Plains bison (Bison bison bison), along with natural fire regimes, were instrumental in shaping North America’s Great Plains. The prairies that form the Great Plains store carbon and support biodiversity. These services have been lost due to industrial agriculture and the large-scale loss of native grazing animals. As a keystone species that affects grassland ecosystems, bison could help restore these services. Although bison have been nearly extirpated from North America, popular and political interest in restoring this iconic species is rapidly gaining momentum.
A recent bison reintroduction to a shortgrass prairie in northern Colorado has the potential to restore grassland function and habitat quality for birds and other animals, while also catalyzing the public to engage in grassland conservation efforts. Our specific research questions evaluate how bison reintroduction affects: 1) bird habitat use and density and 2) human connections to a shortgrass prairie.
We studied the ecological and social effects of a recent bison reintroduction in northern Colorado. To assess the ecological effects of the bison reintroduction, we surveyed birds and vegetation at a bison reintroduction site and two ungrazed sites before (2015) and after (2016 and 2017) bison reintroduction. To understand how the bison reintroduction shaped visitor connections to the reintroduction site in Colorado, we implemented structured, open-ended interviews paired with a place attachment survey to people who visited the site before (2015) and after (2016) the bison reintroduction.
Results/Conclusions
Preliminary results indicate that bison reintroduction had a subtle effect on the density and habitat use of grassland obligate birds, including Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks. The top AIC model for Horned Larks indicated that Horned Lark density was 3.56 times higher in the bison reintroduction site than in the ungrazed site (AIC=224.03, model weight= 0.69). For Western Meadowlarks, the top model indicated that both site and year influenced Western Meadowlark density, with higher densities of Western Meadowlarks at the bison reintroduction site compared to the ungrazed site, and higher densities of meadowlarks before the bison reintroduction compared to after (AIC=287.57, model weight= 0.57). While the bison reintroduction did not have clear effects on bird density or habitat use, we measured a significant increase in place attachment to the grassland site after the bison reintroduction (before mean ± SE= 4.02 ± .07; after mean ± SE= 4.25 ±.04; t-value= 5.62, p-value= 1.163e-08). Our research supports the idea that people connect with landscapes in which they can view wildlife.