Responses of insects and birds to biosolid application on grasslands

在不列颠哥伦比亚省，通过《有机物质回收条例》（2002年）对生物固体在土地上的应用进行管制，该条例使生物固体作为肥料得到有益利用，同时管理对环境、牲畜或公众健康的潜在不利影响。目前还没有政策涉及减轻对野生动物的影响。虽然这些影响被认为是最小的，但这些影响并没有得到很好的研究，也没有制定任何政策或最佳管理措施（例如，施用的时间或数量，或在敏感物种的地区留出空间）。了解野生动物对生物固体的反应将使sylvis和其他生物固体管理者采取生态敏感和适当的做法，这些做法超出了当前的牧场管理和现有法规。本研究的目的是评估生物固体对OK牧场昆虫和鸟类群落的影响，OK牧场是位于加拿大杰斯蒙德附近的一个8000公顷的牧场。我们将解决三个主要问题：1)生物固体是否影响黑松鸡的栖息地利用和筑巢成功？2)在生物固体处理和未处理的草地上，鸣禽的多样性或行为是否不同？ 3)在这些草地上，蚱蜢的丰度或多样性是否存在差异？我们将通过无线电项圈跟踪雌性松鸡，看看它们是喜欢还是不喜欢生物固体处理过的草地。将使用点计数、声学监测、巢穴搜索和相机的组合来比较草原间鸣禽的多样性和行为。通过在处理过和未处理过的草地上重复诱捕，估计蚱蜢的多样性和丰度。许多鸟类捕食蚱蜢，因此我们的研究将生物固体与昆虫与鸟类群落联系起来。这些信息将有助于SYLVIS管理它们的应用时间，并指出是否有关键的敏感区域留给特定的草原鸟类作为缓冲或挫折。

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.