"Effects of disturbance, habitat loss and fragmentation on prairie birds and their ecosystems"

“干扰、栖息地丧失和破碎化对草原鸟类及其生态系统的影响”

• 批准号: 327777-2012
• 负责人: Koper, Nicola
• 金额: $ 1.89万
• 依托单位: University of Manitoba
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=595298
• 关键词: Effects; disturbance; habitat; loss; fragmentation

Grassland birds have declined more than birds from any other ecosystem in North America. I study why grassland songbird populations are declining, and what we can do about it. I integrate theory with field studies to develop a better understanding of effects of disturbance (which includes grazing by native animals, grazing by cattle, and fire) on grassland songbirds. I also study effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on birds. My research program has a number of subthemes. The first explores effects of livestock grazing. To do this, I use a grazing experiment in Grasslands National Park in southern Saskatchewan. We introduced cattle at a range of stocking rates to understand how grazing intensity influences birds and their ecosystems. After 5 years of grazing, we will remove cattle from these pastures, to understand how quickly prairies recover following different grazing intensities.

在北美，草原鸟类的数量比其他任何生态系统的鸟类都要减少。我研究草原鸣禽种群下降的原因以及我们可以采取什么措施。我将理论与实地研究相结合，以更好地了解干扰（包括本土动物的放牧、牛的放牧和火灾）对草原鸣禽的影响。我还研究栖息地丧失和破碎化对鸟类的影响。我的研究计划有许多次主题。第一部分探讨了牲畜放牧的影响。为此，我在萨斯喀彻温省南部的草原国家公园进行了一个放牧实验。我们以一系列的放牧率引入牛，以了解放牧强度如何影响鸟类及其生态系统。经过5年的放牧，我们将把牛从这些牧场上移走，以了解在不同的放牧强度下草原恢复的速度。