Landscape alterations influence differential habitat use of nesting buteos and ravens within sagebrush ecosystem: Implications for transmission line development

Coates, Peter S.; Howe, Kristy B.; Casazza, Michael L.; Delehanty, David J.

doi:10.1650/condor-13-126.1

Cited by 42 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Avian predators are important sources of mortality for sage-grouse adults and eggs throughout their range [46] with corvids focusing on eggs [47] and raptors largely preying on adults [48]. Avian predator distribution and abundance are limited by nesting and perching sites [49,50], and eliminating these sites may be beneficial in reducing depredation rates. Additionally, changes in available habitat as a result of conifer removal may also impact survival.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Better living through conifer removal: A demographic analysis of sage-grouse vital rates

et al. 2017

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Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) obligate wildlife species such as the imperiled greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) face numerous threats including altered ecosystem processes that have led to conifer expansion into shrub-steppe. Conifer removal is accelerating despite a lack of empirical evidence on grouse population response. Using a before-after-control-impact design at the landscape scale, we evaluated effects of conifer removal on two important demographic parameters, annual survival of females and nest survival, by monitoring 219 female sage-grouse and 225 nests in the northern Great Basin from 2010 to 2014. Estimates from the best treatment models showed positive trends in the treatment area relative to the control area resulting in an increase of 6.6% annual female survival and 18.8% nest survival relative to the control area by 2014. Using stochastic simulations of our estimates and published demographics, we estimated a 25% increase in the population growth rate in the treatment area relative to the control area. This is the first study to link sage-grouse demographics with conifer removal and supports recommendations to actively manage conifer expansion for sage-grouse conservation. Sage-grouse have become a primary catalyst for conservation funding to address conifer expansion in the West, and these findings have important implications for other ecosystem services being generated on the wings of species conservation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Better living through conifer removal: A demographic analysis of sage-grouse vital rates

et al. 2017

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“…For example, multiple species of large Buteo hawks, which are effective predators of full-grown sagegrouse (Schroeder et al, 1999), often prefer relatively flat, open shrublands that interface pinyon-juniper woodlands, especially outlier trees from the main woodlots (Bechard and Schmutz, 1995;Coates et al, 2014b). Ferruginous (Buteo regalis) and Swainson's (B. swainsoni) hawks that nest in sagebrush ecosystems prefer nesting in single trees or isolated groups of trees surrounded by open areas with sagebrush cover (Coates et al, 2014b) and tend to build nests on large flattopped junipers. Another effective Buteo predator of sage-grouse, the red-tailed hawk (B. jamaicensis), often uses areas with less tree canopy cover to accommodate their relatively large size and wingspan (Leyhe and Ritchison, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraseasonal variation in survival and probable causes of mortality in greater sage‐grouse Centrocercus urophasianus

et al. 2013

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The mortality process is a key component of avian population dynamics, and understanding factors that affect mortality is central to grouse conservation. Populations of greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus have declined across their range in western North America. We studied cause-specific mortality of radio-marked sage-grouse in Eureka County, Nevada, USA, during two seasons, nesting (2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) and fall (2008)(2009)(2010), when survival was known to be lower compared to other times of the year. We used known-fate and cumulative incidence function models to estimate weekly survival rates and cumulative risk of cause-specific mortalities, respectively. These methods allowed us to account for temporal variation in sample size and staggered entry of marked individuals into the sample to obtain robust estimates of survival and cause-specific mortality. We monitored 376 individual sage-grouse during the course of our study, and investigated 87 deaths. Predation was the major source of mortality, and accounted for 90% of all mortalities during our study. During the nesting season (1 April -31 May), the cumulative risk of predation by raptors (0.10; 95% CI: 0.05-0.16) and mammals (0.08; 95% CI: 0.03-013) was relatively equal. In the fall (15 August -31 October), the cumulative risk of mammal predation was greater (M (mam) ¼ 0.12; 95% CI: 0.04-0.19) than either predation by raptors (M (rap) ¼ 0.05; 95% CI: 0.00-0.10) or hunting harvest (M (hunt) ¼ 0.02; 95% CI: 0.0-0.06). During both seasons, we observed relatively few additional sources of mortality (e.g. collision) and observed no evidence of disease-related mortality (e.g. West Nile Virus). In general, we found little evidence for intraseasonal temporal variation in survival, suggesting that the nesting and fall seasons represent biologically meaningful time intervals with respect to sage-grouse survival.

