Many wildlife species, like Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), are reliant on periodic environmental disturbance to maintain heterogeneity in vegetation patterns. The Northern Bobwhite is a species of conservation concern requiring different vegetation types for nesting and brood-rearing stages, as well as for protection from predators and extreme weather. In northeastern Colorado, there are few management options to increase disturbance, other than domestic livestock grazing, to manage Northern Bobwhite habitat. As high-intensity short-duration grazing has shown promise as a mode of disturbance to manage Northern Bobwhite habitat in other regions, I used a randomized block design to test the effect of spring high-intensity short-duration grazing on Northern Bobwhites and their habitat in northeastern Colorado from 2016 to 2019. Specifically, I monitored Northern Bobwhite nest and brood survival and habitat selection in relation to grazing treatments over 3 years. I found that grazing had no effect on nest or brood survival or brood habitat selection, but Northern Bobwhites selected against grazed plots for nesting. Nest survival was negatively influenced by percent litter around the nest, and Northern Bobwhites selected nest sites with more grass cover and less bare ground. Broods selected habitat with less bare ground and more woody vegetation. Grazing affected vegetation immediately after grazing, but these effects weakened or disappeared by the end of the growing season. One exception to this overall pattern was forbs, which tended to be more abundant on grazed plots throughout the growing season. Overall, I found neutral effects of grazing on Northern Bobwhite nest and brood survival and habitat selection and neutral to positive benefits to the vegetation. Spring high-intensity short-duration grazing does not appear to be an effective tool to manage Northern Bobwhite nest or brood habitat in northeastern Colorado.

中文翻译：

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春季期间的高强度短期放牧对于科罗拉多州的北部山雀来说不是一种有效的栖息地管理工具

许多野生动物物种，如北大白鲨（Colinus virginianus），都依赖周期性的环境干扰来维持植被模式的异质性。Northern Bobwhite 是一种需要保护的物种，在筑巢和育雏阶段需要不同的植被类型，以及保护免受捕食者和极端天气的影响。在科罗拉多州东北部，除了家畜放牧外，几乎没有增加干扰的管理选择来管理北大白鲨的栖息地。由于高强度短期放牧已显示出作为一种干扰模式来管理其他地区的北大白鲨栖息地的前景，我使用随机区组设计来测试春季高强度短时放牧对北部大白鲨及其栖息地的影响2016 年至 2019 年在科罗拉多州东北部。具体来说，在 3 年多的时间里，我监测了与放牧处理相关的 Northern Bobwhite 巢穴和育雏生存以及栖息地选择。我发现放牧对巢穴或育雏生存或育雏栖息地选择没有影响，但北山白鹭选择放牧地块筑巢。巢穴的存活率受到巢穴周围垃圾百分比的负面影响，而北方大白鲨选择了草覆盖较多且裸地较少的巢穴。育雏选择了裸露地面较少且木本植被较多的栖息地。放牧后立即影响植被，但这些影响在生长季节结束时减弱或消失。这种整体模式的一个例外是杂草，在整个生长季节，它在放牧的土地上往往更加丰富。全面的，我发现放牧对Northern Bobwhite巢穴和育雏生存和栖息地选择的影响是中性的，对植被的积极益处是中性的。春季高强度短期放牧似乎不是管理科罗拉多州东北部的北大白鲨巢穴或育雏栖息地的有效工具。