HABITAT USE AND NEST SITE SELECTION BY NESTING LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS IN SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO

Abstract

Abstract Lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) occur in shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) and sand sagebrush (Artemisia filifolia) grassland habitats in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. Range-wide population reductions since the 1800s have been attributed to habitat loss, especially of nesting habitat. Using radio-telemetry and a vegetation map of the study area, we investigated habitat use by lesser prairie-chicken hens during the nesting season in herbicide-treated and untreated pastures (each about 1,000 ha in size). Herbicide treatment was effective in reducing shinnery oak cover. The most common vegetation types in hen home ranges were those dominated by shinnery oak. Hens were detected more often than randomly in or near untreated pastures. Although hens were detected in both treated and untreated habitats, 13 of 14 nests were located in untreated pastures, and all nests were located in areas dominated by shinnery oak. Areas immediately surrounding nests had higher shr...