Studying Wildlife at Local and Landscape Scales: Bachman's Sparrows at the Savannah River Site
DOWNLOADJanuary 1, 2000 - John B. Dunning, Jr., Brent J. Danielson, Bryan D. Watts, Jianguo "Jack" Liu, and David G. Krementz
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EmailJournal or Book Title: Studies in Avian Biology
Volume/Issue: 21
Page Number(s): 75-80
Year Published: 2000
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, mutual research interests beween land managers at the Savannah River Site and biologists at the University of Georgia resulted in a landscape-ecology study of the Bachman's Sparrow (Aimophla aestivalis). This species had been declining throughout its range for several decades and was considered a species of management concern by the U.S. Forest Service. The resons for its decline were obscure, but the distribution of suitable habitat across complex landscapes was a possible factor. Thus the species seemed well suited for a pioneer stdy on landscape influences on avian population dynamics. A cooperative research program developed from these mutual interests, including quantifying the landscape and local habitate patterns shown by the sparrow, spatially explicite modeling of population resposnse to landscape change, and demographic field studies of reproductive success, survivorship and dispersal. These studies are summarized, and the value of the resarch to both management adn research interestes is discussed.
Type of Publication: Journal Article
