Download or read book Seasonal Habitat Use Movements and Vital Rates in the Parachute Piceance Roan Population of Greater Sage Grouse written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) proposes to conduct a study of the Parachute/Piceance/Roan (PPR) population of greater sage-grouse during 2007 and 2008. The PPR is one of several small, spatially fragmented populations of sage-grouse in Colorado. The CDOW is interested in working with energy companies and other land owners and managers in the PPR area to sustain the PPR grouse population and plan for future management actions. The objectives of the study are to obtain current, baseline information on the genetic characteristics; measures of reproduction and survival rates; and patterns of habitat use and seasonal movements of sage-grouse in this population.

Download or read book Habitat Use and Seasonal Movements of Sage Grouse in the Piceance Basin Rio Blanco County Colorado written by Christian A. Hagen and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Vital Rates Population Trends and Habitat Use Patterns of a Translocated Greater Sage Grouse Population written by Orrin V. Duvuvuei and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Translocations have been used as a management strategy to successfully augment declining native wildlife populations. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) population declines on Anthro Mountain, Utah prompted managers to translocate sage-grouse and test protocols from a successful translocation project in Strawberry Valley, Utah. Sage-grouse from Parker Mountain, Utah were used as the source population for Anthro Mountain and Strawberry Valley translocations. Sixty hens were translocated to Anthro Mountain in 2009 and 2010; I monitored vital rates of the 60 translocated hens and 32 resident hens from 2009-2012. My objective was to determine the overall success of the translocation 4 years after the initial release and compare vital rates to the source population and Strawberry Valley. In Chapter 2, I determined that survival varied by study area and hen age but was not affected by residency status. Annual survival of Anthro Mountain hens was lower than Parker Mountain and Strawberry Valley hens. Adult hen survival in all three populations was higher than yearling survival. In Chapter 3, I determined that the translocation contributed to population growth. Adult resident and previously translocated hens had the highest reproductive success, followed by resident yearlings, newly translocated adults, and newly translocated yearlings. Lek counts increased from 2009-2013 and a new lek was discovered in 2011. Survival was not affected by residency status or age, but varied greatly by year and season. Mean monthly survival was lowest in the fall; this differs from range-wide trends. In Chapter 4, I determined that translocated hens adapted to the release area. They exhibited similar seasonal movements and used similar habitats as residents. The home range size of resident and translocated hens was comparable; however, previously translocated hens had smaller home ranges than newly released hens. Despite landscape level differences between the source and release areas, translocated hens assimilated to the population and contributed to population growth. Although the translocation was successful, the low vital rate estimates are cause for concern. The low estimates suggest that factors such as predation, habitat quality and quantity, and anthropogenic influences may be problematic for this isolated population.

Download or read book Greater Sage grouse Habitat Selection and Use Patterns in Response to Vegetation Management Practices in Northwestern Utah written by Stephanie E Graham and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) currently occupy an estimated 56% of the potential range-wide pre-European settlement habitat. Population declines have been largely attributed to direct habitat loss and fragmentation related to anthropogenic activities that promote wildfires and the subsequent spread of invasive plants. Vegetation manipulations, including the seeding of plant species, such as forage kochia (Bassia prostrata), have been identified as potential strategies to mitigate the risk of wildfire and enhance sage-grouse habitat in areas at risk to wildfires. I evaluated the composition changes that occurred in a lower elevation sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) plant community within the Grouse Creek Watershed in western Box Elder County, Utah, USA, in response to prescribed vegetation manipulations (green-stripping through chain harrowing, juniper mastication, seeding forage kochia, applying Plateau℗ʼ herbicide) and studied the effect of these changes on sage-grouse habitat-use patterns and vital rates. I monitored 53 radio-collared sage-grouse throughout the Grouse Creek watershed from 2010-2012. Seasonal movements suggested local individual bird adaptations to annual variations in weather and habitat fragmentation. Sage-grouse selected for untreated areas; however, treated areas were used to expand the size of the lek. Untreated areas exhibited a higher percent composition of shrubs compared to areas that were chain harrowed to prepare a seedbed. Sage-grouse nest success and adult male survival rates during this study were relatively low compared to range-wide population estimates. Nest predation was higher for nests located closer to roads. The forage kochia seeded in the firebreaks emerged the season after seeding (2011). Using microhistological techniques, I detected small quantities of forage kochia in sage-grouse fecal pellets. Nutrient analysis confirmed that forage kochia samples collected from the sites exhibited a high protein content and low secondary metabolite content, similar to black sagebrush (Artemisia nova). Although green-stripping with forage kochia in lower elevation sagebrush communities may prove to be a beneficial technique for protecting rangelands from wildfire and provide a dietary source for wildlife, site preparation should be conducted to minimize the impact on existing sagebrush canopy cover habitats. Long-term monitoring should be implemented to determine extended effects of green-stripping treatments on sagebrush habitat and sage-grouse vital rates. Although individual sage-grouse demonstrated local adaptations to fragmentation and seasonal variations in weather, increased fragmentation and climate change in this part of the Great Basin may increase meta-population extirpation risks inhabiting lower elevation sagebrush areas in the Grouse Creek Watershed.

