Stopover ecology of American Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis dominica) in Midwestern agricultural fields

摘要

ABSTRACT Stopover locations represent critical habitat in the life cycle of migratory birds and the alteration of this habitat can profoundly influence a population. American Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis dominica) migrate though the Midwestern United States each spring, where most natural habitat has been converted to row crop agriculture. We investigated the stopover ecology of the golden-plover in the agricultural matrix of east-central Illinois and west-central Indiana between 2008 and 2012. We found that golden-plovers remained in the region for ～45 days and individuals spent on average 24 days in the area before departing to the northwest. During a period of peak migration, golden-plovers preferred fields with standing water and, to a lesser extent, soybean fields. Over the 45-day stopover duration, golden-plovers moved extensively (shown by a dynamic occupancy model and area used estimation), with some evidence for tilled fields becoming unoccupied at greater rates than untilled fields. The tendency to...