Response of the endemic Long-tailed Meadowlark (Sturnella loyca obscura) to grazing exclusion in herbivore-dependent upland grasslands of Argentina

References

• Albanesi, S., Dardanelli, S., and Bellis, L. M. (2014). Effects of fire disturbance on bird communities and species of mountain serrano forest of Central Argentina. Journal of Forest Research 19, 105–114. doi:10.1007/s10310-012-0388-4
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Anderson, J. R., and Merritt, R. W. (1977). The impact of foraging Meadowlarks, Sturnella neglecta, on degradation of cattle dung pads. Journal of Applied Ecology 14, 355–362. doi:10.2307/2402548
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Askins, R. A., Chavez-Ramírez, F., Dale, B. C., Haas, C. A., Herkert, J. R., Knopf, F., and Vickery, P. D. (2007). Conservation of grassland birds in North America: understanding ecological processes in different regions. Ornithological Monographs 64, 2–46.
   Google Scholar
• Azpiroz, A. B., Isacch, J. P., Dias, R. A., Di Giacomo, A. S., Suertegaray Fontana, C., and Morales Palarea, C. (2012). Ecology and conservation of grassland birds in southeastern South America: a review. Journal of Field Ornithology 83, 217–246. doi:10.1111/j.1557-9263.2012.00372.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Baker, D. L., and Guthery, F. S. (1990). Effects of continuous grazing on habitat and density of ground-foraging birds in south Texas. Journal of Range Management 43, 2–5. doi:10.2307/3899109
   Google Scholar
• Bellis, L. M., Rivera, L., Politi, N., Martin, E., Perasso, M. L., Cornell, F., and Renison, D. (2009). Latitudinal patterns of bird richness, diversity and abundance in Polylepis australis mountain forest of Argentina. Bird Conservation International 19, 265–276. doi:10.1017/S0959270909008491
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bibby, C. J., Burgess, N. D., Hill, D. A., and Mustoe, S. (2000). ‘Bird Census Techniques.’ (Academic Press: London.)
   Google Scholar
• Blomqvist, M. M., Olff, H., Blaauw, M. B., Bongers, T., and Vanderputten, W. H. (2000). Interactions between above- and belowground biota: importance for small-scale vegetation mosaics in a grassland ecosystem. Oikos 90, 582–598. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0706.2000.900316.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bock, C. E. (1999). ‘Birds and Bovines: Effects of Livestock Grazing on Birds in the West.’ (Public Lands Ranching Organization Press: Boulder, CO.)
   Google Scholar
• Bollinger, E. K. (1995). Successional changes and habitat selection in hayfield bird communities. Auk 112, 720–730.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Buckland, S. T., Anderson, D. R., Burnham, K. P., Laake, J. L., Borchers, D. L., and Thomas, L. (2001). ‘Introduction to Distance Sampling: Estimating Abundance of Biological Populations.’ (Oxford University Press: New York.)
   Google Scholar
• Cabido, M., Funes, G., Pucheta, E., Vendramini, F., and Díaz, S. (1998). A chorological analysis of the mountains from central Argentina: is all what we call Sierra Chaco really Chaco? Contribution to the study of the flora and vegetation of the Chaco. XII. Candollea 53, 321–331.
   Google Scholar
• Cagnolo, L., Molina, S. I., and Valladares, G. R. (2002). Diversity and guild structure of insect assemblages under grazing and exclusion regimes in a montane grassland from Central Argentina. Biodiversity and Conservation 11, 407–420. doi:10.1023/A:1014861906082
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cingolani, A. M., Cabido, M. R., Renison, D., and Solís Neffa, V. (2003). Combined effects of environment and grazing on vegetation structure in Argentine granite grasslands. Journal of Vegetation Science 14, 223–232. doi:10.1111/j.1654-1103.2003.tb02147.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cingolani, A. M., Renison, D., Zak, M., and Cabido, M. (2004). Mapping vegetation in a heterogeneous mountain rangeland using Landsat data: an alternative method to define and classify land-cover units. Remote Sensing of Environment 92, 84–97. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2004.05.008
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cingolani, A. M., Noy-Meir, I., Renison, D., and Cabido, M. (2008a). La ganadería extensiva, ¿es compatible con la conservación de la biodiversidad y de los suelos? Ecología Austral 18, 253–271.
