Sexual Selection and Mating Chronology of Lesser Prairie-Chickens

Behney, Adam C.; Grisham, Blake A.; Boal, Clint W.; Whitlaw, Heather A.; Haukos, David A.

doi:10.1676/11-079.1

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…We coded encounter histories by 2‐week intervals for females (Table ). Females begin attending leks in mid‐March (Behney et al ); therefore, we used 15 March as the beginning of the breeding season for females. We coded encounter histories by month for each male.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Causes of mortality and temporal patterns in breeding season survival of lesser prairie‐chickens in shinnery oak prairies

Grisham

Boal

2015

Wildl. Soc. Bull.

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Baseline survival and mortality data for lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) are lacking for shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) prairies. An understanding of the causes and timing of mortalities and breeding season survival in this ecoregion is important because shinnery oak prairies have hotter and drier environmental conditions, as well as different predator communities compared with the northern distribution of the species. The need for this information has become more pressing given the recent listing of the species as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. We investigated causes of mortality and survival of lesser prairie-chickens during the 6-month breeding season (1 Mar-31 Aug) of 2008-2011 on the Texas Southern High Plains, USA. We recorded 42 deaths of radiotagged individuals, and our results indicated female mortalities were proportionate among avian and mammalian predation and other causes of mortality but survival was constant throughout the 6-month breeding season. Male mortalities were constant across avian and mammalian predation and other causes, but more mortalities occurred in June compared with other months. Male survival also varied by month, and survival probabilities were lower in June-August. We found predation on leks was rare, mortalities from fence collisions were rare, female survival did not decrease during incubation or brood-rearing, and survival was influenced by drought. Our study corroborated recent studies that suggested lesser prairie-chickens are living at the edge of their physiological tolerances to environmental conditions in shinnery oak prairies. As such, lesser prairie-chickens in our study experienced different patterns of mortality and survival that we attributed to hot, dry conditions during the breeding season. Specifically, and converse to other studies on lesser prairie-chicken survival and mortality, drought positively influenced female survival because females did not incubate eggs during drought conditions; the incubation period is when females are most vulnerable to predation. Male mortalities and survival were negatively influenced by drought later in the breeding season, which we attributed to rigorous lekking activities through late May combined with lack of food and cover as the breeding season progressed into summer. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two-week time intervals used to assess survival rates for female lesser prairie-chickens in Cochran, Hockley, Terry, and Yoakum counties, Texas, USA, 2008-2011. These time intervals were developed based on phenology data from Behney et al (2012b) and Grisham et al (2014).…”

Section: Survival Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes of mortality and temporal patterns in breeding season survival of lesser prairie‐chickens in shinnery oak prairies

Grisham

Boal

2015

Wildl. Soc. Bull.

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“…Greater Prairie-Chicken extant range is green; Lesser Prairie-Chicken extant range is tan; Attwater's Prairie-Chicken extant range is blue; and individual study sites are gray polygons. Demographic models indicate that reproductive success and female survival drive population dynamics of prairie chickens (Patten et al 2005, Hagen et al 2009, Behney et al 2012, McNew et al 2012a. Land cover classes include: light green ¼ prairie; dark green ¼ woodland; , Matthews et al 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Females attempt at least one nest each year, lay large clutches of 8-14 eggs, regularly renest after clutch loss, and provide sole parental care to offspring . Demographic models indicate that reproductive success and female survival drive population dynamics of prairie chickens (Patten et al 2005, Hagen et al 2009, Behney et al 2012, McNew et al 2012a.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors affecting female space use in ten populations of prairie chickens

