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The article presents a study which examines the distribution of mitochondrial DNa (mtDNA) variation of the lesser prairie-chicken in southern Great Plains. The declining population of the species in the area calls for a better understanding of its genetic variation to derive efficient conservation measures. The study found out that there is no connection between haplotype phylogency and geography, however, suggests to evaluate conservation actions to increase genetically viable population.

Long-term population declines and habitat reductions have increased concern over the status of the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). Robust estimates of demographic parameters are essential for identifying population declines and planning effective management. We evaluated the effects of age and season on the survival of female lesser prairie-chickens at 2 sites in southwestern Kansas, USA. Using telemetry data from a 7-year field study (from 1997 to 2003), we estimated seasonal (Apr-Sep) and annual (Apr-Mar) survival. We also examined daily survival rates of females attending nests during the 26-day incubation period and young during the 14-day early brood-rearing period. We evaluated the probable mortality causes of radiomarked birds by examining evidence at recovery sites. We captured 227 female lesser prairie-chickens (87 yearlings, 117 ad, and 23 age undetermined) and fitted them with radiotransmitters. Estimates of 12-month survival were lower among yearlings (Ŝ12 = 0.429, SE = 0.117) and adults at site I (Ŝ12 0.302, SE = 0.080) than among yearlings (Ŝ12 = 0.588, SE = 0.100) and adults at site II (Ŝ12 = 0.438, SE = 0.083). The patterns in timing of mortality and age-specific 6-month survival were consistent with those of 12-month estimates at site I from 1998 to 2002, with a peak in mortality during May and June. Females tending to nests or to prefledged chicks had lower daily survival (DŜRtend = 0.993, SE = 0.001) than females not involved in these activities (DŜRfailed-breeder = 0.997, SE = 0.002). We recorded 92 mortalities from April 1997 to March 2003, and 59% and 11% were attributed to predation by mammals and raptors, respectively. Our research suggests that predation during the nesting season can have a major impact on lesser prairie-chicken demography, and conservation efforts should focus on enhancing female survival during the nesting and brood-rearing seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of adequate documentation of wildlife translocations, particularly details regarding the source stock used, have potentially serious implications for wildlife management. Poor documentation of translocations may lead to unintentional mixing of distinct types, potentially causing problems for future management, design of harvest programs, and evolutionary stability. In Kansas, we employed molecular tools and assignment methods to uncover the cryptic distribution of wild turkey subspecies resulting from decades of poorly documented translocations. Pure forms of Eastern (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) and Rio Grande turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) remain in many portions of the state, and future translocation programs now have the option to keep these distinct by prohibiting translocations between regions containing different subspecies. In addition, we documented 3 zones of hybridization: 1) at the interface between Eastern and Rio Grande subspecies, 2) in southwest Kansas where immigrant Merriam's turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo merriami) are mixing with translocated Rio Grande turkeys, and 3) surrounding an undocumented translocation of Eastern turkeys within a region characterized primarily by Rio Grande turkeys. The DNA-based techniques employed in this study were extremely informative tools for characterizing the distribution of wild turkeys in Kansas and suggest that such tools could be applied in a multitude of similar situations in other wildlife species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiotelemetry has provided wildlife biologists with a tool to estimate survival where fates of individuals likely are known. Analyses of known-fate data can yield accurate survival estimates if 5 assumptions are met. Two of these assumptions are rarely tested: that transmitters have no effect on survival of study animals and that right-censoring (i.e., any animal not located is as likely to be alive as dead) is random with respect to the survival of study animals. Using joint-models originally developed for live-encounter and dead-recovery data, we examined the potential for bias in survival estimates of radiomarked male lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) in a 3-year study in southwestern Kansas, USA. Additionally, we examined the potential bias of right-censoring by comparing the return rates of known-fate and right-censored individuals. We captured 216 male lesser prairie-chickens and marked them with a combination of leg bands and a radio (n = 72) or leg bands only (n = 144). We applied joint-models to capture histories based on live-capture and telemetry data. The model best supported by the data indicated that 6-month survival was constant (Ŝc 0.679, SE 0.050) across radiomarked and banded birds. Eight of 16 (50%, SE = 