Rangeland Ecology & Management

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LONG-TERM EVALUATION OF LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN NEST ECOLOGY IN RESPONSE TO GRASSLAND RESTORATION.
Author
Fritts, Sarah R.
Grisham, Blake A.
Haukos, David A.
Boal, Clint W.
Patten, Michael A.
Wolfe, Don H.
Dixon, Charles E.
Cox, Robert D.
Heck, Willard R.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2016
Body

Much of the current lesser prairie-chicken range in New Mexico and Texas is restricted to sand shinnery oak prairies, on which cattle grazing is the main socioeconomic driver for private landowners. Cattle producers within shinnery oak-prairies often focus land management on shrub eradication using tebuthiuron to promote grass production for forage; however, herbicide application alone, and in combination with grazing, may affect nest site selection and survival of lesser prairie-chickens through the reduction of shinnery oak and native grasses. We used a controlled, paired completely randomized design study to assess the influence of grazing and tebuthiuron application on nest site selection and nest survival in 4 treatments from 2001-2010 in New Mexico. Grazing treatment was a low-intensity, short-duration system in which plots were grazed once during the dormant season and once during the growing season. Stocking rate was calculated each season based on measured forage production and applied to remove not greater than 25% of available herbaceous material. We compared nest site selection among treatments using 1-way ?2 tests and nest survival among treatments using a priori candidate nest survival models in Program MARK. We identified important habitat predictors of nest site selection and nest survival using logistic regression and a priori candidate nest survival models in Program MARK, respectively. Hens typically used treatments as expected and no trends in selection were detected. Nest survival did not differ among treatments. Nests had less bare ground and greater angles of obstruction compared to random sites and survival estimates were similar among habitat covariates. Results suggest a tebuthiuron application rate of 0.60 kg/ha, short-duration low-intensity grazing, and a combination of these restoration techniques were not detrimental to lesser prairie-chicken nesting ecology. Intensified management that increases bare ground or reduces overhead cover may negatively impact lesser prairie-chicken nesting habitat and nest survival.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Corpus Christi, TX