2020 journal article

Northern Bobwhite Non-Breeding Habitat Selection in a Longleaf Pine Woodland

JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT, 84(7), 1348–1360.

By: A. Kroeger n, C. DePerno n, C. Harper*, S. Rosche n & C. Moorman n

co-author countries: United States of America 🇺🇸
author keywords: Colinus virginianus; habitat selection; hardwood; longleaf pine; non-breeding; northern bobwhite; Pinus palustris; prescribed fire
Source: Web Of Science
Added: July 27, 2020

ABSTRACT Efforts to halt the decline of the northern bobwhite ( Colinus virginianus ; bobwhite) across its distribution have had limited success. Understanding bobwhite habitat requirements across the annual cycle and at varying scales is essential to aid efforts to conserve bobwhites. We monitored radio‐tagged bobwhites from 2016 to 2018 on a 165‐km 2 portion of Fort Bragg Military Installation in the Sandhills physiographic region of North Carolina, USA, to determine factors influencing non‐breeding bobwhite habitat selection at multiple scales. We used generalized linear models (GLM) and generalized linear mixed models to assess bobwhite habitat selection at the microsite scale (the immediate vicinity of an animal) and the macrosite scale (across the study area), respectively, by comparing used points to available random points. At the microsite scale, bobwhites strongly selected areas with greater woody understory cover. Also, bobwhite selection increased with greater forb and switchcane ( Arundinaria tecta ) cover, but this effect plateaued at 65% forb cover and 50% switchcane cover. At the macrosite scale, bobwhites generally selected areas with greater understory cover within a 200‐m radius but avoided areas with >55% understory cover; these areas primarily were located in the core areas of drainages with extensive ericaceous vegetation. Bobwhites selected areas with 3–6 m 2 /ha hardwood basal area in uplands, potentially because of the availability of mast, but avoided uplands when pine ( Pinus spp.) or hardwood basal area exceeded 20 m 2 /ha or 12 m 2 /ha, respectively, likely because high basal area is associated with increased shading and subsequent loss of understory cover. In addition, bobwhites selected uplands 1 growing season (≥2‐month period falling entirely between 1 Apr and 1 Oct) post‐fire regardless of burn season. Overall, managers seeking to improve habitat quality for bobwhites in longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) woodlands should employ management practices that maintain available woody understory across the landscape to provide cover during the non‐breeding season. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.