Tympanuchus Cupido Research Articles

Discordance between taxonomy and population genomic data: An avian example relevant to the United States Endangered Species Act.

Population genomics can reveal cryptic biological diversity that may impact fitness while simultaneously serving to delineate relevant conservation units. Here, we leverage the power of whole-genome resequencing for conservation by studying 433 individual lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus; LEPC, a federally endangered species of conservation concern in the United States) and greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido; GRPC, a legally huntable species throughout much of its range). The genomic diversity of two formally recognized distinct population segments (DPSs) of LEPCs is similar, but they are genetically distinct. Neither DPS is depleted of its genomic diversity, neither is especially inbred, and temporal diversity is relatively stable in both conservation units. Interspecific differentiation between the two species was only slightly higher than that observed between LEPC DPSs, due largely to bidirectional introgression. The high resolution provided by our dataset identified a genomic continuum between the two species such that individuals sampled from the hybrid zone were imperfectly assigned to their presumptive species when considering only their physical characteristics. The admixture between the two species is reflected in the spectrum of individual ancestry coefficients, which has legal implications for the "take" of individuals under the Endangered Species Act. Overall, our data highlight the recurring dissonance between static policies and dynamic species boundaries that are increasingly obvious in the population genomic era.

Comparison of in‐person and remote camera lek surveys for prairie grouse (Tympanuchus spp.)

AbstractIn‐person lek count surveys are commonly used for estimating population size and trends for prairie grouse. However, the emergence of noninvasive camera trap survey methods holds promise for more cost‐effective and precise estimates of lekking species. To evaluate the efficacy of using camera traps, we deployed a remote camera study at lekking grounds over 3 years in conjunction with in‐person surveys. Our objectives were to 1) develop an effective remote camera survey for greater prairie‐chickens (GRPC; Tympanuchus cupido) and sharp‐tailed grouse (STGR; T. phasianellus), 2) compare metrics of male detection, maximum male counts, and male abundance estimates derived from in‐person versus remote camera surveys, 3) assess lek activity over the survey season to inform survey timing, and 4) evaluate costs for each survey type. We found that in‐person surveys resulted in maximum male GRPC and STGR counts. The estimated number of male GRPC and STGR on leks were comparable between in‐person surveys and camera monitoring when accounting for detection probability with N‐mixture models. Camera traps constantly monitored leks over the season which provided daily and seasonal activity patterns of prairie grouse. Total cost of GRPC remote camera surveys was higher than in‐person surveys, but hourly cost was less ($0.77 vs. $160 per hour). Remote camera survey costs for GRPC were high because of time classifying photos which could be reduced by decreasing the amount of time remote cameras were operated or using automated classification software to remove blank photos. We believe the use of remote cameras could supplement in‐person surveys for future lek monitoring and aid future survey efforts by identifying yearly differences in activity and presence at leks inconsistently visited by birds.

Phylogenomics of the extinct Heath Hen provides support for sex-biased introgression among extant prairie grouse

Rapid divergence and subsequent reoccurring patterns of gene flow can complicate our ability to discern phylogenetic relationships among closely related species. To what degree such patterns may differ across the genome can provide an opportunity to extrapolate better how life history constraints may influence species boundaries. By exploring differences between autosomal and Z (or X) chromosomal-derived phylogenetic patterns, we can better identify factors that may limit introgression despite patterns of incomplete lineage sorting among closely related taxa. Here, using a whole-genome resequencing approach coupled with an exhaustive sampling of subspecies within the recently divergent prairie grouse complex (genus: Tympanuchus), including the extinct Heath Hen (T. cupido cupido), we show that their phylogenomic history differs depending on autosomal or Z-chromosome partitioned SNPs. Because the Heath Hen was allopatric relative to the other prairie grouse taxa, its phylogenetic signature should not be influenced by gene flow. In contrast, all the other extant prairie grouse taxa, except Attwater’s Prairie-chicken (T. c. attwateri), possess overlapping contemporary geographic distributions and have been known to hybridize. After excluding samples that were likely translocated prairie grouse from the Midwest to the eastern coastal states or their resulting hybrids with mainland Heath Hens, species tree analyses based on autosomal SNPs consistently identified a paraphyletic relationship with regard to the Heath Hen with Lesser Prairie-chicken (T. pallidicinctus) sister to Greater Prairie-chicken (T. c. pinnatus) regardless of genic or intergenic partitions. In contrast, species trees based on the Z-chromosome were consistent with Heath Hen sister to a clade that included its conspecifics, Greater and Attwater’s Prairie-chickens (T. c. attwateri). These results were further explained by historic gene flow, as shown with an excess of autosomal SNPs shared between Lesser and Greater Prairie-chickens but not with the Z-chromosome. Phylogenetic placement of Sharp-tailed Grouse (T. phasianellus), however, did not differ among analyses and was sister to a clade that included all other prairie grouse despite low levels of autosomal gene flow with Greater Prairie-chicken. These results, along with strong sexual selection (i.e., male hybrid behavioral isolation) and a lek breeding system (i.e., high variance in male mating success), are consistent with a pattern of female-biased introgression between prairie grouse taxa with overlapping geographic distributions. Additional study is warranted to explore how genomic components associated with the Z-chromosome influence the phenotype and thereby impact species limits among prairie grouse taxa despite ongoing contemporary gene flow.

