Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are landscape species that depend on sagebrush habitats for survival and reproduction. The influence that sagebrush structure and habitat heterogeneity have on sage-grouse breeding at the landscape scale is critical. The purpose of this presentation is to describe the application of remote sensing and GIS to quantify sagebrush structure at different spatial scales and assess the influence of habitat heterogeneity on sage-grouse habitat use patterns. To compare scales, sagebrush habitats were mapped using NAIP and Landsat TM imagery. With high resolution images, patch patterns around nest sites were determined and quantified using Fragstats patch metrics. At broader spatial scales, GIS derived predictor variables were generated to assess areas with >5% sagebrush cover. Nesting habitat was modeled using maximum entropy and NPMR to identify areas with highest probability of nest site selection. Combined models had overall accuracy greater than 90% for brood rearing and nest models. Results indicate that identifying habitat selection for sage-grouse is scale dependent and that remote sensing and GIS can be used to improve the prediction of habitat use across varying spatial scales.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.