Habitat Restoration Strategies for Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna, L.) in Ontario

Abstract

Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna, L.) is an at-risk grassland bird in Ontario. S. magna is declining in part from breeding habitat loss and quality decline. Habitat restoration has been proposed as a recovery measure. Information on S. magna’s habitat preferences and current S. magna restoration initiatives are lacking in Ontario. I studied microhabitat characteristics within restored tallgrass prairie sites in Norfolk County, Ontario. No S. magna were observed on the study sites. I compared microhabitat characteristics between potential nest attempt periods, between sites, and to time since disturbance. Visual obstruction was the only characteristic that differed between nest attempts (p < 0.05). All microhabitat characteristics differed between sites (p < 0.05). All characteristics except woody vegetation cover (dCor = -0.00038, p = 0.52) showed a correlation with time since disturbance. The levels of significance for all tests were determined to be artefacts of the small sample size and do not necessarily reflect true trends. Comparisons to the literature suggest that percent grass cover may have been too low and percent total cover too high to support S. magna, but results differed and were too sparse to make meaningful comparisons. Likely not enough time has passed since restoration for the sites to become suitable for S. magna. I distributed an online questionnaire to 334 people knowledgeable of S. magna, tallgrass prairies, and/or grassland birds about past, current, and future restoration strategies in Ontario. Thirty-five responses were received. Projects have occurred across southern Ontario with clusters near Windsor and in Northumberland County.Delayed hay harvesting was the most common management strategy in restored areas. About half of respondents indicated that post-restoration monitoring occurs at least some of thetime. Sixty-three percent of respondentsindicatedthat projects used interventions.Most respondents indicated that projects lacked in sufficiency and effectiveness. Limiting factors included finances and maintenance, and strengths included having a broad focus, planning, and monitoring. Key targets for future projects were southern and eastern Ontario. Key targets for future research were a better understanding of S. magna’s habitat needs and lifecycle, responses to restoration, and use of anthropogenic grasslands. This thesis provides an overview of the state ofS. magnarestoration in Ontario. It provides a roadmap for restoration ecologists and conservation biologists to use when managing habitat for grassland birds in Ontario.