Application of Passive Acoustic Monitoring to Compare Avian Populations in Perennial Grasslands and Croplands in Nebraska
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Perennial grasses, such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), have emerged as a promising and reliable feedstock for bioenergy production, offering a potential alternative to conventional feedstocks (e.g., corn). Incorporating perennial grasses into agroecosystems can also enhance biodiversity across multiple taxa, including providing crucial habitat to declining grassland bird populations. Understanding the habitat value of different bioenergy crops in relation to the surrounding landscape will require extensive data to assess the trade-offs between bioenergy production and supporting grassland bird populations. We used passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) to compare bird communities in perennial grasslands and croplands in southwestern Nebraska.
Figure created by Leroy Walston.
Species richness for grassland-obligate species and species of conservation need (SCN) were consistently higher in grasslands than cornfields throughout most of the monitoring period spanning from March to September. Additionally, we found that the amount of grassland habitat around monitoring locations significantly influenced the effectiveness of field types in supporting avian populations. We found that PAM provided a more robust and detailed account of avian occupancy of perennial grasslands and croplands, but several limitations must be considered before the widespread application of this technology to answer ecological research questions. Incorporating perennial grasslands into agroecosystems can not only provide an additional source of bioenergy feedstock but also support declining avian populations, contributing to the development and sustainability of the bioeconomy.
Relative proportion (predicted richness/total species) in species richness for focal species (n = 27), grassland obligates (n = 11), and habitat generalists (n = 8) at the 500 m and 1 km scale, with data separated by grassland and croplands in southwestern Nebraska, 2022-2023.
Difference in average weekly richness between each land cover type for focal species richness, grassland obligates, and habitat generalists. Yellow bars represent higher richness in perennial grasslands and black bars represent higher richness in croplands. Asterisk denotes a significant difference (p ≤ 0.5) between the two land types based on the post-hoc Tukey HSD test.
Timeline of the first and last detections of grassland obligate focal species in 2022-2023 across both grassland and cropland habitats. Green horizontal line represents ARU deployment and the red horizontal line represents ARU removal during both years.
Timeline of the first and last detections of habitat generalists focal species in 2022-2023 across both grassland and cropland habitats. Green horizontal line represents ARU deployment and the red horizontal line represents ARU removal during both years.
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