Activity, home range, and habitat usage of female ruffed grouse during the egg-laying, incubation, and early brood periods as determined by radiotelemetry

Habitat Selection and Home Range Size of Ruffed Grouse in Rhode Island

“…Home range of adult male grouse in Tennessee was 37 ha (Boyd 1990). Home-range size of grouse in the Great Lakes region (Godfrey 1975, Maxson 1974 was also smaller than home range of grouse in Rhode Island. In contrast, 95%-MCP home range of grouse in North Carolina (range = 43-92 ha; Schumacher 2002) was similar in size to home range of grouse in Rhode Island.…”

Linking microhabitat selection, range size, reproductive state, and behavioral state in greater sage‐grouse

“…Sage-grouse broods 0-2 weeks are constrained by the mobility of chicks, and, as chicks age, females are able to increase the size of their ranges (Drut et al 1994), similar to brood-rearing female dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) whose range sizes increased steadily throughout brood-rearing (Sopuck and Zwickel 1992). Females with broods 0-2 weeks were slower to become active in the morning and quicker to lessen activity in the evening compared with females with broods 3-5 weeks and broodless females, similar to activity levels seen in ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) broods (Maxson 1974). Less activity in the morning and evening is likely due to females needing to brood their chicks more during cooler temperatures when chicks are still unable to thermoregulate.…”

“…Similarly, we predicted brood‐rearing females would choose areas with less cover and more forbs compared with broodless females who would select a greater variety of habitats (Smith et al 2018). We predicted activity levels would differ during the day between reproductive states, such that brood‐rearing females would take longer to become active in the morning and be more active during the day to satisfy nutrient requirements of the chicks whereas broodless females would show more variable activity levels throughout the day (Maxson 1974). We also predicted brood‐rearing females would have smaller ranges than broodless females due to mobility constraints of having chicks.…”