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15 results for “grassland songbirds”
Data from: Winter game crop plots for gamebirds retain hedgerow breeding songbirds in an improved grassland landscape
<p>The cause of recent population declines in some farmland / hedgerow breeding bird species in the UK is related to a lack of cover and food resources in winter. In improved grassland areas some of those declines have been particularly acute and some have been shown to be related to the availability of grass and weed seed in winter. The provision of seed-bearing crops as part of AES options has been shown to benefit some of these birds. Game crop plots sown on shooting estates for holding and driving gamebirds in autumn and winter have been shown to hold relatively high densities of farmland and wood-edge birds during the winter.</p> <p>We studied breeding songbirds in hedges in a primarily improved grassland area in the SW of England where there are some large shooting estates that sow relatively large game crop plots (1 - 5 ha) in the landscape. In this study we found that otherwise similar hedges in terms of size and density near to those winter game crop plots, had between 1.5 and 2 times as many breeding resident songbirds per unit length the following spring compared to hedges further away from game crop plots. This was despite game management in these plots being wound down during February and in many cases, the crops themselves being removed by mid-March. Hedges within approximately 350m from game crop plots had more breeding birds. We discuss possible mechanisms and suggest that some passerines preferentially establish breeding territories in hedges near to game crops in late winter. We suggest how to distribute game crop plots to maximise any benefit in an improved grassland landscape.</p>
Data for: Emigration and survival correlate with different precipitation metrics throughout a grassland songbird's annual cycle
<p>Many exogenous factors may influence demographic rates (i.e., births, deaths, immigration, emigration), particularly for migratory birds that must cope with variable weather and habitat throughout their range and annual cycle. In midcontinental grasslands, disturbance (e.g., fire and grazing) and precipitation influence variation in grassland structure and function, but we know little about when and why precipitation is associated with grassland species' vital rates. We related estimates of detection, survival, and emigration to <em>a priori </em>sets of precipitation metrics to test the putative alternative factors influencing movement and mortality in grasshopper sparrows (<em>Ammodramus savannarum</em>). This species is a migratory songbird that exhibits exceptionally high rates of within-season and between-season dispersal. Between 2013 and 2020, we captured and resighted grasshopper sparrows in northeastern Kansas, USA, compiling capture histories for 1,332 adult males. We tested predictions of climatic hypotheses explaining variation in survival and emigration throughout a grasshopper sparrow's annual cycle; both survival and emigration were associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation precipitation index (ESPI). Survival was positively related with ESPI during winter, and temporary emigration was curvilinearly related to breeding season ESPI lagged 2 years, with the highest site fidelity associated with intermediate rainfall values. The relationship between rainfall and temporary emigration likely reflects the influence of weather over multiple years on vegetation structure with consequent effects on local demography. This study provides compelling support for the idea that grassland species respond to high interannual variability by adopting dispersal strategies unlike those of many well-studied migrant birds. Furthermore, the results imply that the consequences of increasing climatic extremes may not be immediately apparent, with demographic consequences lasting for at least a few years.</p>
Data from: Winter game crop plots for gamebirds retain hedgerow breeding songbirds in an improved grassland landscape
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Data for: Emigration and survival correlate with different precipitation metrics throughout a grassland songbird's annual cycle
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Impacts of oil well drilling and operating noise on abundance and productivity of grassland songbirds
<p>Anthropogenic noise from natural resource extraction may negatively impact many species, particularly those reliant on acoustic communication. To compare impacts of several types of noise resulting from oil extraction operations on habitat use and productivity of grassland songbirds, we designed and implemented a novel large-scale, spatially and temporally replicated experiment. <br>We recreated soundscapes produced by drilling and operating oil well noise, and compared impacts of noise-producing and quiet playback infrastructure, in twenty-nine 64.7-ha native prairie sites in Alberta, Canada, from 2013–2015. Drilling noise recordings played 24 hours/day for 10 days, twice during each breeding season, while oil well operating noise played continuously, 24 hours/day, throughout each ~90-day breeding season. <br>Despite the much shorter duration of drilling noise playbacks, drilling noise negatively impacted three of our four focal species, and had a much greater impact on habitat use and productivity than did well operating noise. Infrastructure also impacted Vesper Sparrows and Sprague's Pipits, even in the absence of noise. <br>Synthesis and applications: Acute oil drilling noise had a greater negative impact on breeding migratory birds when compared to chronic oil well noise, perhaps because drilling noise is unpredictable. While this study demonstrates that noise alone can negatively impact habitat use, nesting success, and nestling quality, it is also clear that effective mitigation strategies require both noise and above-ground infrastructure management to reduce impacts on wildlife.</p>
Data for: Population structure of a grassland songbird (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) to inform conservation units
