Unique Presentation Identifier:
6
Program Type
Graduate
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Chris Kellner
Document Type
Poster
Location
Face-to-face
Start Date
9-4-2026 1:00 PM
End Date
9-4-2026 3:00 PM
Abstract
Vegetation structure plays a major role in determining avian community makeup. Controlled burn frequency changes vegetation structure and consequently the makeup of avian communities. To examine this relationship, I surveyed breeding birds in grasslands and savannahs of the Ozark Mountains, Arkansas River Valley, and Northwest Arkansas. I created models to outline the relationship between these three factors (avian community, fire management, and vegetation structure.) I also examined surrounding land cover and patch size as potential variables that may impact avian community structures.
I will outline the role fire management plays in determining the makeup of breeding bird communities in grasslands, shrublands, and savannahs on public lands in the Ozark Mountains, the Arkansas River Valley, and Northwest Arkansas. I will outline how avian communities differ among sites based on vegetation differences. I will show how the communities differ based on different management regimes. Then I will demonstrate how the management regimes impact the vegetation structure of the sites I surveyed. I will connect these different analyses to show avian response to these management tactics.
My preliminary results have shown that time since last burn had a significant impact on the number of individual birds in my surveys, but it does not significantly impact the number of species present at sites. Further, the environmental variables that best model number of species and number of individuals are different. These results potentially imply that different fire management schemes are not significantly changing the suitability of sites for different species. This inference is further supported by a PCA and an NMDS I have run. The NMDS shows dissimilarity in community structure at the different sites, and the PCA groups the sites by vegetation characteristics. The PCA indicates that the sites do group out and are different, however, the sites do not cleanly group out in the NMDS. This would imply that the species present in avian communities are not varying in response to structural changes caused by management.
Recommended Citation
Dillard, Mason H., "Grassland Bird Community Responses to Fire Management" (2026). ATU Scholars Symposium. 38.
https://orc.library.atu.edu/atu_rs/2026/2026/38
Grassland Bird Community Responses to Fire Management
Face-to-face
Vegetation structure plays a major role in determining avian community makeup. Controlled burn frequency changes vegetation structure and consequently the makeup of avian communities. To examine this relationship, I surveyed breeding birds in grasslands and savannahs of the Ozark Mountains, Arkansas River Valley, and Northwest Arkansas. I created models to outline the relationship between these three factors (avian community, fire management, and vegetation structure.) I also examined surrounding land cover and patch size as potential variables that may impact avian community structures.
I will outline the role fire management plays in determining the makeup of breeding bird communities in grasslands, shrublands, and savannahs on public lands in the Ozark Mountains, the Arkansas River Valley, and Northwest Arkansas. I will outline how avian communities differ among sites based on vegetation differences. I will show how the communities differ based on different management regimes. Then I will demonstrate how the management regimes impact the vegetation structure of the sites I surveyed. I will connect these different analyses to show avian response to these management tactics.
My preliminary results have shown that time since last burn had a significant impact on the number of individual birds in my surveys, but it does not significantly impact the number of species present at sites. Further, the environmental variables that best model number of species and number of individuals are different. These results potentially imply that different fire management schemes are not significantly changing the suitability of sites for different species. This inference is further supported by a PCA and an NMDS I have run. The NMDS shows dissimilarity in community structure at the different sites, and the PCA groups the sites by vegetation characteristics. The PCA indicates that the sites do group out and are different, however, the sites do not cleanly group out in the NMDS. This would imply that the species present in avian communities are not varying in response to structural changes caused by management.