   Google Scholar
• Cingolani, A. M., Renison, D., Tecco, P., Gurvich, D., and Cabido, M. (2008b). Predicting cover types in a mountain range with long evolutionary grazing history: a GIS approach. Journal of Biogeography 35, 538–551. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01807.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cingolani, A. M., Vaieretti, M. V., Giorigis, M. A., La Torre, N., Whitworth-Hulse, J. I., and Renison, D. (2013). Can livestock and fires convert the sub-tropical mountain rangelands of central Argentina into a rocky desert? Rangeland Journal 35, 285–297. doi:10.1071/RJ12095
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Davies, S. K (2005). Nest-site selection patterns and the influence of vegetation on nest survival ofmixed-grass prairie passerines The Condor 107, 605–616.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dechant, J. A., Sondreal, M. L., Johnson, D. H., Igl, L. D., Goldade, C. M., Zimmerman, A. L., and Euliss, B. R. (2002). Effects of management practices on grassland birds: Western Meadowlark. USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, ND. Available at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsnpwrc/116 (Verified 3 March 2015).
   Google Scholar
• Dennis, P., Skartveit, J., McCracken, D. I., Pakeman, R. J., Beaton, K., Kunaver, A., and Evans, D. M. (2008). The effects of livestock grazing on foliar arthropods associated with bird diet in upland grasslands of Scotland. Journal of Applied Ecology 45, 279–287. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01378.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Devereux, C. L., Whittingham, M. J., Fernández-Juricic, E., Vickery, J. A., and Krebs, J. R. (2005). Predator detection and avoidance by starlings under different scenarios of predation risk. Behavioral Ecology 17, 303–309. doi:10.1093/beheco/arj032
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Di Rienzo, J. A., Casanoves, F., Balzarini, M. G., Gonzalez, L., Tablada, M., and Robledo, C. W. (2013). InfoStat versión 2013. Grupo InfoStat, FCA, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. Available at: http://www.infostat.com.ar
   Google Scholar
• Díaz, S., Acosta, A., and Cabido, M. (1994). Community structure in montane grasslands of central Argentina in relation to land use. Journal of Vegetation Science 5, 483–488. doi:10.2307/3235974
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Donald, P. F., Sanderson, F. J., Burfield, I. J., and Van Bommel, F. P. J. (2006). Further evidence of continent-wide impacts of agricultural intensification on European farmland birds 1990–2000. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 116, 189–196. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2006.02.007
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dormann, C. F., McPherson, J. M., Araujo, M. B., Bivand, R., Bolliger, J., Carl, G., Davies, R. G., Hirzel, A., Jetz, W., Kissling, W. D., Kühn, I., Ohlemüller, R., Peres-Neto, P. R., Reineking, B., Schröder, B., Schurr, F. M., and Wilson, R. (2007). Methods to account for spatial autocorrelation in the analysis of species distributional data: a review. Ecography 30, 609–628. doi:10.1111/j.2007.0906-7590.05171.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fernández, G. J., Posse, G., Ferreti, V., and Gabelli, F. M. (2004). Bird-habitat relationship for the declining Pampas Meadowlark populations in the southern Pampas grasslands. Biological Conservation 115, 139–148. doi:10.1016/S0006-3207(03)00103-4
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fjeldsa, J., and Kessler, M. (1996). ‘Conserving the Biological Diversity of Polylepis Woodlands of the Highland of Peru and Bolivia. A Contribution to Sustainable Natural Resource Management in the Andes.’ (Nordic Foundation for Development and Ecology (NORDECO): Copenhagen, Denmark.)
