[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

FW: [Fwd: Songbirds and non-native shrubs] (fwd)



Hi Carolinabirders,

I found this on another listserv, but the results of this study are 
important anywhere where people are landscaping and planting things. Any 
time you plant something, if you want your local birds to remain happy, 
healthy, and productive, you should use native species, even though 
imports may have showier flowers or fruits. I think I still have an old 
post from Will Cook listing recommended native species for attracting 
birds to your yard, if anyone's interested...

> FROM THE DECEMBER 1999 ISSUE OF "CONSERVATION BIOLOGY"
> the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology:
> http://conbio.rice.edu/scb/
>
> SONGBIRD DECLINE MAY BE LINKED TO NON-NATIVE SHRUBS
>
> New evidence suggests that the decline of songbirds is linked
> to the rise of non-native plants. Birds that nest in non-
> native plants lose more eggs to raccoons and other predators,
> according to research presented in the December issue of
> Conservation Biology.
>
> "Here is an ecological trap if there ever was one!" says
> Christopher Whelan of the Illinois Natural History Survey in
> Wilmington, Illinois, who co-authored the study with Kenneth
> Schmidt of the Department of Biology at the University of
> Memphis.
>
> Non-native shrubs are widespread throughout the Midwest and
> East Coast. "Introduced honeysuckle and buckthorn can
> dominate the understories of forest preserves, particularly
> small, fragmented preserves surrounded by urban sprawl," says
> Schmidt.
>
> Schmidt and Whelan studied nest predation of American robins
> and wood thrushes in a 500-acre deciduous woodland preserve
> near Chicago for six years. There, non-native shrubs have
> largely replaced the native shrubs where the songbirds once
> nested: honeysuckle has replaced arrowwood and buckthorn has
> replaced hawthorn.
>
> Schmidt and Whelan found that predation of both robin and
> thrush nests was higher in the non-native shrubs than in the
> native shrubs and trees. The researchers suggest that this
> increase is partly due to physical differences between the
> native and non-native shrubs. Buckthorn lacks hawthorn's
> sharp thorns, which could deter mammalian predators.
> Honeysuckle has sturdier branches, which could both help
> predators climb higher and support nests closer to the
> ground, where they are more accessible to predators.
>
> Wood thrushes built about half their nests in exotic shrubs.
> During the study period, the number of robins nesting in
> honeysuckle increased six-fold (from 5% to more than 30%).
> The researchers suggest that honeysuckle is an attractive
> nesting site because it sometimes leafs out before the native
> shrubs.
>
> The good news is that solving the non-native shrub problem
> could also help solve the songbird problem. The bad news is
> that removing exotic shrubs and restoring natives will be a
> big job. But the longer we wait, the worse the problem will
> grow.
>
> For more information, contact Kenneth Schmidt (901-678-4408,
> or Christopher Whelan (815-476-3134,
> mailto:virens@attglobal.net).
>
> PHOTOS in slide format of thrushes and robins nesting in
> exotic plants are available from Kenneth Schmidt (901-678-
> 4408, mailto:Caracal7@aol.com).


Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Zoology

jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/