Food habits of the mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) have been extensively studied in the southern United States (McClure 1943, Korschgen 1958, Carpenter 1971) and consist primarily of vegetable matter throughout their range (Beckwith 1959). Diet studies in several states have indicated agricultural crops, specifically corn and wheat, were the most readily consumed plant seeds (Korshgen 1958, Carpenter 1971). Similarities observed in diets of doves were dependent on the agricultural crops available within the area. For example, in Missouri, some seasonal variability was documented suggesting doves forage based on food availability as much as by food preference (Korschgen 1958). However, in the agriculturally dominated landscape of east central South Dakota (SD), the two most important food items for doves were green (Setaria viridis) and yellow foxtail (S. glauca; Van’t Hul and Jenks 1992)

Augspurger, Jason M.

Bultje, Trevor W.

Crider, Brandi L.

Grovenburg, Troy

Jenks, Jonathan A.

Perrion, Matthew A.

Robinson, Anna M.

Shubham, Datta

Smith, Joshua B.

English

Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange

South Dakota State UniversityOpen PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information ExchangeNatural Resource Management Faculty Publications Department of Natural Resource Management2015Are Land-use Changes Reflected in Diets ofMourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) in EasternSouth DakotaJoshua B. SmithSouth Dakota State UniversityTroy GrovenburgSouth Dakota State UniversityMatthew A. PerrionSouth Dakota State UniversityJason M. AugspurgerSouth Dakota State UniversityTrevor W. BultjeSouth Dakota State UniversitySee next page for additional authorsFollow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/nrm_pubsPart of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, and the Ornithology CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Natural Resource Management at Open PRAIRIE: Open Public ResearchAccess Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications byan authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For moreinformation, please contact michael.biondo@sdstate.edu.Recommended CitationSmith, Joshua B.; Grovenburg, Troy; Perrion, Matthew A.; Augspurger, Jason M.; Bultje, Trevor W.; Robinson, Anna M.; Crider,Brandi L.; Shubham, Datta; and Jenks, Jonathan A., "Are Land-use Changes Reflected in Diets of Mourning Doves (Zenaidamacroura) in Eastern South Dakota" (2015). Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications. 110.http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/nrm_pubs/110AuthorsJoshua B. Smith, Troy Grovenburg, Matthew A. Perrion, Jason M. Augspurger, Trevor W. Bultje, Anna M.Robinson, Brandi L. Crider, Datta Shubham, and Jonathan A. JenksThis article is available at Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange:http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/nrm_pubs/110The Prairie Naturalist 47:26–28; 2015NOTESARE LAND-USE CHANGES REFLECTED IN  DIETS OF MOURNING DOVES (ZENAIDA MACROURA) IN EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA—Food habits of the mourn-ing dove (Zenaida macroura) have been extensively studied in the southern United States (McClure 1943, Korschgen 1958, Carpenter 1971) and consist primarily of vegetable matter throughout their range (Beckwith 1959).  Diet studies in	 several	 states	have	 indicated	agricultural	 crops,	 specifi-cally corn and wheat, were the most readily consumed plant seeds (Korshgen 1958, Carpenter 1971).  Similarities ob-served in diets of doves were dependent on the agricultural crops available within the area.  For example, in Missouri, some seasonal variability was documented suggesting doves forage based on food availability as much as by food pref-erence (Korschgen 1958).  However, in the agriculturally-dominated landscape of east central South Dakota (SD), the two most important food items for doves were green (Setaria viridis) and yellow foxtail (S. glauca; Van’t Hul and Jenks 1992).Large-scale land use changes have occurred in eastern South Dakota in the past few decades and several factors have contributed to increased grassland to cropland conver-sion (Wright and Wimberly 2013).  