Download or read book Greater Sage grouse Seasonal Habitat Models Response to Juniper Reduction and Effects of Capture Behavior on Vital Rates in Northwest Utah written by Avery Cook and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) is a species of conservation concern in Utah and range-wide due to declines in populations and threats to sagebrush habitat on which they depend. To effectively conserve the species, detailed site-specific knowledge of ecology and distribution is needed. To expand knowledge of local populations within the West Box Elder Sage Grouse Management Area (SGMA) and gain insights into the effectiveness of vegetation treatments intended to benefit sagegrouse, I radio marked and tracked 123 (68 female, 55 male) sage-grouse and conducted sage-grouse pellet surveys on 19 conifer removal projects. Widespread habitat restoration measures designed to benefit sage-grouse have highlighted the need for prioritization tools to optimize placement of sage-grouse habitat projects. I generated seasonal habitat models to predict sage-grouse habitat use within the West Box Elder SGMA using a suite of vegetation and topographical predictors and known sage-grouse locations. Model fit was good with brood, early summer, late summer, lekking (early spring), and non-breeding models reporting an AUC of >0.90; nest and winter models reported an AUC of 0.87 and 0.85, respectively. A vegetation disturbance history was built for the study area from 1985 to 2013; however, the vegetation disturbances mapped were not a strong predictor of sage-grouse seasonal habitat-use. To evaluate effectiveness of conifer reduction treatments I used fecal pellet and in concert with radio-telemetry data. Increased sage-grouse use of conifer treatments was positively associated with sage-grouse presence in adjacent habitats (P = 0.018), percent shrub cover (P = 0.039), and mesic environments within 1000 m of treatments (P = 0.048). Sage-grouse use of conifer treatments was negatively associated with conifer canopy cover (P = 0.048) within 1000 m of treatments. To investigate sample bias related to individual bird behavior or capture trauma I monitored 204 radio-marked sage-grouse within the West Box Elder and Rich-Morgan- Summit SGMAs in Utah between January 2012 and March 2013. Sage-grouse that flushed one or more times prior to capture had higher brood (P = 0.014) and annual survival (P = 0.027) than those that did not. Sage-grouse that experienced more capture trauma had decreased annual survival probabilities (P = 0.04).

