There is little information comparing the impacts of bison and cattle grazing in the northern mixed-grass prairies; understanding which grazer to use for management is important. I collected data in sites grazed by bison or cattle using point counts to survey the songbird community, and habitat structure measurements. I used generalized- and non-linear mixed models to determine the relationships between grazers and habitat or songbird communities. Bison and cattle grazing caused changes in habitat structure, including decreased vegetation height and litter depth. Sprague’s pipits declined more steeply with bison grazing than with cattle grazing. 0.4 AUM/ha was an important threshold, because chestnut-collared longspurs increased in abundance at this stocking rate, and grasshopper sparrows decreased in abundance at this stocking rate. Either grazer is appropriate for managing for grassland birds. There is also an opportunity to encourage surrounding landowners to manage their lands for the benefit of wildlife.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:MWU.1993/4937 |
| Date | 21 September 2011 |
| Creators | Sliwinski, Maggi |
| Contributors | Koper, Nicola (Natural Resources Institute), Markham, John (Biology) Wilmshurst, John (Jasper National Park) |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Detected Language | English |
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