@article {6295, title = {Experimental evidence that nest orientation influences microclimate in a temperate grassland}, journal = {Journal of Field Ornithology}, volume = {95}, year = {2024}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, doi = {10.5751/JFO-00387-950102}, url = {https://journal.afonet.org/vol95/iss1/art2/}, author = {Corimanya, Joanna and Smith, Emma and W. A. Boyle} } @article {6171, title = {Emigration and survival correlate with different precipitation metrics throughout a grassland songbird{\textquoteright}s annual cycle}, journal = {The Journal of Wildlife Management}, volume = {87}, year = {2023}, pages = {e22371}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, doi = {10.1002/jwmg.22371}, url = {https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jwmg.22371}, author = {Silber, Katy M. and Mohankumar, Narmadha M. and Hefley, Trevor J. and W. A. Boyle} } @article {6185, title = {Riding out the storm: depleted fat stores and elevated hematocrit in a small bodied endotherm exposed to severe weatherAbstract}, journal = {Conservation Physiology}, volume = {11}, year = {2023}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, doi = {10.1093/conphys/coad011}, url = {https://academic.oup.com/conphys/article/11/1/coad011/7080841}, author = {Freeman, N E and Gustafson, M and Hefley, T J and W. A. Boyle}, editor = {Cooke, Steven} } @phdthesis {6215, title = {Under the weather: mechanisms underlying avian responses to precipitation}, volume = {PhD Dissertation}, year = {2023}, school = {Kansas State University}, type = {Ph.D. Thesis}, address = {Manhattan, KS}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, url = {https://krex.k-state.edu/handle/2097/43041}, author = {Silber, K. M.} } @article {6024, title = {Predation, parasitism, and drought counteract the benefits of patch-burn grazing for the reproductive success of grassland songbirds}, journal = {Ornithological Applications}, volume = {124}, year = {2022}, pages = {1{\textendash}22}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, doi = {10.1093/ornithapp/duab066}, url = {https://academic.oup.com/condor/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ornithapp/duab066/6506482}, author = {Verheijen, B.H.F. and Erickson, Amy N and W.A. Boyle and Leveritte, Kiana S and Sojka, Jennifer L and Spahr, Lauren A and Williams, Emily J and Winnicki, Sarah K and Sandercock, B.K.} } @mastersthesis {5998, title = {Direct and indirect drivers of grassland bird population declines and settlement decisions over broad spatial and temporal scales}, volume = {MS Thesis}, year = {2021}, school = {Kansas State University}, type = {M.S. Thesis}, address = {Manhattan, KS}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, url = {https://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/41480}, author = {Smith, E.B.} } @article {KNZ001946, title = {Harmony on the prairie? Grassland plant and animal community responses to variation in climate across land-use gradients}, journal = {Ecology}, volume = {101}, year = {2020}, pages = {e02986}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, issn = {0012-9658}, doi = {10.1002/ecy.2986}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ecy.2986}, author = {Lindsey A. Bruckerhoff and Connell, R. Kent and James P. Guinnip and Adhikari, Elina and Godar, Alixandra and K. B. Gido and W. A. Boyle and Hope, Andrew G and Anthony Joern and Welti, Ellen} } @article {KNZ002009, title = {Social interactions do not drive territory aggregation in a grassland songbird}, journal = {Ecology}, volume = {101}, year = {2020}, pages = {e02927}, abstract = {

Understanding the drivers of animal distributions is a fundamental goal of ecology and informs habitat management. The costs and benefits of colonial aggregations in animals are well established, but the factors leading to aggregation in territorial animals remain unclear. Territorial animals might aggregate to facilitate social behavior such as (1) group defense from predators and/or parasites, (2) cooperative care of offspring, (3) extra-pair mating, and/or (4) mitigating costs of extra-pair mating through kin selection. Using experimental and observational methods, we tested predictions of all four hypotheses in a tallgrass prairie in NE Kansas, USA. Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) males formed clumps of territories in some parts of the site while leaving other apparently suitable areas unoccupied. Despite substantial sampling effort (653 territories and 223 nests), we found no support for any hypothesized social driver of aggregation, nor evidence that aggregation increases nest success. Our results run counter to previous evidence that conspecific interactions shape territory distributions. These results suggest one of the following alternatives: (1) the benefits of aggregation accrue to different life history stages, or (2) the benefits of territory aggregation may be too small to detect in short-term studies and/or the consequences of aggregation are sufficiently temporally and spatially variable that they do not always appear to be locally adaptive, perhaps exacerbated by changing landscape contexts and declining population sizes.

