| Participatory modeling of endangered wildlife systems: Simulating the sage-grouse and land use in Central Washington | Beall, Allyson | 2008 |
KeywordsParticipatory modeling; Wildlife modeling; Sage-grouse; System dynamics; Endangered species AbstractThe Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) occupies the sage brush habitats of Western North America. Large population declines in the last several decades have made it a candidate for possible listing under the Endangered Species Act. Listing was recently avoided in part because local working groups are developing long-range management plans in conjunction with federal and local agencies. The Foster Creek Conservation District, a working group in Douglas County, Washington, saw the potential for system dynamics to synthesize known sage-grouse dynamics and local land use patterns to support development of their Habitat Conservation Plan and subsequent land management decisions. This case study highlights the integration of science, local knowledge and social concerns into a participatory process that uses system dynamics as a forum for the exploration of the impacts of land management decisions upon the sage-grouse population and the landowners of Douglas County, Washington. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. AuthorsBeall, Allyson; Zeoli, Len Year Published2008 PublicationEcological Economics LocationsDOI10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.08.019 |
| Recovery of Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat Features in Wyoming Big Sagebrush following Prescribed Fire. | Beck, Jeffrey L. | 2009 |
KeywordsArtemisia tripartita wyomingensis;Artemisia tripartita;Bromus tectorum;Centrocercus urophasianus;Cheatgrass;fire ecology;forbs;Greater Sage-Grouse;nesting cover;shrub canopy cover;shrub height;Threetip sagebrush;Wyoming big sagebrush AbstractThe ability of prescribed fire to enhance habitat features for Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata wyomingensis) in western North America is poorly understood. We evaluated recovery of habitat features important to wintering, nesting, and early brood-rearing Sage-Grouse in Wyoming big sagebrush following prescribed fire. Our case study included 1 year of preburn (1989) and 10 years of postburn data collected over 14 years (1990-2003) from control and burned study areas in the Big Desert of southeastern Idaho, U.S.A. We compared recovery and rate of change for 12 features in four categories between burned and control transects and recovery in burned transects including change in variation. Our results indicate that prescribed fire induced quantifiable changes in wintering, nesting, and early brood-rearing Sage-Grouse habitat features 14 years after fire in Wyoming big sagebrush in our study area. Specifically, grass and litter required by Sage-Grouse for nest and brood concealment recovered relatively rapidly following fire; major forb cover was similar between burned and control sites, but the rate of increase for major forb cover and richness was greater in control transects, and structurally mediated habitat features required by Sage-Grouse for food and cover in winter and for nest and brood concealment in spring recovered slowly following fire. Because shrub structural features in our study did not recover in magnitude or variability to preburn levels 14 years after fire, we recommend that managers avoid burning Wyoming big sagebrush to enhance Sage-Grouse habitat, but rather implement carefully planned treatments that maintain Sagebrush. AuthorsBeck, Jeffrey L., John W. Connelly and Kerry P. Reese. Year Published2009 PublicationRestoration Ecology LocationsDOI10.1111/j.1526-100X.2008.00380.x |
| Movements and survival of juvenile greater sage-grouse in southeastern Idaho | Beck, Jeffrey L. | 2006 |
