Synthesizing and analyzing long-term monitoring data: A greater sage-grouse case study

O’Donnell, Michael S.; Edmunds, David R.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Heinrichs, Julie A.; Monroe, Adrian P.; Coates, Peter S.; Prochazka, Brian G.; Hanser, Steven E.; Wiechman, Lief A.; Christiansen, Thomas J.; Cook, Avery A.; Espinosa, Shawn P.; Foster, Lee J.; Griffin, Kathleen A.; Kolar, Jesse L.; Miller, Katherine S.; Moser, Ann M.; Remington, Thomas E.; Runia, Travis J.; Schreiber, Leslie A.; Schroeder, Michael A.; Stiver, San J.; Whitford, Nyssa I.; Wightman, Catherine S.

doi:10.1016/j.ecoinf.2021.101327

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Although studies have identified impacts of wildfire on limiting population growth of sage‐grouse at broad (Coates et al, 2016) and local (Dudley et al, 2021) scales, underlying mechanistic processes that drive population dynamics (e.g., impacts to population vital rates) are not well understood as information has been limited to postfire assessments (Anthony et al, 2021; Foster et al, 2019; Lockyer et al, 2015). Furthermore, spatial and temporal data are widely available to investigate sage‐grouse population dynamics in relation to wildfire as a result of collaborative widespread lek monitoring programs (O'Donnell et al, 2021). However, life stage data require intensive telemetry study designs and only rarely does opportunity exist to collect prefire data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maladaptive nest‐site selection and reduced nest survival in female sage‐grouse following wildfire

et al. 2022

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Increased wildfire frequency and associated replacement of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) with invasive annual grasses contribute to declines of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse) populations across the Great Basin. However, little is known about wildfire effects on sage-grouse nest-site selection and nest survival, which can influence population persistence. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Rush Fire on sage-grouse nest survival using before (2007)(2008)(2009) and after (2015-2018) data collected from a population of sage-grouse occupying the border of northeastern California and northwestern Nevada. We employed a before-after-control-impact (BACI) experimental design to account for spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the system and to derive estimates of relative change in survival parameters. Sage-grouse nest survival decreased after the Rush Fire but decreased more in the burned area relative to the unburned area. Although female sage-grouse continued to occupy burned areas, nest survival was reduced from 52% to 19%. Using a BACI ratio approach we found that nest survival decreased approximately 51% in the burned area, relative to the unburned area, following wildfire. Habitat analyses were restricted to the postfire period and found that female sage-grouse that nested within unburned areas selected for wider nesting substrate, taller perennial grass height, and greater low sagebrush canopy cover. Conversely, female sage-grouse that nested in burned areas used shorter sagebrush canopy cover than what was available across the entire study area but showed stronger selection for perennial grass height than their unburned counterparts. Strong nest-site fidelity in sage-grouse may explain the continued use of suboptimal habitat in wildfire-altered landscapes, resulting in a reproductive cost, and overall reproduction well below replacement rate. Results suggest that fire suppression or rapid postfire habitat restoration, especially within nesting habitat, may be essential to conserving robust sage-grouse populations into the future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maladaptive nest‐site selection and reduced nest survival in female sage‐grouse following wildfire

et al. 2022

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“…An important consideration is the appropriate duration of monitoring needed to detect significant trends, which has been shown to vary by biological classes (10–20 years; White, 2019); however, for populations that cycle, monitoring will need to include multiple nadirs. When such programs exist, standardized databases for species occurring across jurisdictional boundaries are similarly scarce due to lack of cross‐scale (institutional) coordination (O'Donnell et al, 2021; Urbano et al, 2010). The tracking of such efforts is also lacking, further presenting problems for programs like the United States ESA (Evansen et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining biologically relevant and hierarchically nested population units to inform wildlife management

