The Montezuma quail is a game bird that inhabits oak-juniper-pine savannas of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, extending its range south into montane grasslands of Mexico. The species occurs within a complex matrix of public and private rangeland in which land management regimes and habitat quality are disparate. Given that food limitation can be a driver of wildlife populations, studies of the Montezuma quail diet can inform the management of its habitat. Our objective was to determine the composition and variation of the Montezuma quail's diet in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas by macrohistological analysis of crops ( = 175) collected in 2016−2020 during winter in all three states and during spring in Texas. We used Dirichlet regression to determine the effects of ecological factors on diet composition. Winter diet in Arizona was mainly represented by woodsorrel bulbs ( spp.; 35.22% of dry weight), sedge rhizomes and bulbs ( spp.; 30.92%), and acorns ( spp.; 7.17%). Winter diet in New Mexico consisted mainly of sedge bulbs (64.13%), bushbean seeds ( sp.; 15.82%), and Hall's panicum seeds ( 10.11%). Winter diet in Texas was composed of sedge rhizomes and bulbs (28.17%), Texas snoutbeans ( 22.49), Hall's panicum seeds (19.54%), and wild onions ( spp.; 8.58%). Spring diet in Texas included sedge rhizomes and bulbs (67.90%), woodsorrel bulbs (19.49%), and Texas snoutbeans (5.55%). Geographic variation in diet composition was related to climatic, ecological, and intrinsic factors. For instance, in addition to being consumed by males at a higher rate, woodsorrel bulbs were also consumed at a greater rate in hotter and wetter locations. Along with novel information about the Montezuma quail diet in Texas, our investigation will stimulate questions relevant to rangeland and wildlife management, including determinants of habitat quality and the effects of climate change on wildlife populations.

中文翻译：

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亚利桑那州、新墨西哥州和德克萨斯州蒙特祖玛鹌鹑饮食的变化

蒙特苏马鹌鹑是一种猎鸟，栖息在亚利桑那州、新墨西哥州和德克萨斯州的橡树、杜松和松树稀树草原上，其活动范围向南延伸到墨西哥的山地草原。该物种生活在公共和私人牧场的复杂矩阵中，其中土地管理制度和栖息地质量不同。鉴于食物限制可能是野生动物数量的一个驱动因素，对蒙特祖玛鹌鹑饮食的研究可以为其栖息地的管理提供信息。我们的目标是通过对 2016−2020 年冬季这三个州和德克萨斯州春季收集的农作物 (= 175) 进行宏观组织学分析，确定亚利桑那州、新墨西哥州和德克萨斯州蒙特祖玛鹌鹑饮食的组成和变化。我们使用狄利克雷回归来确定生态因素对饮食成分的影响。亚利桑那州的冬季饮食主要是酢浆草球茎（spp.；占干重的35.22%）、莎草根茎和球茎（spp.；30.92%）和橡子（spp.；7.17%）。新墨西哥州的冬季饮食主要包括莎草球茎 (64.13%)、灌木豆种子 (sp.; 15.82%) 和霍尔黍种子 (10.11%)。德克萨斯州的冬季饮食由莎草根茎和球茎 (28.17%)、德克萨斯州豆子 (22.49)、霍尔黍种子 (19.54%) 和野洋葱 (spp.; 8.58%) 组成。德克萨斯州的春季饮食包括莎草根茎和球茎（67.90%）、酢浆草球茎（19.49%）和德克萨斯州豆子（5.55%）。饮食成分的地理差异与气候、生态和内在因素有关。例如，除了雄性消耗率较高之外，酢浆草球茎在较热和较湿润的地区的消耗率也较高。除了有关德克萨斯州蒙特祖玛鹌鹑饮食的新信息之外，我们的调查还将激发与牧场和野生动物管理相关的问题，包括栖息地质量的决定因素以及气候变化对野生动物种群的影响。