Keywords2002 Farm BillArtemisia spp.brood-rearingCentrocercus urophasianusDixie harrowgreater sage-grousehabitat managementLawson aeratorsagebrushTebuthiuronUtah AbstractLow recruitment has been suggested as a primary factor contributing to declines in greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations. We evaluated movements and survival of 58 radiomarked juvenile greater sage-grouse from 1 September(>= 10 weeks of age) to 29 March (>= 40 weeks of age) during 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 in lowland and mountain valley study areas in southeastern Idaho, USA. Juvenile sage-grouse captured in the mountain valley area moved an average of 2.2 km (20%) farther ((x) over bar = 13.0 km, SE = 1.2 km) from autumn to winter ranges than juvenile grouse captured in the lowland area ((x) over bar = 10.8 km, SE = 1.2 km). Ten of 11 deaths occurred from September to December. Fifty percent of deaths in the lowland population were attributable to human-related mortality including power-line collisions and legal harvest, while 33% and 17% of deaths were attributable to mammalian predators and unknown cause, respectively. All deaths in the mountain valley population were attributed to avian or mammalian predators. Survival was relatively high for birds from both populations, but was higher across years in the lowland ((S) over cap = 0.86, SE = 0.06, n = 43) than in the mountain valley population ((S) over cap = 0.64, SE = 0.13, n = 14). In our study-juvenile sage-grouse that moved farther distances to seasonal ranges experienced lower survival than juveniles from a more sedentary population. Moreover, high juvenile survival in our study suggests that if low recruitment occurs in sage-grouse populations it may be due to other factors, especially poor nesting success or low early chick survival. AuthorsBeck, Jeffrey L.; Reese, Kerry P.; Connelly, John W.; Lucia, Matthew B. Year Published2006 PublicationWildlife Society Bulletin LocationsDOI10.2193/0091-7648(2006)34[1070:MASOJG]2.0.CO;2 |
| Changes in the distribution and status of sage-grouse in Utah | Beck, JL | 2003 |
Changes in the distribution and status of sage-grouse in UtahKeywordssage-grouse, sagebrush habitats, habitat loss, Utah, Centrocercus urophasianus, Centrocercus minimus, greater sage-grouse, Gunnison sage-grouse, Artemisia tridentata AbstractSage-grouse (Centrocercus spp.) were abundant in all of Utah's 29 counties at the time of European settlement wherever sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) occurred. Greater Sage-Grouse (C. urophasianus) inhabited areas north and west of the Colorado River, and Gunnison Sage-Grouse (C. minimus) occupied suitable habitat south and east of the Colorado River. The largest Greater Sage-Grouse populations in Utah are currently restricted to suitable habitats in Box Elder, Garfield, Rich, Uintah, and Wayne Counties. A remnant breeding population of Gunnison Sage-Grouse occurs in eastern San Juan County. We stratified Greater Sage-Grouse populations (1971-2000) by counties where the 1996 to 2000 moving average for estimated spring breeding populations was >500 (GT500) or <500 (LT500). Males per lek declined in all populations from 1971 to 2000; however, there were consistently more males observed on GT500 than on LT500 leks. Juveniles per adult lien (including yearling hens) Greater Sage-Grouse in the 1973-2000 fall harvest in Box Elder, Rich, and Wayne Counties did not differ from 2.25, a ratio suggesting sustainable or increasing sage-grouse populations. Declines are attributed to loss, fragmentation, and degradation of sagebrush habitat. Sage-grouse conservation ultimately depends on management and enhancement of remaining sagebrush rangelnads in Utah. AuthorsBeck, JL; Mitchell, DL; Maxfield, BD Year Published2003 PublicationWestern North American Naturalist Locations |
| Sage Grouse Flock Characteristics and Habitat Selection in Winter | BECK, TDI | 1977 |
KeywordsNo keywords available AbstractSage
grouse
(Centrocercus
urophasianus)
were
studied
in
North
Park,
Colorado,
during
the
winters
of
1973-74
and
1974-75.
Distribution
was
plotted
from
sightings
of
199
flocks
and
17
single
birds,
totaling
5,080
grouse.
Only
50
percent
of
the
1,252
km'
of
lands
dominated
by
sagebrush
(Artemi-
sia
spp.)
sustained
winter
use
by
grouse
because
of
snow
depth,
steepness
of
slope,
and
sagebrush
dis-
turbance.
Nearly
80
percent
of
the
use
occurred
in
7
areas
comprising
less
than
7
percent
of
the
total
area.
Sexes
segregated;
males
formed
more
unisexual
flocks.
Flocks
were
the
dominant
social
unit
and
con-
tained
less
than
50
individuals
in
88
percent
of
all
observations.
Flocks
containing
more
than
50
percent
females
were
larger
than
male
flocks
and
used
denser
sagebrush
stands
for
feeding
and
loafing.
Roosting
and
feeding
sites
had
similar
vegetal
and
physical
characteristics.
Sixty-six
percent
of
flocks
were
on
slopes
less
than
5
percent,
and
only
13
percent
were
on
slopes
greater
than
10
percent.
