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Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
My 2.5-yr Master's project accomplished the objectives of estimating lesser prairie-chicken (LPC) lek density and abundance in the Texas occupied range and modeling anthropogenic and landscape features associated with lek density by flying helicopter lek surveys for 2 field seasons and employing a line-transect distance sampling method. This project was important for several reasons. Firstly, wildlife managers and biologists have traditionally monitored LPC populations with road-based surveys that may result in biased estimates and do not provide access to privately-owned or remote property. From my aerial surveys and distance sampling, I was able to provide accurate density and abundance estimates, as well as new leks and I detected LPCs outside the occupied range. Secondly, recent research has indicated that energy development has the potential to impact LPCs through avoidance of tall structures, increased mortality from raptors perching on transmission lines, disturbance to nesting hens, and habitat loss/fragmentation. Given the potential wind energy development in the Texas Panhandle, spatial models of current anthropogenic and vegetative features (such as transmission lines, roads, and percent native grassland) influencing lek density were needed. This information provided wildlife managers and wind energy developers in Texas with guidelines for how change in landscape features could impact LPCs. Lastly, LPC populations have faced range-wide declines over the last century and they are currently listed as a candidate species under the Endangered Species Act. I was able to provide timely information on LPC populations in Texas that will be used during the listing process.
Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
My 2.5-yr Master's project accomplished the objectives of estimating lesser prairie-chicken (LPC) lek density and abundance in the Texas occupied range and modeling anthropogenic and landscape features associated with lek density by flying helicopter lek surveys for 2 field seasons and employing a line-transect distance sampling method. This project was important for several reasons. Firstly, wildlife managers and biologists have traditionally monitored LPC populations with road-based surveys that may result in biased estimates and do not provide access to privately-owned or remote property. From my aerial surveys and distance sampling, I was able to provide accurate density and abundance estimates, as well as new leks and I detected LPCs outside the occupied range. Secondly, recent research has indicated that energy development has the potential to impact LPCs through avoidance of tall structures, increased mortality from raptors perching on transmission lines, disturbance to nesting hens, and habitat loss/fragmentation. Given the potential wind energy development in the Texas Panhandle, spatial models of current anthropogenic and vegetative features (such as transmission lines, roads, and percent native grassland) influencing lek density were needed. This information provided wildlife managers and wind energy developers in Texas with guidelines for how change in landscape features could impact LPCs. Lastly, LPC populations have faced range-wide declines over the last century and they are currently listed as a candidate species under the Endangered Species Act. I was able to provide timely information on LPC populations in Texas that will be used during the listing process.
Author: Elisabeth Caroline Teige Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
Translocation is defined as the deliberate movement of organisms from one site to another where the main objective is a conservation benefit. Translocations are used frequently as a management tool to restore or augment wildlife populations but generally have varying degrees of success. The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is found in the southwestern Great Plains of the United States and currently occurs in four distinct ecoregions (Short-Grass Prairie/CRP Mosaic, Mixed-Grass Prairie, Sand Sagebrush Prairie, and Sand Shinnery Oak Prairie) across five states (Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico, USA). Recent estimates suggest the lesser prairie-chicken currently occupies only 15% of their estimated historical range. Within the current occupied range, lesser prairie-chicken populations have been experiencing moderate to severe population declines. Since a contemporary peak of an estimated 150,000 birds in the mid-1980s, lesser prairie-chicken populations have declined to an estimated abundance of 34,408 in 2020. The largest contemporary decline in population abundance and occupied range is occurring in the Sand Sagebrush Prairie Ecoregion. Historically, the Sand Sagebrush Prairie Ecoregion was the epicenter of the lesser prairie-chicken population despite a large area of vegetation in the ecoregion being decimated during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. In 2020, only 171 birds were estimated for the ecoregion. In response to the extreme population decline and elevated extinction risk for the lesser prairie-chicken population in the Sand Sagebrush Prairie Ecoregion, myself, along with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and U.S. Forest Service translocated lesser prairie-chickens from the Short-Grass Prairie/CRP Mosaic Ecoregion in northwest Kansas, where lesser prairie-chickens are currently most abundant, to release sites in sand sagebrush prairie landscapes on the U.S. Forest Service, Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands in southwestern Kansas and southeastern Colorado, respectively. I captured, marked, translocated, and monitored 411 lesser prairie chickens during spring 2016-2019 to understand how translocation affects demographic rates, space use, and habitat selection for assessing translocation as a conservation tool for this declining prairie-grouse. My objectives were to estimate lek counts, nest success, reproductive success, adult survival, home range establishment and land cover composition, and selection of habitat vegetation characteristics at local and broad scales to assess lesser prairie-chickens response to translocation in a novel landscape. Within two weeks of release, 22.8% of birds either died or were never located. I used known-fate and nest survival models in Program MARK to determine adult survival and nest success of lesser prairie-chickens. I estimated breeding season survival for both males and females to be 0.44 ± 0.02 (SE) and nest success as 0.37 ± 0.04 (SE) but with a declining trend for the entire study period (2017-2020). Overall, vital rates were average to low and male high counts on established lek started to decline in 2021, two years following active translocation. Habitat availability in a novel environment may become an increasing concern as translocated lesser prairie-chickens have consistently larger home ranges than their native counterparts. Home ranges of translocated birds was comprised of greater area of Conservation Reserve Program land than any other cover type on the landscape. Lastly, on a local scale (300 m), I found little selection for vegetation at used locations, but lesser prairie-chickens used thicker and taller cover for nest sites. This vegetation use was expected and conveys the importance of the vegetation structure needed at a translocation release site. My results highlight the importance of land management conservation and its role in the conservation of lesser prairie-chicken populations. The translocation may have some short-term success but current vital rates of lesser prairie chickens may not be enough to overcome inherent limiting factors of the ecoregion for the population to become self-sustaining and the translocation to be deemed a long-term success.
