Saving sage-grouse from the trees: A proactive solution to reducing a key threat to a candidate species

Baruch‐Mordo, Sharon; Evans, Jeffrey S.; Severson, John P.; Naugle, David E.; Maestas, Jeremy D.; Kiesecker, Joseph M.; Falkowski, Michael J.; Hagen, Christian A.; Reese, Kerry P.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2013.08.017

Cited by 167 publications

(200 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Several studies have documented strong avoidance of pinyonjuniper by sage-grouse at multiple spatial scales and across different grouse life history stages (Doherty et al, 2008;Atamian et al, 2010;Casazza et al, 2011;Knick et al, 2013) even at relatively low density (e.g., b 4% canopy cover; Baruch-Mordo et al, 2013). Importantly, avoidance of pinyon-juniper by sage-grouse can have population-level consequences to brood survival (Casazza et al, 2011) and lek persistence (Baruch-Mordo et al, 2013), and can lead to genetic isolation (OylerMcCance et al, 2005;Oyler-McCance et al, 2014).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Importantly, avoidance of pinyon-juniper by sage-grouse can have population-level consequences to brood survival (Casazza et al, 2011) and lek persistence (Baruch-Mordo et al, 2013), and can lead to genetic isolation (OylerMcCance et al, 2005;Oyler-McCance et al, 2014). Different levels of pinyon-juniper cover (e.g., sagebrush dominant to pinyon-juniper woodland) may vary in their effects on sage-grouse behavior and population dynamics.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In the case of restoring sagebrush ecosystems by removing recently established pinyon-juniper trees, identifying these complex patterns and processes in relation to transitional phase is especially important because specific management actions designed to improve habitat suitability (e.g., removal of all trees in lower-density stands vs. thinning of higher-density stands) may elicit different behavioral responses from sage-grouse, which in turn might yield unique consequences for sage-grouse fitness components and management efficacy. Furthermore, quantifying thresholds within phases where management actions achieve desired goals (e.g., maintain or increase fitness) is paramount for effective conservation planning (Baruch-Mordo et al, 2013). Identifying linkages between ecological mechanisms driving both the "how" and "why" (e.g., selection and fitness) is an integral, yet largely unknown, part of the conservation planning process.…”

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“…Typical quantitative approaches for linking sage-grouse habitat selection with fitness consequences use available habitat as a covariate in traditional survival (Aldridge and Boyce, 2007;Aldridge and Boyce, 2008;Casazza et al, 2011) or regression-type analyses (Baruch-Mordo et al, 2013). These approaches treat survival probability as a function of habitat in a time-independent or static manner and often link overall estimates of resource selection at the individual level to demographic performance at the population level without explicit consideration of the frequency or timing of encounters with landscape features (such as pinyon-juniper among different phases).…”

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

et al. 2013

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“…Recently, state and federal agencies have implemented a variety of conservation plans and programs to improve sage-grouse populations and habitats (NTT 2011, Baruch-Mordo et al 2013, Copeland et al 2013, Connelly 2014. Although federal conservation actions have been criticized (Connelly 2014) and some positive impacts of CRP on sage-grouse populations in Washington had been documented through 2010 (Schroeder and Vander Haegen 2011), no current evaluations of the status of sage-grouse at the population, SMZ, or range-wide scales exist that provide insight into current status of sage-grouse or that may allow an evaluation of effectiveness of conservation actions to date.…”

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The relative importance of intrinsic and extrinsic drivers to population growth vary among local populations of Greater Sage-Grouse: An integrated population modeling approach

Coates

Prochazka

Ricca

et al. 2018

The Auk

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Abstract. We updated our earlier comprehensive analysis of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) population dynamics and probability of persistence from 1965 to 2007 throughout the species range by accumulating and analyzing additional counts of males from 2008 to 2013. A total of 89,749 counts were conducted by biologists and volunteers at 10,060 leks from 1965 through 2013 in 11 states occupied by Greater Sage-Grouse. In spite of survey effort increasing substantially (12.6%) between 2007 and 2013, the reconstructed estimate for minimum number of breeding males in the population, using standard approximations for missing values from Colorado, fell by 56% from109,990 breeding males in 2007 to 48,641 breeding males in 2013. The best model of annual rates of change of populations estimated across the Sage-Grouse Management Zones was a stochastic density dependent Gompertz model with 1-year time lags and declining carrying capacities through time. Weighted mean estimates of carrying capacity for the minimum number of males counted at leks for the entire range-wide distribution, excepting Colorado, were 40,505 (SE 6,444) in 2013 declining to 19,517 (SE 3,269) in 30 years and 8,154 (SE 1,704) in 100 years. Starting with the estimated abundance of males counted at leks in 2007 a simple effort to evaluate the validity of future forecasts of abundance was conducted by forecasting abundance in 2013 from Gompertz density dependent models with 1-year time lag and declining carrying capacity models of 6 of the 7 management zone populations. Estimated mean abundance in 2013 predicted 97.8% of the variation in true abundance in management zones. Concerted efforts across both public and private land ownerships that are intended to benefit Greater Sage-Grouse show little current evidence of success but more will be required to stabilize these declining populations and ensure their continued persistence in the face of ongoing development and habitat modification in the broad sagebrush region of western

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Assessing lek attendance of male greater sage‐grouse using fine‐resolution GPS data: Implications for population monitoring of lek mating grouse

et al. 2019

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Counts of males displaying on breeding grounds are the primary management tool used to assess population trends in lekking grouse species. Despite the importance of male lek attendance (i.e., proportion of males on leks available for detection) influencing lek counts, patterns of within season and between season variability in attendance rates are not well understood. We used high‐frequency global positioning system (GPS) telemetry data from male greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; n = 67) over five lekking seasons (2013–2017) at eight study sites in Nevada to estimate lek attendance rates. Specifically, we recorded daily locations of sage‐grouse in relation to mapped lek boundaries and used generalized additive models to assess temporal variation in attendance rates by age class (subadult vs. adult). Average timing of peak attendance occurred on 16 April but varied from March 16, 2014 to April 21 , 2016. Overall, adult males attended leks at higher rates (0.683 at peak) and earlier in the season (19 March) than subadults (0.421 at peak on April 19). Peak attendance probability was positively related to cumulative winter precipitation. Daily probabilities of lek switching differed between adults (0.019 at peak on March 3) and subadults (0.046 at peak on March 22), and lek switching was negatively related to distance to nearest lek. Our results indicate variable patterns in lek attendance through time, and that lek switching may occur at higher rates than previously thought. We demonstrate the use of generalizable daily attendance curves to date‐correct lek counts and derive estimates of male abundance, although such an approach will likely require the incorporation of information on age structure to produce robust results that are useful for population monitoring.

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Saving sage-grouse from the trees: A proactive solution to reducing a key threat to a candidate species

Cited by 167 publications

References 49 publications

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

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

The relative importance of intrinsic and extrinsic drivers to population growth vary among local populations of Greater Sage-Grouse: An integrated population modeling approach

Assessing lek attendance of male greater sage‐grouse using fine‐resolution GPS data: Implications for population monitoring of lek mating grouse

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