CEAT PRoject Highlight:
airport Wildlife management
January 2008
By Theresa Kissane (NRES Graduate Student & CEE Grad Research Asst)
The CEAT Airport Wildlife Management Project for the O'Hare Modernization Program (OMP) began in the summer of 2006 and data collection began the following fall. The goal of this research is to reduce bird presence at O'Hare International Airport in order to decrease the number of bird-aircraft strikes. Field observations conducted over the past year confirm that topsoil attracts more birds than soil stripped of topsoil. This result is consistent with our recommendation that topsoil need not be replaced on land under construction at O'Hare.
Nathan Becker viewing research plots on the turf farm at UI, Urbana-Champaign, IL
Observations of birds use of different cover and soil-types were made at the Landscape Horticulture Research Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In the sprin of 2007, new experimental plots were established on U of I's "South Farms." Grass cover-types in the new study are tall fescue without endophytes, endophytic tal fescue, endophytic perennial ryegrass, Kentucky blugrass, and Zoysia grass. The endophytes in the tall fescue and perennial ryegrass produce toxic alkaloids that are thought to reduce palatability to birds, mammals, and arthropods. Data collection on thse plots will continue in 2008. AT the beginning of November, additional plots were seeded at O'Hare. These plots cover about twenty acres seeded with endophytic tall fescue.
Turf-type plots at First St. and Windsor Rd., Urbana-Champaign, IL
In addition to assessing the effects of soil and turf type on avian attraction, we will begin monitoring the presence of small mammals in the different turf types in late spring 2008. Small mammals are important food items for hawks and other raptors, and reducing their local abundances may decrease the number of raptors attracted to the airport.
Overall, this research project should help reduce the number of bird strikes in the airport area through land management practices; increase our knowledge of urban wildlife ecology; and save money by reducing the use of topsoil when establishing new turf areas.
PIs for the project are Dr. Ed Herricks (CEE), Dr. Bruce Branham (NRES) and Dr. Jeff Brawn (NRES).