Natural Resources, School of

 

ORCID IDs

Larkin A. Powell

Date of this Version

2015

Citation

Winder, V. L., K. M. Carrlson, A. J. Gregory, C. A. Hagen, D. A. Haukos, D. C. Kesler, L C. Larsson, T. W. Matthews, L. B. McNew, M. A. Patten, J. C. Pitman, L. A. Powell, J. A. Smith, T. Thompson, D. H. Wolfe, and B. K. Sandercock. 2015. Factors affecting female space use in ten populations of prairie chickens. Ecosphere 6(9):166.

Comments

Copyright 2015 Winder et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License

Abstract

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.

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