Nonbreeding home-range size and survival of lesser prairie-chickens

作者：Robinson Samantha G.^*; Haukos David A.; Plumb Reid T.; Lautenbach Joseph M.; Sullins Daniel S.; Kraft John D.; Lautenbach Jonathan D.; Hagen Christian A.; Pitman James C.

来源：Journal of Wildlife Management, 2018, 82(2): 413-423.

DOI：10.1002/jwmg.21390

• drought
• home range
• Kansas
• known-fate
• management
• survival
• Tympanuchus pallidicinctus

The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), a species of conservation concern with uncertain regulatory status, has experienced population declines over the past century. Most research on lesser prairie-chickens has focused on the breeding season, with little research conducted during the nonbreeding season, a period that exerts a strong influence on demography in other upland game birds. We trapped lesser prairie-chickens on leks and marked them with either global positioning system (GPS) satellite or very high frequency (VHF) transmitters to estimate survival and home-range size during the nonbreeding season. We monitored 119 marked lesser prairie-chickens in 3 study areas in Kansas, USA, from 16 September to 14 March in 2013, 2014, and 2015. We estimated home-range size using Brownian Bridge movement models (GPS transmitters) and fixed kernel density estimators (VHF transmitters), and female survival using Kaplan-Meier known-fate models. Average home-range size did not differ between sexes. Estimated home-range size was 3 times greater for individuals fitted with GPS satellite transmitters (SE). Future management could remain focused on the breeding season because nonbreeding survival was 39-44% greater than the previous breeding season; however, considerations of total space needs would benefit lesser prairie-chickens by accounting for the greater spatial requirements during the nonbreeding season.

• 出版日期2018-2