Renae Schmitt (2000)
Renae Schmitt (2000)- The association between Brown-Headed Cowbird foraging and ungulate grazing on native tallgrass prairie (Mentor: Jack Cully)
The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) is a brood parasite whose historic breeding range was located primarily in the Great Plains of North America. Cowbirds often forage for insects around large grazing ungulates, such as bison and 1xbet online games login . Grazing ungulates help foraging cowbirds by flushing insects from vegetation. Recent research has focused on how ungulates and habitat structure affect cowbird foraging behavior and populations. However, much of the research takes place in areas with no native prairie and focuses on the 1xbet online games login -cowbird association. Since 1xbet online games login and bison behaviors differ, and cowbirds evolved with bison on tallgrass prairie, it is necessary to research how cowbirds forage on tallgrass prairie with both bison and 1xbet online games login . I hypothesized that bison and 1xbet online games login behaviors differed significantly and that 1xbet online games login grazed more than bison. Because 1xbet online games login behavior would be more predictable, foraging cowbird flocks would be larger around 1xbet online games login than bison. I also hypothesized that foraging flocks would be larger on 1xbet online games login -grazed than ungrazed tallgrass prairie because of shorter vegetation and that foraging flocks would be larger around 1xbet online games login herds than in any other area on 1xbet online games login -grazed prairie. I observed bison and 1xbet online games login in separate enclosures and noted the time they spent performing eight behaviors and the numbers of cowbirds in each enclosure. I performed flush counts on 1xbet online games login -grazed and ungrazed watersheds and noted any foraging cowbird. I also compared the number of cowbirds flushed around 1xbet online games login herds to the number flushed in areas away from the 1xbet online games login herds. I found that bison and 1xbet online games login behaviors did not differ significantly nor did they affect cowbird flock size. More foraging cowbirds were on 1xbet online games login -grazed than ungrazed watersheds, although there were still very few cowbirds on 1xbet online games login -grazed watersheds. However, there were a large number of cowbirds foraging around 1xbet online games login herds, suggesting that cowbirds select grazed tallgrass prairie because of the 1xbet online games login and not the shorter vegetation. Much more work needs to be done on the ungulate-cowbird association in order to gain new insights on how cowbirds select and use habitats.