Download or read book Seasonal Habitat Selection and Breeding Ecology of Greater sage grouse in Carbon County Montana written by Erin Leslie Gelling and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter ‘sage-grouse’) are the focus of much research and conservation efforts owing to their obligate relationship with sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) and dramatic population declines over the last 50 years. Sage-grouse are a partially migratory species with three main seasonal habitats during breeding, summer, and winter. Anthropogenic disturbances can impact habitat and areas used by sage-grouse during all three seasons. Sage-grouse also exhibit low productivity that is limited, in part, by nest and chick survival. As uniparental incubators, nesting can be energetically costly for female sage-grouse because they have limited mobility when their precocial chicks are young. In addition, habitat characteristics have been shown to differ between brood-rearing female sage-grouse and broodless females (i.e., females without broods). Therefore, to sustain sage-grouse populations, focus should be on increasing vital rates for adult females, chicks, and nests—the life stages that most influence population growth. Research is thus critical to better understand the relationships between life stages of sage-grouse and their seasonal habitats, particularly during breeding and summer brood-rearing. The focus of my thesis was to assess the influence of natural and anthropogenic features on sage-grouse seasonal habitat selection, assess factors influencing sage-grouse nest survival and attentiveness, and assess habitat selection and behavior between brood-rearing and broodless female sage-grouse. By focusing on habitat selection across three seasons, during reproductive and non-reproductive states, and across second, third, and fourth-order habitat selection, wildlife managers will have better information to manage sage-grouse habitat to sustain or increase survival for adult females, broods, and nests. More specifically, this information will inform areas to prioritize management, restoration, and conservation to benefit sage-grouse populations and add to the body of knowledge of basic sage-grouse breeding ecology. In Chapter 1, I examined natural and anthropogenic landscape features that influence sage-grouse habitat selection during breeding, summer, and winter seasons. I used data from 85 GPS-tagged female sage-grouse in Carbon County, Montana and Park County, Wyoming spanning April 2018–April 2020. I found natural and anthropogenic features combined best explained sage-grouse habitat selection for all three seasons. Sage-grouse habitat selection differed between each season with sagebrush cover being important for breeding and agricultural fields being important in summer. In general, sage-grouse selected for sagebrush or shrub characteristics and lower slopes and avoided major roads, residential development, and oil and gas. However, anthropogenic disturbances were not always avoided and sometimes sage-grouse selected areas closer to these disturbances, such as agricultural fields during summer or roads during winter. I created predictive maps from resource selection function modeling to depict relative probability of use for each seasonal range to be used in wildlife management and conservation planning. In Chapter 2, I focused on nest survival and attentiveness. Nest success is an important part of the breeding process that has implications for population growth. I described sage-grouse incubation behavior, examined whether sage-grouse incubation behavior influenced nest survival, and evaluated factors that influenced sage-grouse incubation behavior. For this chapter, I used data collected from my study area in Carbon County, Montana and Park County, Wyoming and a separate study area in the Red Desert of Carbon and Sweetwater counties, Wyoming. I used 131 nests to describe sage-grouse incubation behavior and 118 nests to examine nest survival and average recess duration. I found nest survival was higher in Bridger compared to Red Desert. I found incubation constancy was higher and recesses shorter for adults compared to yearlings. I found nest survival was higher with increased minimum temperature and reduced with longer recesses. Recess duration was shorter with greater sagebrush cover within 30 m and recesses were longer with higher minimum temperature and day of incubation. Factors influencing nest survival and incubation patterns will be important for directing management to improve sage-grouse nest success and to clarify to researchers and managers our understanding of the basics of sage-grouse nesting biology. In Chapter 3, I focused on habitat selection, activity patterns, and ranges of both brood-rearing and broodless females during the breeding season. I examined behavior and reproductive state influence on microhabitat selection, daily and seasonal range sizes, and daily activity levels for brood-rearing and broodless females. I sampled microhabitat for 36 females, estimated ranges for 38 females, and measured activity for 43 females. I found females with broods 0–2 weeks selected microhabitat characteristics when night roosting and females with broods 3–5 weeks selected microhabitat characteristics when foraging and night roosting. However, broodless females showed no selection for microhabitat based on behavior. I also found differences in activity levels for both brood-rearing and broodless females throughout the day. Broods 0–2 weeks had the smallest ranges while broods 3–5 weeks and broodless females had larger daily and seasonal ranges. Differences in habitat selection, range size, and behavior warrants management to conserve areas used by both brood-rearing and broodless female sage-grouse in a population, whereas most past efforts focused primarily on habitat used by brood-rearing females. The Wildlife Society Bulletin has accepted this chapter for publication with Drs. Jeffrey Beck and Aaron Pratt as coauthors.

