Demography of greater prairie‐chickens: Regional variation in vital rates, sensitivity values, and population dynamics

McNew, Lance B.; Gregory, Andrew J.; Wisely, Samantha M.; Sandercock, Brett K.

doi:10.1002/jwmg.369

Cited by 56 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Our results confirm the strong influence of vertical nesting cover on prairie-chicken nesting ecology (McNew et al, 2014), and explain variation in fecundity observed over gradients of rangeland management intensity (McNew et al, 2012a;Robbins et al, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Prairie-chickens require a diverse mosaic of floristic and structural grassland habitats for successful reproduction and survival: open sites at relatively high elevations for display arenas or leks, dense vegetative cover for concealment during nesting, and intermediate vegetative structure rich in forbs for brood-rearing (Svedarsky et al, 2000;Johnson et al, 2011). Our recent research indicates that high predation on nests and young is the primary cause of population declines, and that predation risk is linked to a lack of adequate vegetative cover at prairie-chicken nest sites in the Flint Hills (McNew et al, 2012a(McNew et al, , 2014. However, the relationships between rangeland management practices, nesting cover, and prairie-chicken fecundity have not been evaluated.…”

Section: Contents Lists Available At Sciencedirectmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Alternative Rangeland Management Strategies and the Nesting Ecology of Greater Prairie-Chickens

McNew

Winder

Pitman

et al. 2015

Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Contents Lists Available At Sciencedirectmentioning

confidence: 97%

Alternative Rangeland Management Strategies and the Nesting Ecology of Greater Prairie-Chickens

McNew

Winder

Pitman

et al. 2015

Rangeland Ecology & Management

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“…Upland sandpiper populations could be buffered against poor nest survival because they lay replacement clutches, and annual survival is relatively high (*0.7, Sandercock, unpublished data). Nevertheless, current rangeland management could be reducing population viability of upland sandpipers and other grassland birds in the Flint Hills ecoregion McNew et al 2012; this study).…”

Section: Habitat-specific Demographymentioning

confidence: 95%

Effects of grazing and prescribed fire on resource selection and nest survival of upland sandpipers in an experimental landscape

et al. 2014

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Context Conservation of grassland vertebrates requires a mechanistic understanding of the effects of landscape heterogeneity on habitat selection and demographic performance. Objectives Our goal was to investigate the effects of rangeland management on resource selection and nest survival of upland sandpipers (Bartramia longicauda). Methods We conducted our project at Konza Prairie, a Long-Term Ecological Research site. The station has 60 experimental units with replicated grazing and fire treatments that create a heterogeneous landscape of different habitat patches. We radio-tracked sandpipers for two breeding seasons (2003-2004, n = 37 birds) and monitored sandpiper nests for eight seasons (2001-2008, n = 246 nests). We used resource utilization functions to examine resource selection with respect to five landscape features. Results Home ranges of sandpipers were large in contiguous prairie (" x ¼ 8:4 km 2 ) and explain areasensitive occurrence in fragmented prairie. Upland sandpipers selected grazed and burned sites with short vegetation within their home range. In contrast, nest site selection was influenced by fire frequency and birds selected infrequently burned sites with greater vegetative structure. Settlement decisions affected fitness because nest survival was low in burned and grazed sites (0.068), but higher in unburned and ungrazed sites (0.201-0.247). Conclusions Our results raise concerns for conservation because private rangelands managed for livestock production are often homogeneous landscapes with Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (heavy grazing and frequent fires. Rotational grazing and fire could be used to restore heterogeneity to grasslands but the duration of rotation, patch size, and optimal configuration require further investigation.

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“…Avoidance of these landscape features may be related to patterns of habitat fragmentation. Fragmentation of native prairie by cropland and anthropogenic features such as roads, power lines, fences, and towers has been linked to elevated mortality rates and shifts in life-history strategies in Greater and Lesser Prairie-Chickens, leaving these populations more vulnerable to local extinction (Ryan et al 1998, Patten et al 2005, McNew et al 2012.…”

Section: Spatial Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prairie-chicken populations are declining in the core of their extant range in Kansas due to low rates of nest, brood, and adult survival, which are related to high rates of predation and intensification of land use for cattle production (McNew et al 2012, Pitman et al 2012. Prairie-chickens require a mosaic of habitat types for successful reproduction and survival: open sites at relatively high elevations for display arenas used for lekking, dense vegetative cover for concealment during nesting, and areas of intermediate vegetative structure that are rich in forbs for foraging and rearing of broods (Gregory et al 2011, Johnson et al 2011, Matthews et al 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Space use by female Greater Prairie‐Chickens in response to wind energy development

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Wind energy development is targeted to meet 20% of U.S. energy demand by 2030. In Kansas, optimal sites for wind energy development often overlap with preferred habitats of Greater PrairieChickens (Tympanuchus cupido), a lek-mating species of prairie grouse with declining populations. Our goal was to use movement data from radio telemetry to investigate patterns and drivers of seasonal space use by female prairie-chickens during pre-and post-construction periods at a wind energy facility in northcentral Kansas. We developed individual and population level resource utilization functions (RUFs) for four time periods: the 6-month breeding and nonbreeding seasons during the pre-construction stage (2007)(2008); n ¼ 28 and 14 females), and the same two seasons during a post-construction period (2009)(2010)(2011); n ¼ 102 and 37). RUFs relate non-uniform space use within a home range to landscape metrics in a multiple regression framework. We selected ten predictor variables that described land cover, habitat patchiness, anthropogenic disturbance, and social behavior of prairie-chickens. We documented two behavioral responses of females to wind energy development during the breeding season: (1) mean home range size increased approximately two-fold, and (2) space use had a positive relationship with distance to turbine, which indicated female avoidance of wind turbines. A parallel study of demographic rates in our study population found no negative effects of wind energy development on prairie-chicken fecundity or survival, but persistent avoidance of wind energy development could result in the local extirpation of prairie-chicken populations at our study site. Our primary ecological finding was that distance to lek was the strongest predictor of space use during all treatment periods, with relatively high use of areas at short distances from leks in 79% of female home ranges. Thus, lek site surveys should be effective for identifying prairie grouse habitat preferences and monitoring population dynamics when more intensive demographic studies are not feasible. Our study is the first application of resource utilization function techniques to a wildlife population in response to energy development, and our results provide new quantitative insights into the spatial ecology of an upland gamebird of conservation concern.

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Demography of greater prairie‐chickens: Regional variation in vital rates, sensitivity values, and population dynamics

Cited by 56 publications

References 70 publications

Alternative Rangeland Management Strategies and the Nesting Ecology of Greater Prairie-Chickens

Alternative Rangeland Management Strategies and the Nesting Ecology of Greater Prairie-Chickens

Effects of grazing and prescribed fire on resource selection and nest survival of upland sandpipers in an experimental landscape

Space use by female Greater Prairie‐Chickens in response to wind energy development

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