TY - JOUR T1 - Factors affecting female space use in ten populations of prairie chickens JF - Ecosphere Y1 - 2015 A1 - Winder, V.L. A1 - Carrlson, K.M. A1 - Gregory, A.J. A1 - Hagen, C.A. A1 - David A. Haukos A1 - Kesler, D.C. A1 - Larsson, L.C. A1 - Matthews, T.W. A1 - McNew, L.B. A1 - Patten, M.A. A1 - Pitman, J.C. A1 - Powell, L.A. A1 - Smith, J.A. A1 - Thompson, T. A1 - Wolfe, D.H. A1 - Sandercock, B.K. AB -

Conservation of wildlife depends on an understanding of the interactions between animal movements and key landscape factors. Habitat requirements of wide-ranging species often vary spatially, but quantitative assessment of variation among replicated studies at multiple sites is rare. We investigated patterns of space use for 10 populations of two closely related species of prairie grouse: Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) and Lesser Prairie-Chickens (T. pallidicinctus). Prairie chickens require large, intact tracts of native grasslands, and are umbrella species for conservation of prairie ecosystems in North America. We used resource utilization functions to investigate space use by female prairie chickens during the 6-month breeding season from March through August in relation to lek sites, habitat conditions, and anthropogenic development. Our analysis included data from 382 radio-marked individuals across a major portion of the extant range. Our project is a unique opportunity to study comparative space use of prairie chickens, and we employed standardized methods that facilitated direct comparisons across an ecological gradient of study sites. Median home range size of females varied ~10-fold across 10 sites (3.6–36.7 km2), and home ranges tended to be larger at sites with higher annual precipitation. Proximity to lek sites was a strong and consistent predictor of space use for female prairie chickens at all 10 sites. The relative importance of other predictors of space use varied among sites, indicating that generalized habitat management guidelines may not be appropriate for these two species. Prairie chickens actively selected for prairie habitats, even at sites where ~90% of the land cover within the study area was prairie. A majority of the females monitored in our study (>95%) had activity centers within 5 km of leks, suggesting that conservation efforts can be effectively concentrated near active lek sites. Our data on female space use suggest that lek surveys of male prairie chickens can indirectly assess habitat suitability for females during the breeding season. Lek monitoring and surveys for new leks provide information on population trends, but can also guide management actions aimed at improving nesting and brood-rearing habitats.

VL - 6 UR - https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1890/ES14-00536.1 IS - 9 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Effects of sexual dimorphism and landscape composition on the trophic behavior of Greater Prairie-Chickens JF - PLoS ONE Y1 - 2013 A1 - Blanco-Fontao, B. A1 - Sandercock, B.K. A1 - Obeso, J.R. A1 - McNew, L.B. A1 - Quevedo, M. KW - Blood KW - diet KW - Ecological niches KW - Ecosystems KW - Feathers KW - habitats KW - Mating behavior KW - Stable isotopes AB -

Partitioning of ecological niche is expected in lekking species that show marked sexual size dimorphism as a consequence of sex-specific ecological constraints. However, niche partitioning is uncertain in species with moderate sexual dimorphism. In addition, the ecological niche of a species may also be affected by landscape composition; particularly, agricultural fragmentation may greatly influence the trophic behavior of herbivores. We studied trophic niche variation in Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido), a grouse species that shows moderate sex-dimorphism. Greater Prairie-Chickens are native to tallgrass prairies of North America, although populations persist in less natural mosaics of cropland and native habitats. We used stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen in blood, claws and feathers to assess seasonal differences in trophic niche breadth and individual specialization between male and female Greater Prairie-Chickens, and between birds living in continuous and fragmented landscapes. We found that females showed broader niches and higher individual specialization than males, especially in winter and autumn. However, differences between females and males were smaller in spring when birds converge at leks, suggesting that females and males may exhibit similar feeding behaviors during the lekking period. In addition, we found that birds living in native prairies showed greater annual trophic variability than conspecifics in agricultural mosaic landscapes. Native habitats may provide greater dietary diversity, resulting in greater diversity of feeding strategies.

VL - 8 UR - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0079986 ER - TY - ABST T1 - Environmental impacts of wind power development on the population biology of Greater Prairie-Chickens. U.S. Department of Energy, Final Project Report for Award DOE/EE0000526 (technical report) Y1 - 2013 A1 - Sandercock, B.K. A1 - Wisely, S.M. A1 - McNew, L.B. A1 - Gregory, A.J. A1 - Winder, V.L. A1 - Hunt, L.M. JF - Final Project Report for Award DOE/EE0000526 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Spatial heterogeneity in habitat selection: nest site selection by Greater Prairie-Chickens JF - Journal of Wildlife Management Y1 - 2013 A1 - McNew, L.B. A1 - Gregory, A.J. A1 - Sandercock, B.K. KW - geographically weighted regression (GWR) KW - greater prairie-chicken KW - Habitat selection KW - nest site selection KW - resource selection function (RSF) KW - Tympanuchus cupido AB -

