Reproductive Success of Grasshopper Sparrows in Relation to Edge

Authors

Jennifer M. DeLisle, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Julie A. Savidge, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

9-1996

Comments

Published in The Prairie Naturalist 28:3 (Sept. 1996).

Abstract

Using an index based on observations of breeding behaviors, we estimated reproductive success of 31 territorial grasshopper sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum) on Conservation Reserve Program fields in southeast Nebraska. Reproductive success was 52%, and no difference was detected between birds holding interior (>100 m from the edge) vs. edge territories. However, grasshopper sparrows appeared to avoid nesting within 50 m of edge habitats. Territories ranged from 0.36-1.24 ha, and territory size did not differ between successful and unsuccessful males.