Abstract
Strips of fallow vegetation along cropland borders are an effective strategy for providing brood habitat for declining populations of upland game birds (Order: Galliformes), including northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), but fallow borders lack nectar-producing vegetation needed to sustain many beneficial insect populations (e.g., crop pest predators, parasitoids, and pollinator species). Planted borders that contain mixes of prairie flowers and grasses are designed to harbor more diverse arthropod communities, but the relative value of these borders as brood habitat is unknown. We used groups of six human-imprinted northern bobwhite chicks as a bioassay for comparing four different border treatments (planted native grass and prairie flowers, planted prairie flowers only, fallow vegetation, or mowed vegetation) as northern bobwhite brood habitat from June-August 2009 and 2010. All field border treatments were established around nine organic crop fields. Groups of chicks were led through borders for 30-min foraging trials and immediately euthanized, and eaten arthropods in crops and gizzards were measured to calculate a foraging rate for each border treatment. We estimated arthropod prey availability within each border treatment using a modified blower-vac to sample arthropods at the vegetation strata where chicks foraged. Foraging rate did not differ among border treatments in 2009 or 2010. Total arthropod prey densities calculated from blower-vac samples did not differ among border treatments in 2009 or 2010. Our results showed plant communities established to attract beneficial insects should maximize the biodiversity potential of field border establishment by providing habitat for beneficial insects and young upland game birds.
Highlights
IntroductionUncultivated field margins (hereafter, field borders) are an effective practice for providing multiple ecological services within agricultural landscapes
Uncultivated field margins are an effective practice for providing multiple ecological services within agricultural landscapes
Field borders have been recognized as a possible venue for promoting natural crop pest enemies and pollinator species, but borders composed of fallow vegetation offer poor habitat for beneficial insect populations, largely because of the lack of nectarproducing plants within the borders [3]
Summary
Uncultivated field margins (hereafter, field borders) are an effective practice for providing multiple ecological services within agricultural landscapes. Field borders have been recognized as a possible venue for promoting natural crop pest enemies and pollinator species (collectively referred to as beneficial insects), but borders composed of fallow vegetation offer poor habitat for beneficial insect populations, largely because of the lack of nectarproducing plants within the borders [3]. Predators and parasitoids of crop pests require diverse habitats that provide abundant pollen and nectar sources and differential microhabitats used as nesting and over-wintering sites throughout the year [4]. Vegetation communities in agricultural systems lacking in nectar and pollen greatly reduces predator and parasitoid species’ ability to control pest species that are abundant in monoculture crops [4,6]. Increases in desired arthropod communities are possible through habitat manipulation that promotes specific vegetation [7,8]
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