Species as conservation umbrellas: A case study with lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) in the southern Great Plains of North America

Gary, Demi; Mougey, Krista; McIntyre, Nancy E.; Griffis‐Kyle, Kerry L.

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02256

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…are inherently dependent on large grassland-dominated landscapes to complete their life histories and are considered indicators of grassland ecosystem integrity [10,11]. Reliance on extensive heterogeneous grasslands indicates the potential for prairie grouse to serve as focal species for other grassland wildlife [10,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Broad-scale changes in lesser prairie-chicken habitat

Vhay,

Haukos,

Sullins

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) populations of in the Sand Sagebrush Prairie Ecoregion of southwest Kansas and southeast Colorado, USA, have declined sharply since the mid-1980s. Decreased quality and availability of habitat are believed to be the main drivers of declines. Our objective was to reconstruct broad-scale change in the ecoregion since 1985 as a potential factor in population declines. We assessed temporal change from 1985–2015 in landcover types and calculated landscape metrics using Land Change Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection imagery layers. We also documented presence of anthropogenic structures including oil wells and electrical transmission lines. Landcover type composition changed little since 1990 across the Sand Sagebrush Prairie Ecoregion. However, anthropogenic structures (i.e., oil/gas wells, cell towers, wind farms, and transmission lines) notably increased, potentially causing functional habitat loss at a broad scale. Increased anthropogenic structures may have decreased habitat availability as well as the quality of existing habitat for lesser prairie-chickens, possibly contributing to recent population declines throughout the Sand Sagebrush Prairie Ecoregion.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%