Grassland bird populations are declining rapidly, primarily due to habitat loss. Additional stressors, including invasive species, brood parasitism, and climate change can also contribute to these declines. Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, such as drought, which can have significant impacts on bird populations. Drought conditions over different temporal grains (length of time) and temporal windows (time of year) are likely to have distinct effects on grassland birds and their habitats. Importantly, the effects of drought may be amplified by land management practices, such as cattle grazing regimes. In this presentation, we examine how drought across different temporal windows and grains influences vegetation composition and structure as well as obligate grassland bird abundances under different grazing regimes in the Grand River Grasslands of Iowa. We discuss how these interacting factors shape habitat quality and bird population responses, and we highlight the implications of our findings for the management and conservation of grassland birds in a changing climate.
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