Publication Date

1997

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Degree Name

M.S. (Master of Science)

Legacy Department

Department of Geography

LCSH

Grasslands--Illinois--Whiteside County; Grassland ecology--Illinois--Whiteside County; Passeriformes--Illinois--Whiteside County; No-tillage--Illinois--Whiteside County; Grassland conservation--Illinois--Whiteside County

Abstract

Today, only 0.01% of the native tallgrass prairie remains in Illinois. Its destruction has been accompanied by a similar decline in grassland passerines. Over the past 12 years, tallgrass habitat has been restored to a minor extent by the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This paper presents data on passerine populations on CRP land and conventional no-till farmland in Whiteside County, Illinois. Data were collected using the line transect method developed by Emlen (1971). Collectively, the CRP sites had greater species densities and total number of species than the conventional no-till sites. Three distinct types of bird populations were identified: grassland, farmland, and edge species. The grassland species appear to be extremely dependent on the CRP as a habitat source since without the CRP, grassland passerines would have been absent from this study. It is concluded that certain CRP plantings may provide habitat similar to that of the native tallgrass prairie and consequently support populations of small grassland birds.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references (pages [61]-65)

Extent

iv, 65 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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