The federal trust lands within the Great Plains (National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, National Grasslands, and Indian Reservations) have collectively millions of hectares of grassland communities representing a broad spectrum of anthropogenic disturbances within each of the prairie subregions. These public owned lands contain most of the biotic diversity found in the Great Plains and together they reflect the common concerns facing natural resource managers throughout the region. These concerns include sustainability of biotic diversity, identification of environmental degradation, and ecosystem restoration. (For details of these concerns common to several areas see National Park Service Resources Management Plans: BADL-N-100.000, THRO-N-410.000, THRO-N-450.000, WICA-N-015.000.) Enough of the remaining undisturbed grasslands are located within units of the National Park System [e.g Agate Fossil Beds NM (AGFO), Badlands NP (BADL), Devil's Tower NM (DETO), Nez Perc NHP (NEPE), Theodore Roosevelt NP (THRO), Wind Cave, NP (WICA)], numerous national grasslands under the direction of the U.S. Forest Serivce and wildlife refuges. All these areas are uniquely poised to establish baseline data for relatively intact prairie communities and thereby serve as bench marks for identifying both environmental degradation and ecosystem restoration. The biota, climate, soils, and topography of Great Plains all contributed to its suitability for agriculture and consequently most of the original grasslands have been converted to row crops or pasture. It is now estimated that 1% of the original Great Plains grasslands remain undisturbed by human activities (EV Kopatek et al, 1979, Environ. Conserv., 6:191-200), and much of the remaining undisturbed lands is in public ownership.
[Elements of the issue statement are from Dr. A.R. Weisbrod,
BRD, Univ. of Minnesota.]
BUREAU CONTACT: Ron Hiebert, 402-221-4856
Cluster Contacts:
Great Plains - Steve Cinnamon, 402-221-3437
Southwest - Nancy Skinner, 505-988-6662
Colorado Plateau - Mike Britten, 303-987-6705
Rocky Mountain - Tom Wylie, 303-969-2970
BRD PRIMARY CENTER: NPWRC
BRD CENTER CONTACT: Doug Johnson
RESULTS OF BRD-INITIATED COMMUNICATION (FY99): BRD had already initiated contacts on this recurring information need following the FY96 BIN process. MESC hosted a multi-agency/multi- center workshop in Fort Collins, Colorado, in December of 1996. The participants produced a white paper for submission to the Central Region Chief Biologist. That paper synthesized and formatted the needs of the partner bureaus and outlined a long-term research strategy to address those needs. The white paper has received extensive circulation both inside Interior and around the professional community.
A number of additional ongoing BRD projects were discussed in that workshop. These included long-term population studies, prairie fragmentation issues, and grassland bird response to the Conservation Reserve Program.
Ongoing Research:
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, with support from the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture, North American Waterfowl Management Plan, is preparing literature syntheses on the effects of management practices on grassland birds. Cooperators include a number of authorities from the United States and Canada. Accounts for more than 30 grassland species will be produced and made available in hard copy and on the World-Wide Web.
A Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center study of bird use of Conservation Reserve Program habitats in nine counties in four states in the northern Great Plains continued for its ninth year. Results from the study were instrumental in demonstrating wildlife benefits of the Program, which led to its renewal, and in designating most of the Prairie Pothole Region as a priority conservation area for the Program. Recent topics addressed with the study include the effects of haying on grassland birds and the role of patch size in the use by breeding birds. With partial support from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Center initiated a new study specifically addressing how CRP fields could be sited to enhance their values to breeding birds.
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center completed a study that explored relations between breeding bird communities, as assessed by a series of point counts similar to a mini Breeding Bird Survey route, and the condition of the landscape. The objective was to develop an Index of Biotic Integrity, analogous to those constructed for streams. Data were collected on 44 routes in both 1995 and 1996. This study, conducted cooperatively with the Environmental Protection Agency and BRD's Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, is in the writing stage.
The Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center continues to conducts studies on the effects of prescribing burning on breeding bird populations at the Woodworth Field Station, North Dakota. The study, begin in 1972, is the only long-term evaluation of the responses of birds to burning in the mixed-grass prairie.
With several cooperators and funding support from the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center began its evaluation of the Bird Conservation Area concept in the northern tallgrass prairie. The hypothesis underlying BCA's is that large core areas of quality habitat (such as native prairie), surrounded by neutral habitats (such as small-grain fields), and isolated from hostile habitats (such as woody vegetation) will result in reproductive rates sufficient to at least maintain population levels of breeding birds. The Center is determining population density, productivity, and effects of predation and brood parasitism in grasslands of various size and landscape configurations. The study began in northwestern Minnesota in 1998, and will be expanded to include southeastern North Dakota in 1999.
Abby Powell, NPWRC Arkansas Field Station, is conducting baseline inventories of breeding grassland birds at national parks in the Great Plains. In 1998 she completed surveys at Pipestone National Monument, MN; Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, MO; Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, KS; and Homestead National Monument, NE. She will be conducting surveys at Scotts Bluff National Monument, NE; Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, NE; Badlands National Park, SD; and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND in 1999. In addition, Dr. Powell is developing a monitoring protocol for grassland birds at these parks. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is a new addition to lands managed by the National Park Service. The preserve consists of 11,000 acres of tallgrass prairie that is currently burned and grazed annually. Dr. Powell is conducting baseline surveys of birds at this site throughout the year.
The Fort Collins Science Center reports that it is conducting the following studies: 1) The Influence of Habitat Structure and Fragmentation on Birds of the Central Shortgrass Prairie; 2) Declines of Shortgrass Prairie Birds: the Roles of Small Mammal Predation and Land Use Changes; 3) Relationships between Landscape Heterogeneity and Bird Abundance in a Grassland Open Space; and 4) Prairie Dogs as Keystone Species
DATE SUBMITTED TO REGIONAL OFFICE: January 8, 1999
PREPARED BY: Douglas H. Johnson, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, ND (701-253-5539); Email: Douglas_H_Johnson@usgs.gov
RESULTS OF BRD-INITIATED COMMUNICATION (FY98): BRD had already initiated contacts on this recurring information need following the FY96 BIN process. MESC hosted a multi-agency/multi-center workshop in Fort Collins, Colorado, in December of 1996. The participants produced a white paper for submission to the Central Region Chief Biologist. That paper synthesized and formatted the needs of the partner bureaus and outlined a long-term research strategy to address those needs. The white paper has received extensive circulation both inside Interior and around the professional community.
A number of additional ongoing BRD projects were discussed in that workshop. These included long-term population studies, prairie fragmentation issues, and grassland bird response to the Conservation Reserve Program.
DATE SUBMITTED TO REGIONAL OFFICE: October 31, 1997
PREPARED BY: Fritz L. Knopf, Office of Center Director, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO (970-226-9462); E-mail: fritz_knopf@usgs.gov
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://biology.usgs.gov/cro/98nps-9.htm
Page Contact Information:
tlwilliams@usgs.gov
Page Last Modified:
