Population Responses of the Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) to Land Use Changes in the Agricultural Landscapes of Ohio, USA

Conversion of natural land cover to agriculture is one of the primary threats to biodiversity worldwide. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and woodlot edge enhancement are two tools used in the United States to provide habitat to wildlife that otherwise have little usable space in intensively agricultural landscapes. CRP provides payments to agricultural producers to replant environmentally sensitive cropland, marginal pasture land, or grassland to conservation practices. The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) is a rapidly declining bird associated with farmland habitat and is often managed for using CRP and woodlot edge enhancement. I studied bobwhites from 2008 to 2010 and 2012–2014 in Brown and Highland Counties, Ohio to document the effects of loss of CRP contracts and addition of woodlot edge enhancement on the rate of change in bobwhite abundance using whistle count surveys. CRP was a strong predictor of bobwhite abundance while woodlot edge enhancement had low predictive power when accounting for loss of CRP. From these results, I tentatively conclude loss of CRP may have significant impacts on this imperiled species, and addition of CRP should be targeted by conservation agencies over woodlot edge enhancement.