Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: South Dakota
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Predator-prey interactions influence vital rates and predation is a major cause of nest failure of ground-nesting birds (e.g., waterfowl). With continued grassland loss associated with conversion to row crop agriculture, and changing predator communities (e.g., declines in red fox, active coyote control), understanding how habitat dynamics influence predator-prey interactions and nest success of ground-nesting birds will improve development of comprehensive management recommendations for remaining grasslands, restoration or reclamation efforts, and for active management programs that wish to modify grassland regimes or predator communities themselves to improve nesting habitat and nest survival.