Undergraduate Student Work
Work/Availability
Open Access Undergraduate Student Work
Type of Work
Poster Presentation
Keywords
Grassland birds--Nests; Energy crops;
Abstract
Previous research had been done in 2011 and 2012 regarding bird nest survival rates in the Cedar River Natural Resource Area in Washburn, IA. Further analysis of bird nest survival rates was done in this study to research how nest age, calendar date, soil type, and vegetation type influence the success or failure of these nests. New nests were identified in the prairie plots of the Cedar River Natural Resource Area and added to the previous sample size from the original study. A sample size of 97 bird nests total and 67 Dickcissel nests –SPAM (Spiza Americana) were used. The new nests were checked every 3-4 days and a fail or success was noted. The data was then analyzed using R statistical analysis to calculate correct logistic exposure models. The results for all nests showed that success was influenced by the nest age. A new nest had a 10% lower chance of success than an older nest. For all nests, the calendar date with which the nest was laid also influenced the successfulness. Nests laid in early may had a higher chance of surviving than nests laid in late season. Soil type and vegetation effects differed from all nests and the Dickcissel nest samples. However, for both sample sizes there was a much higher chance of success in 2011 than 2012 with the nests in the biomass vegetation mix having a better chance of survival than only grass.
Date of Work
2014
Department
Department of Biology
Department
Tallgrass Prairie Center
First Advisor
Mark C. Myers
Repository
UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa
Copyright
©2014 Libby Torresani, Stephanie Paape, Dr. Mark Myers
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Torresani, Libby; Paape, Stephanie; and Myers, Mark C., "Grassland bird nest survival in perennial agroenergy crops" (2014). Undergraduate Student Work. 27.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ugswork/27
