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Effects of grasshopper control programs on rangeland breeding bird populations
Author
George, T. L.
McEwen, L. C.
Petersen, B. E.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
1995-07-01
Body

We investigated the effects of grasshopper control methods on breeding bird populations in western rangelands. We estimated bird densities on 13 treated and 11 untreated sites before and after grasshopper control operations. Four different treatments were used in these applications: malathion, sevin-4-oil, carbaryl bait and Nosema locustae bait. There were few differences among the 4 treatments in their effects on bird community parameters (total bird density, and species richness, diversity, or evenness). Bird community parameters did not differ between spray and bait applications but sample sizes were small for bait treatments. When data from all treatments were combined for analysis, there was no difference in any of the bird community parameters between pre- and post-treatment samples. Densities of western meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta), however, were significantly lower on treated than untreated sites 10 and 21 days after treatment. We found no relationship between changes in bird numbers 21 days post-treatment and either the size of the area treated or the date of treatment (i.e., early or late in nesting season). Malathion is an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor, but brain AChE levels in birds collected on sites treated with malathion showed no significant inhibition. These results suggest that grasshopper integrated pest management treatments generally have little effect on breeding bird communities but some insectivorous bird species may decline on rangeland treated with broad-spectrum insecticides because of reduction in food base. Pesticide applications that have adverse impacts on birds and other nontarget wildlife that prey on grasshoppers may be counterproductive to long-term integrated pest management goals. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.2307/4002486
Additional Information
George, T. L., McEwen, L. C., & Petersen, B. E. (1995). Effects of grasshopper control programs on rangeland breeding bird populations. Journal of Range Management, 48(4), 336-342.
ISSN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/644388
Journal Volume
48
Journal Number
4
Journal Pages
336-342
Collection
Rangeland Ecology & Management (REM)
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
enzyme activity
Zenaida macroura
wild birds
insecticides
Rocky Mountain region
Eremophila
carbaryl
Nosema locustae
malathion
acetylcholinesterase
cholinesterase inhibitors
brain
integrated pest management
singing
sturnella neglecta
eremophila alpestris
spizella breweri
pooecetes gramineus
South Dakota