Download or read book Sage Grouse Habitat Use and Seasonal Movements in a Naturally Fragmented Landscape Northwestern Colorado written by and published by . This book was released on 1905 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations throughout North America have declined by at least 30% since the 1980's. Such declines have corresponded with habitat degradation caused by both natural and anthropogenic perturbations to sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) landscapes. Several populations now occur in highly fragmented and isolated habitats throughout Colorado. Future management of sage grouse will require knowledge of the seasonal requirements in fragmented landscapes. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the ecological requirements of a small, naturally fragmented sage grouse population in northwestern Colorado. The topography of this region naturally fragmented the sagebrush habitats, thus affecting movements and habitat use. I analyzed sage grouse spatial distribution and seasonal movements (Chapter 2) to identify how this heterogeneous landscape may affect dispersion and migration. I also analyzed habitat use as it varied from the landscape to foraging site scale (Chapter 3). Radiotelemetry was used to identify movement and habitat use patterns. I provided management recommendations for this isolated population (Chapter 4) as an adaptive resource management framework, to progressively test habitat manipulations and enhancement projects. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Download or read book Sage Grouse Habitat Use and Seasonal Movements in a Naturally Fragmented Landscape Northwetern Colorado written by Christian A. Hagen and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Greater Sage Grouse written by Steve Knick and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2011-05-19 with total page 665 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Admired for its elaborate breeding displays and treasured as a game bird, the Greater Sage-Grouse is a charismatic symbol of the broad open spaces in western North America. Unfortunately these birds have declined across much of their range—which stretches across 11 western states and reaches into Canada—mostly due to loss of critical sagebrush habitat. Today the Greater Sage-Grouse is at the center of a complex conservation challenge. This multifaceted volume, an important foundation for developing conservation strategies and actions, provides a comprehensive synthesis of scientific information on the biology and ecology of the Greater Sage-Grouse. Bringing together the experience of thirty-eight researchers, it describes the bird’s population trends, its sagebrush habitat, and potential limitations to conservation, including the effects of rangeland fire, climate change, invasive plants, disease, and land uses such as energy development, grazing, and agriculture.

Download or read book Habitat Requirements and Management Recommendations for Sage Grouse written by Mayo W. Call and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Resource Selection and Demographic Rates of Female Greater Sage Grouse Following Large Scale Wildfire written by Lee Jacob Foster and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding the effects of habitat disturbance on a species' habitat selection patterns, and demographic rates, is essential to projecting the trajectories of populations affected by disturbance, as well as for determining the appropriate conservation actions needed to maintain those populations. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a species of conservation concern in western North America. The distribution of the species has been reduced by approximately half since European settlement, with concurrent and continuing population declines across its occupied range. The primary threats to the species are habitat alteration and loss, caused by multiple factors. In the western portion of its distribution, increasing wildfire activity is a primary cause of habitat loss and degradation. Single wildfires in this area may now reach extremely large sizes (>100,000 ha), and wildfires have been linked to local population declines. However, no published studies, to date, have examined the immediate effects of large-scale wildfire on sage-grouse habitat selection and demographic rates, using modern telemetry methods. I studied the habitat selection patterns, nest success, and survival of adult, and yearling female sage-grouse, captured within or near the Holloway fire, using state-of-the-art GPS-PTT telemetry methods. The Holloway fire burned ~187,000 ha of highly productive sage-grouse habitat in August, 2012. My study began during the first spring post-fire (March, 2013), and continued through February, 2015. I monitored seasonal habitat use patterns, and site-fidelity of sage-grouse, and modeled third-order seasonal resource selection, using mixed effects resource selection functions, in relation to