Native Bird HabitatAbby Bressette
2025 The Frances M. Peacock Scholarship for Native Bird Habitat
Associational Effects of Non-native Invasive Shrubs on Food Availability for Golden-winged and Chestnut-sided Warblers
Non-native invasive plants reduce biodiversity, and early-successional habitats (ESH) are especially vulnerable to invasion. Non-native plants cannot replace native plants as hosts for caterpillars, an important source of food for golden-winged and chestnut-sided warblers, two threatened birds that depend on ESH. Associational effects occur when caterpillar abundance increases or decreases due to the types of plants surrounding a focal plant. We ask if caterpillar abundance on native trees preferred by golden-winged and chestnut-sided warblers is impacted by neighboring non-native shrubs in ESH, which will inform invasive species removal efforts by private landowners.
The Frances M. Peacock Scholarship for Native Bird Habitat
To provide financial aid to study areas in the United States that provide seasonal habitat for threatened or endangered native birds and to tend useful information for land-management decisions.
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