Assessing the effects of management for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) on avian community structure and functional diversity: Implications for ecosystem services

Much of the grassland and savanna ecosystems across the United States have been fragmented or lost due to development, intensive agricultural expansion, and fire suppression. With the degradation of these ecosystems has come the loss of native biodiversity and ecosystem function. Restoring function to open-canopy systems is an important conservation focus and may aid in restoring ecosystem services. Land managers seeking to promote populations of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), a popular gamebird that has declined for decades, employ management strategies consistent with restoration of early-successional, open-canopy environments such as frequent prescribed burning and hardwood reduction. We investigated the relationships among northern bobwhites, the avian community, ecosystem function, and habitat characteristics created by intensive bobwhite management. We found that differences in habitat characteristics associated with bobwhite management are largely independent of effects on ecosystem function within the context of a landscape managed intensively for bobwhite.