A Highly Contiguous and Annotated Genome Assembly of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus).

The Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus; LEPC) is an iconic North American prairie grouse, renowned for ornate and spectacular breeding season displays. Unfortunately, the species has disappeared across much of its historical range, with corresponding precipitous declines in contemporary population abundance, largely due to climatic and anthropogenic factors. These declines led to a 2022 US Fish and Wildlife decision to identify and list two distinct population segments (DPSs; i.e., northern and southern DPSs) as threatened or endangered under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. Herein, we describe an annotated reference genome that was generated from a LEPC sample collected from the southern DPS. We chose a representative from the southern DPS because of the potential for introgression in the northern DPS, where some populations hybridize with the Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido). This new LEPC reference assembly consists of 206 scaffolds, an N50 of 45 Mb, and 15,563 predicted protein-coding genes. We demonstrate the utility of this new genome assembly by estimating genome-wide heterozygosity in a representative LEPC and in related species. Heterozygosity in a LEPC sample was 0.0024, near the middle of the range (0.0003-0.0050) of related species. Overall, this new assembly provides a valuable resource that will enhance evolutionary and conservation genetic research in prairie grouse.

Role of landscape features in resource selection by female Greater Prairie-chickens within a constrained environment

Greater Prairie-chickens ( Tympanuchus cupido ) historically occupied 20 states within the contiguous United States; however, due to habitat degradation and loss, they are currently found in 11 states, only four of which have a stable population. Kansas supports a relatively large abundance of Greater Prairie-chickens, where the Flint Hills ecoregion historically supported the largest population density of all ecoregions. In the past decade, the Flint Hills population has declined by 75 % to an estimated 8,334 individuals in 2021 from 34,180 individuals in 2015 due to landscape changes and intensification of grassland management practices. The Fort Riley Military Reservation in the northwest portion of the Flint Hills ecoregion is one of a few areas within the ecoregion that does not implement grazing or vast annual burning. The Greater Prairie-chicken population within Fort Riley has remained relatively stable over the past 25 years despite being constrained by surrounding landscape features and development. We analyzed multiple scales of resource selection by 46 female Greater Prairie-chickens during March-April 2019–2021 on Fort Riley to investigate why this population is doing relatively well compared to populations in surrounding areas. We tested landscape feature, vegetation, and burn mosaic variables to evaluate which variables had the greatest influence on resource selection. Landscape features had the greatest influence on resource selection. Females avoided trees within Fort Riley for both breeding season use and nest-site selection at a greater margin than any other study in Kansas. Additionally, fourth-order selection was not evident within this study system, contrary to studies within surrounding areas. Our findings join a growing body of literature that suggests containment of woody encroachment as a high priority for managers to maintain or expand prairie grouse habitat in many different environments. This containment is especially critical on Fort Riley because of its constrained environment, and further woody encroachment could lead to loss of habitat that is inescapable by the Greater Prairie-chicken population on Fort Riley. Spatially-explicit evaluations of habitat availability are increasingly important as more areas within the Greater Prairie-chicken range become constrained by urbanization, agricultural expansion, and intensive management practices.