12.5%) right-censored birds not detected because of radio failure were subsequently recaptured, which was not different from the return rates for known-fate birds (23 of 59; 39%, SE = 6.3%). Survival estimates of male lesser prairie-chickens in this study were not measurably biased by radiomarking, as their survival was greater than or equal to those of banded birds, and right-censored birds had similar return rates to those of known-fate individuals. Our results are encouraging because they indicate that 2 critical assumptions underlying analyses of known-fate data can be met with radiotransmitters and attachment techniques currently used in field studies of wild populations of lesser prairie-chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juvenile survival has been identified as the most critical demographic parameter influencing grouse populations. Little information currently exists on survival of juvenile lesser prairie-chickens (Tyrnpanuchus pallidicinctus). We regularly flushed 51 individually identifiable lesser prairie-chicken broods over a 6-year period to estimate survival from hatch to 14 days post-hatch (early period) and from 15 to 60 days post-hatch (late period). Estimates of overall daily survival rates were 0.949 (95% CI = 0.932-0.966) for the early period and 0.978 (95% CI = 0.908-0.989) for the late period. Overall survival from hatch to 60 days posthatch was 0.177 (95% CI = 0.028-0.376). We used encounter histories of 31 transmitter-equipped juveniles to estimate survival from 1 August to 31 March (overwinter) using known-fate models. Juvenile overwinter survival was 0.70 (95% CI = 0,47-0.86), and chicks heavier than average for their age at 50-60 days posthatch were more likely to survive the 8-month overwinter period. Survival of juveniles from hatch to 31 March of the following year was 0.12 (95% CI = 0.01-0.32). We compared overwinter survival of juveniles and 93 transmitter-equipped full-grown lesser prairie-chickens using a second set of models. Overwinter survival rates for juveniles (0.64) and full-grown (0.63) birds were similar, but the timing of mortality events differed between age-classes. We recommend that managers in Kansas, USA, focus on improving early survival of juveniles by providing additional food resources to chicks. This can be accomplished by manipulating vegetation to increase forb cover, which will result in increased invertebrate biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife managers depend on accurate information regarding wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) survival patterns to properly manage turkey populations. Survival patterns of male Rio Grande wild turkeys (M. g. intermedia) have not been studied intensively. Wildlife managers in the Texas Panhandle, USA, and southwestern Kansas, USA, suspected that turkey populations were declining. From January 2000 through August 2002, we studied survival and movement of 107 juvenile male and 115 adult male rediomarked Rio Grande wild turkeys on 4 study sites in the Texas Panhandle and southwestern Kansas. We predicted that males would experience lowest survival during spring and that there would be no difference in survival between age classes. We also predicted that greater male movement rates would lead to lower survival rates. Juvenile males had a higher annual survival rate (0.597 [95% Cl hereafter: 0.478-0. 716]) than adults (0.364 [0.257-0.472]). Juvenile male survival did not differ among seasons, with survival rates of 0.813 (0. 736-0.891), 0.904 (0.837-0.972), and 0.917 (0.838-0.996) for spring, summer, and autumn, respectively. Adult male turkey survival was higher during summer (0.915 [0.859-0.972]) than during spring (0. 725 [0.651-0. 799]), autumn (0.671 [0.536-0.807]), and winter (0. 792 [0.732-0.851]). Males had lower survival rates during seasons when long-distance movements were common. The annual survival rate for turkeys that moved to new core-use areas (0.383 [0.282-0.484]) was lower than that for turkeys that did not (0.535 [0.460-0.609]). Also, survival rates increased with time since relocation of core-use areas. Hunting accounted for 18.5% of all mortalities. However, most (80.7%) mortality was attributed to natural causes, mostly mammalian predation. We suspected most predation was the result of coyotes (Canis latrans) and bobcats (Lynx rufus). Managers in the northern portion of the natural range of Rio Grande wild turkeys should be aware of the presence of natural mortality factors that are evident in lightly hunted populations. Managers interested in increasing the survival of male Rio Grande wild turkeys should concentrate on efforts that will provide needed resources in close proximity to roosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