Conversion of grass-lands to agricultural crops has increased as demand for bio-fuels and commodity prices increased (Secchi and Babcock 2007, Searchinger et al. 2008, Fargione et al. 2009, Wright and Wimberly 2013). In east central South Dakota, corn and soybean plantings have increased from 2,400,000 ha in 1991 to 4,400,000 ha in 2013 (United States Department of Agri-culture	2014).		These	significant	land-use	changes	that	have	occurred	in	the	intervening	20	years	may	influence	mourning	dove feeding habits.  We compared mourning dove diet com-position in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, USA, to those published 20 years earlier from a study conducted approxi-mately 60 km north (Van’t Hul and Jenks 1992).We employed normal hunting practices to harvest doves (South Dakota State University Institutional Animal Care and Use	Committee	protocol	 #11-065A)	 from	 six	unique	fields	encompassing an area of approximately 250 km2 in Minne-haha County, South Dakota, from 1 to 6 September 2013. We recorded collection date, age, and sex for all harvested doves (Cannell 1984).  We froze whole carcasses to prevent digestion prior to washing and drying crop contents (Davison 1940).	 	We	 sifted	 contents	of	 crops	 and	 identified	contents	to plant species using seed keys (Delroit 1970, Musil 1978), and the reference seed collection in the South Dakota State University Seed Laboratory.  We recorded and weighed crop contents separately depending on species, and converted diet items	to	percent	of	total	diet.		We	considered	anything	<0.1%	weight as trace.We collected 42 doves; 14 juveniles and 28 adults.  Of the	 42	 crops	 examined,	 one	was	 empty.	 	We	 identified 22 seed species (Table 1) in the crops of doves. The most com-mon food item was foxtail (Setaria spp.).		It	comprised	23%	by	weight	and	42.9%	frequency	of	occurrence	in	the	diet	of	doves.  Corn was the second most common food item com-prising	17.8%	by	weight	and	42.9%	frequency	of	occurrence	in dove diets.  Spotted sand mat (Chamaesyce alypotoper-ma), black medic (Medicago lupina), wheat, red millet (Pan-icum ramosum), switch grass (Panicum viratum) and wild sunflower	(Helianthus annus) occurred	in	>10%	of	mourning	dove crops.  Snails (Gastropoda spp.) were the only animal matter	found	and	occurred	in	16.7%	of	crops.		Green and yellow foxtail were the primary food items con-sumed by mourning doves during fall in southeastern South Dakota.  Interestingly, an earlier study (Van’t Hul and Jenks 1992)	reported	nearly	four	times	greater	weight	(88%	versus	23%)	and	two	times	greater	occurrence	(91%	versus	44%)	as	our study (Table 1).  It is possible some of the variation we observed was the result of different land uses between study areas.  However, land cover in 2013 was virtually identical for	the	four	counties	(crop	=	62%,	grass	=	9%)	sampled	by	Van’t Hul and Jenks (1992) compared to Minnehaha County (crop	=	62%,	grass	=	10%;	United	States	Department	of	Ag-riculture 2014).  Thus, we believe differing diets of mourning doves was likely a result of land use changes from 1992 to present	and	not	a	reflection	of	differences	in	study	sites.		The	temporal land use changes were a result of rising commod-ity prices, increased demand for biofuels, and loss of CRP enrolled land over the past 20 years (Fargrione 2009, Wright and Wimberly 2013).   Mourning dove diets exhibit substantial variability both spatially and temporally across their range (Korschgen 1958, Beckwith 1959), and often are associated with the most prev-alent crop and associated harvest practices (Carpenter 1971). Our results, when compared to diets in 1991, tend to validate the adaptability of mourning doves, and the importance of both agricultural crops and weed seeds in their diet.  Funding for this project was provided by the Agricultural Experiment Station at South Dakota State University.  We thank T. Carpenter, for allowing us private land access.  We also thank G. Larson, R. Parmely and S. Chipps for help with seed	 identification.—Joshua B. Smith1,2, Troy W. Groven-burg1, Matthew A. Perrion1, Jason M. Augspurger1, Trevor W. Bultje1, Anna M. Robinson1, Brandi L. Crider1, Datta Shubham1, and Jonathan A. Jenks1.  