Decline of threatened bird highlights planning importance of bison releases

[UngulateNerd92]

• In a recent study, a team of biologists found that the release of American bison (Bison bison) on a small section of North American grassland led to declines in a species of bird called the bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), likely because the density of the bison in the fenced-in study area was too high.
• Bison once numbered in the tens of millions on the Great Plains, but hunting drove the population down to around a thousand by the end of the 1800s.
• Concerted efforts to protect remaining wild populations and reintroduce the animal to parts of the Plains has resulted in a resurgence, and the species is no longer in danger of imminent extinction.
• However, the results of the bobolink study reveals that bison releases and reintroductions must be done carefully to avoid negative impacts on the broader ecosystem.

The story of the American bison is both tragic and uplifting. Once dappling the prairies of North America in the tens of millions, hunting winnowed the number to perhaps a thousand survivors by the end of the 19th century. Nearly wiping out the continent’s largest surviving land animal was a bloody stain on the century-old country that had been driven in part by a campaign by the U.S. government to bring the bison-dependent First Nations of the Great Plains to heel.

https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...ts-planning-importance-of-bison-releases/amp/

 

[birdsandbats]

Not surprising, I've never seen a Bobolink in area with cattle, even in large ranges where the grass can stay relatively high. I'm sure that if bison began to roam free again instead of being fenced in, that would increase Bobolink numbers.