invertebrates are an important food source for grouse chicks, especially within the first 2 weeks of life, invertebrate abundance is highly patchy and dependent upon herbaceous cover and vegetation structure. We examined the relationship between invertebrate bio- mass (from sweepnet samples) and habitat structure at lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) brood-use and non-use areas during 2001 and 2002 in a sand sagebrush (Artemisia filifolia) prairie vegetation community of southwestern Kansas. We delineated use and non-use areas from paired sampling points within and outside 95% utilization distributions of radiomarked brood females, respectively, during the first 60 days post-hatch. We measured vegetation cover and invertebrate biomass (Acrididae and "other" invertebrates) at 71 paired points on 2 study sites (Site 1=4 broods, Site 11= 12 broods). Both Acrididae and other invertebrate biomasses were greater at brood areas than non-use areas on both study sites, suggesting this food source likely had a greater influence on brood habitat use than vegetation type. Vegetation structure described brood-use areas better than vegetation type because brood-use areas had greater visual obstruction readings (VORs) than non-use areas regardless of dominant cover type. We also examined the predictive relationship between vegetation type and invertebrate biomass. Sand sagebrush density was the best linear predictor of Acrididae biomass, with lower densities having the greatest Acrididae biomass. We propose experiments to deter- mine best management practices that produce abundant invertebrate biomasses for lesser prairie-chicken brood habitat, using our study as a baseline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) populations have declined rangewide, and one of the principal causes is thought to be low nest success. Little is known about the relationship of vegetation structure and human intrusion to lesser prairie-chicken nest location and success. We conducted our study from 1997 to 2002 in southwestern Kansas, USA, on 2 sand-sagebrush (Artemisia filifolia) prairie areas managed for livestock production. We determined apparent nest success (26%) for 200 of 209 lesser prairie-chicken nests located. Nest sites had taller grass, greater sand-sagebrush density, and higher visual obstruction than random locations in the surrounding prairie. We recorded the distances from nests to 6 anthropogenic features (wellheads, buildings, improved roads, unimproved roads, transmission lines, center-pivot irrigation fields) to determine whether the features were related to nest location and success. Sand-sagebrush habitat around S of 6 features (all except unimproved roads) was avoided for 80 m (wellheads) to >1,000 m (buildings) by nesting lesser prairie-chickens, but distances to the features were not substantial predictors of apparent nest success. Grass height, sagebrush plant density, and sagebrush height were the most important vegetation characteristics influencing nest success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We derived consequences (realizations of hunter efficiency, relative harvest rates) of fixed, liberal quail (northern bobwhite [Colinus virginianus], Gambel's quail [Callipepla gambelii], and scaled quail [C. squamata]) harvest regulations applied at large scales from time series on quail abundance, total harvest, and hunter participation. Data came from Kansas (1966-2001), Missouri (1983-2001), Oklahoma (1990-2001), north and south Texas (1986-2001), and Arizona (1982-1999), USA, where harvest regulations were liberal (season length 2.5-4 months, daily bag limit 8-15 birds) during the periods of record. For all study regions, hunter-days were expressible as a linear function of quail abundance, and total harvest was expressible as a linear function of hunter-days. These results implied that hunter efficiency (harvest/hunter-day/index bird) declined monotonically and curvilinearly as quail populations increased. Likewise, relative harvest rate declined monotonically and curvilinearly as abundance increased, which implied that harvest was not self-limiting; however, the rate of decline generally was low because harvest rate was the product of an increasing (hunter-days) and a decreasing function (hunter efficiency) of quail abundance. Under fixed, liberal regulations, variations in quail abundance seem to govern harvest rates at the state or regional level; the regulations per se probably are biologically inconsequential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) are one of the most broadly researched and intensively managed species in North America. However, we argue that a disadvantage of this status is that traditional management principles currently are incompatible with the spatial scale necessary to address the nationwide decline in bobwhite abundance. We maintain that halting or reversing this decline will entail 2 principal changes in the scale of management. Primarily we suggest that habitat oversight must switch from historical fine-scale management (promotion of edge habitat, weedy fencelines, disked strips, living hedges, and food plots) to regional management of usable space. Secondly, within these regional management areas, we should apply harvest management that employs risk-sensitive strategies that conservatively avoid undermining the primary goal. This entails narrowing the scale of harvest management from statewide to regional levels. If these ideological changes cannot be made and historical policies remain in force, we risk failing to stabilize, let alone increase, bobwhite populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss the necessity of a paradigm shift among managers toward dealing with the recovery and management of prairie grouse (Tympanuchus spp). To assure the future of these species, we will need to test dogmatic assumptions about grouse and their management and challenge the demagogues who insist on perpetuating untested "principles." Tolerance