Effects of the 2011 Missouri River flood on grassland birds at DeSoto and Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuges

The Missouri River flood of 2011 has had a profound impact on the habitat at DeSoto and Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuges by altering the composition and structure of the vegetation that grassland birds use for breeding. Grasslands at the refuges have been heavily impacted by sand and silt deposition caused by receding floodwaters. This new layer of soil has given rise to entirely new communities of herbaceous forbs and cottonwood tree saplings interspersed with mixed grasses. My research investigates how changes in vegetation have affected the bird communities at the refuges by comparing bird abundances measured before and after the flooding in 2011. My three research questions are: how has the vegetation structure and composition changed, how has any change in vegetation affected the populations of birds, and how do any changes in vegetation and bird species abundance affect the overall bird communities at the refuges