Sixty-two
percent
of
2,350
grouse
in
1973-74
and
61
percent
of
1,984
grouse
in
1974-75
were
females AuthorsBECK, TDI Year Published1977 PublicationThe Journal of Wildlife Management LocationsDOI10.2307/3800086 |
| Weights of Colorado Sage Grouse | BECK, TDI | 1978 |
KeywordsNo keywords available AbstractNo abstract available AuthorsBECK, TDI; BRAUN, CE Year Published1978 PublicationThe Condor: Ornithological Applications LocationsDOI10.2307/1367928 |
| Survival of Translocated Greater Sage-Grouse Hens in Northeastern California | Bell, Chad B. | 2012 |
KeywordsNo keywords available AbstractTranslocation success of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is generally measured by documenting whether translocated individuals survive and reproduce at the release site. However. demographic parameters, such as annual survival of translocated individuals, provide a more accurate measure of translocation success. We translocated 60 female sage-grouse from Oregon and Nevada to Clear Lake National Wildlife Refuge, California, during 2005-2010 to augment a small population of resident grouse. We radio-marked each translocated female and a sample of resident female sage-grouse, recorded their locations, and monitored their survival at monthly intervals over the study period. We observed most (55/60) translocated birds near (<2 Delta AlCc) with the top model. However, the 1 coefficient distinguishing breeding from nonbreeding season survival was the only coefficient whose 95% confidence interval did not overlap zero; monthly survival during the breeding season (0.952 +/- 0.014) was lower than during the nonbreeding season (0.960 +/- 0.008). The model average estimate of annual survival for female sage-grouse in our study area was 59.6% (95% CI 47.9-70.1). Our analyses provide little support for a difference in survival between translocated and resident sage-grouse, :mud our annual survival estimates were comparable to annual survival estimates of resident sage-grouse in other locations. Our results suggest that when current recommendations for translocation protocols are followed, translocated female sage-grouse survive just as well as resident individuals and quickly integrate into the local population. AuthorsBell, Chad B.; George, T. Luke Year Published2012 PublicationWestern North American Naturalist LocationsDOI10.3398/064.072.0311 |
| Interseasonal Movements and Fidelity to Seasonal Use Areas by Female Sage Grouse | BERRY, JD | 1985 |
KeywordsNo keywords available AbstractNo abstract available AuthorsBERRY, JD; ENG, RL Year Published1985 PublicationThe Journal of Wildlife Management LocationsDOI10.2307/3801877 |
| The secret sex lives of sage-grouse: multiple paternity and intraspecific nest parasitism revealed through genetic analysis | Bird, Krista L. | 2013 |
Keywordslek, multiple paternity, nest parasitism, paternity, polygyny, sage-grouse AbstractIn lek-based mating systems only a few males are expected to obtain the majority of matings in a single breeding season and multiple mating is believed to be rare. We used 13 microsatellites to genotype greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) samples from 604 adults and 1206 offspring from 191 clutches (1999-2006) from Alberta, Canada, to determine paternity and polygamy (males and females mating with multiple individuals). We found that most clutches had a single father and mother, but there was evidence of multiple paternity and intraspecific nest parasitism. Annually, most males fathered only one brood, very few males fathered multiple broods, and the proportion of all sampled males in the population fathering offspring averaged 45.9%, suggesting that more males breed in Alberta than previously reported for the species. Twenty-six eggs (2.2%) could be traced to intraspecific nest parasitism and 15 of 191 clutches (7.9%) had multiple fathers. These new insights have important implications on what we know about sexual selection and the mating structure of lekking species. AuthorsBird, Krista L.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Carpenter, Jennifer E.; Paszkowski, Cynthia A.; Boyce, Mark S.; Coltman, David W. Year Published2013 PublicationBehavioral Ecology LocationsDOI10.1093/beheco/ars132 |
| Chapter 3: Potential acoustic masking of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) display components by chronic industrial noise | Blickley, J.L. | 2012 |
KeywordsNo keywords available AbstractAnthropogenic noise can limit the ability of birds to communicate by masking their acoustic signals. Masking, which reduces the distance over which the signal can be perceived by a receiver, is frequency dependent, so the different notes of a single song may be masked to different degrees. We analyzed the individual notes of mating vocalizations produced by Greater Sage-Grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ) and noise from natural gas infrastructure to quantify the potential for such noise to mask Greater Sage-Grouse vocalizations over both long and short distances. We found that noise produced by natural gas infrastructure was dominated by low frequencies, with substantial overlap in frequency with Greater Sage-Grouse acoustic displays. Such overlap predicted substantial masking, reducing the active space of detection and discrimination of all vocalization components, and particularly affecting low-frequency and low-amplitude notes. Such masking could increase the difficulty of mate assessment for lekking Greater Sage-Grouse. We discuss these results in relation to current stipulations that limit the proximity of natural gas infrastructure to leks of this species on some federal lands in the United States. Significant impacts to Greater Sage-Grouse populations have been measured at noise levels that predict little or no masking. Thus, masking is not likely to be the only mechanism of noise impact on this species, and masking analyses should therefore be used in combination with other methods to evaluate stipulations and predict the effects of noise exposure. AuthorsBlickley, J.L. & Patricelli, G.L. Year Published2012 PublicationOrnithological Monographs LocationsDOI10.1525/om.2012.74.1.23 |
