Assessment of Grassland Management and Restoration Practices on the Availability and Quality of Insects as Food for Grassland Species at Risk

General objective: identify the species and detailed characteristics of insect groups mentioned in the recovery plans as being important, mainly "grasshoppers", assess their nutritional value to species at risk, and determine to what extent management of vegetation cover affects abundance, quality and timing.

Species of relevance to the project: Burrowing Owl, Loggerhead Shrike excubitorides subspecies, Greater Sage-Grouse Urophasianus Subpopulation, Swift Fox

Principal participating agencies: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; University of Lethbridge; Parks Canada, DND.

All photos are by Dan Johnson. Permission for use by IRF, Environment Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the National Burrowing Owl Recovery Team, Ducks Unlimited Canada (related project near Kimball, AB), and collaborating institutions is granted.

Collaboration: Dan Johnson, Pat Fargey, Rob Sissons, Alan Iwaasa, Brent Smith, Priya Mir; lab and field support on the IRF project in 2003: Brad Linderman, Craig Andrews, Ian Kehler, Shane Clark; part time from Ginny Goulet (2004). Special thanks to the National Burrowing Owl Recovery Team, for discussion and future collaboration.

Photos

Part 1: land, insects and methods

Part 2: examples of method used in the project

Part 3: general interest photos of insect prey being consumed

Species at risk

Part 3: Photos of a captive Burrowing Owl eating grasshoppers.

All photos by Dan Johnson.

Thanks to Colin Weir and staff of the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, Coaldale, for permission to take these photos.

Note: these photos are slightly blurred by movement. They are posted in medium format, so they can be saved, cropped and re-sized.

Photos

Part 1: land, insects and methods

Part 2: examples of method used in the project

Part 3: general interest photos of insect prey being consumed