2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
9/25/2018 | 11:20 AM - 11:35 AM | Greater Prairie-Chicken Habitat Use in a Rangeland Managed with Prescribed Fire and Developed for Energy Development | Eccles Conference Center Auditorium
Greater Prairie-Chicken Habitat Use in a Rangeland Managed with Prescribed Fire and Developed for Energy Development
Grasslands are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world due to widespread conversion to other land uses. Many remaining grasslands also face additional conservation threats such as altered fire regimes and continued fragmentation from energy development. Understanding how wildlife species respond to human activities in grasslands will be critical for the conservation of grassland fauna. We examined habitat use of female greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido), a declining North American grouse species, in a grassland that is managed with prescribed fire and grazing and has also undergone considerable development for oil and gas development. We developed discrete choice models for four behaviorally distinct life stages to evaluate habitat use in relation to rangeland management and energy development. We found that time since fire, avoidance of woodlands, and use of areas near lek sites were the most consistent predictors of habitat use during all periods. Use of time since fire varied through the year with hens primarily using unburned patches in the lekking and nesting season and recently disturbed patches in the post-nesting and nonbreeding season. Additionally, greater prairie-chickens demonstrated a seasonally dependent response to energy development, avoiding power lines and high densities of oil wells in the post-nesting and nonbreeding season. Management actions that promote heterogeneity will benefit greater prairie-chickens by creating a variety of seral stages used during different life stages, but efforts should be made to limit future fragmentation of grasslands by energy development.
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Presenters/Authors
David Londe
(), david.londe@okstate.edu;
Natural Resources Ecology and Managment
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Samuel Fuhlendorf
(), sam.fuhlendorf@okstate.edu;
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Dwayne Elmore
(), dwayne.elmore@okstate.edu;
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Craig Davis
(), craig.a.davis@okstate.edu;
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