Ecological relationships of animals and their environments are known to vary spatially and temporally across scales. However, common approaches for evaluating resource selection by animals assume that the processes of habitat selection are stationary across space. The assumption that habitat selection is spatially homogeneous may lead to biased inference and ineffective management. We present the first application of geographically weighted logistic regression to habitat selection by a wildlife species. As a case study, we examined nest site selection by greater prairie-chickens at 3 sites with different ecological conditions in Kansas to assess whether the relative importance of habitat features varied across space. We found that 1) nest sites were associated with habitat conditions at multiple spatial scales, 2) habitat associations across spatial scales were correlated, and 3) the influence of habitat conditions on nest site selection was spatially explicit. Post hoc analyses revealed that much of the spatial variability in habitat selection processes was explained at a regional scale. Moreover, habitat features at local spatial scales were more strongly associated with nest site selection in unfragmented grasslands managed intensively for cattle production than they were in fragmented grasslands within a matrix of farmland. Female prairie-chickens exhibited spatial variability in nest site selection at multiple spatial scales, suggesting plasticity in habitat selection behavior. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for spatial heterogeneity when evaluating the ecological effects of habitat components. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.

VL - 77 UR - https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jwmg.493 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Demography of Greater Prairie-Chickens: regional variation in vital rates, sensitivity values, and population dynamics JF - Journal of Wildlife Management Y1 - 2012 A1 - McNew, L.B. A1 - Gregory, A.J. A1 - Wisely, S.M. A1 - Sandercock, B.K. KW - contributions KW - elasticity KW - land use and land cover change (LULCC) KW - Leslie matrix KW - life-table response experiment (LTRE) KW - population viability KW - prospective analysis KW - variance-scaled sensitivities AB -

Intensification of rangeland management has coincided with population declines among obligate grassland species in the largest remaining tallgrass prairie in North America, although causes of declines remain unknown. We modeled population dynamics and conducted sensitivity analyses from demographic data collected for an obligate grassland bird that is an indicator species for tallgrass prairie, the greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido), during a 4-year study in east-central Kansas, USA. We examined components of reproductive effort and success, juvenile survival, and annual adult female survival for 3 populations of prairie-chickens across an ecological gradient of human landscape alteration and land use. We observed regional differences in reproductive performance, survivorship, and population dynamics. All 3 populations of prairie-chickens were projected to decline steeply given observed vital rates, but rates of decline differed across a gradient of landscape alteration, with the greatest declines in fragmented landscapes. Elasticity values, variance-scaled sensitivities, and contribution values from a random-effects life-table response experiment all showed that the finite rate of population change was more sensitive to changes in adult survival than other demographic parameters in our declining populations. The rate of population change was also sensitive to nest survival at the most fragmented and least intensively grazed study site; suggesting that patterns of landscape fragmentation and land use may be affecting the relative influences of underlying vital rates on rates of population growth. Our model results indicate that 1) populations of prairie-chickens in eastern Kansas are unlikely to be viable without gains from immigration, 2) rates of population decline vary among areas under different land management practices, 3) human land-use patterns may affect the relative influences of vital rates on population trajectories, and 4) anthropogenic effects on population demography may influence the regional life-history strategies of a short-lived game bird. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.

VL - 76 UR - https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jwmg.369 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Effects of rangeland management on the site occupancy dynamics of prairie-chickens in a protected prairie preserve JF - Journal of Wildlife Management Y1 - 2012 A1 - McNew, L.B. A1 - Prebyl, T.J. A1 - Sandercock, B.K. KW - colonization KW - detection probabilities KW - greater prairie-chicken KW - Kansas;Konza Prairie Biological Station KW - local extinction KW - occupancy modeling KW - Tympanuchus cupido AB -

We investigated the site occupancy dynamics of greater prairie-chickens at Konza Prairie Biological Station, a protected site in northeastern Kansas that is managed for ecological research. We surveyed the site during mid-Mar to mid-May, 1981–2008, and recorded detections of birds in a grid of 6.3 ha survey plots (n = 187 plots). We used multiseason occupancy models to estimate the probabilities of occupancy (ψ) and detection (p), and tested whether land cover in woody vegetation, and land use with prescribed fire or grazing management influenced the dynamic processes of site colonization and local extinction. Probability of detection per site was consistently <1 and varied among years (p = 0.12–0.82). Site occupancy of prairie-chickens declined 40% over the study period from a high of ψ = 0.19 ± 0.02 SE in 1981 to a low of 0.11 ± 0.03 in 2008, despite protection from disturbance at leks and losses to harvest. We found that different sets of environmental factors impacted the probabilities of colonization and local extinction. Probability of colonization for an unoccupied site was negatively associated with the proportion of site occupied by woodland cover (β = −1.25), and was lower for grazed sites (β = −0.62). In contrast, probability of local extinction was affected by a weak interaction between grazing and average frequency of prescribed fire (β = −1.01), but model-averaged slope coefficients were not statistically different than 0. To conserve prairie-chickens, we recommend prairies be managed with combinations of prescribed fire and grazing that maintain a heterogeneous mosaic of prairie habitats, while preventing woody encroachment. To assess biotic responses to land management practices, field sampling should be based on occupancy models or similar techniques that account for imperfect detection. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.

