Ecology, Conservation, and Management of Grouse

Grouse—an ecologically important group of birds that include capercaillie, prairie chickens, and ptarmigan—are distributed throughout the forests, grasslands, and tundra of Europe, Asia, and North America. Today, many grouse populations are in decline, and the conservation and management of these charismatic birds is becoming a global concern. This volume summarizes current knowledge of grouse biology in 25 chapters contributed by 80 researchers from field studies around the world. Organized in four sections—Spatial Ecology, Habitat Relationships, Population Biology, and Conservation and Management—the chapters offer important insights into spatial requirements, movements, and demography of grouse. Much of the research employs emerging tools in ecology that span biogeochemistry, molecular genetics, endocrinology, radio-telemetry, and remote sensing. The chapters explore topics including the impacts of climate change, energy development, and harvest, and give new evidence for life-history changes in response to human activities.

Brett K. Sandercock is Associate Professor in the Division of Biology at Kansas State University. Kathy Martin is Professor in the Department of Forest Sciences and Director of the Centre for Alpine Studies at the University of British Columbia. Gernot Segelbacher is Lecturer at the University of Freiburg in Germany.

Contributors

Preface
Brett K. Sandercock, Kathy Martin and Gernot Segelbacher

1 • Spatial Ecology

Spatially Explicit Habitat Models For Prairie Grouse
Neal D. Niemuth

Hierarchical Modeling Of Lek Habitats Of Greater Prairie-Chickens /
Andrew J. Gregory, Lance B. Mcnew, Thomas J. Prebyl, Brett K. Sandercock, and Samantha M. Wisely

Estimating Lek Occurrence and Density For Sharp-Tailed Grouse /
Stephen Hamilton and Doug Manzer

Home Range Size and Movements Of Greater Prairie-Chickens /
Michael A. Patten, Christin L. Pruett, and Donald H. Wolfe

Impacts Of Anthropogenic Features on Habitat Use By Lesser Prairie-Chickens /
Christian A. Hagen, James C. Pitman, Thomas M. Loughin, Brett K. Sandercock and
Robert J. Robel

Landscape Fragmentation and Non-Breeding Greater Sage-Grouse /
Jay F. Shepherd, Kerry P. Reese, and John W. Connelly

Natal Dispersal Affects Population Dynamics Of Hazel Grouse in Heterogeneous Landscapes /
Marc Montadert and Patrick Leonard

2 • Habitat Relationships

Nesting Success and Resource Selection Of Greater Sage-Grouse /
Nicholas W. Kaczor, Kent C. Jensen, Robert W. Klaver, Mark A. Rumble, Katie M.
Herman-Brunson, and Christopher C. Swanson

Use Of Dwarf Sagebrush By Nesting Greater Sage-Grouse /
David. D. Musil


Modeling Nest and Brood Habitats Of Greater Sage-Grouse /
Jay F. Shepherd, John W. Connelly, and Kerry P. Reese

Linking Habitat Selection and Brood Success in Greater Sage-Grouse /
Michael L. Casazza, Peter S. Coates, and Cory T. Overton

Resource Selection During Brood-Rearing by Greater Sage-Grouse /
Nicholas W. Kaczor, Katie M. Herman-Brunson, Kent C. Jensen, Mark A. Rumble,
Robert W. Klaver, and Christopher C. Swanson

Habitat Selection and Brood Survival Of Greater Prairie-Chickens /
Ty W. Matthews, Andrew J. Tyre, J. Scott Taylor, Jeffrey J. Lusk, and Larkin A.
Powell

3 • Population Biology

Testosterone Mediates Mating Success in Greater Prairie-Chickens /
Jacqueline K. Augustine, Joshua J. Millspaugh, and Brett K. Sandercock

Reproductive Biology of a Southern Population Of Greater Prairie-Chickens /
Lance B. Mcnew, Andrew J. Gregory, Samantha M. Wisely, and Brett K. Sandercock

Regional Variation in Nesting Success of Lesser Prairie-Chickens /
Eddie K. Lyons, Ryan S. Jones, John P. Leonard, Benjamin E. Toole, Robert A.
Mccleery, Roel R. Lopez, Markus J. Peterson, Stephen J. Demaso, and Nova J. Silvy

Mechanisms Underlying Variation in Renesting Ability of Willow Ptarmigan /
Kathy Martin, Scott Wilson, and Susan J. Hannon

Chick Survival of Greater Prairie-Chickens /
Adam C. Schole, Ty W. Matthews, Larkin A. Powell, Jeffrey J. Lusk, and J. Scott
Taylor

Human-Mediated Selection on Life-History Traits of Greater Prairie-Chickens /
Lance B. Mcnew, Andrew J. Gregory, Samantha M. Wisely, and Brett K. Sandercock

Demographic Traits of Two Alpine Populations of Rock Ptarmigan /
Claude Novoa, Jean-François Desmet, Jean-François Brenot, Bertrand Muffat-Joly,
Marc Arvin-Berod, Jean Resseguier and Bastien Tran

4 • Conservation and Management

Effects of Climate Change on Nutrition and Genetics of White-Tailed Ptarmigan /
Sara J. Oyler-Mccance, Craig A. Stricker, Judy St. John, Clait E. Braun, Gregory T.
Wann, and Cameron L. Aldridge

Effects Of Translocation on Behavior of Island Ptarmigan /
Robb S. A. Kaler and Brett K. Sandercock

Hunting Lowers Population Size in Greater Sage-Grouse /
Robert M. Gibson, Vernon C. Bleich, Clinton W. Mccarthy, and Terry L. Russi

Spatial-Temporal Variation in Survival Of Harvested Greater Sage-Grouse /
Benjamin S. Sedinger, James S. Sedinger, Shawn Espinosa, Michael T. Atamian, and
Erik J. Blomberg

Adaptive Harvest Management and Harvest Mortality Of Greater Prairie-Chickens /
Larkin A. Powell, J. Scott Taylor, Jeffrey J. Lusk, and Ty W. Matthews