The ties that bind the sagebrush biome: integrating genetic connectivity into range-wide conservation of greater sage-grouse

Abstract

Conserving genetic connectivity is fundamental to species persistence, yet rarely is made actionable into spatial planning for imperilled species. Climate change and habitat degradation have added urgency to embrace connectivity into networks of protected areas. Our two-step process integrates a network model with a functional connectivity model, to identify population centres important to maintaining genetic connectivity then to delineate those pathways most likely to facilitate connectivity thereamong for the greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ), a species of conservation concern ranging across eleven western US states and into two Canadian provinces. This replicable process yielded spatial action maps, able to be prioritized by importance to maintaining range-wide genetic connectivity. We used these maps to investigate the efficacy of 3.2 million ha designated as priority areas for conservation (PACs) to encompass functional connectivity. We discovered that PACs encompassed 41.1% of cumulative functional connectivity—twice the amount of connectivity as random—and disproportionately encompassed the highest-connectivity landscapes. Comparing spatial action maps to impedances to connectivity such as cultivation and woodland expansion allows both planning for future management and tracking outcomes from past efforts.

Using individual‐based habitat selection analyses to understand the nuances of habitat use in an anthropogenic landscape: a case study using greater sage‐grouse trying to raise young in an oil and gas field

“…Low densities and declining numbers have led to concerns about the persistence of the PRB sage-grouse population (Garton et al 2011, Taylor et al 2013, Fedy et al 2017, Coates et al 2021. This population of sage-grouse acts as a critical genetic link between populations in Wyoming and those in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana, USA (Row et al 2018, Cross et al 2023. The majority of the natural gas development in our study area took place between 2000 and 2005; therefore, sage-grouse populations in this area had been exposed to oil and gas infrastructure for over ten years prior to the start of this study.…”