Comparison of avian communities on restored and natural wetlands in North and South Dakota

We compared avian use of 39 restored and 39 natural wetlands in North and South Dakota during spring and summer of 1997 and 1998. Wetlands were widely distributed. but restored- and natural-wetland pairs were from the same geographic locale and had similar characteristics, including wetland size. We conducted paired comparisons between restored and natural wetlands for wetland-bird density, waterfowl-breeding pairs, and wetland-avian abundance. species richness. and diversity. We also compared abundance, species richness, and diversity of birds on upland areas adjacent to wetlands. Canada goose (avian scientific names in Appendix A), mallard, redhead, and ruddy duck had higher densities on restored wetlands. We failed to detect differences in overall avian abundance, species richness, or diversity between restored and natural wetlands. We conclude that restored wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region supported similar avian communities with equal or higher abundances than those of natural wetlands.