<p>Understanding the patterns and processes driving population structure is crucial for conservation planning. Spatial conservation units (CUs) for one or more species have been defined using similarities in communities, habitats, and resource management concerns. Additionally, CU boundaries can be informed by population genetic structure. Here, we determined the population structure of the Bobolink (<em>Dolichonyx</em> <em>oryzivorus</em>), a migratory grassland bird. Its breeding range spans longitudinally across most of North America in the northern U.S. and southern Canada, and its population has declined by 59% from 1971 to 2014. We sampled blood from Bobolinks at seven breeding sites and used a ddRAD sequencing approach to identify 3236 SNPs for population genetic analyses. Using the Bayesian clustering approach, STRUCTURE, we found low levels of genetic differentiation across the breeding range. F st values ranged from 0.002 to 0.036 among all population pairs, and genetic structure followed an isolation-by-distance model. Despite low levels of genetic differentiation, we found evidence for four genetic groupings— breeding populations in Oregon and British Columbia were distinct from each other as well as from Central and eastern North American breeding populations. Investigating the demographic history of the populations using approximate Bayesian computation, we found evidence that western Bobolink populations are not relict populations but instead were founded during a recent westward range expansion, possibly enabled by agricultural expansion. We identify four genetics-based CUs that may serve as a complementary spatial framework, broader in scale compared to the commonly-used Bird Conservation Regions, for defining and achieving population objectives.</p>
Consequences of drought for grassland songbird reproduction - R code and data files
<p>R code and data files for a submitted manuscript on the effects of a severe drought in NE Kansas on grassland songbird reproduction</p>
Impacts of oil well drilling and operating noise on abundance and productivity of grassland songbirds
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Sweating the small stuff: Microclimatic exposure and species habitat associations inform climate vulnerability in a grassland songbird community
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Data for: Population structure of a grassland songbird (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) to inform conservation units
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Agriculture is adapting to phenological shifts caused by climate change, but grassland songbirds are not
<p>Migratory birds time their migration based on cues that signal resource availability for reproduction. However, with climate change, the timing of seasonal events may shift, potentially inhibiting the ability of some species to use them as accurate cues for migration. We studied the relationship between phenological shifts and reproduction by long- and short-distance migratory songbirds—Bobolinks (<i><span>Dolichonyx oryzivorus</span>) </i>and Savannah Sparrows (<i>Passerculus sandwichensis)</i>. Our study population breeds in hayfields and pastures in Vermont, USA, where farmers are also changing management activities in response to climate change. From 2002-2019 we monitored nest initiation dates to quantify correlations with environmental factors and the timing of nest initiation. We collected historical and projected precipitation and temperature data for the breeding grounds, and their respective wintering and stopover sites, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). We predicted that winter conditions experienced by the short-distance migrant, the Savannah Sparrow, but not the long-distance migrant, the Bobolink, would explain the timing and success of nesting, however that this timing would be misaligned with changes in agricultural practices by hay farmers. Nest initiation dates did not show significant directional change for either species, but did vary among years. Interannual variation in Savannah Sparrow nest initiation dates was best explained by the interaction between precipitation on the breeding grounds and average wintering site (Wilmington, North Carolina). For Bobolinks, interannual variation in nest initiation dates was best explained by the interaction between breeding ground precipitation and average temperature in their fall stopover site (Barquisimieto, Venezuela). However, first haying dates in Vermont advanced by ~10 days over 18 years. These results suggest that the conflict between the timing of hay harvests and grassland songbird reproduction will increase, further threatening population processes for these species, as early harvests notably decrease annual productivity.</p>
Agriculture is adapting to phenological shifts caused by climate change, but grassland songbirds are not
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Data from: Temperate grassland songbird species accumulate incrementally along a gradient of primary productivity
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Data from: Social interactions do not drive territory aggregation in a grassland songbird
<p>Understanding the drivers of animal distributions is a fundamental goal of ecology and informs habitat management. The costs and benefits of colonial aggregations in animals are well established, but the factors leading to aggregation in territorial animals remain unclear. Territorial animals might aggregate to facilitate social behavior such as (1) group defense from predators and/or parasites, (2) cooperative care of offspring, (3) extra-pair mating, and/or (4) mitigating costs of extra-pair mating through kin selection. Using experimental and observational methods, we tested predictions of all four hypotheses in a tallgrass prairie in NE Kansas, USA. Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) males formed clumps of territories in some parts of the site while leaving other apparently suitable areas unoccupied. Despite substantial sampling effort (653 territories and 223 nests), we found no support for any hypothesized social driver of aggregation, nor evidence that aggregation increases nest success. Our results run counter to previous evidence that conspecific interactions shape territory distributions. These results suggest one of the following alternatives: (1) the benefits of aggregation accrue to different life history stages, or (2) the benefits of territory aggregation may be too small to detect in short-term studies and/or the consequences of aggregation are sufficiently variable over time and space that they do not always appear to be locally adaptive.</p> <p> </p>
Data from: Social interactions do not drive territory aggregation in a grassland songbird
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.