characteristics of the post-fire habitat mosaic, terrain, mesic habitat availability, and herbaceous vegetation regeneration. I described sage-grouse nesting habitat use, nesting effort, and modeled daily nest survival in relation to temporal patterns, patch scale vegetation, biological factors, and landscape-scale habitat composition. I modeled adult and yearling female sage-grouse survival in relation to temporal patterns, biological factors, and landscape-scale habitat composition. Female sage-grouse primarily exhibited a three range seasonal movement pattern, with differentiation between breeding-nesting-early brood-rearing habitat (mean use dates: 8 Mar - 12 Jun), late brood-rearing-summer habitat (13 Jun - 20 Oct), and winter habitat (21 Oct - 7 Mar). However there was variation in seasonal range behavior among individuals. Sage-grouse exhibited considerable fidelity to all seasonal ranges, for individuals which survived >1 yr, mean distance between seasonal range centroids of the same type were 1.80 km, 1.65 km, and 3.96 km, for breeding ranges, summer ranges, and winter ranges, respectively. Within seasonal ranges, sage-grouse exhibited third-order resource selection patterns similar to those observed for populations in undisturbed habitats. Sage-grouse, at the population level, selected for level terrain throughout the year. During the breeding season sage-grouse selected for areas with increased amounts of intact sagebrush land-cover within a 1-km2 area around used locations, areas of increased NDVI values within a 6.25-km2 area, an amount of mesic habitat within a 6.25-km2 area roughly equal to that available on the landscape, and mid-level elevations. During summer, sage-grouse, at the population level, selected for an areas with an intermediate density of burned-intact habitat edge within a 1 km2 area, areas of increased NDVI values within a 6.25-km2 area, intermediate distances to mesic habitat, and high elevations. During winter, sage-grouse, at the population level, selected for increased amounts of intact sagebrush land-cover within a 0.089-km2 area, areas with decreased variation in NDVI within a 0.089-km2 area, an amount of mesic habitat within a 6.25-km2 area roughly equal to that available on the landscape, and intermediate elevations. There was considerable variation in third-order resource selection patterns among individuals during all seasons. Sage-grouse nest success was consistently low during the study (2013: 19.3%, 2014: 30.1%), and nest initiation rates were average to high (2013: 1st nest initiation = 90.5%, 2nd nest initiation = 23.1%; 2014: 1st nest initiation = 100%, 2nd nest initiation = 57.1%). Daily nest survival rates were influenced by an interaction between year and nesting attempt, and by forb cover within 5 m of the nest. Nest survival over the incubation period was consistently low for 1st and 2nd nests during 2013, and for 1st nests during 2014 (range: 0.131 - 0.212), but increased to 0.744 for 2nd nests during 2014. Forb cover within 5 m of the nest had a positive effect on daily nest survival rates, with a 1% increase in forb cover increasing the probability of a nest surviving a given day by 1.02 times. We did not detect strong direct effects of habitat or biological characteristics on survival of adult and yearling female sage-grouse. Rather, survival varied by month with lowest survival occurring in April and August of each year, and highest survival occurring during the winter. While patterns of monthly survival were similar between years, there was a strong, negative additive effect on survival which extended from the beginning of the study (March, 2013), through the end of the first post fire growing season (July, 2013). Although monthly survival increased following the end of the 1st post-fire growing season, yearly survival over both the 1st and 2nd biological years post-fire was low (March 2013 - February 2014: 24.0%; March 2014 - February 2015: 37.9%). These results indicate that female greater-sage grouse do not respond to wildfire related habitat disturbance through emigration, and rather continue to attempt to exist and reproduce in habitats disturbed by wildfire during the immediate years following a fire. While, due to site-fidelity, sage-grouse are not able to leave wildfire affected seasonal ranges, within those seasonal ranges they still attempt to utilize habitat components which most closely match their life-history requirements. However, this behavior appears to have an acute fitness cost to individuals, with reduced nesting success and survival of individuals utilizing fire-affected habitats during the first two years post-fire. This reduction in demographic rates likely explains observed sage-grouse population declines following wildfire, and indicates that these population declines are not the result of sage-grouse emigration away from fire-affected leks, but rather a true decline in the number of individual sage-grouse on the landscape following large-scale wildfire.

