Cattle grazing and avian communities of the St. Lawrence River Islands
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Authors: L. Belanger, and M. Picard
Date: 1999
Journal: Journal of Range Management
Volume: 52
Number: 4
Pages: 332-338
Summary of Methods: A two-year study examined the effect of three grazing intensities on habitat selection of passerines and nest selection of waterfowl along the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. Three islands with different grazing intensities (Barques Island-no grazing, Moine Island-moderate and Ronde Island-intensive) were studied. Vegetation measurements were taken in late May to early June while the duck nest survey was conducted from mid-May to early June. The passerine bird survey was conducted during the first two weeks of June.
Article Summary / Main Points: Thirteen passerine species were identified, but swamp sparrow, savannah sparrow, red-winged blackbird and bobolink were the 4 most abundant species accounting for over 80% of all birds counted. Avian numbers were not different between the ungrazed and moderately grazed islands with 6 times more bird species than the heavily grazed island. Most birds avoided the intensively grazed island completely. There were no differences in number of waterfowl nesting sites on the moderately grazed and ungrazed island with nearly 10 times more nests than the heavily grazed island. In the first and second year of the study, 167 and 113 dabbling duck nests were recorded respectively. Bird species composition was different for ungrazed and moderately grazed plots where warblers and swamp sparrows were more abundant on the ungrazed island and savannah sparrows and red-winged blackbirds selected moderately grazed sites.
Vegetation Types: Not Applicable
MLRA Ecoregions: Not Applicable
Agrovoc Control Words: Grazing Wildlife Birds
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Documented Case History
Keywords: agriculture, birds, livestock, pasture, flooded prairies, quebec, waterfowl
Annotation: The results from this two year study are applicable to herbaceous natural prairies, especially island rangelands, where precipitation is over 20 inches a year. Sites were not replicated as only one island per grazing intensity was studied. Thus, wide spread application should be done with caution as specific results may vary. Grazing pressure largely determined the type of bird species present. As is true for all grazing research, the results are most directly applicable to areas with similar landscapes, type of ungulate and bird species, weather conditions and season of use.
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