O’Donnell

Edmunds

Aldridge

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Wildlife populations are increasingly affected by natural and anthropogenic changes that negatively alter biotic and abiotic processes at multiple spatiotemporal scales and therefore require increased wildlife management and conservation efforts. However, wildlife management boundaries frequently lack biological context and mechanisms to assess demographic data across the multiple spatiotemporal scales influencing populations. To address these limitations, we developed a novel approach to define biologically relevant subpopulations of hierarchically nested population levels that could facilitate managing and conserving wildlife populations and habitats. Our approach relied on the Spatial "K"luster Analysis by Tree Edge Removal clustering algorithm, which we applied in an agglomerative manner (bottom-to-top). We modified the clustering algorithm using a workflow and population structure tiers from leastcost paths, which captured biological inferences of habitat conditions (functional connectivity), dispersal capabilities (potential connectivity), genetic information, and functional processes affecting movements. The approach uniquely included context of habitat resources (biotic and abiotic) summarized at multiple spatial scales surrounding locations with breeding site fidelity and constraint-based rules (number of sites grouped and population structure tiers). We applied our approach to greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a species of conservation concern, across their range within the western United States. This case study produced 13 hierarchically nested population levels (akin to cluster levels, each representing a collection of subpopulations of an increasing number of breeding sites). These closely approximated population closure at finer ecological scales (smaller subpopulation extents with fewer breeding sites; cluster levels ≥2), where >92% of individual sage-grouse's time occurred within their home cluster. With available population monitoring data, our approaches can support the investigation of factors affecting population dynamics at multiple scales and assist managers with making informed, targeted, and cost-effective decisions within an adaptive management framework. Importantly, our

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“…A notable benefit of the scale selection approach is that it can be applied elsewhere with long‐term monitoring and annual remote sensing and to other life‐history components for species such as sage‐grouse, including movement, resource selection, and demography. With the advent of extensive monitoring data that are standardized range‐wide for sage‐grouse populations (O'Donnell et al, 2021) and remote sensing products characterizing habitat annually at broad spatial extents (Allred et al, 2021; Rigge, Homer, et al, 2021), scales of effect could be estimated specific to each region and population so that more robust results will support local policy and management actions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We obtained lek data from monitoring conducted within the WLCI area by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) and their partners, which were compiled and examined for spatial and aspatial errors (O'Donnell et al, 2021). We restricted data to monitoring conducted between 15 March and 15 May (peak breeding season) and from <31 min before sunrise until <91 min after sunrise (Monroe et al, 2016).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial scale selection for informing species conservation in a changing landscape

et al. 2022

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Identifying the relevant spatial scale at which species respond to features in a landscape (scale of effect) is a pressing research need as managers work to reduce biodiversity loss amid a variety of environmental challenges. Until recently, researchers often evaluated a subset of potential scales of effect inferred from previous studies in other locations, often based on different biological responses and environmental variables. These approaches, however, can create uncertainty as to whether relevant spatial scales were identified, and whether the effects of environmental variables at scale were accurately estimated. Identifying scales of effect is particularly relevant for the greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a sagebrush‐obligate species of conservation concern requiring large areas of intact sagebrush cover (Artemisia spp.) for habitat. We demonstrate the application of a scale selection approach that jointly estimates the scale of effect and the effect of sagebrush cover on trends in population size using counts from 584 sage‐grouse leks in southwestern Wyoming (2003–2019) and annual estimates of sagebrush cover from a remote sensing product. From this approach, we estimated a positive effect of mean sagebrush cover with a 95% probability that the scale of effect occurred within 5.02 km of leks. In an average year, we found that lower levels of sagebrush cover within these estimated scales could support increasing trends in sage‐grouse population size when populations were small, but higher levels of sagebrush cover were needed to sustain growing populations when populations were larger. With standardized monitoring and annual estimates of vegetation from remote sensing, this scale selection approach can be applied to identify relevant scales for other populations, species, and biological responses such as demography and movement.

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Synthesizing and analyzing long-term monitoring data: A greater sage-grouse case study

Cited by 15 publications

References 62 publications

Maladaptive nest‐site selection and reduced nest survival in female sage‐grouse following wildfire

Maladaptive nest‐site selection and reduced nest survival in female sage‐grouse following wildfire

Defining biologically relevant and hierarchically nested population units to inform wildlife management

Spatial scale selection for informing species conservation in a changing landscape

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