for descriptive and qualitative studies is needed. Additionally, managers will need to remove themselves from the box and embrace landowners, theoretical biologists, economists, human-dimensions researchers, marketing and advertising specialists, and many other professionals outside the normal sphere of wildlife management. There is crucial need for a willingness to devise, test, and apply innovative ideas that are not normally considered in the management of grouse species, especially applying management to large areas within ecosystems. A comprehensive plan is needed to guide rangewide prairie grouse management. Planned management systems are needed to provide operational guidance in implementing species plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined how harvest affected natural mortality rates and how the dynamics of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus, hereafter bobwhite) covey membership might affect the additive nature of harvest. We conducted repeated searches for coveys and radiomarked all coveys found on 12 259-ha study areas in east-central Kansas, USA. We simulated a harvest in 6 randomly selected areas each year during November-January, 1997-2000, by trapping and removing 60% of bobwhites in each covey. We used flush counts and radiotelemetry to measure harvest effects on natural mortality rates, overall winter survival, covey size, and densities. Observed natural mortality rates of radiomarked individuals were similar between harvested (50.6 ± 4.3%) and unharvested areas (52.1 ± 4.7%). Estimated winter survival was 47.9% on the unharvested areas and 20.9% on the harvested areas. Harvest did not affect the number of coveys, average covey size, or density of bobwhites, indicating that coveys coalesced through local movement. Our results indicate that harvest is additive to natural mortality and suggest that local movement to maintain optimal group sizes can mask the true effect of harvest on observed densities in small areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about how density-independent and density-dependent processes affecting population dynamics vary geographically across species' ranges. To address this problem for three vertebrate species (Northern Bobwhite [Colinus virginianus], Ring-necked Pheasants (Phasianus coichicus], and eastern cottontails [Sylvilagus floridanus]), we examined spatially subdivided, long-term (1966-2001), seasonal (January, April, July, and October), time-series data from the Kansas Rural Mail Carrier Survey, USA. All three species have range boundaries in Kansas, with population abundances declining toward the periphery of their ranges. We quantified the strengths of density-dependent and density-independent processes affecting the dynamics of 10 populations of each species ranging from low (peripheral) to high (central) mean abundance using first-order autoregressive models that incorporate measurement error. For all three species, peripheral populations with lower mean abundance tended to have greater population variability. This pattern could potentially be explained by peripheral regions experiencing either weaker density dependence or greater environmentally driven density-independent fluctuations in per capita population growth rates. In general, density dependence did not vary among geographic regions, although there was a trend for smaller, peripheral populations to exhibit stronger density dependence. Density-independent variability in per capita population growth rates was higher in peripheral populations. Furthermore, density-independent fluctuations in per capita population growth rates were weakly correlated with temperature and precipitation and were highest for the period October through January, identifying fall as the period of greatest environmentally driven variability in population dynamics. Per capita population growth rates fluctuated in moderate synchrony among regions, especially for more abundant, nonperipheral populations in close geographical proximity. The strong density-dependent and stronger density-independent processes in smaller, peripheral populations suggest that the greater variability in peripheral populations' densities is caused by greater population sensitivity to environmental fluctuations. This may make peripheral populations more likely to go extinct and leads to the prediction that, if these species decline to the point of becoming endangered, this decline will be accompanied by a contraction in their geographical ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which compared invertebrate biomass in areas used and not used by lesser prairie-chicken adults and broods in southwestern Kansas. Study area; Methodology; Results and discussion.

The article discusses the documentation of quercus acutissima or sawtooth oak in the U.S. state of Tennessee and mentions topics such as the reproduction of the tree outside of cultivation, the potential benefits and risk of the plant and the hybridization potential of the plant.

Deals with the lek surveys involving the use and misuse of prairie chickens and other species. Information on density of animal population; Views on the problems regarding the use of lek surveys; How lek surveys are useful in detecting population trends or presence-absence in local areas; Discussion on how it can be valuable in tracking population distribution.