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“…The purpose of this stage was to estimate the effect of each covariate, while accounting for the presence of all other covariates (2‐factor models), and use the model‐averaged parameter estimates to calculate an RSF, rather than developing the most parsimonious additive model with multiple covariates (Coates et al . ). The RSF took the form:

w false(x false) = exp ({normalβ}_{1} X_{1} + {normalβ}_{2} X_{2} +, \dots, + {normalβ}_{k} X_{k},

where w ( x ) is the RSF as a function of model‐averaged coefficients (β 1 ,…, β k ) for each covariate ( X 1 ,…, X k ; (Manly et al .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Integrating spatially explicit indices of abundance and habitat quality: an applied example for greater sage‐grouse management

Coates

Casazza

Ricca

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary Predictive species distributional models are a cornerstone of wildlife conservation planning. Constructing such models requires robust underpinning science that integrates formerly disparate data types to achieve effective species management.Greater sage‐grouse Centrocercus urophasianus, hereafter ‘sage‐grouse’ populations are declining throughout sagebrush‐steppe ecosystems in North America, particularly within the Great Basin, which heightens the need for novel management tools that maximize the use of available information.Herein, we improve upon existing species distribution models by combining information about sage‐grouse habitat quality, distribution and abundance from multiple data sources. To measure habitat, we created spatially explicit maps depicting habitat selection indices (HSI) informed by >35 500 independent telemetry locations from >1600 sage‐grouse collected over 15 years across much of the Great Basin. These indices were derived from models that accounted for selection at different spatial scales and seasons. A region‐wide HSI was calculated using the HSI surfaces modelled for 12 independent subregions and then demarcated into distinct habitat quality classes.We also employed a novel index to describe landscape patterns of sage‐grouse abundance and space use (AUI). The AUI is a probabilistic composite of the following: (i) breeding density patterns based on the spatial configuration of breeding leks and associated trends in male attendance; and (ii) year‐round patterns of space use indexed by the decreasing probability of use with increasing distance to leks. The continuous AUI surface was then reclassified into two classes representing high and low/no use and abundance. Synthesis and applications. Using the example of sage‐grouse, we demonstrate how the joint application of indices of habitat selection, abundance and space use derived from multiple data sources yields a composite map that can guide effective allocation of management intensity across multiple spatial scales. As applied to sage‐grouse, the composite map identifies spatially explicit management categories within sagebrush steppe that are most critical to sustaining sage‐grouse populations as well as those areas where changes in land use would likely have minimal impact. Importantly, collaborative efforts among stakeholders guide which intersections of habitat selection indices and abundance and space use classes are used to define management categories. Because sage‐grouse are an umbrella species, our joint‐index modelling approach can help target effective conservation for other sagebrush obligate species and can be readily applied to species in other ecosystems with similar life histories, such as central‐placed breeding.

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Landscape alterations influence differential habitat use of nesting buteos and ravens within sagebrush ecosystem: Implications for transmission line development

Cited by 42 publications

References 41 publications

Better living through conifer removal: A demographic analysis of sage-grouse vital rates

Better living through conifer removal: A demographic analysis of sage-grouse vital rates

Intraseasonal variation in survival and probable causes of mortality in greater sage‐grouse Centrocercus urophasianus

Integrating spatially explicit indices of abundance and habitat quality: an applied example for greater sage‐grouse management

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