Download or read book Greater Sage Grouse Habitat Use and Population Demographics at the Simpson Ridge Wind Resource Area Carbon County Wyoming written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study was conducted to obtain baseline data on use of the proposed Simpson Ridge Wind Resource Area (SRWRA) in Carbon County, Wyoming by greater sage-grouse. The first two study years were designed to determine pre-construction seasonally selected habitats and population-level vital rates (productivity and survival). The presence of an existing wind energy facility in the project area, the PacifiCorp Seven Mile Hill (SMH) project, allowed us to obtain some information on initial sage-grouse response to wind turbines the first two years following construction. To our knowledge these are the first quantitative data on sage-grouse response to an existing wind energy development. This report presents results of the first two study years (April 1, 2009 through March 30, 2011). This study was selected for continued funding by the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative Sage-Grouse Collaborative (NWCC-SGC) and has been ongoing since March 30, 2011. Future reports summarizing results of this research will be distributed through the NWCC-SGC. To investigate population trends through time, we determined the distribution and numbers of males using leks throughout the study area, which included a 4-mile radius buffer around the SRWRA. Over the 2-year study, 116 female greater sage-grouse were captured by spotlighting and use of hoop nets on roosts surrounding leks during the breeding period. Radio marked birds were located anywhere from twice a week to once a month, depending on season. All radio-locations were classified to season. We developed predictor variables used to predict success of fitness parameters and relative probability of habitat selection within the SRWRA and SMH study areas. Anthropogenic features included paved highways, overhead transmission lines, wind turbines and turbine access roads. Environmental variables included vegetation and topography features. Home ranges were estimated using a kernel density estimator. We developed resource selection functions (RSF) to estimate probability of selection within the SRWRA and SMH. Fourteen active greater sage-grouse leks were documented during lek surveys Mean lek size decreased from 37 in 2008 to 22 in 2010. Four leks located 0.61, 1.3, 1.4 and 2.5 km from the nearest wind turbine remained active throughout the study, but the total number of males counted on these four leks decreased from 162 the first year prior to construction (2008), to 97 in 2010. Similar lek declines were noted in regional leks not associated with wind energy development throughout Carbon County. We obtained 2,659 sage-grouse locations from radio-equipped females, which were used to map use of each project area by season. The sage-grouse populations within both study areas are relatively non-migratory, as radio-marked sage-grouse used similar areas during all annual life cycles. Potential impacts to sage-grouse from wind energy infrastructure are not well understood. The data rom this study provide insight into the early interactions of wind energy infrastructure and sage-grouse. Nest success and brood-rearing success were not statistically different between areas with and without wind energy development in the short-term. Nest success also was not influenced by anthropogenic features such as turbines in the short-term. Additionally, female survival was similar among both study areas, suggesting wind energy infrastructure was not impacting female survival in the short-term; however, further analysis is needed to identify habitats with different levels of risk to better understand the impact of wind enregy development on survival. Nest and brood-rearing habitat selection were not influenced by turbines in the short-term; however, summer habitat selection occurred within habitats closer to wind turbines. Major roads were avoided in both study areas and during most of the seasons. The impact of transmission lines varied among study areas, suggesting other landscape features may be influencing selection. The data provided in this report are preliminary and are not meant to provide a basis for forming any conclusions regarding potential impacts of wind energy development on sage-grouse. Although the data collected during the initial phases of this study indicate that greater sage-grouse may continue to use habitats near wind-energy facilities, research conducted on greater sage-grouse response to oil and gas development has found population declines may not occur until 2-10 years after development. Therefore, long-term data from several geographic areas within the range of the sage-grouse will likely be required to adequately assess impacts of wind-energy development on greater sage-grouse.

Download or read book The Role of Vegetation Structure Composition and Nutrition in Greater Sage Grouse Ecology in Northwestern Utah written by Brian R. Wing and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) is the largest grouse species in North America and an indicator species for the condition of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems. The Box Elder Sage-Grouse Management Area (SGMA) in northwestern Utah encompasses one of the state0́9s largest sage-grouse populations. To fill knowledge gaps regarding the population inhabiting the Raft River subunit of the Box Elder SGMA, I captured, radio-marked, and monitored 123 (68 female, 55 male) sage-grouse from January 2012 through December 2013. My purpose was to describe how the seasonal movements, survival, and reproductive rates of this sage-grouse population are effected by small-scale habitat use and breeding season foraging patterns. Sage-grouse in the Raft River subunit have distinct winter and summer ranges, and some travelled long distances annually. Survival rates were similar to other Utah populations and range-wide averages. Nest and brood success rates were above range-wide averages and those reported in the adjacent Grouse Creek subunit of the same SGMA. Sage-grouse in the study area selected habitats with specific vegetation characteristics to fit their seasonal needs. Sage-grouse use sites differed from random sites with greater forb height, grass height, and shrub height and cover. Nest success rates were directly related to selected vegetation, as successful nests were located more often under sagebrush and within greater forb height and cover and grass and shrub height than unsuccessful nests. Brood sites were also greater in forb, grass, and shrub height than other use sites. In March and April of 2013, I located radio-marked sage-grouse at flock browse sites to observe their sagebrush diet selection patterns. Lab analyses showed no differences in nutritional quality or chemical composition between browsed sagebrush plants and non-browsed and random plants. However, browsed black sagebrush (A. nova) was lower in protein and higher in chemical content than browsed Wyoming big sagebrush (A. tridentata wyomingensis). Radio-marked females were frequently observed at sites where black sagebrush was browsed, and one individual chemical was considerably more concentrated in browsed plants associated with females that nested successfully. My research provides useful information regarding the seasonal habitat use patterns and vegetation preferences of sage-grouse in the Box Elder SGMA. To conserve the sage-grouse population in northwestern Utah, management actions must protect the seasonal habitats and vegetation that the species depends on for its productivity and survival.

