Dynamic Disturbance Processes Create Dynamic Lek Site Selection in a Prairie Grouse

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Wildlife Conservation
• Landscape Management

Background:

• Landscape processes significantly impact species' habitat selection, movements, and persistence.
• Conservation management often simplifies landscapes, potentially altering natural habitat selection patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess how restored landscape heterogeneity affects Greater Prairie-Chicken habitat selection patterns.
• To examine lek location stability and influencing environmental factors in a fire- and grazing-managed tallgrass prairie.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed 21 years of Greater Prairie-Chicken lek location data (1991, 1993-2012).
• Studied a tallgrass prairie ecosystem with restored fire and grazing processes at The Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.
• Investigated the influence of fire-grazing interactions and environmental variables on lek site selection.

Main Results:

• Lek locations were dynamic, with 65% moving nearly one kilometer annually in the restored landscape.
• Lek sites were consistently found in elevated areas with low tree cover and low road density.
• Lek site selection showed an interaction between fire and patch edge, with leks favoring edges in recently burned areas.

Conclusions:

• Dynamic processes like fire and grazing restore heterogeneity and influence habitat selection in prairie grouse.
• Conservation planning must account for shifting lek locations in response to vegetation changes, not treat them as static.
• Adaptive management strategies are crucial for effective conservation of species in dynamic grassland ecosystems.