The Development of a Gamebird Research Strategy: Unraveling the Importance of Arthropod Populations

This paper describes work conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) on upland gamebirds, primarily gray partridge, that identified the importance of arthropod abundance in determining chick survival and in the overall population dynamics of this declining quarry species. Several sequential steps that were taken to quantify the importance of arthropods in determining levels of chick survival, ranging from laboratory studies with captive chicks, through field-based surveys to computer simulation are described. Next, various field-scale experiments to manipulate vegetation to increase arthropod densities are described. These included the management of cereal crop edges with reduced levels of pesticides

Manipulating Pesticide Use to Increase the Production of Wild Game Birds in Britain

We describe a management technique whereby the adverse effects of pesticides on game-bird chick production were alleviated following selective use or selective avoidance of pesticides on the edges of cereal crops. This technique (known as Conservation Headlands) provided increased amounts of food resources necessary for young gray partridge (Perdix perdix) and ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) chicks. The use of Conservation Headlands has consistently increased average numbers of chicks per brood of both species via increases in the densities of arthropods and weed plants. These findings are discussed in the context of the other prerequisites of wild game-bird production in the UK and how these may be altered by recent Government policies to reduce cereal surpluses