Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: Supplementary Notes Thorny Elaeagnus (Elaeagnus pungens) has been used throughout the southeastern United States as a highway median plant for more than 30 years. Native to Asia, elaeagnus has a number of characteristics that make it ideal for roadside planting. The plant is a heat and drought resistant, evergreen shrub that is fast growing. Because elaeagnus forms a dense, tall hedgerow, it provides an effective divider between opposing lanes of traffic. In the spring of 1999, representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service collected 459 dead birds along discreet sections of highway near Richmond, Virginia. Roadway sections were adjacent to median plantings of thorny elaeagnus containing dense fruit crops. The objective of this field study was to investigate the possible relationship between median plantings and bird mortality. A simple one-way study design was used with median condition as the single factor. Three median conditions were examined including (1) no median planting, (2) elaeagnus without fruit, and (3) elaeagnus with fruit. Replicate roadway segments containing desired median conditions were surveyed 3 times/week for live and dead birds from mid-March to mid-May. The presence of ripe elaeagnus fruit had a significant influence on both the use of medians by birds and bird mortality. Of 1,270 live birds observed along the roadways, 1,200 were detected along plantings that contained dense fruit crops. These same roadway sections accounted for 78 of 80 dead birds collected. Bird density and mortality within medians that supported shrubs
Author: B. Watts
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1556864085