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Environmental Influences on Avian Presence in Roadside Ditches in an Agricultural Landscape

Zaleski, Sara J.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1435251239

Abstract Details

2015, Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, Biological Sciences.
Roadside ditches are a common element of the agricultural landscape of the Midwest. While roadside ditches are appreciated for their ability to transport excess water they are often overlooked for other purposes. Many animal and plant species can be found in roadside ditches and ditches are known to increase biodiversity in often homogenous agricultural landscapes (Herzon and Helenius 2008). Some avian species which are known to utilize roadside ditches have experienced population declines over the past several decades (Sauer et al. 2014). The focus of our research was to determine which avian species, particularly passerines and wading birds, utilized roadside ditches in an agricultural area and to identify which environmental factors were significantly correlated to avian presence (P < 0.05). We conducted avian surveys of roadside ditches and collected data related to ditch size, water depth, vegetation cover and prey species presence. Our findings indicated the presence of passerines, such as red-winged blackbirds and song sparrows, was positively significantly related to ditch depth, amount of open water, vegetation height and density and macroinvertebrate presence. Wading bird presence showed a positive significant relationship with ditch depth and minnow presence and a negative significant relationship with herbaceous cover and maximum vegetation cover. By managing vegetation within roadside ditches, it may be possible to create and maintain breeding and foraging habitat for avian species. However, the management approach must be specific to the type of avian species as passerines are shown to prefer tall, dense vegetation while wading birds prefer sparse vegetation.
Karen Root, PhD (Advisor)
Shannon Pelini, PhD (Committee Member)
Andrew Gregory, PhD (Committee Member)
65 p.
Biology; Conservation; Ecology; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management
ditch; drainage; passerines; wading birds; habitat; vegetation; foraging; nesting

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Zaleski, S. J. (2015). Environmental Influences on Avian Presence in Roadside Ditches in an Agricultural Landscape [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1435251239

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Zaleski, Sara. Environmental Influences on Avian Presence in Roadside Ditches in an Agricultural Landscape. 2015. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1435251239.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Zaleski, Sara. "Environmental Influences on Avian Presence in Roadside Ditches in an Agricultural Landscape." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1435251239

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1435251239
424
© 2015, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Environmental Influences on Avian Presence in Roadside Ditches in an Agricultural Landscape by Sara J. Zaleski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.