Attwater's Prairie Chicken Its Life History and Management

Abstract

Optimum prairie chicken range apparently consists of well-drained grassland, with some weeds or shrubs, the cover varying in density from light to heavy; and with surface water available in summer; diversification within the grassland type is essential. In the absence of ample refuges for the species, probably all other favorable factors together will fail to save Attwater's prairie chicken from extinction.

Reproductive Stages Limiting Productivity of the Endangered Attwater’s Prairie Chicken

“…Attwater's Prairie Chicken nests were found by flushing females by various methods and searching the area where they were flushed for nests. Lehmann (1941) located nests using a rope-drag technique to flush females (Table 3). Texas Parks and Wildlife Department employees located nests primarily by ground searches and secondarily by flushing radio-marked females (Table 3).…”

“…Several researchers, however, have determined the number of chicks in surviving broods of Attwater's and Greater Prairie Chicken by counting the number of chicks in broods flushed (typically broods were observed from 7 to 8 weeks of age until brood breakup at approximately 12 weeks of age). Lehmann (1941) used a rope-drag technique and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department employees used a helicopter to flush broods (Table 5). Helicopter flushing was also used by USFWS personnel to count the number of young per brood on the Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR until 1989, when they began using a rope-drag technique.…”

“…These studies did not, however, address why nesting success was greater where vegetative density or height was greater. Because nest predation is the greatest contributor to Attwater's Prairie Chicken nest failure (Lehmann 1941;Horkel 1979;Lutz 1979: Lawrence 1982Morrow 1986), it could be more difficult for predators to locate nests in dense or tall cover. An understanding of the interactions among vegetative structure and floristics, alternate prey species, and nest predation is needed.…”

“…1). Historically, this species occupied approximately 2.4 million ha of coastal prairie from southwestern Louisiana, south to at least the Nueces River in Texas (Lehmann 1941;Lehmann & Mauermann 1963). By 1992 approximately 80,000 ha of suitable habitat remained (97% loss; USFWS 1993).…”

“…By 1992 approximately 80,000 ha of suitable habitat remained (97% loss; USFWS 1993). Conversion of coastal prairie to agricultural, commercial, and urban uses is thought to have been the ultimate impetus for the long-term decline in Attwater's Prairie Chicken numbers and for its elimination from Louisiana and most of Texas (Lehmann 1941;Cogar et al 1977;USFWS 1983). By the spring of 1995 only three isolated populations (found in Austin and Colorado County, Galveston County, and Refugio County, Texas) consisting of approximately 68 individuals remained, with 59% in the Refugio County population (USFWS, unpublished data).…”