04-08-15 Field Note

Avian Ecology

We seek to understand how birds use the habitats available and how that will change as we work to create more diverse plant communities.  We also host researchers that document migrations of raptors and songbirds across MPG. 

In this section of the research pages, you will find links to reports and updates from all the researchers involved with avian ecology, posted chronologically.  The links will show you more in-depth reports on our findings. The three main projects covered here are:

Songbird Counts- A grid of sampling points covers MPG with 560 points.  We visit each point 3 times a year, once in winter and twice during the songbird breeding season.  We record, by ear or by sight, all the birds near that point for 10 minutes. 

Songbird Banding- The University of Montana Bird Ecology Lab, UMBEL, runs several trapping stations at MPG as part of their regional songbird monitoring program.  UMBEL sets up very fine nets that are nearly invisible to birds in brushy habitats.  Songbirds fly into the nets and become entangled.  The researchers take the birds from the nets and affix a numbered band to their leg before releasing them. 

Raptor Research- The Raptor View Research Institute monitors raptor populations on MPG and counts raptors that migrate past MPG in the spring and fall.  Raptor View researchers have placed transmitters on osprey and golden eagles that use the Bitterroot Valley. 

Soils Plants and Invasion

Plants live in tight association with microbes, especially belowground where fungi and bacteria live on and inside the roots of plants.  The relationship can be beneficial or harmful to the plant.   Some microbes cause plant diseases by decomposing roots.  Others trade nutrients with the roots in return for sugars produced aboveground by leaves.  

We investigate two main aspects of the relationship between plants and microbes in the soil.  First, as it pertains to weeds, we want to know if soil microbes can help or hinder plant invasions.  Three highly invasive weeds of contrasting life history strategies; cheatgrass, knapweed and leafy spurge, co-occur with remnants of native plant vegetation.  This creates a unique opportunity to observe, characterize, and manipulate interactions between plants and belowground microbial communities.  We outline a number of short, intermediate and long-term research projects that will significantly enhance our knowledge regarding plant microbe interactions and soil processes, with the overall goal to better understand, predict and counteract plant invasions, and to restore and manage invaded ecosystems.

Second, we seek to understand how the relationship between plants and soil influences the function of ecosystem processes.  Soil microbes are responsible for organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling between the atmosphere and the land.  On this project we collaborate with the Earth Microbiome Project (EMP).  The goal is to map and understand the diversity of microorganisms in habitats around the world.  We mapped microbial diversity and function across gradients of weed invasions.

Range Restoration

Humans have exerted a major influence on plant communities across MPG Ranch that began with fires set by the Native American and continued with intensive livestock grazing, farming, and herbicide applications.  The overall result of these activities is that low diversity and low productivity plant communities composed mainly of non-native plants cover many areas.  In many cases the existing undesired vegetation is hardy and resistant to replacement, after all it is the stuff that has survived grazing, herbicide applications, and the ranch’s harsh climate.   The updates and reports in this section show the approaches we take to figure out the best ways to restore diverse and productive plant communities. The Restoration Map under the maps heading is the best way to explore our restoration work. The map interface allows researchers to explain our methods and research in a chronological and spatial context. Abstracts and links to major updates and plans will be visible on this page.

Rangeland diversification- In some cases we use herbicide applications combined with fire and drill seeding to establish new communities. 

Assisted Succession- We have also developed a new approach to restoration of weedy areas using a naturally herbicide resistant initial plant to reclaim weed infestations.  The plant is called sainfoin.  It is a legume that enriches the soil and allows us to kill-off the weeds seed bank before we re-plant.