Population vital rates of resident and translocated female greater sage-grouse
Translocations have been recommended to reestablish, augment, and sustain genetic diversity in declining wildlife populations, including greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse). Characteristics of successful sage-grouse translocations include suitable contiguous sagebrush (.Arte...
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Veröffentlicht in: | The Journal of wildlife management 2016-05, Vol.80 (4), p.753-760 |
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Zusammenfassung: | Translocations have been recommended to reestablish, augment, and sustain genetic diversity in declining wildlife populations, including greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse). Characteristics of successful sage-grouse translocations include suitable contiguous sagebrush (.Artemisia spp.), seasonal habitats surrounded by geomorphic barriers, a residual resident population, and pre-nesting releases. From 2009 to 2010, we studied vital rates of 60 translocated and 15 resident radio-marked female sage-grouse and their broods on Anthro Mountain, in the Ashley National Forest, northeastern Utah, USA to determine whether translocations could augment a declining meta-population that inhabited suitable breeding habitats in a small spatially isolated landscape. Survival rates, and nest and brood success estimates for the resident and translocated sage-grouse we studied were lower than reported range-wide averages. Nest success was similar for resident and translocated birds (survival estimate: 0.468, 95% CI = 0.288–0.648) and we calculated weak, yet positive relationships to grass height and grass cover. Daily survival rates for chicks 0–19 days of age for resident females in 2009 (0.904, CI = 0.875–0.940) and in 2010 (0.910, CI = 0.888–0.945) were higher than for chicks raised by translocated females (0.883, CI = 0.850–0.915; 0.892, CI = 0.856–0.936, respectively), although differences were small and all 95% confidence intervals had substantial overlap. In 2009 and 2010, daily survival rates for chick 20–50 days of age were slightly higher for chicks reared by resident females (0.980, CI = 0.963–0.994; 0.998, CI = 0.978–1.000, respectively) than chicks reared by translocated females (0.877, CI = 0.623–0.959; 0.988, CI = 0.945–0.993, respectively). Chick survival for both groups was weakly correlated with grass cover. Although most translocated birds remained on the study area (82%), the low overall survival rates we report indicate that managers need to consider factors affecting survival of adult females, nests, and chicks when planning future translocations to augment sage-grouse meta-populations that occupy spatially isolated and space-limited habitats. |
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ISSN: | 0022-541X 1937-2817 |
DOI: | 10.1002/jwmg.1062 |