Associations of grassland birds with vegetation structure in the Northern Campos of Uruguay

[摘要] ABSTRACT Grassland birds are declining as a consequence of habitat modification, and these declines have generated efforts to determine how birds cope with changes in habitat features, especially in agricultural landscapes. The objective of our study was to examine the relationship between grassland birds and vegetation structure in the Northern Campos of Uruguay. Vegetation variables were sampled on 4 sites that differed in agricultural management: (1) “Crop” site, a combination of annual crops and seeded pastures; (2) “Pasture” site, seeded pastures only; (3) “Native 1” site, natural grasslands under sheep and cattle grazing; and (4) “Native 2” site, natural grasslands grazed by native Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) and cattle. We used multivariate analyses to examine the relationship between bird abundance and vegetation variables. Vegetation structure varied among sites, and most of these differences can be linked to specific management activities typical of each site. Mean vegetation height was...

[学科分类] 动物科学

[关键词] agricultural gradient;bird–vegetation associations;Pampas grasslands