Muskingum University Students Study Declining Bird Populations at The Wilds

Submitted by WHIZ Intern Maddie Luebkert

Zanesville, OH- When visitors come from all over to visit The Wilds, they’re usually hoping for a glimpse of some of the exotic animals. But this group of Muskingum University students are focused on grassland birds: an important group to look at, because their population has been declining.

Since 2013, over 100 students from Muskingum University have worked with biology professors Dr. James Dooley and Dr. Danny Ingold to study grassland birds. The birds of interest are Savannah Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Henslow’s Sparrows, Bobolinks and Eastern Meadowlarks. All of these birds prefer to settle in flat, grassland areas that lack shrubs. These areas were prominent during strip-mining operations in the 1970s. But now that some of the strip-mined land is recovering, these birds are disappearing

“We started coming into the pasture areas, where you have a lot of heavy grazing. And you can see that there’s much more open grassland here,” Muskingum University Biology Professor Dr. James Dooley said. “And indeed, we are finding that these birds that are in steep decline all over, even outside the fences here, are doing really well around here,” Dooley said. 

Participants conducted 6-minute surveys at each observation point using binoculars and bird call recognition software to classify the birds. They tallied each of the birds they found, as well as the approximate direction and distance the call was heard from. The researchers work very closely with The Wilds, who also benefit from the findings.  

“This works on a lot of different levels,” The Wilds Director of Animal Management Dan Beetem said. “The Wilds is, obviously, we have nearly 10,000 acres of reclaimed mine land. Jim and the guys at Muskingum have been trying to understand how native birds are able to use that space. What we’ve been doing now is actually looking at how the animals that we manage, the rhinos, the zebras, the things like that, the way we manage the land for them turns out to be really beneficial to native wildlife as well,” Beetem said. 

The over decade long research project also helps students learn outside of the classroom.

“I was really into it because I’m into conservation and field biology, and it’s definitely given me insight into what I want to do with my future in terms of field biology,” Muskingum University Junior Amanda Charness said. 

This experience provides crucial opportunities for students at Muskingum University who are looking to go into biology or animal science. Once the research is complete, they will present their findings in the fall.