Thesis
Effects of forb planting in conservation reserve program on plant communities and on feeding ecology of ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchius) chicks
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2014
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101136
Abstract
Ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchius Linnaeus) and other grassland bird populations in the U.S. have suffered drastic declines primarily from changes in agriculture, including the use of herbicides and large-scale monocultural crop production. The federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has converted highly erodible cropland to permanent vegetation, but most CRP is seeded with perennial grass species that have not improved the habitat value for pheasants, and other wildlife species. Therefore, I examined the effects of planting native and exotic forbs within existing CRP on the plant community and foraging ecology of ring-necked pheasant chicks in eastern Washington. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife established 3 treatments (native forb planting, exotic forb planting, and control) within existing CRP on 4 farms in eastern Washington. The forb planting treatments consisted of either 5 forb species native to eastern Washington or 5 forb species exotic to eastern Washington. After 3 years, I determined presence/absence of all plant species in 30 - 60, 0.1-m 2 microplots in each treatment on each farm. I imprinted pheasant chicks and conducted foraging trials with 54, 4 - 9 day old chicks within each treatment and farm to measure diet composition, travel rates, and mass change while foraging within each of the planting treatments. After each foraging trial, chicks were humanely euthanized and crop contents were sorted and weighed. The frequency of 3 of the 5 seeded species in each forb planting treatment were higher than the other 2 treatments. All treatments had high plant species richness within them. The diets of the pheasant chicks did not differ with planting treatment, and averaged 2% arthropods, and the remainder consisting of seed, soil, and foliage. In each treatment 4 - 8 arthropod orders and families were consumed. Chicks traveled twice as far while foraging in the control treatment than the exotic and native treatments. The native forb species established earlier during the peak hatch of pheasant chicks in early to mid-June, compared with the exotic forb species that established later. Chicks traveled furthest to find food sources in the control treatment, which was likely influenced by the lower availability of desirable food sources.
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Details
- Title
- Effects of forb planting in conservation reserve program on plant communities and on feeding ecology of ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchius) chicks
- Creators
- Brian Christopher Koepke
- Contributors
- Richard Stanly Zack (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Environment, School of the (CAHNRS)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900525025101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis