Marbled godwit habitat selection in the northern prairie region

Marbled godwit (Limosa fedoa) wetland and upland habitat use and selection data from eastcentral North Dakota demonstrate that godwits frequently used and preferred short, sparse to moderately vegetated sites and open water or bare soil along wetland shorelines. Breeding godwits used semipermanent wetlands most often, but selected ephemeral, alkali, and temporary ponds as shown by use-availability comparisons. Godwits selected territories (? = 0.9 km2) that had greater wetland abundance and more wetland classes than equal-sized, randomly sampled areas. Postbreeding godwits primarily used and preferred flooded livestock feedlots and alkali wetlands. Selected wetlands were dominated by preferred cover types with minimal proportions of tall, dense cover. Marbled godwits preferred native grass pastures, hayfields and idle grasslands, and introduced grass pastures. They showed less selection for nonnative (planted) hayfield or idle grassland land-use types and strongly avoided intensively tilled land. Breeding godwits frequently used and seemingly preferred shorter (<15 cm) grass areas at upland sites. Postbreeding godwits and broods used and selected slightly taller vegetation (15-60 cm). An ecosystem level management approach is recommended incorporating the preservation of wetland complexes, including less permanent pond types and alkali wetlands, and the use of fire, mowing, and grazing on portions of publicly managed lands to recreate the shorter grass "disturbed" habitats of the pristine northern prairie mosaic to which marbled godwits are adapted. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 48(4):1206-1218 Marbled godwits breed in the prairie pothole region of north-central North America (Palmer 1967). This prairie ecosystem has changed greatly since the establishment of European culture in the late 1800's. Wetlands have been drained and native vegetation has been replaced by small grain and row-crop agriculture (Aus 1969, Stewart 1975). On remaining native prairie, fire and native grazers have been controlled or eliminated. The effect of these changes on marbled godwits is unknown, but a decline in their population since the late 1800's is suspected. Virtually no quantitative information exists on the breeding ecology and habitat requirements of this species. Therefore, we quantified habitat use by godwits and, by measuring habitat availability and the characteristics of used and unused sites, determined habitat preference patterns. We attempt to assess the impact of environmental alterations, predict effects of continued land-use changes, and suggest management strategies for public lands that may help ameliorate any deleterious effects of these changes on godwits. We thank G. J. Atchison, L. B. Best, D. H. Johnson, K. F. Higgins, E. E. Klaas, R. D. Saylor, and M. W. Weller for reviewing the manuscript. D. H. Johnson greatly facilitated our work with the North. Prairie Wildl. Res. Cent. and offered advice on design and statistical analysis, as did D. F. Cox. K. F. Higgins and the staff at the Woodworth Res. Stn. provided support throughout our stay in North Dakota. L. J. Erickson and C. A. Sweeney compiled data, and J. Pichner assisted in the field. ' Journal Paper J-11021 from Iowa Agric. Home Econ. Exp. Stn., Ames, Proj. 2466. 2 Present address: Zoology Department, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105. 1206 J. Wildl. Manage. 48(4):1984 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.102 on Mon, 03 Oct 2016 05:47:16 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms GODWIT HABITAT SELECTION * Ryan et al. 1207 Our research was supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv., North. Prairie Wildl. Res. Cent., and administered by the Iowa Coop. Wildl. Res. Unit.