Survival and habitat use in translocated and resident greater prairie-chickens

Carrlson, Kaylan M.; Kesler, Dylan C.; Thompson, Thomas R.

doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2014.03.008

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Translocated individuals depart quickly and remain largely unaccounted for unless radio-tracked during extensive post-translocation meanders [64,65]. In addition, survival for translocated individuals is much lower, even when acclimation is properly done [66], a phenomenon largely attributed to stress [67]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic rescue, the greater prairie chicken and the problem of conservation reliance in the Anthropocene

et al. 2017

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A central question in conservation is how best to manage biodiversity, despite human domination of global processes (= Anthropocene). Common responses (i.e. translocations, genetic rescue) forestall potential extirpations, yet have an uncertain duration. A textbook example is the greater prairie chicken (GRPC: Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus), where translocations (1992–1998) seemingly rescued genetically depauperate Illinois populations. We re-evaluated this situation after two decades by genotyping 21 microsatellite loci from 1831 shed feathers across six leks in two counties over 4 years (2010–2013). Low migration rates (less than 1%) established each county as demographically independent, but with declining-population estimates (4 year average N = 79). Leks were genetically similar and significantly bottlenecked, with low effective population sizes (average Ne = 13.1; 4 year Ne/N = 0.166). Genetic structure was defined by 12 significantly different family groups, with relatedness r = 0.31 > half-sib r = 0.25. Average heterozygosity, indicating short-term survival, did not differ among contemporary, pre- and post-translocated populations, whereas allelic diversity did. Our results, the natural history of GRPC (i.e. few leks, male dominance hierarchies) and its controlled immigration suggest demographic expansion rather than genetic rescue. Legal protection under the endangered species act (ESA) may enhance recovery, but could exacerbate political–economic concerns on how best to manage ‘conservation-reliant’ species, for which GRPC is now an exemplar.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic rescue, the greater prairie chicken and the problem of conservation reliance in the Anthropocene

et al. 2017

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“…Consequently, our reinforcement scenarios assumed that all translocated hens remained in the population where they were released and that translocated hens had identical survival to native hens. However, we recognize that appreciable numbers of translocated prairie‐chickens may permanently emigrate from their release location (Kemink & Kesler, ) and that translocated individuals may have substantially lower survival (Carrlson, Kesler, & Thompson, ). We therefore note that in practice, larger release cohorts may be necessary to account for differential survival and permanent emigration of released hens.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Swift action increases the success of population reinforcement for a declining prairie grouse

Hardy

Hull

Zuckerberg

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Translocations have become an increasingly valuable tool for conservation in recent years, but assessing the successfulness of translocations and identifying factors that contribute to their success continue to challenge biologists. As a unique class of translocation, population reinforcements have received relatively little attention despite representing a substantial portion of translocation programs. Here, we conducted population viability analyses to quantify the effects of 216 reinforcement scenarios on the long‐term viability of four populations of Greater Prairie‐Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) in Wisconsin, USA, and used multiple linear regression to identify factors that had the greatest relative influence on population viability. We considered reinforcements from outside of the study area in addition to translocations among Wisconsin populations. We observed the largest decreases in site‐specific extinction probability and the largest increases in the number of sites persisting for 50 years when more vulnerable populations were targeted for reinforcement. Conversely, reinforcing the most stable sites caused the greatest reduction in regional extinction probability. We found that the number of translocated hens was a comparatively poor predictor of changes in long‐term population viability, whereas the earlier onset of reinforcement was consistently associated with the greatest increases in viability. Our results highlight the value of evaluating alternative reinforcement strategies a priori and considering the effects of reinforcement on metrics of long‐term population persistence.

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“…We captured red‐cockaded woodpeckers at dusk, and occasionally held them overnight before release at sunrise. Likewise, some greater prairie‐chickens were translocated from Kansas, USA, to Missouri in 2010, requiring extended holding times (Carrlson et al ). All other birds were released immediately after marking.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some transmitters that were shed by brown‐headed nuthatches and red‐cockaded woodpeckers when feathers with mounted radios were dropped were reattached to the same bird, which we subsequently located regularly until the end of projected transmitter battery life or transmitter reshedding. We directly observed within‐season fates of most birds, but fate was unknown in several cases where independent juvenile birds may have dispersed (Burke , Carrlson et al ). We right‐censored encounter histories for all birds with unknown fates at the last time we knew they were carrying a radio.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used radiotelemetry data from studies on red‐cockaded woodpeckers in the Sandhills region of North Carolina, USA (Kesler et al ); brown‐headed nuthatches in Arkansas, USA (Stanton et al ); independent juvenile ovenbirds, red‐eyed vireos, and worm‐eating warblers in the Missouri Ozarks, USA (Burke ); and greater prairie‐chickens in southeastern Missouri (Carrlson et al ). Details of bird species traits and study area ecological conditions can be found in each respective study (Kesler et al , Burke , Carrlson et al , Stanton et al ).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Retention of radiotransmitters tail‐mounted on 6 bird species

Stanton

Burke

Carrlson³

et al. 2018

Wildl. Soc. Bull.

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Radiotransmitters can be tail-mounted using cyanoacrylate glue and an accelerant rather than using a harness. Tail-mounted transmitters are dropped or shed when the rectrices molt, which may reduce transmitter effects while providing retention times sufficient for most research objectives. However, retention times of tail-mounted transmitters for birds are insufficiently described, and bias from not following all birds until transmitters are shed has been ignored. We studied transmitter retention of 106 birds of 6 species in the United States of America, 2010-2013, using direct observations and survival modeling based on radiotelemetry tracking. Cox proportional hazard survival models predicted median transmitter retention times from 4 to 53 days, depending on species. Our results suggest that researchers should anticipate premature (i.e., <30 days) tag loss rates from 15% to 38% for adult birds, and adjust permit and funding applications accordingly. However, predicted premature tag loss approached 100% for independent juvenile birds, which frequently appeared to disperse long distances, leading to few or no failure events to inform models. Overall, our results provide guidance for the design of future telemetry studies while demonstrating that tail-mounting transmitters can yield adequate data for a variety of research objectives. Ó

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Survival and habitat use in translocated and resident greater prairie-chickens

Cited by 13 publications

References 56 publications

Genetic rescue, the greater prairie chicken and the problem of conservation reliance in the Anthropocene

Genetic rescue, the greater prairie chicken and the problem of conservation reliance in the Anthropocene

Swift action increases the success of population reinforcement for a declining prairie grouse

Retention of radiotransmitters tail‐mounted on 6 bird species

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