1Department of Natural Resource Management, Box 2140B, South Dakota State Uni-versity, Brookings, SD 57006, USA.  2Corresponding author email address: jbsmith1852@gmail.com.NOTES 27Table 1.  Comparison of food items found in mourning dove (Zenaida macroura)	crops	by	weight	(%)	and	occurrence	(%)	in	east-ern South Dakota, USA, from 1991 (n = 73) to 2013 (n = 41).Weight	(%) Occurrence	(%)Food items 1991a 2013 1991a 2013Foxtail (Setaria viridis and S. glauca) 88.0 23.0 91.0 43.9Corn (Zea mays) 6.0 17.8 30.1 43.9Black medic (Medicago lupulina) Trace 9.3 2.7 17.1Spotted sandmat (Chamaesyce alypotoperma) ‒ 8.7 ‒ 29.3Wheat (Triticum aestivum) ‒ 8.7 ‒ 17.1Grape seed (Vitis vinifera) ‒ 7.3 ‒ 9.8Wild	sunflower	(Helianthus annus) 4.0 4.7 31.5 14.6Red millet (Panicum ramosum) ‒ 4.2 ‒ 17.1Switch grass (P. viratum) Trace 2.9 27.3 17.1Hemp (Cannabis sativa) Trace 2.7 2.7 2.4Genus: Polygonum Trace 2.5 9.5 2.4Snails (Gastropoda sp.) Trace 2.2 13.6 17.1Broom corn millet (P. miliaceum) ‒ 2.1 ‒ 14.6Poverty weed (Iva axillaris) 0.2 1.2 5.4 7.3Redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) 0.5 1.0 61.6 7.3Wild buckwheat (Polygonum convolvulus) 0.1 0.8 17.8 2.4Smart weed (Polygonum sp.) Trace 0.4 4.1 2.4Soy bean (Glycine max) ‒ 0.2 ‒ 2.4Rumex sp. Trace 0.1 1.3 2.4Helianthus sp. ‒ Trace ‒ 2.4Perennial sow thistle (Sonchus arvensis) Trace Trace 1.3 2.4Common ragweed (Ambosia artemisiifolia) 1.0 ‒ 30.1 ‒Marsh elder (I. xanthigolia) 0.1 ‒ 5.4 ‒Musk thistle (Carduus nutans) Trace ‒ 16.4 ‒Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) Trace ‒ 4.1 ‒Paspalum (Paspalum spp.) Trace ‒ 1.3 ‒Giant ragweed (A. tridida) Trace ‒ 2.7 ‒Sedge (Carex spp.) Trace ‒ 1.3 ‒Cinquefoil (Potentilla spp.) Trace ‒ 1.3 ‒Barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crusgalli) Trace ‒ 5.5 ‒Unknown Trace Trace 13.6 4.9aData from Van’t Hul and Jenks (1992)28 The Prairie Naturalist  •  47(1): June 2015LITERATURE CITEDBeckwith, S. L.  1959.  Mourning dove foods in Florida dur-ing October and December.  Journal of Wildlife Manage-ment 23:351–354.Cannell, P. F.  1984.  A revised age/sex key for mourning doves,	with	comments	on	the	definition	of	molt.		Journal	of Field Ornithology 55:112–114.Carpenter, J. W.  1971.  Food habits of the mourning dove in northwest Oklahoma.  Journal of Wildlife Management 35:327–331.Davison,	V.	E.		1940.		A	field	method	of	analyzing	game	bird	foods.  Journal of Wildlife Management 4:105–116.Delroit, R. J. 1970.  An illustrated taxonomy manual of weed seeds.  Agronomy Publications, River Falls, Wisconsin, USA.Fargione, J. E., T. R. Cooper, D. J. Flaspohler, J. Hill, C. Lehman, T. McCoy, S. McLeod, E. J. Nelson, K. S. Oberhauser, and D. Tilman.  2009.  Bioenergy and wild-life: threats and opportunities for grassland conservation. Bioscience 59:767–777.Korschgen, L. J.  1958.  Food habits of the mourning dove in Missouri.  Journal of Wildlife Management 22:9–16.McClure, H. E.  1943.  Ecology and management of the mourning dove, Zenaidura macroura (Linn) in Cass County Iowa.  Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 310:355–415.Musil,	A.	F.	 	1978.	 	 Identification	of	crop	and	weed	seeds:	agriculture handbook no. 519.  U. S. Department of Ag-riculture, Washington, D.C., USA.   Searchinger, T., R. Heimlich, R. A. Houghton, F. X. Dong, A. Elobeid, J. Fabiosa, S. Tokgoz, D. Hayes, and T. H. Yu. 2008.  Use of US croplands for biofuels increases green-house gases through emissions from land-use change. Science 319:1238–1240.Secchi, S., and B. A. Babcock.  2007.  Impact of high corn prices on Conservation Reserve Program acreage.  Iowa Ag Review 13:4–7.United States Department of Agriculture.  2014.  National Agricultural Statistics Service.  Cropland Data Layer Metadata.  <http://www.nass.usda.gov/research/Crop-land /metadata/meta.htm>.  Accessed 11 August 2014.Van’t Hul, J. T., and J. A. Jenks.  1992.  Food habits of mourn-ing doves in east central South Dakota.  The Prairie Nat-uralist 24:251–256.Wright, C. K., and M. C. Wimberly.  2013.  Recent land use change in the western Corn Belt threatens grasslands and wetlands.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sci-ence 110:4134–4139.Submitted 26 September 2014.  Accepted 5 April 2015. Associate Editor was M. Rumble.