High population prevalence of neonicotinoids in sharp-tailed grouse and greater prairie-chickens across an agricultural gradient during spring and fall

Neonicotinoids have been detected in many species of wild birds; however, few studies have quantified population-level exposure. We examined population-level exposure to 7 neonicotinoids in 2 species that use agricultural areas, sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) and greater prairie-chickens (T. cupido). We sampled fecal pellets at leks in spring and collected livers from hunter-harvested birds in fall along an agricultural gradient throughout their respective ranges in Minnesota, USA. Most sharp-tailed grouse (93 %) and prairie-chicken (80 %) fecal pellets and livers (90 % and 76 %, respectively) had detectable concentrations of ≥1 neonicotinoid, with imidacloprid (IMI) and clothianidin (CLO) most commonly detected. Spring detections of IMI in both species increased with the proportion of a 2-km buffer in cultivation surrounding sampling locations and varied by year. A similar relationship with cultivation was not supported for CLO, which may reflect differences in the availability of seed types treated with IMI and CLO on the soil surface after planting. However, we also detected IMI and CLO from birds sampled in areas of low cultivation. Sharp-tailed grouse and prairie-chickens may select crop fields preferentially to forage, and thus have a higher risk of exposure than would be expected based only on the amount of cultivation. Year was important in models of IMI and CLO in both species and seasons, which likely reflects differences in planting and in the availability of natural foods among years. In contrast, the proportion of surrounding area in cultivation was not supported in models of fall neonicotinoid detections. Fewer crops are planted in the fall in Minnesota and grouse may be exposed through routes other than treated seeds. High detections, even in areas with little cultivation and during seasons with little planting, likely reflect prairie grouse selection of cultivated fields for food, but may also indicate that exposure risk extends beyond sites of application.

Prairie grouse and wind energy: The state of the science and implications for risk assessment

AbstractHow to shape the anticipated build‐out of industrial‐scale renewable energy in a way that minimizes risk to wildlife remains contentious. The challenge of balancing wildlife conservation and decarbonization of the electricity sector is well illustrated in the grasslands and shrub‐steppe of North America. Here, several endemic species of grouse are the focus of intensive, long‐term conservation action by a host of governmental and nongovernmental entities, many of whom are now asking whether anticipated increases in the number of wind‐energy facilities will exacerbate declines or prevent recovery of these species. To address this question, we synthesized the potential consequences of wind‐energy development on prairie grouse. Published literature on behavior or demography of prairie grouse at wind‐energy facilities is sparse, with studies having been conducted at only 5 different facilities in the United States. Only 2 of these studies met the standard for robust impact analysis by collecting pre‐construction data and using control sites or gradient designs. Only one species, greater prairie chicken, had published results available for >1 facility. Most (10/12) studies also drew conclusions based on short (<4 years) periods of study, which is potentially problematic when studying highly philopatric species. Given these caveats, we found that, in the short‐term, adult survival and nest success appear largely unaffected in populations exposed to wind‐energy facilities. However, changes in habitat use by female greater sage‐grouse and female greater prairie‐chicken during some seasons and reduced lek persistence among male greater prairie‐chickens near wind turbines suggest behavioral responses that may have demographic consequences. Prairie grouse can coexist with wind‐energy facilities in some cases, at least in the short term, but important uncertainties remain, including the potential for long‐term, cumulative effects of the extensive development expected as states attempt to meet goals for generating electricity from renewable sources.

