Surface-active arthropod community response to juniper removal and its implications for avian conservation in sagebrush ecosystems

Evaluating satellite‐transmitter backpack‐harness effects on greater sage‐grouse survival and device retention in the Great Basin

“…All 3 study sites experience dry hot summers (typical high temperatures of 30 to 40°C), cold winters (typical low temperatures of −10 to 0°C), and highly variable annual precipitation (typically 20 to 40 cm/year) concentrated in the winter months (Noy‐Meir 1973, Miller et al 1991, Bell and George 2012). The study area has been subject to anthropogenic stressors typical of sagebrush ecosystems in the Great Basin, including modern encroachment by western juniper ( Juniperus occidentalis ; Miller et al 2005, Haab et al 2023), altered fire regimes characterized by increased fire frequency and severity (Balch et al 2013, Brooks et al 2015, Hanna and Fulgham 2015), and expansion of exotic annual grasses including cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum ) and medusahead ( Taeniatherum caput‐medusae ; Smith et al 2021, Lundblad et al 2022). The 424,555‐ha Trout Creek Mountains study area ranged from 1,370 to– 2,590 m elevation and was dominated by Wyoming big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata ssp.…”