Grassland bird abundance and habitat quality, and Sedge Wren

97 Pages·2017·1.69 MB·English

The College at Brockport: State University of New York
Digital Commons @Brockport
Environmental Science and Ecology Theses Environmental Science and Ecology
5-15-2013
Grassland bird abundance and habitat quality, and
Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) ecology on
Fort Drum, New York
David Thomas Greer
The College at Brockport, [email protected]
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Repository Citation
Greer, David Thomas, "Grassland bird abundance and habitat quality, and Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) ecology on Fort Drum,
New York" (2013).Environmental Science and Ecology Theses. 82.
http://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/env_theses/82
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Grassland bird abundance and habitat quality, and Sedge Wren (Cistothorus
platensis) ecology on Fort Drum, New York

By
David Thomas Greer

A thesis submitted to the Department of Environmental Science and Biology of
the College at Brockport State University of New York in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Science and Biology
May 15, 2013
Grassland bird abundance and habitat quality, and Sedge Wren (Cistothorus
platensis) ecology on Fort Drum, New York
By David Thomas Greer

APPROVED BY:
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Advisor Date

______________________________ __________
Reader Date

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Reader Date

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Chair, Graduate Committee Date
i

Acknowledgements:
First, a special thanks to the members of my committee: Dr. Christopher
Norment, Dr. Mark Norris, and Dr. Douglass Wilcox. Thank you all for being
excellent teachers. Thank you, Chris, for your diligent help both during the school
year and during the field season, as well as the many memorable conversations and
laughs. Thank you Mark, for the many conversations together and for lending me
your “thesis therapy” dog. Doug, to whom I am grateful for being encouraging and
approachable, and all the lessons about commas, and clauses (and I probably still got
this sentence wrong).
Both the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Technology and the College at
Brockport generously provided funding to make this project a reality. Also, the
members of the Environmental Division of the Department of Public Works at Fort
Drum, NY who graciously gave of their time and expertise – among others, Jeffery
Bolsinger, Raymond Rainbolt, and Jaime Marhevsky, thank you.
I also thank, my wife, Katie, who has supported me every step of the way, and
my family who has generously and lovingly done the same. I was blessed with the
opportunity to get to know another family – the Rechlins, who made my field seasons
possible by opening their home for me to live with them. Thank you for showing me
in a very practical way the love of Christ through runs and bike rides, Ben and Jerry’s
pints, trips to the lake, and just getting to feel like family. And of course Mom
ii

Rechlin, for risking her very life to make me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Thanks!
I also thank the members of the most intrepid field crew, Ariel Kirk, Kristine
Carlson, and Earl, who all worked extremely hard. I will always remember seeing the
bear, picking bouquets of flowers when we should have been working, donating lots
of blood to deer flies, and resigning ourselves to our fate of skin cancer from the
many hours in the hot sun. Also, thanks to all the fellow indentured servants (a.k.a
graduate students) whom I have had the privilege of working with for the past three
years.
None of this would have been possible without the help of so many people,
and I am especially grateful to my God and Savior, the creator and sustainer of all
things, who has our best in mind. Lastly, my thanks to the pharmaceutical companies
that created extremely powerful anti-histamines to help someone who is allergic to
grasses study obligate grassland breeding birds for two very sneeze-filled summers.
iii

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements: ................................................................................................................... i
List of Tables: .............................................................................................................................. v
List of Figures: ........................................................................................................................... vi
List of Appendices: .................................................................................................................. vii
Abstract: ....................................................................................................................................... 1
Grassland bird abundance and habitat quality, and Sedge Wren (Cistothorus
platensis) ecology on Fort Drum, New York
General Introduction: ............................................................................................................... 2
Background: .................................................................................................................... 2
Grassland history in New York State: ............................................................................ 4
Management of grassland birds and their habitats: ........................................................... 5
Literature Cited: ........................................................................................................................ 9
Grassland bird abundance and habitat quality on Fort Drum
Introduction: ............................................................................................................................. 17
Objectives: ..................................................................................................................... 18
Study site: ..................................................................................................................... 19
Methods: ..................................................................................................................................... 20
Grassland birds: ............................................................................................................ 20
iv

Vegetation analysis – point count plots: ......................................................................... 21
Statistical Analyses: ...................................................................................................... 22
Results: ........................................................................................................................................ 24
Discussion: .................................................................................................................................. 28
Grassland Bird and Grassland Habitat Management at Fort Drum: ............................ 34
Literature Cited: ...................................................................................................................... 39
Tables and Figures: ................................................................................................................. 50
Appendices: ................................................................................................................................ 63
Ecology and management of the Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) at Fort
Drum, New York
Introduction: ............................................................................................................................. 67
Sedge wren ecology: ......................................................................................................... 67
Objectives: ..................................................................................................................... 69
Methods: ..................................................................................................................................... 70
Results: ........................................................................................................................................ 71
Discussion: .................................................................................................................................. 73
Management suggestions: ................................................................................................ 76
Literature Cited: ...................................................................................................................... 78
Tables and Figures: ................................................................................................................. 83
v

List of Tables:
Chapter 1:
1. Obligate grassland breeding bird abundance ..................................................50
2. Comparison of unmown vegetation plots, 2011 and 2012..............................51
3. ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis for three mowing treatments ...........................52
4. Point count species list for Fort Drum, New York, 2011 and 2012 ...............53
5. Bird-habitat models for obligate grassland birds at Fort Drum, NY...............54
6. Bird-habitat models for bobolinks at Fort Drum, NY.....................................55
7. Bird-habitat models for savannah sparrows at Fort Drum, NY......................56
Chapter 2:
1. Comparison of sedge wren territories with random locations ......................83
vi

List of Figures:
Chapter 1:
1. Fort Drum’s location in the Northeast............................................................57
2. Location of grasslands on Fort Drum..............................................................58
3. Point count plot locations on Fort Drum.........................................................59
4. Breeding bird species abundance during point counts, 2011..........................60
5. Breeding bird species abundance during point counts, 2012..........................61
6. Comparison of 2012 obligate grassland breeding bird abundance/plot with
three mowing treatments ................................................................................62
Chapter 2:
1. Sedge wren territory locations on Fort Drum, 2006-2012 ............................84
2. Sedge wren abundance on Fort Drum, 2006-2012 ........................................85
3. Vegetation cover class means for sedge wren territories and at random
locations..........................................................................................................86
4. Litter depth, Robel pole score, and plant taxa richness means for sedge wren
territories and at random locations.................................................................87
vii

List of Appendices:
Chapter 1:
1. State endangered and threatened bird species present at Fort Drum, NY.......63
2. Comparison of 2012 Robel pole score for three mowing treatments..............64
3. Comparison of 2012 graminoid percent cover for three mowing treatments..65
4. Grassland bird-habitat models using only unmown sites, 2012…..................66