et al. 2015

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Conservation of wildlife depends on an understanding of the interactions between animal movements and key landscape factors. Habitat requirements of wide-ranging species often vary spatially, but quantitative assessment of variation among replicated studies at multiple sites is rare. We investigated patterns of space use for 10 populations of two closely related species of prairie grouse: Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) and Lesser Prairie-Chickens (T. pallidicinctus). Prairie chickens require large, intact tracts of native grasslands, and are umbrella species for conservation of prairie ecosystems in North America. We used resource utilization functions to investigate space use by female prairie chickens during the 6-month breeding season from March through August in relation to lek sites, habitat conditions, and anthropogenic development. Our analysis included data from 382 radio-marked individuals across a major portion of the extant range. Our project is a unique opportunity to study comparative space use of prairie chickens, and we employed standardized methods that facilitated direct comparisons across an ecological gradient of study sites. Median home range size of females varied ;10-fold across 10 sites (3.6-36.7 km 2 ), and home ranges tended to be larger at sites with higher annual precipitation. Proximity to lek sites was a strong and consistent predictor of space use for female prairie chickens at all 10 sites. The relative importance of other predictors of space use varied among sites, indicating that generalized habitat management guidelines may not be appropriate for these two species. Prairie chickens actively selected for prairie habitats, even at sites where ;90% of the land cover within the study area was prairie. A majority of the females monitored in our study (.95%) had activity centers within 5 km of leks, suggesting that conservation efforts can be effectively concentrated near active lek sites. Our data on female space use suggest that lek surveys of male prairie chickens can indirectly assess habitat suitability for females during the breeding season. Lek monitoring and surveys for new leks provide information on population trends, but can also guide management actions aimed at improving nesting and brood-rearing habitats.v www.esajournals.org 1 September 2015 v Volume 6(9) v Article 166

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“…Age predicts mating success in lekking grouse (Alatalo, Höglund, Lundberg, & Sutherland, 1992) including the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Behney, Grisham, Boal, Whitlaw, & Haukos, 2012), possibly because yearlings may lower their reproductive effort and subsequently benefit from higher survival (Hagen, Pitman, Sandercock, Robel, & Applegate, 2005). Comb size and condition predict mating success in several grouse species (Hannon & Eason, 1995;Holder & Montgomerie, 1993;Rintamäki et al, 2000) including the Greater Prairie-Chicken (Augustine, Millspaugh, & Sandercock, 2011;Nooker & Sandercock, 2008).…”

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Divergent color signals from homologous unfeathered ornaments in two congeneric grouse

Gould

Carter

Augustine

2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Color‐based visual signals are important aspects of communication throughout the animal kingdom. Individuals evaluate color to obtain information about age and condition and to behave accordingly. Birds display a variety of striking, conspicuous colors and make ideal subjects for the study of color signaling. While most studies of avian color focus on plumage, bare unfeathered body parts also display a wide range of color signals. Mate choice and intrasexual competitive interactions are easily observed in lekking grouse, which also signal with prominent unfeathered color patches. Most male grouse have one pair of colorful bare part ornaments (combs), and males of several species also have inflatable air sacs in their throat. Previous studies have mostly focused on comb color and size, but little is known about the signaling role of air sac color. We measured comb size and the color properties of combs and air sacs in the Lesser and Greater Prairie‐Chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus and T. cupido, respectively), and investigated whether these properties varied with age and mass. We found that mass predicted color properties of air sacs and that age predicted comb size in the Greater Prairie‐Chicken, suggesting that these ornaments indicate condition dependence. No conclusive relationships between color and age or size were detected in the Lesser Prairie‐Chicken. Color properties of both ornaments differed between the two species. Further research is needed to determine mechanisms that link condition to color and whether the information advertised by color signals from these ornaments is intended for males, females, or both.

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Sexual Selection and Mating Chronology of Lesser Prairie-Chickens

Cited by 13 publications

References 28 publications

Causes of mortality and temporal patterns in breeding season survival of lesser prairie‐chickens in shinnery oak prairies

Causes of mortality and temporal patterns in breeding season survival of lesser prairie‐chickens in shinnery oak prairies

Factors affecting female space use in ten populations of prairie chickens

Divergent color signals from homologous unfeathered ornaments in two congeneric grouse

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