Factors Affecting Survival of Attwater's Prairie-Chicken Broods

Abstract Annual population changes of most grouse, including the imperiled Attwater's prairie-chicken Tympanuchus cupido attwateri, are driven by annual reproductive success. Previous research identified poor survival of chicks as a primary bottleneck for recovery of this species. We evaluated the relative importance of 26 factors in 5 categories (weather and topography, habitat, plant phenology, time and site, hen characteristics) on Attwater's prairie-chicken brood survival to 2 wk posthatch (the period when chick mortality is highest) and on the number of chicks per brood at 6 wk posthatch (when chicks are capable of independent survival). Factors with most support for predicting brood survival to 2 wk included invertebrate dry mass, ordinal date, an index to maximum photosynthetic activity of vegetation from multispectral imagery, and proportion of brood locations within areas treated to suppress red imported fire ants Solenopsis invicta. Broods were most likely to survive if they hatched between early and late May and were located within areas 1) that were treated to suppress red imported fire ants, 2) where vegetation produced intermediate values for the maximum photosynthetic activity index, and 3) that supported high invertebrate biomass. The number of chicks per brood surviving to 6 wk posthatch was best predicted by a nonlinear relationship with a drought index during the first 2 wk posthatch, and it was maximized when average values of the drought index indicated moderately depleted soil moisture, but not severe drought. Our finding that the average drought index during the first 2 wk after hatch had more support for predicting the number of chicks per brood at 6 wk than did the average drought index for the entire 6 wk emphasizes the importance of the first 2 wk for Attwater's prairie-chickens. This comprehensive analysis of factors affecting Attwater's prairie-chicken brood survival provides valuable information to guide management and recovery efforts for this species.

Exposure to crop production alters cecal prokaryotic microbiota, inflates virulome and resistome in wild prairie grouse

Chemically intensive crop production depletes wildlife food resources, hinders animal development, health, survival, and reproduction, and it suppresses wildlife immune systems, facilitating emergence of infectious diseases with excessive mortality rates. Gut microbiota is crucial for wildlife's response to environmental stressors. Its composition and functionality are sensitive to diet changes and environmental pollution associated with modern crop production. In this study we use shotgun metagenomics (median 8,326,092 sequences/sample) to demonstrate that exposure to modern crop production detrimentally affects cecal microbiota of sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus: 9 exposed, 18 unexposed and greater prairie chickens (T. cupido; 11, 11). Exposure to crop production had greater effect on microbiota richness (t = 6.675, P < 0.001) and composition (PERMANOVA r2 = 0.212, P = 0.001) than did the host species (t = 4.762, P < 0.001; r2 = 0.070, P = 0.001) or their interaction (t = 3.449; r2 = 0.072, both P = 0.001), whereas sex and age had no effect. Although microbiota richness was greater in exposed (T. cupido chao1 = 152.8 ± 20.5; T. phasianellus 115.3 ± 17.1) than in unexposed (102.9 ± 15.1 and 101.1 ± 17.2, respectively) birds, some beneficial bacteria dropped out of exposed birds' microbiota or declined and were replaced by potential pathogens. Exposed birds also had higher richness and load of virulome (mean ± standard deviation; T. cupido 24.8 ± 10.0 and 10.1 ± 5.5, respectively; T. phasianellus 13.4 ± 6.8/4.9 ± 2.8) and resistome (T. cupido 46.8 ± 11.7/28.9 ± 10.2, T. phasianellus 38.3 ± 16.7/18.9 ± 14.2) than unexposed birds (T. cupido virulome: 14.2 ± 13.5, 4.5 ± 4.2; T. cupido resistome: 31.6 ± 20.2 and 13.1 ± 12.0; T. phasianellus virulome: 5.2 ± 4.7 and 1.4 ± 1.5; T. phasianellus resistome: 13.7 ± 16.1 and 4.0 ± 6.4).

Why did the chicken not cross the road? Anthropogenic development influences the movement of a grassland bird.

Movement and selection are inherently linked behaviors that form the foundation of a species' space-use patterns. Anthropogenic development in natural ecosystems can result in a variety of behavioral responses that can involve changes in either movement (speed or direction of travel) or selection (resources used), which in turn may cause population-level consequences including loss of landscape connectivity. Understanding how a species alters these different behaviors in response to human activity is essential for effective conservation. In this study, we investigated the effects of anthropogenic development such as roads, power lines and oil wells on the greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) movement and selection behaviors in the post-nesting and non-breeding season. Our first objective was to assess using integrated step selection analysis (iSSA) if greater prairie-chickens altered their movement behaviors or their selection patterns when encountering oil wells, power lines, or roads. Our second objective was to determine whether prairie-chickens avoided crossing linear features such as roads or power lines by comparing the number of crossing events in greater prairie-chicken movement tracks to the number of movements that crossed these features in simulated movement tracks. Based on the iSSA analysis, we found that greater prairie-chickens avoided oil wells, power lines, and roads in both seasons, and altered their rate of movement when near anthropogenic structures. However, changes in speed varied by season, with prairie-chickens increasing their movement rates in the post-nesting season when near to development and decreasing movement rates in the non-breeding season. Furthermore, prairie-chickens crossed roads and power lines at much lower rates than expected. These changes in behavior can result in habitat loss for greater prairie-chickens, as well as the potential loss of landscape connectivity. By considering both movement and selection, we were able to develop an ecological understanding of how increasing human activity may influence the space use of this species of conservation concern. Furthermore, this research provides insight into the decision-making processes by animals when they encounter anthropogenic development.

