Abstract
Bird entanglement in plants is a relatively uncommonly documented occurrence, with only a handful of plant species known to recurrently trap birds and cause mortality. Here I describe a large number of bird entanglement events, including 3 confirmed bird deaths, involving Boerhavia torreyana (Torrey's spiderling) in an arid canyon in northern Arizona. Like many species of Boerhavia, B. torreyana possesses sticky rings on its stems that are hypothesized to enhance herbivory defense. I document that these sticky rings also frequently capture birds, and identify 39 separate bird entanglement events involving at least 9 different bird species in a small area where B. torreyana is common. Because B. torreyana is an annual plant that germinates with the arrival of the Southwestern monsoon in mid-summer, it matures and presents an entanglement risk at a time that coincides with the fall bird migration. Small ground-dwelling passerines and insectivores appear to be particularly at risk of being trapped. There are very few known examples of plant species that regularly causes bird entanglement and associated mortality, and the observations presented here document a new case of this phenomenon.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 658-663 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Wilson Journal of Ornithology |
| Volume | 131 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1 2019 |
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Keywords
- birds
- Boerhavia
- entanglement
- migration
- mortality
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Ecology
- Animal Science and Zoology
Cite this
A true "migrant trap" : Boerhavia (Nyctaginaceae) entanglement as a recurring cause of avian entrapment and mortality. / Wilder, Jason A.
In: Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Vol. 131, No. 3, 01.09.2019, p. 658-663.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - A true "migrant trap"
T2 - Boerhavia (Nyctaginaceae) entanglement as a recurring cause of avian entrapment and mortality
AU - Wilder, Jason A.
PY - 2019/9/1
Y1 - 2019/9/1
N2 - Bird entanglement in plants is a relatively uncommonly documented occurrence, with only a handful of plant species known to recurrently trap birds and cause mortality. Here I describe a large number of bird entanglement events, including 3 confirmed bird deaths, involving Boerhavia torreyana (Torrey's spiderling) in an arid canyon in northern Arizona. Like many species of Boerhavia, B. torreyana possesses sticky rings on its stems that are hypothesized to enhance herbivory defense. I document that these sticky rings also frequently capture birds, and identify 39 separate bird entanglement events involving at least 9 different bird species in a small area where B. torreyana is common. Because B. torreyana is an annual plant that germinates with the arrival of the Southwestern monsoon in mid-summer, it matures and presents an entanglement risk at a time that coincides with the fall bird migration. Small ground-dwelling passerines and insectivores appear to be particularly at risk of being trapped. There are very few known examples of plant species that regularly causes bird entanglement and associated mortality, and the observations presented here document a new case of this phenomenon.
AB - Bird entanglement in plants is a relatively uncommonly documented occurrence, with only a handful of plant species known to recurrently trap birds and cause mortality. Here I describe a large number of bird entanglement events, including 3 confirmed bird deaths, involving Boerhavia torreyana (Torrey's spiderling) in an arid canyon in northern Arizona. Like many species of Boerhavia, B. torreyana possesses sticky rings on its stems that are hypothesized to enhance herbivory defense. I document that these sticky rings also frequently capture birds, and identify 39 separate bird entanglement events involving at least 9 different bird species in a small area where B. torreyana is common. Because B. torreyana is an annual plant that germinates with the arrival of the Southwestern monsoon in mid-summer, it matures and presents an entanglement risk at a time that coincides with the fall bird migration. Small ground-dwelling passerines and insectivores appear to be particularly at risk of being trapped. There are very few known examples of plant species that regularly causes bird entanglement and associated mortality, and the observations presented here document a new case of this phenomenon.
KW - birds
KW - Boerhavia
KW - entanglement
KW - migration
KW - mortality
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U2 - 10.1676/18-154
DO - 10.1676/18-154
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85073624287
VL - 131
SP - 658
EP - 663
JO - Wilson Journal of Ornithology
JF - Wilson Journal of Ornithology
SN - 1559-4491
IS - 3
ER -