Estimated Mortality of Selected Migratory Bird Species from Mowing and Other Mechanical Operations in Canadian Agriculture
Mechanical operations such as mowing, tilling, seeding, and harvesting are well-known sources of direct avian mortality in agricultural fields. However, there are currently no mortality rate estimates available for any species group or larger jurisdiction. Even reviews of sources of mortality in bir...
Published in: | Avian Conservation and Ecology |
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Resilience Alliance
2013
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00559-080208 https://doaj.org/article/c36f898e79ab4a7d982d499e858feba2 |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:c36f898e79ab4a7d982d499e858feba2 2023-05-15T16:06:22+02:00 Estimated Mortality of Selected Migratory Bird Species from Mowing and Other Mechanical Operations in Canadian Agriculture Joerg Tews Daniel G. Bert Pierre Mineau 2013-12-01 https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00559-080208 https://doaj.org/article/c36f898e79ab4a7d982d499e858feba2 en eng Resilience Alliance 1712-6568 doi:10.5751/ACE-00559-080208 https://doaj.org/article/c36f898e79ab4a7d982d499e858feba2 undefined Avian Conservation and Ecology, Vol 8, Iss 2, p 8 (2013) agricultural management avian mortality Bobolink Grasshopper Sparrow grassland birds grassland management mowing envir demo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2013 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00559-080208 2023-01-22T19:30:42Z Mechanical operations such as mowing, tilling, seeding, and harvesting are well-known sources of direct avian mortality in agricultural fields. However, there are currently no mortality rate estimates available for any species group or larger jurisdiction. Even reviews of sources of mortality in birds have failed to address mechanical disturbance in farm fields. To overcome this information gap we provide estimates of total mortality rates by mechanical operations for five selected species across Canada. In our step-by-step modeling approach we (i) quantified the amount of various types of agricultural land in each Bird Conservation Region (BCR) in Canada, (ii) estimated population densities by region and agricultural habitat type for each selected species, (iii) estimated the average timing of mechanical agricultural activities, egg laying, and fledging, (iv) and used these values and additional demographical parameters to derive estimates of total mortality by species within each BCR. Based on our calculations the total annual estimated incidental take of young ranged from ~138,000 for Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) to as much as ~941,000 for Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). Net losses to the fall flight of birds, i.e., those birds that would have fledged successfully in the absence of mechanical disturbance, were, for example ~321,000 for Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) and ~483,000 for Savannah Sparrow. Although our estimates are subject to an unknown degree of uncertainty, this assessment is a very important first step because it provides a broad estimate of incidental take for a set of species that may be particularly vulnerable to mechanical operations and a starting point for future refinements of model parameters if and when they become available. Article in Journal/Newspaper Eremophila alpestris Unknown Canada Avian Conservation and Ecology 8 2 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
fttriple |
language |
English |
topic |
agricultural management avian mortality Bobolink Grasshopper Sparrow grassland birds grassland management mowing envir demo |
spellingShingle |
agricultural management avian mortality Bobolink Grasshopper Sparrow grassland birds grassland management mowing envir demo Joerg Tews Daniel G. Bert Pierre Mineau Estimated Mortality of Selected Migratory Bird Species from Mowing and Other Mechanical Operations in Canadian Agriculture |
topic_facet |
agricultural management avian mortality Bobolink Grasshopper Sparrow grassland birds grassland management mowing envir demo |
description |
Mechanical operations such as mowing, tilling, seeding, and harvesting are well-known sources of direct avian mortality in agricultural fields. However, there are currently no mortality rate estimates available for any species group or larger jurisdiction. Even reviews of sources of mortality in birds have failed to address mechanical disturbance in farm fields. To overcome this information gap we provide estimates of total mortality rates by mechanical operations for five selected species across Canada. In our step-by-step modeling approach we (i) quantified the amount of various types of agricultural land in each Bird Conservation Region (BCR) in Canada, (ii) estimated population densities by region and agricultural habitat type for each selected species, (iii) estimated the average timing of mechanical agricultural activities, egg laying, and fledging, (iv) and used these values and additional demographical parameters to derive estimates of total mortality by species within each BCR. Based on our calculations the total annual estimated incidental take of young ranged from ~138,000 for Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) to as much as ~941,000 for Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). Net losses to the fall flight of birds, i.e., those birds that would have fledged successfully in the absence of mechanical disturbance, were, for example ~321,000 for Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) and ~483,000 for Savannah Sparrow. Although our estimates are subject to an unknown degree of uncertainty, this assessment is a very important first step because it provides a broad estimate of incidental take for a set of species that may be particularly vulnerable to mechanical operations and a starting point for future refinements of model parameters if and when they become available. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Joerg Tews Daniel G. Bert Pierre Mineau |
author_facet |
Joerg Tews Daniel G. Bert Pierre Mineau |
author_sort |
Joerg Tews |
title |
Estimated Mortality of Selected Migratory Bird Species from Mowing and Other Mechanical Operations in Canadian Agriculture |
title_short |
Estimated Mortality of Selected Migratory Bird Species from Mowing and Other Mechanical Operations in Canadian Agriculture |
title_full |
Estimated Mortality of Selected Migratory Bird Species from Mowing and Other Mechanical Operations in Canadian Agriculture |
title_fullStr |
Estimated Mortality of Selected Migratory Bird Species from Mowing and Other Mechanical Operations in Canadian Agriculture |
title_full_unstemmed |
Estimated Mortality of Selected Migratory Bird Species from Mowing and Other Mechanical Operations in Canadian Agriculture |
title_sort |
estimated mortality of selected migratory bird species from mowing and other mechanical operations in canadian agriculture |
publisher |
Resilience Alliance |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00559-080208 https://doaj.org/article/c36f898e79ab4a7d982d499e858feba2 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Eremophila alpestris |
genre_facet |
Eremophila alpestris |
op_source |
Avian Conservation and Ecology, Vol 8, Iss 2, p 8 (2013) |
op_relation |
1712-6568 doi:10.5751/ACE-00559-080208 https://doaj.org/article/c36f898e79ab4a7d982d499e858feba2 |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00559-080208 |
container_title |
Avian Conservation and Ecology |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
2 |
_version_ |
1766402255710322688 |