Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Version of Record
Publication Date
12-2009
Keywords
Centrocercus urophasianus, eastern range, edge of distribution, habitat, nesting, sage-grouse
Abstract
Greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus populations in North Dakota declined approximately 67% between 1965 and 2003, and the species is listed as a Priority Level 1 Species of Special Concern by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. The habitat and ecology of the species at the eastern edge of its historical range is largely unknown. We investigated nest site selection by greater sage-grouse and nest survival in North Dakota during 2005 - 2006. Sage-grouse selected nest sites in sagebrush Artemisia spp. with more total vegetative cover, greater sagebrush density, and greater 1-m visual obstruction from the nest than at random sites. Height of grass and shrub (sagebrush) at nest sites were shorter than at random sites, because areas where sagebrush was common were sites in low seral condition or dense clay or clay-pan soils with low productivity. Constant survival estimates of incubated nests were 33% in 2005 and 30% in 2006. Variables that described the resource selection function for nests were not those that modeled nest survival. Nest survival was positively influenced by percentage of shrub (sagebrush) cover and grass height. Daily nest survival decreased substantially when percentage of shrub cover declined below about 9% and when grass heights were less than about 16 cm. Daily nest survival rates decreased with increased daily precipitation.
Publication Title
WIldlife Biology
Volume
15
First Page
395
Last Page
404
Pages
11
Format
application/pdf
Language
en
DOI of Published Version
10.2981/09-005
Publisher
Nordic Board for WIldlife Research
Rights
Copyright © the Author(s)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Herman-Brunson, Katie M.; Jensen, Kent C.; Kaczor, Nicholas W.; Swanson, Christopher C.; Rumble, Mark A.; and Klaver, Robert W., "Nesting Ecology of Greater Sage-Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus at the Eastern Edge of their Historic Distribution" (2009). Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications. 174.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/nrm_pubs/174
Comments
This work appeared in Wildlife Biology (2009) 15(3):237–246. Posted with permission.