On the potential of documenting decadal-scale avifaunal change from before-and-after comparisons of museum and observational data across North America

Studies of biodiversity dynamics have been cast on either long (systematics) or short (ecology) time scales, leaving a gap in coverage for moderate time scales of decades to centuries. Large-scale biodiversity information resources now available offer opportunities to fill this gap for many parts of the world via detailed, quantitative comparisons of assemblage composition, particularly for regions without rich time series datasets. We explore the possibility that such changes in avifaunas across the United States and Canada before and after the first three decades of marked global change (i.e., prior to 1980 versus after 2010) can be reconstructed and characterized from existing primary biodiversity data. As an illustration of the potential of this methodology for sites even in regions not as well sampled as the United States and Canada, we also explored changes at a single site in Mexico (Chichén-Itzá). We analyzed two large-scale datasets: one summarizing bird records in the United States and Canada before 1980, and one for the same region after 2010. We used probabilistic inventory completeness analyses to identify sites that have avifaunas that have likely been inventoried more or less completely. We prepared detailed comparisons between the two time periods to analyze species showing distributional changes over the time period analyzed. We identified 139 sites on a 0.05° grid that were demonstrably well-inventoried before 1980 in the United States and Canada, of which 108 were also well-inventoried after 2010. Comparing presence/absence patterns between the two time periods for 601 bird species, we found significant spatial autocorrelation in overall avifaunal turnover (species gained and lost), but not in numbers of species lost. We noted potential northward retractions of ranges of several species with high-latitude (boreal) distributions, while other species showed dominant patterns of population loss, either rangewide (e.g., Tympanuchus cupido) or regionally (e.g., Thryomanes bewickii). We developed linear models to explore a suite of potential drivers of species loss at relatively fine-grained resolutions (<6 ​km), finding significant effects of precipitation increase, particularly on the eastern border of the United States and Canada. Our exploration of biotic change in Chichén-Itzá included 265 species and showed intriguing losses from the local avifauna (e.g., Patagioenas speciosa), as well as vagrant and recent invasive species in the Yucatán Peninsula. The present work documents both the potential for and the problems involved in an approach integrating primary biodiversity data across time periods. This method potentially allows researchers to assess intermediate-time-scale biodiversity dynamics that can reveal patterns of change in biodiversity-rich regions that lack extensive time-series information.

Tracking spatial regimes as an early warning for a species of conservation concern.

In this era of global environmental change and rapid regime shifts, managing core areas that species require to survive and persist is a grand challenge for conservation. Wildlife monitoring data are often limited or local in scale. The emerging ability to map and track spatial regimes (i.e., the spatial manifestation of state transitions) using advanced geospatial vegetation data has the potential to provide earlier warnings of habitat loss because many species of conservation concern strongly avoid spatial regime boundaries. Using 23 yr of data for the lek locations of Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido; GPC) in a remnant grassland ecosystem, we demonstrate how mapping changes in the boundaries between grassland and woodland spatial regimes provide a spatially explicit early warning signal for habitat loss for an iconic and vulnerable grassland-obligate known to be highly sensitive to woody plant encroachment. We tested whether a newly proposed metric for the quantification of spatial regimes captured well-known responses of GPC to woody plant expansion into grasslands. Resource selection functions showed that the grass:woody spatial regime boundary strength explained the probability of 80% of relative lek occurrence, and GPC strongly avoided grass:woody spatial regime boundaries at broad scales. Both findings are consistent with well-known expectations derived from GPC ecology. These results provide strong evidence for vegetation-derived delineations of spatial regimes to serve as generalized signals of early warning for state transitions that have major consequences to biodiversity conservation. Mapping spatial regime boundaries over time provided interpretable early warnings of habitat loss. Woody plant regimes displaced grassland regimes starting from the edges of the study area and constricting inward. Correspondingly, the relative probability of lek occurrence constricted in space. Similarly, the temporal trajectory of spatial regime boundary strength increased over time and moved closer to the observed limit of GPC lek site usage relative to grass:woody boundary strength. These novel spatial metrics allow managers to rapidly screen for early warning signals of spatial regime shifts and adapt management practices to defend and grow habitat cores at broad scales.