   Google Scholar
• Flores, C. E., Cingolani, A. M., von Muller, A. R., and Barri, F. R. (2012). Habitat selection by reintroduced Guanacos (Lama guanicoe) in a heterogeneous mountain rangeland of central Argentina. Rangeland Journal 34, 439–445. doi:10.1071/RJ12040
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fondell, T. F., and Ball, I. J. (2004). Density and success of bird nests relative to grazing on western Montana grasslands. Biological Conservation 117, 203–213. doi:10.1016/S0006-3207(03)00293-3
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gabelli, F. M., Fernández, G. J., Ferretti, V., Posse, G., Coconier, E., Gavieiro, H. J., Llambías, P. E., Peláez, P. I., Vallés, M. L., and Tubaro, P. L. (2004). Range contraction of the Pampas Meadowlark Sturnella defilippii in the southern pampas grasslands of Argentina. Oryx 38, 1–7. doi:10.1017/S0030605304000304
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• García, C., Renison, D., Cingolani, A. M., and Fernández-Juricic, E. (2008). Avifaunal changes as a consequence of large-scale livestock exclusion in the mountains of central Argentina. Journal of Applied Ecology 45, 351–360. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01388.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gardner, S. M., Cabido, M., Valladares, G. R., and Díaz, S. (1995). The influence of habitat structure on arthropod diversity in Argentine semiarid Chaco forest. Journal of Vegetation Science 6, 349–356. doi:10.2307/3236234
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gilroy, J. J., Anderson, G. Q. A., Vickery, J. A., Grice, P. V., Watts, P. N., Bray, I., and Sutherland, W. J. (2008). Could soil degradation contribute to farmland bird declines? Links between soil penetrability and the abundance of Yellow Wagtails in UK arable fields. Biological Conservation 141, 3116–3126. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2008.09.019
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hays, R. L., Summers, C., and Seitz, W. (1981). Estimating wildlife habitat variables. Report FWS/OBS-81/47, Biological Services Program, Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, Washington, DC. Available at: http://tidalmarshmonitoring.org/pdf/Hays1981_EstimatingWildlifeHabitatVariables.pdf [Verified 23 February 2015].
   Google Scholar
• Hull, S. D. (2000). Effects of management practices on grassland birds: Eastern Meadowlark. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, ND. Available at: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/literatr/grasbird/eame/eame.htm [Verified 23 February 2015].
   Google Scholar
• Hutto, R. L. (1985). Habitat selection by non-breeding, migratory land birds. In ‘Habitat Selection in Birds’. (Ed. M. L. Cody.) pp. 455–476. (Academic Press: Orlando, FL.)
   Google Scholar
• Isaaks, E. H., and Srivastava, R. M. (1989). ‘An Introduction to Applied Geostatistics.’ (Oxford University Press: New York.)
   Google Scholar
• Isacch, J. P., and Martínez, M. M. (2001). Estacionalidad y relaciones con la estructura del hábitat de la comunidad de aves de pastizales de paja colorada (Paspalum quadrifarium) manejados con fuego en la provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ornitologia Neotropical 12, 345–354.
   Google Scholar
• Knapp, A. K., Blair, J. M., Briggs, J. M., Collins, S. L., Hartnett, D. C., Johnson, L. C., and Gene-Towne, E. (1999). The keystone role of Bison in North American tallgrass prairie. Bioscience 49, 39–50. doi:10.2307/1313492
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lal, R. (2001). Soil degradation by erosion. Land Degradation & Development 12, 519–539. doi:10.1002/ldr.472
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Landi, M. A., and Renison, D. (2010). Forestación con Polylepis australis en suelos erosionados de las Sierras Grandes de Córdoba: evaluación del uso de terrazas y vegetación nodriza. Ecología Austral 20, 47–55.
   Google Scholar
• Lanyon, W. E. (1995). Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna). In ‘The Birds of North America’. (Eds A. Poole and F. Gill.) No. 160. (The Academy of Natural Sciences and The American Ornithologists’ Union:, Philadelphia, PA, and Washington, DC.)
   Google Scholar
• Mac Nally, R. (1996). Hierarchical partitioning as an interpretative tool in multivariate inference. Australian Journal of Ecology 21, 224–228. doi: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1996.tb00602.x
   Google Scholar
• Mac Nally, R. (2002). Multiple regression and inference in ecology and conservation biology: further comments on identifying important predictor variables. Biodiversity and Conservation 11, 1397–1401. doi:10.1023/A:1016250716679
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Macchi, L., and Grau, H. R. (2012). Piospheres in the dry Chaco. Contrasting effects of livestock puestos on forest vegetation and bird communities. Journal of Arid Environments 87, 176–187. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.06.003
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Marone, L., Lopez de Casenave, J., and Cueto, V. R. (1997). Patterns of habitat selection by wintering and breeding granivorous birds in the central Monte Desert, Argentina. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural (Valparaiso, Chile) 70, 73–81.
