Bram H. F. Verheijen, Reid T. Plumb, Chris K. Gulick, C. Hagen, Samantha G. Robinson, Daniel S. Sullins, D. Haukos
{"title":"Breeding Season Space Use by Lesser Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus Pallidicinctus) Varies Among Ecoregions and Breeding Stages","authors":"Bram H. F. Verheijen, Reid T. Plumb, Chris K. Gulick, C. Hagen, Samantha G. Robinson, Daniel S. Sullins, D. Haukos","doi":"10.1674/0003-0031-185.2.149","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Large-scale declines of grassland ecosystems in the conterminous United States since European settlement have led to substantial loss and fragmentation of lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) habitat and decreased their occupied range and population numbers by ∼85%. Breeding season space use is an important component of lesser prairie-chicken conservation, because it could affect both local carrying capacity and population dynamics. Previous estimates of breeding season space use are largely limited to one of the four currently occupied ecoregions, but potential extrinsic drivers of breeding space use, such as landscape fragmentation, vegetation structure and composition, and density of anthropogenic structures, can show large spatial variation. Moreover, habitat needs vary greatly among the lekking/prelaying, nesting, brood-rearing, and postbreeding stages of the breeding season, but space use by female lesser prairie-chickens during these stages remain relatively unclear. We tested whether home range area and daily displacement (the net distance between the first and last location of each day) of female lesser prairie-chickens varied among ecoregions and breeding stages at four study sites in Kansas and Colorado, U.S.A., representing three of the four currently occupied ecoregions. We equipped females with very-high-frequency (VHF) or Global Positioning System (GPS) transmitters, and estimated home range area with kernel density estimators or biased random bridge models, respectively. Across all ecoregions, breeding season home range area averaged 190.4 ha (±19.1 ha se) for birds with VHF and 283.6 ha (±23.1 ha) for birds with GPS transmitters, whereas daily displacement averaged 374.8 m (±14.3 m). Average home range area and daily displacement of bird with GPS transmitters were greater in the Short-Grass Prairie/ Conservation Reserve Program Mosaic and Sand Sagebrush Prairie Ecoregions compared to sites in the Mixed-Grass Prairie Ecoregion. Home range area and daily displacement were greatest during lekking/prelaying and smallest during the brood-rearing stage, when female movements were restricted by mobility of chicks. Ecoregion- and breeding stage-specific estimates of space use by lesser prairie-chickens will help managers determine the spatial configuration of breeding stage-specific habitat on the landscape. Furthermore, ecoregion- and breeding stage-specific estimates are crucial when estimating the amount of breeding habitat needed for lesser prairie-chicken populations to persist.","PeriodicalId":50802,"journal":{"name":"American Midland Naturalist","volume":"185 1","pages":"149 - 174"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6000,"publicationDate":"2021-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American Midland Naturalist","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1674/0003-0031-185.2.149","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"Agricultural and Biological Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract. Large-scale declines of grassland ecosystems in the conterminous United States since European settlement have led to substantial loss and fragmentation of lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) habitat and decreased their occupied range and population numbers by ∼85%. Breeding season space use is an important component of lesser prairie-chicken conservation, because it could affect both local carrying capacity and population dynamics. Previous estimates of breeding season space use are largely limited to one of the four currently occupied ecoregions, but potential extrinsic drivers of breeding space use, such as landscape fragmentation, vegetation structure and composition, and density of anthropogenic structures, can show large spatial variation. Moreover, habitat needs vary greatly among the lekking/prelaying, nesting, brood-rearing, and postbreeding stages of the breeding season, but space use by female lesser prairie-chickens during these stages remain relatively unclear. We tested whether home range area and daily displacement (the net distance between the first and last location of each day) of female lesser prairie-chickens varied among ecoregions and breeding stages at four study sites in Kansas and Colorado, U.S.A., representing three of the four currently occupied ecoregions. We equipped females with very-high-frequency (VHF) or Global Positioning System (GPS) transmitters, and estimated home range area with kernel density estimators or biased random bridge models, respectively. Across all ecoregions, breeding season home range area averaged 190.4 ha (±19.1 ha se) for birds with VHF and 283.6 ha (±23.1 ha) for birds with GPS transmitters, whereas daily displacement averaged 374.8 m (±14.3 m). Average home range area and daily displacement of bird with GPS transmitters were greater in the Short-Grass Prairie/ Conservation Reserve Program Mosaic and Sand Sagebrush Prairie Ecoregions compared to sites in the Mixed-Grass Prairie Ecoregion. Home range area and daily displacement were greatest during lekking/prelaying and smallest during the brood-rearing stage, when female movements were restricted by mobility of chicks. Ecoregion- and breeding stage-specific estimates of space use by lesser prairie-chickens will help managers determine the spatial configuration of breeding stage-specific habitat on the landscape. Furthermore, ecoregion- and breeding stage-specific estimates are crucial when estimating the amount of breeding habitat needed for lesser prairie-chicken populations to persist.
期刊介绍:
The American Midland Naturalist has been published for 90 years by the University of Notre Dame. The connotations of Midland and Naturalist have broadened and its geographic coverage now includes North America with occasional articles from other continents. The old image of naturalist has changed and the journal publishes what Charles Elton aptly termed "scientific natural history" including field and experimental biology. Its significance and breadth of coverage are evident in that the American Midland Naturalist is among the most frequently cited journals in publications on ecology, mammalogy, herpetology, ornithology, ichthyology, parasitology, aquatic and invertebrate biology and other biological disciplines.