Are Land-use Changes Reflected in Diets of Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) in Eastern South Dakota

Food habits of the mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) have been extensively studied in the southern United States (McClure 1943, Korschgen 1958, Carpenter 1971) and consist primarily of vegetable matter throughout their range (Beckwith 1959). Diet studies in several states have indicated agricultural crops, specifically corn and wheat, were the most readily consumed plant seeds (Korshgen 1958, Carpenter 1971). Similarities observed in diets of doves were dependent on the agricultural crops available within the area. For example, in Missouri, some seasonal variability was documented suggesting doves forage based on food availability as much as by food preference (Korschgen 1958). However, in the agriculturally- dominated landscape of east central South Dakota (SD), the two most important food items for doves were green (Setaria viridis) and yellow foxtail (S. glauca; Van’t Hul and Jenks 1992).
Large-scale land use changes have occurred in eastern South Dakota in the past few decades and several factors have contributed to increased grassland to cropland conversion (Wright and Wimberly 2013). Conversion of grasslands to agricultural crops has increased as demand for biofuels and commodity prices increased (Secchi and Babcock 2007, Searchinger et al. 2008, Fargione et al. 2009, Wright and Wimberly 2013). In east central South Dakota, corn and soybean plantings have increased from 2,400,000 ha in 1991 to 4,400,000 ha in 2013 (United States Department of Agriculture 2014). These significant land-use changes that have occurred in the intervening 20 years may influence mourning dove feeding habits. We compared mourning dove diet composition in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, USA, to those published 20 years earlier from a study conducted approximately 60 km north (Van’t Hul and Jenks 1992)

Grovenburg, Troy W.