   Google Scholar
• Miatello, R., Baldo, J., Ordano, M., Rosacher, C., and Biancucci, L. (1999). ‘Avifauna del Parque Nacional del Condorito y Reserva Hídrica Provincial de Achala, Córdoba, Argentina. Una lista comentada.’ (Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Recursos Renovables: Córdoba, Argentina.)
   Google Scholar
• Milchunas, D. G., and Noy-Meir, I. (2002). Grazing refuges, external avoidance of herbivory and plant diversity. Oikos 99, 113–130. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.990112.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Milsom, T. P., Langton, S. D., Parkin, W. K., Peel, S., Bishop, J. D., Hart, J. D., and Moore, N. P. (2000). Habitat models of bird species’ distribution: an aid to the management of coastal grazing marshes. Journal of Applied Ecology 37, 706–727. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2664.2000.00529.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Molina, S. I., Valladares, G. R., Gardner, S., and Cabido, M. (1999). The effects of logging and grazing on the insect community associated with a semi-arid Chaco forest in central Argentina. Journal of Arid Environments 42, 29–42. doi: 10.1006/jare.1999.0498
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nack, J. M., and Ribic, C. A. (2005). Apparent predationby cattle at grassland bird nests. Wilson Bulletin 117, 56–62. doi:10.1676/04-056
   Google Scholar
• Nishida, T., and Chen, D. G. (2004). Incorporating spatial autocorrelation into the general linear model with an application to the Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) longline CPUE data. Fisheries Research 70, 265–274. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2004.08.008
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nores, M., and Yzurieta, D. (1983). Especiación en las Sierras Pampeanas de Córdoba y San Luis (Argentina), con descripción de siete nuevas sub-especies de aves. El Hornero (Special Issue), 88–102.
   Google Scholar
• Ogada, D. L., Gaad, M. E., Ostfeld, R. S., Young, T. P., and Keesing, F. (2008). Impacts of large herbivorous mammals on bird diversity and abundance in an African savanna. Oecologia 156, 387–397. doi:10.1007/s00442-008-0994-1
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pimentel, D., Harvey, C., Resosudarmo, P., Sinclair, K., Kurz, D., McNair, M., Crist, S., Sphpritz, L., Fitton, L., Saffouri, R., and Blair, R. (1995). Environmental and economic costs of soil erosion and conservation benefits. Science 267, 1117–1123. doi:10.1126/science.267.5201.1117
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pucheta, E., and Cabido, M. (1992). Comunidades de pastizales serranos del centro de Argentina y su relación con el uso pastoril. Phytocoenologia 21, 333–346. doi:10.1127/phyto/21/1992/333
   Google Scholar
• Pucheta, E., Cabido, M., and Díaz, S. (1997). Modelos de estados y transiciones para los pastizales de altura de las sierras de Córdoba, Argentina. Ecotrópicos 10, 151–160.
   Google Scholar
• Pucheta, E., Cabido, M., Díaz, S., and Funes, G. (1998). Floristic composition, biomass, and aboveground net plant production in grazed and protected sites in a mountain of central Argentina. Acta Oecologica 19, 97–105. doi:10.1016/S1146-609X(98)80013-1
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Quinn, G., and Keough, M. (2008). ‘Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Biologists.’ (Cambridge University Press: New York.)
   Google Scholar
• R Core Team (2014). R: a language and environment for statistical computing (version 3.1.0). R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Available at: http://www.Rproject.org [Verified 11 March 2015].
   Google Scholar
• Rahmig, C. R., Jensen, W. E., and With, K. A. (2009). Grassland bird responses to land management in the largest remaining tallgrass prairie. Conservation Biology 23, 420–432. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.01118.x
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ralph, C. J., Geupel, G. R., Pyle, P., Martin, T. E., and DeSante, D. F. (1993). Handbook of field methods for monitoring landbirds. General Technical Report PSW-GTR-144-www, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, Albany, CA.
