Longest sage‐grouse migratory behavior sustained by intact pathways

Abstract

Expanding human footprints across the globe are affecting animal migrations by altering their use of traditional routes and exposing them to increased costs of travel. Sustaining migratory behavior among populations requires knowledge of animal movement and space use during this critical life stage. We studied the migratory movements in a population of greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), an imperiled species endemic to the North American sagebrush steppe, with the longest‐known obligate and annual migration for a grouse: a 240‐km journey between Saskatchewan, Canada, and north central Montana, USA. Remote tracking revealed that stepping‐stone behavior in sage‐grouse is analogous to that of migratory big game populations, which frequent stopover sites along varied and individual routes. Within migratory routes, sage‐grouse chose pathways with gently rolling grasslands and sagebrush flats. Sage‐grouse avoided cropland, making punctuated movements across a 6‐km river valley dominated by cropland and trees. During autumn migration (Oct–Nov), individuals typically spent a day at an average of 9 different stopovers while traveling 41–126 km in 14 days. Sage‐grouse were faithful to winter ranges and timing of autumn migration but demonstrated adaptive behavior in response to heavy snowfalls with no effect on survival. Birds made a mass exodus north in spring (Mar–Apr) to their respective breeding ranges, traveling up to 160 km in 18 days. Migratory pathways were stitched together by an array of public and private lands, with large and intact landscapes composed of native vegetation forming the common thread. Conservation easements and public lands policy that preclude temperate grasslands from being fragmented will be critical in maintaining the largest migratory event observed among gallinaceous species. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

Quantifying functional connectivity: The role of breeding habitat, abundance, and landscape features on range‐wide gene flow in sage‐grouse

“…Variation in the importance of a predictor can be related to its abundance and distribution, but this does not seem to be the case here, as mean values were similar across all zones. In MZ I, where individuals have been shown to move far distances (Cross et al., 2017; Newton et al., 2017), isolation by distance appeared to drive differentiation. None of the landscape predictors were very strong in MZ III, a zonal boundary spanning multiple populations and/or habitat–population relationships.…”

Male post‐breeding movements and stopover habitat selection of an endangered short‐distance migrant, the Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax

“…However, little is known about the migratory behaviour (including the selection of stopover sites) of many endangered short-distance migrants or about the potential negative impact of human infrastructures during their migratory movements (e.g. Newton et al 2017, Palac ın et al 2017.…”

“…Eraud et al 2013, Lemke et al 2013, Evens et al 2017. Despite that, knowledge of the stopover ecology of many avian groups and species, and particularly of short-distance migrants, is still very limited (but see Strandberg et al 2009, Newton et al 2017, R€ oseler et al 2017.…”

Designing multi‐scale hierarchical monitoring frameworks for wildlife to support management: a sage‐grouse case study

“…, Newton et al. ; see Appendix : Tables S1, S2). From genetic recapture methods and clustering of genetic diversity, 15 km was identified as the median breeding dispersal distance among leks for both sexes (Cross et al.…”