Author: David A. Haukos Publisher: CRC Press ISBN: 1482240238 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 376
Book Description
Shortlisted for the 2018 TWS Wildlife Publication Awards in the edited book categoryLesser Prairie-Chickens have experienced substantial declines in terms of population and the extent of area that they occupy. While they are an elusive species, making it difficult at times to monitor them, current evidence indicates that they have been persistently
Author: Brett K. Sandercock Publisher: Univ of California Press ISBN: 0520270061 Category : Medical Languages : en Pages : 376
Book Description
"Summarizing current knowledge of grouse biology, this volume is organized in four sections--spatial ecology, habitat relationships, population biology, and conservation and management--and offers insights into spatial requirements, movements, and demography of grouse. Much of the research employs emerging tools in ecology that span biogeochemistry, molecular genetics, endocrinology, radio-telemetry, and remote sensing".--Adapted from publisher descrip tion on back cover
Author: Paul Johnsgard Publisher: Lulu.com ISBN: 1609620879 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 177
Book Description
The ten currently recognized species of grouse in North America have played an important role in America's history, from the famous but ill-fated heath hen, a primary source of meat for the earliest New England immigrants, to the ruffed grouse, currently one of the most abundant and soughtafter upland game birds in more than 40 states and provinces. This book summarizes the ecology, reproductive biology, and social behavior of all ten of the extant North American grouse species. It also describes the current status of grouse populations, some of which are perilously close to extinction. The social behavior of grouse is of special biological interest because among these ten species there is a complete mating system spectrum, from seasonally monogamous pair-bonding to highly promiscuous mating patterns. The latter group illustrates the strong structural and behavioral effects of sexual selection resulting from nonmonogamous mating. These influences reach a peak in the development by some grouse species of engaging in mating "leks," arena-like competitions performed by males while attempting to attract fertile females, and also provide opportunities for females to select optimum mating partners. These sexual competitions also promote strong differences evolving in sexual signaling behaviors ("displays") among closely related species. Nevertheless, a relatively high incidence of mating errors and resulting hybridization often occurs in spite of these marked behavioral differences. In addition to a text of 101,000 words, the book includes 16 range maps, 37 line drawings, and 38 photographs by the author, as well as nearly 1,400 literature citations.
Author: United States. Office of Endangered Species and International Activities Publisher: ISBN: Category : Government publications Languages : en Pages : 316
Author: Ilse Storch Publisher: World Conservation Union ISBN: 9782831705194 Category : Birds Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Grouse have long attracted and fascinated people. Their display behavior, and their traditional communal mating grounds or "leks", have inspired poetry and folklore as well as scientific theories on sexual selection and mating systems. In many parts of their range, hunting plays a major role in the culture, economy, and subsistence of local communities. Although from a global perspective their status is not critical, grouse are far from being safe, and on a local scale, many local populations of grouse are declining and threatened with extinction. This plan provides a guide to the distribution, status, and threats to all grouse species; its major objective is to identify conservation priorities from a global perspective.
Author: 
Author: 
Author: Elisabeth Caroline Teige
Author: Kelly Shawn Corman
Author: David A. Haukos
Author: Brett K. Sandercock
Author: Paul Johnsgard
Author: 
Author: Roger L. Claassen
Author: United States. Office of Endangered Species and International Activities
Author: Ilse Storch