BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Knowledge of landscape and regional circumstances where conservation programs are successful on working lands in agricultural production are needed. Converting marginal croplands to grasslands using conservation programs such as the United States Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) should be beneficial for many grassland‐obligate wildlife species; however, addition of CRP grasslands may result in different population effects based on regional climate, characteristics of the surrounding landscape, or species planted or established. Within landscapes occupied by lesser prairie‐chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), CRP may provide habitat only for specific life stages and habitat selection for CRP may vary between wet and dry years. Among all study sites, we captured and fitted 280 female lesser prairie‐chickens with very high frequency (VHF)‐ and global positioning system (GPS) transmitters during the spring lekking seasons of 2013–2015 to monitor habitat selection for CRP in regions of varying climate. We also estimated vital rates and habitat selection for 148 individuals, using sites in northwest Kansas, USA. The greatest ecological services of CRP became apparent when examining habitat selection and densities. Nest densities were approximately 3 times greater in CRP grasslands than native working grasslands (i.e., grazed), demonstrating a population‐level benefit (CRP = 6.0 nests/10 km2 ± 1.29 [SE], native working grassland = 1.7 nests/10 km2 ± 0.62). However, CRP supporting high nest density did not provide brood habitat; 85% of females with broods surviving to 7 days moved their young to other cover types. Regression analyses indicated lesser prairie‐chickens were approximately 8 times more likely to use CRP when 5,000‐ha landscapes were 70% rather than 20% grassland, indicating variation in the level of ecological services provided by CRP was dependent upon composition of the larger landscape. Further, CRP grasslands were 1.7 times more likely to be used by lesser prairie‐chickens in regions receiving 40 cm compared to 70 cm of average annual precipitation and during years of greater drought intensity. Demographic and resource selection analyses revealed that establishing CRP grasslands in northwest Kansas can increase the amount nesting habitat in a region where it may have previously been limited, thereby providing refugia to sustain populations through periods of extreme drought. Nest survival, adult survival during breeding, and nonbreeding season survival did not vary between lesser prairie‐chickens that used and did not use CRP grasslands. The finite rate of population growth was also similar for birds using CRP and using only native working grasslands, suggesting that CRP provides habitat similar to that of native working grassland in this region. Overall, lesser prairie‐chickens may thrive in landscapes that are a mosaic of native working grassland, CRP grassland, with a minimal amount of cropland, particularly when nesting and brood habitat are in close proximity. ...

Lesser prairie‐chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) populations have declined since the 1980s. Understanding factors influencing nest‐site selection and nest survival are important for conservation and management of lesser prairie‐chicken populations. However, >75% of the extant population is in the northern extent of the range where data on breeding season ecology are lacking. We tested factors influencing fine‐scale and regional nest‐site selection and nest survival across the northern portion of the lesser prairie‐chicken range. We trapped and affixed satellite global positioning system and very high frequency transmitters to female lesser prairie‐chickens (n = 307) in south‐central and western Kansas and eastern Colorado, USA. We located and monitored 257 lesser prairie‐chicken nests from 2013 to 2016. We evaluated nest‐site selection and nest survival in comparison to vegetation composition and structure. Overall, nest‐site selection in relation to vegetation characteristics was similar across our study area. Lesser prairie‐chickens selected nest microsites with 75% visual obstruction 2.0–3.5 dm tall and 95.7% of all nests were in habitat with ≥1 dm and ≤4 dm visual obstruction. Nests were located in areas with 6–8% bare ground, on average, avoiding areas with greater percent cover of bare ground. The type of vegetation present was less important than cover of adequate height. Nest survival was maximized when 75% visual obstruction was 2.0–4.0 dm. Nest survival did not vary spatially or among years and generally increased as intensity of drought decreased throughout the study although not significantly. To provide nesting cover considering yearly variation in drought conditions, it is important to maintain residual cover by managing for structural heterogeneity of vegetation. Managing for structural heterogeneity could be accomplished by maintaining or strategically applying practices of the Conservation Reserve Program, using appropriate fire and grazing disturbances in native working grasslands, and establishing site‐specific monitoring of vegetation composition and structure. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

Agriculture and development have caused landscape change throughout the southwestern Great Plains in the range of the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). Landscape alteration within the lesser prairie-chicken range may contribute to range contraction and population losses through decreases in survival rates. Our objectives were to determine if: (1) landscape configuration (i.e., the spatial arrangement of habitat) or composition (i.e., the amount of habitat), at the study-site scale, affected annual survival of females, (2) relationships exist between landscape context (i.e., landscape configuration and composition) and weekly survival to assess effects of landscape composition and configuration on lesser prairie-chicken populations, and (3) anthropogenic features influenced daily mortality risk. We captured 170 female lesser prairie-chickens and used very-high-frequency and GPS (Global Positioning System) transmitters to track their movement and survival for 2 y. We used known-fate survival models to test if landscape configuration or composition within three sites in Kansas were related to differences in female survival among sites. In addition we tested for relationships between weekly survival and landscape configuration or composition within home ranges. Finally, we used Andersen-Gill models to test the influence of distance to anthropogenic features on daily mortality risk. Differences in survival were evident between sites with differing landscape compositions as annual survival in Northwestern Kansas (Ŝ ¼ 0.27) was half that of Clark County, Kansas (Ŝ ¼ 0.56), which corresponded with 41.9% more

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 homerange size was 3 times greater for individuals fitted with GPS satellite transmitters ( x ¼ 997 ha) than those with VHF transmitters ( x ¼ 286 ha), likely a result of the temporal resolution of the different transmitters. Home-range size of GPS-marked birds increased 2.8 times relative to the breeding season and varied by study area and year. Home-range size was smaller in the 2013-2014 nonbreeding season ( x ¼ 495 ha) than the following 2 nonbreeding seasons ( x ¼ 1,290 ha and x ¼ 1,158 ha), corresponding with drought conditions of 2013, which were alleviated in following years. Female survival (Ŝ) was high relative to breeding season estimates, and did not differ by study area or year (Ŝ ¼ 0.73 AE 0.04 [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. Ó