Download or read book Greater Sage grouse Movements and Habitat Use During Winter in Central Oregon written by Jennifer R. Bruce and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a sagebrush obligate species, has contracted in extent by nearly half its original distribution. This is primarily due to habitat loss and degradation over the past 150 years. During winter, sage-grouse depend completely on sagebrush habitat for food and cover, yet sage-grouse winter ecology has been poorly studied in the past. We studied greater sage-grouse winter habitat use and movement in central Oregon by tracking 22 radio-collared sage-grouse (7 female, 15 male) from January through mid March 2007 to record specific characteristics of sagebrush used and patterns of movement for each sex during winter. We quantified winter habitat characteristics such as canopy height and topography at each sage-grouse location, estimated winter distances moved using weekly to biweekly point locations, and compared this information between males and females. The sage-grouse we studied moved extensively across the landscape in central Oregon, using approximately 1,480 km2 during winter. Sagebrush canopy height in sites used by sage-grouse varied from 0.25 to 0.75 m, with females tending to use sites with taller sagebrush plants and less total foliar cover than sites used by males. The difference in foliar cover between sexes was related to a seasonal change in habitat use; four females found in low sagebrush in January and early February stopped using it after 15 Feb 2007. Also by this date, most male sage-grouse had stopped using big sagebrush as they migrated to lekking areas. During our study there was half as much snow cover on average, which may explain why sage-grouse mortality rates were low. Managers interested in preserving sage-grouse populations should provide large areas (thousands of square km) of habitat that contain heterogeneous sagebrush habitat, specifically with both low and big sagebrush so that food and cover are available for greater sage-grouse during winter.

Download or read book Parachute Piceance Roan PPR Greater Sage Grouse Conservation Plan written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Seasonal Movements Home Ranges and Habitat Use by Columbian Sharp tailed Grouse in Colorado written by Kenneth M. Giesen and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Partial Migration Habitat Selection and the Conservation of Greater Sage grouse in the Bighorn Basin of Montana and Wyoming written by Aaron C. Pratt and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) has undergone range contractions and population declines largely due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation. These declines have resulted in unprecedented conservation actions designed to reduce these threats. We investigated partial migration and maladaptive habitat selection, two phenomena that could complicate sage-grouse habitat conservation and hinder the effectiveness of these actions. Our first objective was to investigate what influenced sage-grouse when deciding to migrate between seasonal ranges and if there was variation in environmental conditions that explained why only some individuals migrated. Sage-grouse interpreted direct indicators of resource quality, especially temperature, when timing movements between seasonal ranges. For summer and fall transitions migratory grouse experienced more migration cues and were likely avoiding more rapid plant desiccation in warmer breeding ranges and avoiding higher snow accumulation in colder summer ranges with more precipitation. Conservationists must prioritize seasonal habitats when delineating reserves designed to protect partially-migratory species. Our second objective was to evaluate whether a more migratory sage-grouse population required a different habitat conservation strategy relative to seasonal requirements than a less migratory population. For both populations, prioritization of breeding habitat was justified because breeding habitat was most like other seasonal requirements and it had the greatest estimated contribution to population change. However, information specific to each population was necessary to identify the importance of prioritizing additional seasonal habitat with a greater need to include summer and winter habitat for the more migratory population. Sage-grouse conservation could be hindered by maladaptive habitat selection, where individuals select habitat where their fitness is lower or avoid habitat where they would perform better. Our third objective was to evaluate whether sage-grouse selected habitat relative to habitat quality (survival), and identify any characteristics where they were not matching selection with apparent survival and reproductive costs or benefits. We only measured a positive relationship between habitat selection and survival during winter and we found evidence for a negative selection relationship relative to several habitat characteristics. Our research has identified areas that warrant further investigation relative to potential mechanisms of maladaptive habitat selection in sage-grouse or possible secondary benefits of risky habitats.