Effects of landscape‐scale forest change on the range contraction of ruffed grouse in New York State, USA

Abstract

In New York State, USA, the abundance of ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) has declined >75% since the 1960s. We hypothesized that range contraction of grouse in New York State was associated with broad-scale spatial patterns relating to forest maturation and that these patterns would be evident at the landscape scale. We evaluated data available from New York Breeding Bird Atlases conducted in the early 1980s and again in the early 2000s, which included surveys of >5,000, 25-km 2 sample blocks across a landscape of 125,384 km 2 . We related detection and non-detection of grouse within Breeding Bird Atlas blocks to forest amount, landscape configuration, and presence of neighboring grouse populations via autologistic regression. Loss of early successional forest was inversely related to the continued persistence of grouse (R 2 ¼ 0.61). Models showed that ruffed grouse were no longer detected in marginal areas of their distribution, blocks with low amounts of forest, and blocks with landscape configurations potentially advantageous to nest predators. We conclude that declines in both habitat quality and quantity have contributed to range contraction within New York State and that the factors affecting grouse populations have acted at broader spatial scales than are typically considered in habitat evaluation. Our work demonstrates that large landscape-scale data sets are valuable in assessing changes in distribution and abundance of wildlife populations. Landscape analyses at large geographic scales (>100,000 km 2 ) are of particular importance to managers because they represent ways of quantifying the influence of economic incentives and land-use policy on habitats across large regions. ß 2012 The Wildlife Society.

Where have all the grouse ticks gone? Apparent decline in collections of Haemaphysalis chordeilis Packard

“…A decline in H. chordeilis collections post-1965 is probably related to observed declines in primary host species over the same time frame ( Hernández et al, 2013 ; Kirsch et al, 1973 ; Porter and Jarzyna, 2013 ). Conservation and management of game birds has become a priority, especially concerning species such as the Sage Grouse, threatened by habitat loss due to human settlements, herbicide use, agriculture ( Braun, 1998 ), vector-borne disease ( Kunkel et al, 2022 ) and oil and natural gas exploration in Western states ( Green et al, 2017 ).…”

“…( Sauer et al, 2013 ). Several historic hosts of H. chordeilis have experienced population declines since the 1960's; including the Northern Bobwhite ( Colinus virginianus Linnaeus) ( Hernández et al, 2013 ) , Sharp-tailed Grouse ( Kirsch et al, 1973 ), and Ruffed Grouse ( Bonasa umbellus Linnaeus) ( Porter and Jarzyna, 2013 ). In this manuscript, we review published collection records of H. chordeilis to determine if reports of this species have declined over time and speculate on the influence of host declines on ectoparasite populations.…”

Ruffed grouse population declines after introduction of West Nile virus

“…As expected, WNV was negatively related to and , and in some cases the effect size was equal to or greater than the effect size of the habitat variables. However, we are cautious about suggesting that WNV, per se , might suppress grouse colonization more than does habitat loss because it is not clear whether the apparent greater effect of WNV might derive directly from WNV mortality risk or whether WNV prevalence is just greater in areas where grouse populations are lower and there is thus a lack of available colonizers (Skrip , Porter and Jarzyna ). Some support for the latter hypothesis is provided by the fact that Culex pipiens , the primary WNV vector in our study area, is associated with developed areas, and to some degree WNV prevalence in mosquitoes is greatest around urban areas where grouse occupancy probability and abundance is lowest.…”

“…Early successional deciduous forest represents high‐quality habitat for ruffed grouse, and loss of such habitat is thought to be a primary influence on declines in grouse population (Dessecker and McAuley ); however, this hypothesis has been only recently evaluated at a broad landscape scale. In New York, USA, forest maturation in most regions of the state was associated with decreases in occupancy of Breeding Bird Atlas blocks (Skrip , Porter and Jarzyna ). To date, evidence for landscape‐level changes in habitat have not been tested in other parts of the ruffed grouse range.…”

Range contractions of the Broad-winged Hawk in the Northeast United States

“…Breeding bird atlas data were collected primarily through volunteer effort, using standardized procedures. The protocols ideally ensure consistency in coverage among blocks and requires that a significant amount of time is invested in each sampled block (Porter and Jarzyna 2013). Although atlas methodologies are designed to ensure consistent coverage, in reality, coverage is inconsistent, both spatially (between blocks) and temporally (between atlas projects) (Wilson et al 2017).…”