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln The Prairie Naturalist Great Plains Natural Science Society 6-2015 NOTES: ARE LAND-USE CHANGES REFLECTED IN DIETS OF MOURNING DOVES (ZENAIDA MACROURA) IN EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA Joshua B. Smith Troy W. Grovenburg Matthew A. Perrion Jason M. Augspurger Trevor W. Bultje See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tpn  Part of the Biodiversity Commons, Botany Commons, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Systems Biology Commons, and the Weed Science Commons This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Natural Science Society at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Naturalist by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Authors Joshua B. Smith, Troy W. Grovenburg, Matthew A. Perrion, Jason M. Augspurger, Trevor W. Bultje, Anna M. Robinson, Brandi L. Crider, Datta Shubham, and Jonathan A. Jenks The Prairie Naturalist 47:26–28; 2015NOTESARE LAND-USE CHANGES REFLECTED IN  DIETS OF MOURNING DOVES (ZENAIDA MACROURA) IN EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA—Food habits of the mourn-ing dove (Zenaida macroura) have been extensively studied in the southern United States (McClure 1943, Korschgen 1958, Carpenter 1971) and consist primarily of vegetable matter throughout their range (Beckwith 1959).  Diet studies in	 several	 states	have	 indicated	agricultural	 crops,	 specifi-cally corn and wheat, were the most readily consumed plant seeds (Korshgen 1958, Carpenter 1971).  Similarities ob-served in diets of doves were dependent on the agricultural crops available within the area.  For example, in Missouri, some seasonal variability was documented suggesting doves forage based on food availability as much as by food pref-erence (Korschgen 1958).  However, in the agriculturally-dominated landscape of east central South Dakota (SD), the two most important food items for doves were green (Setaria viridis) and yellow foxtail (S. glauca; Van’t Hul and Jenks 1992).Large-scale land use changes have occurred in eastern South Dakota in the past few decades and several factors have contributed to increased grassland to cropland conver-sion (Wright and Wimberly 2013).  Conversion of grass-lands to agricultural crops has increased as demand for bio-fuels and commodity prices increased (Secchi and Babcock 2007, Searchinger et al. 2008, Fargione et al. 2009, Wright and Wimberly 2013). In east central South Dakota, corn and soybean plantings have increased from 2,400,000 ha in 1991 to 4,400,000 ha in 2013 (United States Department of Agri-culture	2014).		These	significant	land-use	changes	that	have	occurred	in	the	intervening	20	years	may	influence	mourning	dove feeding habits.  We compared mourning dove diet com-position in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, USA, to those published 20 years earlier from a study conducted approxi-mately 60 km north (Van’t Hul and Jenks 1992).We employed normal hunting practices to harvest doves (South Dakota State University Institutional Animal Care and Use	Committee	protocol	 #11-065A)	 from	 six	unique	fields	encompassing an area of approximately 250 km2 in Minne-haha County, South Dakota, from 1 to 6 September 2013. We recorded collection date, age, and sex for all harvested doves (Cannell 1984).  We froze whole carcasses to prevent digestion prior to washing and drying crop contents (Davison 1940).	 	We	 sifted	 contents	of	 crops	 and	 identified	contents	to plant species using seed keys (Delroit 1970, Musil 1978), and the reference seed collection in the South Dakota State University Seed Laboratory.  We recorded and weighed crop contents separately depending on species, and converted diet items	to	percent	of	total	diet.		We	considered	anything	<0.1%	weight as trace.We collected 42 doves; 14 juveniles and 28 adults.  Of the	 42	 crops	 examined,	 one	was	 empty.	 	We	 identified 22 seed species (Table 1) in the crops of doves. The most com-mon food item was foxtail (Setaria spp.).		It	comprised	23%	by	weight	and	42.9%	frequency	of	occurrence	in	the	diet	of	doves.  Corn was the second most common food item com-prising	17.8%	by	weight	and	42.9%	frequency	of	occurrence	in dove diets.  Spotted sand mat (Chamaesyce alypotoper-ma), black medic (Medicago lupina), wheat, red millet (Pan-icum ramosum), switch grass (Panicum viratum) and wild sunflower	(Helianthus annus) occurred	in	>10%	of	mourning	dove crops.  Snails (Gastropoda spp.) were the only animal matter	found	and	occurred	in	16.7%	of	crops.		Green and yellow foxtail were the primary food items con-sumed by mourning doves during fall in southeastern South Dakota.  Interestingly, an earlier study (Van’t Hul and Jenks 1992)	reported	nearly	four	times	greater	weight	(88%	versus	23%)	and	two	times	greater	occurrence	(91%	versus	44%)	as	our study (Table 1).  It is possible some of the variation we observed was the result of different land uses between study areas.  However, land cover in 2013 was virtually identical for	the	four	counties	(crop	=	62%,	grass	=	9%)	sampled	by	Van’t Hul and Jenks (1992) compared to Minnehaha County (crop	=	62%,	grass	=	10%;	United	States	Department	of	Ag-riculture 2014).  Thus, we believe differing diets of mourning doves was likely a result of land use changes from 1992 to present	and	not	a	reflection	of	differences	in	study	sites.		