VL - 76 UR - https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jwmg.237 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Hierarchical modeling of lek habitats of Greater Prairie-Chickens JF - Studies in Avian Biology Y1 - 2011 A1 - Gregory, A.J. A1 - McNew, L.B. A1 - Prebyl, T.J. A1 - Sandercock, B.K. A1 - Wisely, S.M. VL - 39 UR - https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/documents/R2ES/LitCited/LPC_2012/Gregory_et_al_2011.pdf ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Human-mediated selection on life-history traits of Greater Prairie-Chickens JF - Studies in Avian Biology Y1 - 2011 A1 - McNew, L.B. A1 - Gregory, A.J. A1 - Wisely, S.M. A1 - Sandercock, B.K. VL - 39 UR - https://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/landbirds/pdfs/McNew_etal_2011_sab2.pdf ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Reproductive biology of a southern population of Greater Prairie-Chickens JF - Studies in Avian Biology Y1 - 2011 A1 - McNew, L.B. A1 - Gregory, A.J. A1 - Wisely, S.M. A1 - Sandercock, B.K. VL - 39 UR - https://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/landbirds/pdfs/McNew_etal_2011_sab1.pdf ER - TY - THES T1 - An analysis of greater prairie-chicken demography in Kansas: the effects of human land use on the population ecology of an obligate grassland species Y1 - 2010 A1 - McNew, L.B. PB - Kansas State University CY - Manhattan, KS. 149 pp VL - PhD Dissertation UR - http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/4316 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Estimating the stage of incubation for nests of Greater Prairie-chickens using egg flotation: a float curve for grousers JF - Grouse News Y1 - 2009 A1 - McNew, L.B. A1 - Gregory, A.J. A1 - Wisely, S.M. A1 - Sandercock, B.K. AB - Introduction Researchers often require accurate estimates of incubation stage for back-calculating the timing of nest initiation or predicting the date of hatching to capture young, to determine the durations of egg-laying, incubation and the construction of breeding phenologies, and to calculate nest productivity. Estimates of nest age are also critical for assessment of the influence of temporal variation in nest survival, and to model daily nest survival as a function of individual-or time-specific covariates (Dinsmore et al. 2002). For example, the timing of nest losses is often related to nest success and the probability of renesting (Schroeder 1997, Pitman et al. 2006, McNew et al. in press). Egg flotation is one of the most common methods employed for estimating stage of embryo development with egg flotation-development relationships documented for many species of birds (Hays & LeCroy 1971, Dunn et al. 1979, Fisher and Sengel 1991, Custer et al. 1992, Brua & Machin 2000, Liebezeit et al. 2007). To our knowledge, there are no published techniques to estimate stage of incubation for nests of grouse. Field biologists estimating stage of incubation for eggs of grouse nests have often used a modified version of an egg flotation technique developed for captive ring-neck pheasants Phasianus colchicus and gray partridges Perdix perdix (Westerskov 1950, Martin & Cooke 1987). It is unknown whether egg flotation can be used to accurately assess age of grouse nests under field conditions. As part of a larger study on the breeding ecology of greater prairie-chickens Tympanuchus cupido; (hereafter "prairie-chickens"), McNew et al. (in press) developed a regression model to accurately predict the stage of incubation for nests from egg flotation angles and egg buoyancy. Methods Prairie-chickens were captured with walk-in traps and drop-nets at leks during March–May of 2006–2008 at three study sites in eastern Kansas, USA (Schroeder & Braun 1991, Silvy et al. 1990). Females were fitted with radio transmitters and located via triangulation >4 times/week during the nesting period (April–July), and daily once it was determined from movement patterns that a female was nesting. Once a female had localized in an area for 3 successive days, we located and flushed the bird so that the eggs could be counted and the nest location recorded with a GPS unit. Females with nests were monitored daily from a distance of >100 m. Nest sites were revisited during incubation to assess clutch size and incubation stage. Figure 1. Estimating the float angle or height of a greater prairie-chicken egg. This egg is floating at ~90° and is not yet buoyant. VL - 38 UR - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228517269_Estimating_the_stage_of_incubation_for_nests_of_Greater_Prairie-Chickens_using_egg_flotation_a_float_curve_for_grousers ER -