Responses of insects and birds to biosolid application on grasslands

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In British Columbia, applying biosolids to land is regulated via the Organic Matter Recycling Regulation(2002), which enables beneficial use of biosolids as a fertilizer while managing the potential for adverseimpacts to the environment, livestock, or public health. No policy currently addresses mitigating impacts onwildlife. Although such impacts are assumed to be minimal, these impacts have not been well examined, andno policy nor best management practices have been developed (e.g. timing or amount of application, orleaving set-asides in areas for sensitive species). Understanding how wildlife respond to biosolids will allowSYLVIS and other biosolids managers to adopt ecologically sensitive and appropriate practices that extendsbeyond current rangeland management and existing regulation. The objective of this research is to assesswhether biosolids applied to grasslands affect the insect and bird communities at the OK Ranch, a 8000 hectarecattle ranch near Jesmond BC. We will address three main questions: 1) Do biosolids affect habitat use andnest success by dusky grouse? 2) does songbird diversity or behavior differ between biosolids-treated anduntreated grasslands, and 3) is there a difference in grasshopper abundance or diversity between thesegrasslands? We will radio-collar and track female grouse to see if they are selecting for or againstbiosolids-treated grasslands. A combination of point counts, acoustic monitoring, nest searching, and cameraswill be used to compare songbird diversity and behavior between grasslands. Grasshopper diversity andabundance will be estimated through repeated trapping in treated and untreated grasslands. Many of the birdseat grasshoppers, thus our research will link biosolids to insects to the bird communities. This information willhelp SYLVIS to manage their timing of application, as well as indicating whether there are key sensitive areasto leave as buffers or setbacks for specific grassland bird species.