The	temporal land use changes were a result of rising commod-ity prices, increased demand for biofuels, and loss of CRP enrolled land over the past 20 years (Fargrione 2009, Wright and Wimberly 2013).   Mourning dove diets exhibit substantial variability both spatially and temporally across their range (Korschgen 1958, Beckwith 1959), and often are associated with the most prev-alent crop and associated harvest practices (Carpenter 1971). Our results, when compared to diets in 1991, tend to validate the adaptability of mourning doves, and the importance of both agricultural crops and weed seeds in their diet.  Funding for this project was provided by the Agricultural Experiment Station at South Dakota State University.  We thank T. Carpenter, for allowing us private land access.  We also thank G. Larson, R. Parmely and S. Chipps for help with seed	 identification.—Joshua B. Smith1,2, Troy W. Groven-burg1, Matthew A. Perrion1, Jason M. Augspurger1, Trevor W. Bultje1, Anna M. Robinson1, Brandi L. Crider1, Datta Shubham1, and Jonathan A. Jenks1.  1Department of Natural Resource Management, Box 2140B, South Dakota State Uni-versity, Brookings, SD 57006, USA.  2Corresponding author email address: jbsmith1852@gmail.com.NOTES 27Table 1.  Comparison of food items found in mourning dove (Zenaida macroura)	crops	by	weight	(%)	and	occurrence	(%)	in	east-ern South Dakota, USA, from 1991 (n = 73) to 2013 (n = 41).Weight	(%) Occurrence	(%)Food items 1991a 2013 1991a 2013Foxtail (Setaria viridis and S. glauca) 88.0 23.0 91.0 43.9Corn (Zea mays) 6.0 17.8 30.1 43.9Black medic (Medicago lupulina) Trace 9.3 2.7 17.1Spotted sandmat (Chamaesyce alypotoperma) ‒ 8.7 ‒ 29.3Wheat (Triticum aestivum) ‒ 8.7 ‒ 17.1Grape seed (Vitis vinifera) ‒ 7.3 ‒ 9.8Wild	sunflower	(Helianthus annus) 4.0 4.7 31.5 14.6Red millet (Panicum ramosum) ‒ 4.2 ‒ 17.1Switch grass (P. viratum) Trace 2.9 27.3 17.1Hemp (Cannabis sativa) Trace 2.7 2.7 2.4Genus: Polygonum Trace 2.5 9.5 2.4Snails (Gastropoda sp.) Trace 2.2 13.6 17.1Broom corn millet (P. miliaceum) ‒ 2.1 ‒ 14.6Poverty weed (Iva axillaris) 0.2 1.2 5.4 7.3Redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) 0.5 1.0 61.6 7.3Wild buckwheat (Polygonum convolvulus) 0.1 0.8 17.8 2.4Smart weed (Polygonum sp.) Trace 0.4 4.1 2.4Soy bean (Glycine max) ‒ 0.2 ‒ 2.4Rumex sp. Trace 0.1 1.3 2.4Helianthus sp. ‒ Trace ‒ 2.4Perennial sow thistle (Sonchus arvensis) Trace Trace 1.3 2.4Common ragweed (Ambosia artemisiifolia) 1.0 ‒ 30.1 ‒Marsh elder (I. xanthigolia) 0.1 ‒ 5.4 ‒Musk thistle (Carduus nutans) Trace ‒ 16.4 ‒Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) Trace ‒ 4.1 ‒Paspalum (Paspalum spp.) Trace ‒ 1.3 ‒Giant ragweed (A. tridida) Trace ‒ 2.7 ‒Sedge (Carex spp.) Trace ‒ 1.3 ‒Cinquefoil (Potentilla spp.) Trace ‒ 1.3 ‒Barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crusgalli) Trace ‒ 5.5 ‒Unknown Trace Trace 13.6 4.9aData from Van’t Hul and Jenks (1992)28 The Prairie Naturalist  •  47(1): June 2015LITERATURE CITEDBeckwith, S. L.  1959.  Mourning dove foods in Florida dur-ing October and December.  Journal of Wildlife Manage-ment 23:351–354.Cannell, P. F.  1984.  A revised age/sex key for mourning doves,	with	comments	on	the	definition	of	molt.		Journal	of Field Ornithology 55:112–114.Carpenter, J. W.  1971.  Food habits of the mourning dove in northwest Oklahoma.  Journal of Wildlife Management 35:327–331.Davison,	V.	E.		1940.		A	field	method	of	analyzing	game	bird	foods.  Journal of Wildlife Management 4:105–116.Delroit, R. J. 1970.  An illustrated taxonomy manual of weed seeds.  Agronomy Publications, River Falls, Wisconsin, USA.Fargione, J. E., T. R. Cooper, D. J. Flaspohler, J. Hill, C. Lehman, T. McCoy, S. McLeod, E. J. Nelson, K. S. Oberhauser, and D. Tilman.  2009.  Bioenergy and wild-life: threats and opportunities for grassland conservation. Bioscience 59:767–777.Korschgen, L. J.  1958.  Food habits of the mourning dove in Missouri.  Journal of Wildlife Management 22:9–16.McClure, H. E.  1943.  Ecology and management of the mourning dove, Zenaidura macroura (Linn) in Cass County Iowa.  Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 310:355–415.Musil,	A.	F.	 	1978.	 	 Identification	of	crop	and	weed	seeds:	agriculture handbook no. 519.  U. S. Department of Ag-riculture, Washington, D.C., USA.   Searchinger, T., R. Heimlich, R. A. Houghton, F. X. Dong, A. Elobeid, J. Fabiosa, S. Tokgoz, D. Hayes, and T. H. Yu. 2008.  Use of US croplands for biofuels increases green-house gases through emissions from land-use change. Science 319:1238–1240.Secchi, S., and B. A. Babcock.  2007.  Impact of high corn prices on Conservation Reserve Program acreage.  Iowa Ag Review 13:4–7.United States Department of Agriculture.  2014.  National Agricultural Statistics Service.  Cropland Data Layer Metadata.  <http://www.nass.usda.gov/research/Crop-land /metadata/meta.htm>.  Accessed 11 August 2014.Van’t Hul, J. T., and J. A. Jenks.  1992.  Food habits of mourn-ing doves in east central South Dakota.  The Prairie Nat-uralist 24:251–256.Wright, C. K., and M. C. Wimberly.  2013.  Recent land use change in the western Corn Belt threatens grasslands and wetlands.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sci-ence 110:4134–4139.Submitted 26 September 2014.  Accepted 5 April 2015. Associate Editor was M. Rumble.

NOTES: ARE LAND-USE CHANGES REFLECTED IN DIETS OF MOURNING DOVES (ZENAIDA MACROURA) IN EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA

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The Prairie Naturalist Great Plains Natural Science Society 
6-2015 
NOTES: ARE LAND-USE CHANGES REFLECTED IN DIETS OF 
MOURNING DOVES (ZENAIDA MACROURA) IN EASTERN SOUTH 
DAKOTA 
Joshua B. Smith 
Troy W. Grovenburg 
Matthew A. Perrion 
Jason M. Augspurger 
Trevor W. Bultje 
See next page for additional authors 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tpn 
 Part of the Biodiversity Commons, Botany Commons, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, 
Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Systems Biology Commons, and the Weed Science 
Commons 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Natural Science Society at 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Prairie Naturalist by 
an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 
Authors 
Joshua B. Smith, Troy W. Grovenburg, Matthew A. Perrion, Jason M. Augspurger, Trevor W. Bultje, Anna M. 
Robinson, Brandi L. Crider, Datta Shubham, and Jonathan A. Jenks 
The Prairie Naturalist 47:26–28; 2015
NOTES
ARE LAND-USE CHANGES REFLECTED IN  DIETS 
OF MOURNING DOVES (ZENAIDA MACROURA) IN 
EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA—Food habits of the mourn-
ing dove (Zenaida macroura) have been extensively studied 
in the southern United States (McClure 1943, Korschgen 
1958, Carpenter 1971) and consist primarily of vegetable 
matter throughout their range (Beckwith 1959).  Diet studies 
in	 several	 states	have	 indicated	agricultural	 crops,	 specifi-
cally corn and wheat, were the most readily consumed plant 
seeds (Korshgen 1958, Carpenter 1971).  Similarities ob-
served in diets of doves were dependent on the agricultural 
crops available within the area.  For example, in Missouri, 
some seasonal variability was documented suggesting doves 
forage based on food availability as much as by food pref-
erence (Korschgen 1958).  However, in the agriculturally-
dominated landscape of east central South Dakota (SD), the 
two most important food items for doves were green (Setaria 
viridis) and yellow foxtail (S. glauca; Van’t Hul and Jenks 
1992).
Large-scale land use changes have occurred in eastern 
South Dakota in the past few decades and several factors 
have contributed to increased grassland to cropland conver-
sion (Wright and Wimberly 2013).  Conversion of grass-
lands to agricultural crops has increased as demand for bio-
fuels and commodity prices increased (Secchi and Babcock 
2007, Searchinger et al. 2008, Fargione et al. 2009, Wright 
and Wimberly 2013). In east central South Dakota, corn and 
soybean plantings have increased from 2,400,000 ha in 1991 
to 4,400,000 ha in 2013 (United States Department of Agri-
culture	2014).		These	significant	land-use	changes	that	have	
occurred	in	the	intervening	20	years	may	influence	mourning	
dove feeding habits.  We compared mourning dove diet com-
position in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, USA, to those 
published 20 years earlier from a study conducted approxi-
mately 60 km north (Van’t Hul and Jenks 1992).
We employed normal hunting practices to harvest doves 
(South Dakota State University Institutional Animal Care and 
Use	Committee	protocol	 #11-065A)	 from	 six	unique	fields	
encompassing an area of approximately 250 km2 in Minne-
haha County, South Dakota, from 1 to 6 September 2013. 
We recorded collection date, age, and sex for all harvested 
doves (Cannell 1984).  We froze whole carcasses to prevent 
digestion prior to washing and drying crop contents (Davison 
1940).	 	We	 sifted	 contents	of	 crops	 and	 identified	contents	
to plant species using seed keys (Delroit 1970, Musil 1978), 
and the reference seed collection in the South Dakota State 
University Seed Laboratory.  We recorded and weighed crop 
contents separately depending on species, and converted diet 
items	to	percent	of	total	diet.		We	considered	anything	<0.1%	
weight as trace.
We collected 42 doves; 14 juveniles and 28 adults.  Of 
the	 42	 crops	 examined,	 one	was	 empty.	 	We	 identified 22 
seed species (Table 1) in the crops of doves. The most com-
mon food item was foxtail (Setaria spp.).		It	comprised	23%	
by	weight	and	42.9%	frequency	of	occurrence	in	the	diet	of	
doves.  Corn was the second most common food item com-
prising	17.8%	by	weight	and	42.9%	frequency	of	occurrence	
in dove diets.  Spotted sand mat (Chamaesyce alypotoper-
ma), black medic (Medicago lupina), wheat, red millet (Pan-
icum ramosum), switch grass (Panicum viratum) and wild 
sunflower	(Helianthus annus) occurred	in	>10%	of	mourning	
dove crops.  Snails (Gastropoda spp.) were the only animal 
matter	found	and	occurred	in	16.7%	of	crops.		
Green and yellow foxtail were the primary food items con-
sumed by mourning doves during fall in southeastern South 
Dakota.  Interestingly, an earlier study (Van’t Hul and Jenks 
1992)	reported	nearly	four	times	greater	weight	(88%	versus	
23%)	and	two	times	greater	occurrence	(91%	versus	44%)	as	
our study (Table 1).  It is possible some of the variation we 
observed was the result of different land uses between study 
areas.  However, land cover in 2013 was virtually identical 
for	the	four	counties	(crop	=	62%,	grass	=	9%)	sampled	by	
Van’t Hul and Jenks (1992) compared to Minnehaha County 
(crop	=	62%,	grass	=	10%;	United	States	Department	of	Ag-
riculture 2014).  Thus, we believe differing diets of mourning 
doves was likely a result of land use changes from 1992 to 
present	and	not	a	reflection	of	differences	in	study	sites.		The	
temporal land use changes were a result of rising commod-
ity prices, increased demand for biofuels, and loss of CRP 
enrolled land over the past 20 years (Fargrione 2009, Wright 
and Wimberly 2013). 
  Mourning dove diets exhibit substantial variability both 
spatially and temporally across their range (Korschgen 1958, 
Beckwith 1959), and often are associated with the most prev-
alent crop and associated harvest practices (Carpenter 1971). 
Our results, when compared to diets in 1991, tend to validate 
the adaptability of mourning doves, and the importance of 
both agricultural crops and weed seeds in their diet.  
Funding for this project was provided by the Agricultural 
Experiment Station at South Dakota State University.  We 
thank T. Carpenter, for allowing us private land access.  We 
also thank G. Larson, R. Parmely and S. Chipps for help with 
seed	 identification.—Joshua B. Smith1,2, Troy W. Groven-
burg1, Matthew A. Perrion1, Jason M. Augspurger1, Trevor 
W. Bultje1, Anna M. Robinson1, Brandi L. Crider1, Datta 
Shubham1, and Jonathan A. Jenks1.  1Department of Natural 
Resource Management, Box 2140B, South Dakota State Uni-
versity, Brookings, SD 57006, USA.  2Corresponding author 
email address: jbsmith1852@gmail.com.
NOTES 27
Table 1.  Comparison of food items found in mourning dove (Zenaida macroura)	crops	by	weight	(%)	and	occurrence	(%)	in	east-
ern South Dakota, USA, from 1991 (n = 73) to 2013 (n = 41).
Weight	(%) Occurrence	(%)
Food items 1991a 2013 1991a 2013
Foxtail (Setaria viridis and S. glauca) 88.0 23.0 91.0 43.9
Corn (Zea mays) 6.0 17.8 30.1 43.9
Black medic (Medicago lupulina) Trace 9.3 2.7 17.1
Spotted sandmat (Chamaesyce alypotoperma) ‒ 8.7 ‒ 29.3
Wheat (Triticum aestivum) ‒ 8.7 ‒ 17.1
Grape seed (Vitis vinifera) ‒ 7.3 ‒ 9.8
Wild	sunflower	(Helianthus annus) 4.0 4.7 31.5 14.6
Red millet (Panicum ramosum) ‒ 4.2 ‒ 17.1
Switch grass (P. viratum) Trace 2.9 27.3 17.1
Hemp (Cannabis sativa) Trace 2.7 2.7 2.4
Genus: Polygonum Trace 2.5 9.5 2.4
Snails (Gastropoda sp.) Trace 2.2 13.6 17.1
Broom corn millet (P. miliaceum) ‒ 2.1 ‒ 14.6
Poverty weed (Iva axillaris) 0.2 1.2 5.4 7.3
Redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) 0.5 1.0 61.6 7.3
Wild buckwheat (Polygonum convolvulus) 0.1 0.8 17.8 2.4
Smart weed (Polygonum sp.) Trace 0.4 4.1 2.4
Soy bean (Glycine max) ‒ 0.2 ‒ 2.4
Rumex sp. Trace 0.1 1.3 2.4
Helianthus sp. ‒ Trace ‒ 2.4
Perennial sow thistle (Sonchus arvensis) Trace Trace 1.3 2.4
Common ragweed (Ambosia artemisiifolia) 1.0 ‒ 30.1 ‒
Marsh elder (I. xanthigolia) 0.1 ‒ 5.4 ‒
Musk thistle (Carduus nutans) Trace ‒ 16.4 ‒
Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) Trace ‒ 4.1 ‒
Paspalum (Paspalum spp.) Trace ‒ 1.3 ‒
Giant ragweed (A. tridida) Trace ‒ 2.7 ‒
Sedge (Carex spp.) Trace ‒ 1.3 ‒
Cinquefoil (Potentilla spp.) Trace ‒ 1.3 ‒
Barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crusgalli) Trace ‒ 5.5 ‒
Unknown Trace Trace 13.6 4.9
aData from Van’t Hul and Jenks (1992)
28 The Prairie Naturalist  •  47(1): June 2015
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Submitted 26 September 2014.  Accepted 5 April 2015. 
Associate Editor was M. Rumble.


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Are Land-use Changes Reflected in Diets of Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) in Eastern South Dakota

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