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 - Land fragmentation under rapid urbanization: A cross-site analysis of Southwestern cities JF - Urban Ecosystems Y1 - 2011 A1 - York, A.M. A1 - Shrestha, M. A1 - Boone, C.G. A1 - Zhang, S. A1 - J. A. Harrington A1 - Prebyl, T.J. A1 - Swann, A. A1 - Agar, M. A1 - Antolin, M.F. A1 - Nolen, B. A1 - Wright, J.B. A1 - Skaggs, R. KW - Exurbanization KW - Land fragmentation KW - The US Southwest KW - Urban ecology AB -

Explosive population growth and increasing demand for rural homes and lifestyles fueled exurbanization and urbanization in the western USA over the past decades. Using National Land Cover Data we analyzed land fragmentation trends from 1992 to 2001 in five southwestern cities associated with Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites. We observed two general fragmentation trends: expansion of the urbanized area leading to fragmentation in the exurban and peri-urban regions and decreased fragmentation associated with infill in the previously developed urban areas. We identified three fragmentation patterns, riparian, polycentric, and monocentric, that reflect the recent western experience with growth and urbanization. From the literature and local expert opinion, we identified five relevant drivers – water provisioning, population dynamics, transportation, topography, and institutions – that shape land use decision-making and fragmentation in the southwest. In order to assess the relative importance of each driver on urbanization, we linked historical site-specific driver information obtained through literature reviews and archival analyses to the observed fragmentation patterns. Our work highlights the importance of understanding land use decision-making drivers in concert and throughout time, as historic decisions leave legacies on landscapes that continue to affect land form and function, a process often forgotten in a region and era of blinding change.

VL - 14 UR - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11252-011-0157-8 ER -