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, doi = {10.1002/ecy.2927}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ecy.2927}, author = {Winnicki, S.K. and Mungu{\'\i}a, S.M. and Williams, E.J. and W. A. Boyle} } @article {KNZ001889, title = {Causes and consequences of avian within-season dispersal decisions in a dynamic grassland environment}, journal = {Animal Behaviour}, volume = {155}, year = {2019}, pages = {77 - 87}, abstract = {

Understanding the causes and consequences of dispersal is key to identifying selective pressures underlying species-level variation in biogeography, metapopulation dynamics and adaptive capacity. We tested the hypotheses that nest predation and/or brood parasitism avoidance drive breeding dispersal decisions and that dispersal functions to reduce subsequent reproductive failure in grasshopper sparrows, Ammodramus savannarum, breeding in eastern Kansas, U.S.A. Over 2 years, we monitored the fate of 222 nests and the movements of 144 parents. We established the spatiotemporal patterns of nest success among all nests, then related nest predation and parasitism to subsequent dispersal behaviour and reproductive success. Birds were more likely to disperse following nest predation, but decisions were unaffected by parasitism. Dispersers experienced higher chances of subsequent nest survival than did site-faithful individuals. Although second nests were parasitized less often than were first nests, dispersers did not experience substantially lower parasitism than did site-faithful individuals, suggesting that the challenges of predation and brood parasitism may be solved in different ways. This study represents one of few tests of alternative hypotheses explaining dispersal decisions of songbirds within seasons and represents a rare case study of the consequences of breeding dispersal on subsequent reproductive success. Our results suggest that differences in dispersal tendencies may result from variation in risk-response thresholds rather than alternative causal drivers.

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ, breeding dispersal, habitat variability, nomadism, settlement, territory switching, within-season dispersal}, doi = {10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.06.009}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.06.009}, author = {Williams, E.J. and W. A. Boyle} } @mastersthesis {KNZ001967, title = {Growing up prairie: Ecological drivers of grassland songbird nestling development}, volume = {MS Thesis}, year = {2019}, school = {Kansas State University}, type = {M.S. Thesis}, address = {Manhattan, KS}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, url = {https://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/40070}, author = {Winnicki, Sarah} } @article {KNZ001817, title = {Patterns and correlates of within-season breeding dispersal: a common strategy in a declining grassland songbird}, journal = {The Auk: Ornithological Advances}, volume = {135}, year = {2018}, pages = {1-14}, abstract = {

Dispersal is a ubiquitous behavior with important consequences for gene flow, demography, and conservation. Some birds engage in between-year breeding dispersal, but the factors shaping variation in this behavior are not well understood. In mid-continental grasslands, preliminary evidence suggested that Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum) dispersed not only between seasons, but also within breeding seasons\—an apparently uncommon avian behavior. We studied a population of Grasshopper Sparrows breeding in northeastern Kansas, USA, to document the spatial and temporal patterns of within-season breeding dispersal in an experimentally managed tallgrass prairie from 2013 to 2015. We combined color-band resighting, territory mapping, and radio telemetry to quantify changes in territory density, turnover of territorial males, and dispersal distances. Density of Grasshopper Sparrows varied seasonally in management-specific ways, simultaneously increasing and decreasing in watersheds that differed in management regime. Turnover was unexpectedly high, with over half of territorial males being replaced each month. We documented over a third of males dispersing up to \∼9 km between breeding attempts. Our study provides the first comprehensive description of the patterns of within-season breeding dispersal in a grassland songbird. Our results reveal the remarkable prevalence of within-season movement in this system and the relatively large distances over which birds disperse. Such mobility has important implications for survey design and habitat management, as birds select habitat at much larger spatial scales than is generally appreciated. These results also provide foundational information for tests of alternative hypotheses explaining the ecological and evolutionary basis for such movements.

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ, Grasslands, inter-patch movement, intra-season movement, Konza Prairie, LTER, mid-season habitat shifts, territory switching}, doi = {10.1642/AUK-17-69.1}, url = {http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1642/AUK-17-69.1}, author = {Williams, E.J. and W. A. Boyle} } @article {KNZ001853, title = {Validation of a field-ready handheld meter for plasma β-hydroxybutyrate analysis}, journal = {Journal of Field Ornithology}, volume = {88}, year = {2017}, pages = {399 - 404}, abstract = {

Plasma metabolite analysis is frequently used to assess the energetic state and energy intake of birds. Plasma β-hydroxybutyrate (BUTY) is a common metabolite used in these studies, and is correlated with fasting and mass loss. BUTY is typically quantified in laboratory assays that are costly, time-consuming, and prone to human error. We tested the accuracy and precision of a field-ready handheld BUTY meter. We compared BUTY concentration values obtained in the laboratory and with the handheld meter in plasma samples from 19 Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum), and assessed precision with repeat analysis of a single sample. The handheld meter reported BUTY concentrations in \< 2 min, was highly precise, and as accurate as the laboratory assay method\—all ideal for field conditions. Collecting blood samples for laboratory analysis, particularly from remote field sites, involves a series of risks and challenges for permitting or the logistics of storage and shipping, as well as the associated costs. Analyzing samples on site, whether with the unit we tested or other similar handheld meters, makes plasma metabolite analysis practical and possible in field conditions and for taxa where this technique has been underused due to permitting, transport, or other logistical constraints of laboratory analysis methods. The cost of analysis is similar on a per sample basis, but, without the need to store and transport samples, using handheld meters in the field may be cheaper.

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, doi = {10.1111/jofo.2017.88.issue-410.1111/jofo.12233}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jofo.12233}, author = {Sommers, Amie S. and W. A. Boyle and McGuire, Liam P.} } @mastersthesis {KNZ001734, title = {Grasshopper sparrows on the move: patterns and causes of within-season breeding dispersal in a declining grassland songbird}, volume = {MS Thesis}, year = {2016}, school = {Kansas State University}, type = {M.S. Thesis}, address = {Manhattan, KS}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ}, url = {http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/32705}, author = {Williams, E.J.} }