Life
on the Edge: Impacts of Habitat Fragmentation on Grassland Songbirds
Grassland and shrubsteppe songbirds are declining more rapidly than
other avian groups. Shrubsteppe habitats in particular, are among the
most imperiled in North America due to habitat alteration and
fragmentation.
We are examining the impacts of habitat fragmentation by agriculture on
shrubsteppe songbird reproduction and community structure. To do this,
we compare shrubsteppe habitat at orchard and vineyard edges to habitat
away from human development. The study takes place in the highly
fragmented landscape of the southern Okanagan and Similkameen valleys
of British Columbia and Washington.
Our research includes the entire avian community, but focuses on Vesper
Sparrows as an indicator species. Vesper Sparrows are a regionally
common, yet declining species of ground-nesting, grassland songbird.
From May – August 2011 and 2012 we are investigating the following
questions:
1. What are the most common predators of shrubsteppe songbird nests and
what is the impact of tree and vine fruit agriculture on nest predator
abundance?
2. What are the effects of tree and vine fruit agriculture on
shrubsteppe songbird distribution and reproductive success?
Our research could not be conducted without the generous cooperation of
many private land owners. We hope you will be interested in our project
and consider allowing us access to your property for this study.