   Google Scholar
• Renison, D., Hensen, I., Suárez, R., Cingolani, A. M., Marcora, P., and Giorgis, M. A. (2010). Soil conservation in Polylepis mountain forests of central Argentina: is livestock reducing our natural capital? Austral Ecology 35, 435–443. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2009.02055.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rotenberry, J. T., and Wiens, J. A. (1980). Habitat structure, patchiness, and avian communities in North American steppe vegetation: a multivariate analysis. Ecology 61, 1228–1250. doi:10.2307/1936840
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Smythe, L., and Haukos, D. (2010). Response of grassland birds in sand shinnery oak communities restored using tebuthiuron and grazing in eastern New Mexico. Restoration Ecology 18, 215–223. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-100X.2008.00443.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Söderström, B., Pärt, T., and Linnarsson, E. (2001). Grazing effects on between-year variations of farmland bird communities. Ecological Applications 11, 1141–1150. doi:10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[1141:GEOBYV]2.0.CO;2
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Stattersfield, A. J., Crosby, M. J., Long, A. J., and Wege, D. C. (1998). ‘Endemic Bird Areas of the World. Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation.’ BirdLife Conservation Series 7. (BirdLife International: Cambridge, UK.)
   Google Scholar
• Temple, S. A., Fevold, B. M., Paine, L. K., Undersander, D. J., and Sample, D. W. (1999). Nesting birds and grazing cattle: accommodating both on Midwestern pastures. Studies in Avian Biology 19, 196–202.
   Google Scholar
• Thomas, L., Buckland, S. T., Burnham, K. P., Anderson, D. R., Laake, J. L., Borchers, D. L., and Strindberg, S. (2002). Distance sampling. In ‘Encyclopedia of Environmetrics’. (Eds A. H. ElShaarawi and W. W. Piegorschs.) pp. 544–552. (John Wiley & Sons: Chichester, UK.)
   Google Scholar
• Trimble, S. W., and Mendel, A. C. (1995). The cow as a geomorphic agent—a critical review. Geomorphology 13, 233–253. doi:10.1016/0169-555X(95)00028-4
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Tubaro, P. L., and Gabelli, F. M. (1999). The decline of the Pampas Meadowlark: difficulties of applying the IUCN criteria to Neotropical grassland birds. Studies in Avian Biology 19, 250–257.
   Google Scholar
• Van Horne, B. (1983). Density as a misleading indicator of habitat quality. Journal of Wildlife Management 47, 898–901.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Vargas, O., Premauer, J., and Cárdenas, C. (2002). Efecto del pastoreo sobre la estructura de la vegetación en un páramo húmedo de Colombia. Ecotrópicos 15, 35–50.
   Google Scholar
• Vickery, P. D., Hunter, M. L. Jr, and Wells, J. W. (1992). Is density an indicator of breeding success? Auk 109, 706–710. doi:10.2307/4088146
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Vickery, P. D., Casañas, H. E., and Di Giacomo, A. (2003). Effects of altitude on the distribution of Nearctic and resident grassland birds in Cordoba province, Argentina. Journal of Field Ornithology 74, 172–178. doi:10.1648/0273-8570-74.2.172
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Whitmore, R. C. (1981) Applied aspects of choosing variables in studies of bird habitats. In ‘The Use of Multivariate Statistics in Studies of Wildlife Habitat’. General Technical Report RM-87. (Ed. D. E. Capen.) pp. 38–41. (Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture: Burlington, Vermont.)
   Google Scholar
• Whittingham, M. J., and Evans, K. L. (2004). The effects of habitat structure on predation risk of birds in agricultural landscapes. Ibis 146, 210–220. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.2004.00370.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Whittingham, M. J., Stephens, P. A., Bradbury, R. B., and Freckleton, R. P. (2006a). Why do we still use stepwise modelling in ecology and behaviour? Journal of Animal Ecology 75, 1182–1189. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01141.x
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Whittingham, M. J., Devereux, C. L., Evans, A. D., and Bradbury, R. B. (2006b). Altering perceived predation risk and food availability: management prescriptions to benefit farmland birds on stubble fields. Journal of Applied Ecology 43, 640–650. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01186.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Wilson, A. M., Fuller, R. J., Day, C., and Smith, G. (2005). Nightingales Luscinia megarhynchos in scrub habitats in the southern fens of East Anglia, England: associations with soil type and vegetation structure. Ibis 147, 498–511. doi: 10.1111/j.1474-919x.2005.00420.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yates, C. J., Norton, D. A., and Hobbs, R. (2000). Grazing effects on plant cover, soil and microclimate in fragmented woodlands in south-western Australia: implications for restoration. Austral Ecology 25, 36–47. doi:10.1046/j.1442-9993.2000.01030.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar