Lawrence Igl, PhD
Larry Igl is a Research Ecologist at the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown, North Dakota.
His research interests are avian ecology and conservation, with an emphasis on grassland, wetland, and agricultural ecosystems in the Midwest and Great Plains. Specific areas of interest include avian responses to habitat management and disturbances, Farm Bill and agriculture programs, grassland bird ecology, cowbird brood parasitism, and nesting ecology. He has conducted surveys of breeding, migrating, and wintering birds throughout the southern, central, and northern Great Plains. Recent investigations include a long-term evaluation of breeding bird communities in grasslands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana; an eco-immunology study of New World Blackbirds; a study relating wetland management to mercury in songbirds and ducks; an evaluation of the effects of livestock stocking rates on breeding birds in grasslands managed by the U.S. Forest Service; and an investigation of the response of grassland birds to adaptive management treatments that are being used to restore floristic composition of native grasslands owned by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.
Professional Experience
2010-present. Research Ecologist, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Jamestown, ND
1992–2010. Ecologist, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Jamestown, ND
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Zoology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
M.S., Animal Ecology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
B.S., Triple major (Biology, Wildlife Ecology, and Natural Resources Management), University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, WI
Science and Products
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Merlin (Falco columbarius)
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii)
Evaluation of survey methods for colonial waterbirds at Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota
Wetland water-management may influence mercury bioaccumulation in songbirds and ducks at a mercury hotspot
The relative importance of wetland area versus habitat heterogeneity for promoting species richness and abundance of wetland birds in the Prairie Pothole Region, USA
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Thick-billed Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii)
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis)
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus)
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 118
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Merlin (Falco columbarius)
The key to Merlin (Falco columbarius) management is maintaining an interspersion of groves of deciduous or coniferous trees for nesting and open grasslands for hunting. Merlins do not build their own nests but rather use former nests of other bird species, including those of corvids (crows, ravens, and magpies) and accipitrids (hawks). In recent decades, Merlins have established breeding populatioAuthorsPaul M. Konrad, Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. IglThe effects of management practices on grassland birds—Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii)
Keys to Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii) management include providing suitable grassland habitat, especially native prairie, with intermediate vegetation height and low visual obstruction, and controlling succession therein. Sprague’s Pipits have been reported to use habitats with no more than 49 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 4–14 cm visual obstruction reading, 15–53 percent grassAuthorsJill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Travis L. Wooten, Jason P. Thiele, Betty R. EulissEvaluation of survey methods for colonial waterbirds at Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota
Estimating the number of breeding pairs in a mixed-species waterbird colony is difficult because colonial waterbirds are vulnerable to human intrusion and their colonies are often in remote areas with limited access. We investigated methods to estimate the number of nests of waterbirds at a large, mixed-species colony at Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge in south-central North Dakota. The primarAuthorsLawrence D. Igl, Alisa J. Bartos, Robert O. Woodward, Paulette Scherr, Marsha A. SovadaWetland water-management may influence mercury bioaccumulation in songbirds and ducks at a mercury hotspot
Mercury is a persistent, biomagnifying contaminant that can cause negative behavioral, immunological, and reproductive effects in wildlife and human populations. We examined the role of wetland water-management on mercury bioaccumulation in songbirds and ducks at Kellys Slough National Wildlife Refuge Complex, near Grand Forks, North Dakota USA. We assessed mercury concentrations in blood of wetlaAuthorsVirginia L. Winder, Michael J. Anteau, Mark R Fisher, Mary Kate Wilcox, Lawrence Igl, Josh T. AckermanThe relative importance of wetland area versus habitat heterogeneity for promoting species richness and abundance of wetland birds in the Prairie Pothole Region, USA
Recent work has suggested that a tradeoff exists between habitat area and habitat heterogeneity, with a moderate amount of heterogeneity supporting greatest species richness. Support for this unimodal relationship has been mixed and has differed among habitats and taxa. We examined the relationship between habitat heterogeneity and species richness after accounting for habitat area in glacially foAuthorsLisa H. Elliott, Lawrence Igl, Douglas H. JohnsonThe effects of management practices on grassland birds—Thick-billed Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii)
The key to Thick-billed Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii) management is providing short, sparsely vegetated native grasslands of adequate size. Mixed-grass prairies can be made suitable for breeding Thick-billed Longspurs by implementing moderate-to-heavy or season-long grazing. Thick-billed Longspurs have been reported to use habitats with 5–42 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 3–7 cAuthorsJill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Paul A. Rabie, Travis L. Wooten, Betty R. EulissThe effects of management practices on grassland birds—Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)
The key to Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) management is providing large areas of contiguous grassland of moderate height with significant grass cover and moderate forb density. Eastern Meadowlarks have been reported to use habitats with 10–187 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 6–88 cm visual obstruction reading, 53–86 percent grass cover, 4–50 percent forb cover, less than or equalAuthorsScott D. Hull, Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. IglThe effects of management practices on grassland birds—Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis)
Keys to Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) management are providing suitable nest sites, protecting active nest areas from human disturbance, and providing suitable habitat for prey.AuthorsJill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Amy L. Zimmerman, Jason P. Thiele, Betty R. EulissThe effects of management practices on grassland birds—Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)
The key to Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) management is providing open grasslands that contain patches of trees for nesting and perching, sometimes near cultivated areas.AuthorsJill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Meghan F. Dinkins, Christopher M. Goldade, Travis L. Wooten, Betty R. EulissThe effects of management practices on grassland birds—Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)
The key to Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) management is providing tall, dense vegetation in extensive mesic or xeric grasslands or in wetlands. Northern Harriers have been reported to use habitats with 15–106 centimeter (cm) average vegetation height, 28–75 cm visual obstruction reading, 24–53 percent grass cover, 18–25 percent forb cover, less than or equal to 2 percent shrub cover, 3–5 percAuthorsJill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Jason P. Thiele, Betty R. EulissThe effects of management practices on grassland birds—Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus)
The key to Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus) management is maintaining sparsely vegetated grasslands. Grasslands can be made suitable for breeding Mountain Plovers by preserving large prairie dog (Cynomys species) towns, conducting prescribed burns, or implementing heavy grazing in some situations. Mountain Plovers have been reported to use habitats with 2–38 centimeters average vegetation heiAuthorsJill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Travis L. Wooten, Betty R. EulissThe effects of management practices on grassland birds—Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Keys to Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa) management include providing large expanses of short, sparsely to moderately vegetated landscapes that include native grasslands and wetland complexes. Optimal wetland complexes should contain a diversity of wetland classes and sizes, such as ephemeral, temporary, seasonal, semipermanent, permanent, and alkali wetlands, as well as intermittent streams. MarbledAuthorsJill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Betty R. Euliss