Wildlife Population-Habitat Relationships in Managed Landscapes

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: <BR> NEED AND RATIONALE: Public demand for wildlife continues to grow while the habitat base declines. Habitat loss has caused loss or decline of many wild species during the 20th century. Although many species have economic, recreational, and aesthetic values, abundance and viability of wildlife populations are threatened by human-induced habitat change. <BR><BR>METHODS OUTCOMES AND IMPACTS: We have studied breeding ecology of wood ducks in Illinois since 1993. We are using matrix population models to examine source-sink population dynamics between upland and floodplain forests, with attention to nest predation on population viability. Results will improve understanding of habitat requirements of breeding wood ducks, and factors that affect survival and breeding productivity. We are investigating distribution and abundance of webless marshbirds across unglaciated Ohio. Playback calls are used to detect breeding marshbirds on randomly selected wetlands. Habitat measurements are recorded to identify features that affect abundance of breeding marshbirds. Models will be used to map the putative distribution of breeding marshbirds in unglaciated Ohio. We will compare occupancy by breeding marshbirds among private wetlands restored with federal or state assistance with that of unrestored wetlands. <BR><BR>Results will be used to; 1) recommend habitat conservation strategies for breeding marshbirds in Ohio; 2) assess value of restored wetlands for supporting breeding marshbirds; and 3) design a statewide monitoring program for breeding marshbirds. We are investigating relationships of plant food availability and habitat characteristics to abundance and species diversity of autumn- and spring-migrating waterfowl, shorebirds, and wading birds. The question we are pursuing is; do migrating waterbirds distribute themselves among wetlands in an ideal-free manner that maximizes energy intake rates Results are used to formulate landscape-level wetlands habitat conservation strategies for Ohio and the Upper Mississippi River and Great Lakes Region. We are analyzing statewide distribution and regional variation in nesting productivity of box-nesting barn owls across Ohio. Statistical models are used to identify landscape and habitat features associated with nest box occupancy. Results will be used to improve selection of private land sites for placement of nest boxes to enhance reproduction by this state-threatened species. <BR><BR>Although northern bobwhites have all but disappeared from most of Ohio, the species remains one of the state's most popular game birds. There is concern about harvesting bobwhites in fragmented environments. Large-scale land use changes have reduced the amount of habitat that is suitable for bobwhites. Managers have responded with practices to enhance local habitats. However, local scale habitat management is insufficient to address range-wide or regional population declines driven by changes in land-use. Understanding population dynamics and habitat factors that affect survival, reproduction, and movement patterns of northern bobwhites in agriculture-dominated landscapes can be used to develop harvest management and habitat conservation strategies.

<P>

APPROACH: Funding will be sought from external agencies to support graduate students who work in close collaboration with me as principle investigator on grant-supported projects. Investigations will be conducted to gain understanding of how physical and biological characteristics of habitat and other environmental factors affect the distribution, abundance and diversity of wildlife. Studies will focus primarily on wildlife species and wetland habitats in landscapes that are principally managed to produce agricultural commodities. Wildlife populations and habitats will be studied at spatial and temporal scales that are appropriate for specific research questions and management problems under investigation. Principles of landscape ecology will be applied to investigate the relationship between the structure and spatial patterns of habitats on population processes of wild terrestrial vertebrates. Research projects are typically conducted in conjunction with and/or to evaluate wildlife population or habitat restoration and enhancement projects undertaken by state, federal, and private resource agencies. Habitat development projects are viewed as "experiments" where the hypothetico-deductive process (Romesburg 1981) may be used to test predictions about how wildlife populations respond to land use and habitat changes based on current knowledge of population-habitat relationships. Research results will be used to make specific recommendations for management, restoration, and enhancement of wetlands and associated upland habitats to sustain viable populations of wildlife to meet human demands for consumptive and non-consumptive uses. Thus, we will incorporate the adaptive resource management paradigm in the design, execution, and analysis of this research program. The primary research focus will be on population-habitat relationships of terrestrial vertebrates, emphasizing migratory and resident game birds, and other wetland-dependent wildlife species. Research will be conducted in the field to investigate breeding biology, habitat requirements, and utilization of habitat resources by terrestrial vertebrates. Research projects will typically address the effects that variation in habitat quality, changes in land use, and exploitation by humans have on the dynamics of wildlife populations. This research program has direct application to managing Midwestern forest, wetland, and agricultural landscapes to sustain consumptive and non-consumptive uses of wildlife by humans. Current, on-going, and future studies are described in the non-technical summary to indicate the nature and scope of research that will be conducted under this project.