GAPEWORM (SYNGAMUS SPP.) PREVALENCE IN WISCONSIN GREATER PRAIRIE CHICKENS (TYMPANUCHUS CUPIDO PINNATUS).

Under Wisconsin state law, the greater prairie chicken (GRPC; Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) has been listed as a threatened species since 1976. In 2014-15, we conducted a pilot study to determine the prevalence and intensity of gapeworms (Syngamus spp.) in female Wisconsin GRPCs collected from 2 monitored populations. We captured 62 female GRPCs using walk-in-style traps for females and night lighting for juveniles ≥45 days of age. From these individuals, we collected 15 carcasses of radio-marked birds, most of whom died due to predation events. Through dissection, we identified gapeworm in 20% of examined carcasses and report an intensity ranging between 4 and 74 worms.

Fine-scale habitat selection limits trade-offs between foraging and temperature in a grassland bird

AbstractMany species are frequently faced with the decision about how to balance the use of thermal refuge against access to food resources. We evaluated the habitat use of female greater prairie chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) to assess the potential for trade-offs between thermal conditions and food resources during the habitat selection process. Our objectives were to 1) compare near-ground temperatures, invertebrate availability, and vegetation characteristics at sites used by greater prairie chickens to conditions at random landscape locations in various time since fire patches and 2) assess changes in conditions at used sites throughout the day to determine if selection for resources changes relative to ambient conditions, resulting in trade-offs between foraging sites and thermal refuge. We found that greater prairie chickens primarily used patches 0–12 months postfire that had relatively high abundances and biomasses of invertebrates compared to other time since fire patches. Greater prairie chickens further modified their selection at relatively fine spatial scales within these food-rich patches to select for areas with cooler temperatures during the hottest part of the day. The use of thermal refuge did not appear to influence the access to food resources as invertebrate abundance and biomass at used sites were consistent throughout the day. Our results show that food resources and thermal cover influences habitat selection for greater prairie chickens, but there was little evidence for trade-offs during the habitat selection process. Consideration of spatial and temporal scales is critical for evaluating trade-offs in habitat selection for animals and this research provides insights into the decision-making process by prairie chickens.

A multispecies approach to manage effects of land cover and weather on upland game birds.

Loss and degradation of grasslands in the Great Plains region have resulted in major declines in abundance of grassland bird species. To ensure future viability of grassland bird populations, it is crucial to evaluate specific effects of environmental factors among species to determine drivers of population decline and develop effective conservation strategies. We used threshold models to quantify the effects of land cover and weather changes in "lesser prairie‐chicken" and "greater prairie‐chicken" (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus and T. cupido, respectively), northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus), and ring‐necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus). We demonstrated a novel approach for estimating landscape conditions needed to optimize abundance across multiple species at a variety of spatial scales. Abundance of all four species was highest following wet summers and dry winters. Prairie chicken and ring‐necked pheasant abundance was highest following cool winters, while northern bobwhite abundance was highest following warm winters. Greater prairie chicken and northern bobwhite abundance was also highest following cooler summers. Optimal abundance of each species occurred in landscapes that represented a grassland and cropland mosaic, though prairie chicken abundance was optimized in landscapes with more grassland and less edge habitat than northern bobwhites and ring‐necked pheasants. Because these effects differed among species, managing for an optimal landscape for multiple species may not be the optimal scenario for any one species.

Insights From the Ecology of Information to Cancer Control.

Uniquely in nature, living systems must acquire, store, and act upon information. The survival and replicative fate of each normal cell in a multicellular organism is determined solely by information obtained from its surrounding tissue. In contrast, cancer cells as single-cell eukaryotes live in a disrupted, heterogeneous environment with opportunities and hazards. Thus, cancer cells, unlike normal somatic cells, must constantly obtain information from their environment to ensure survival and proliferation. In this study, we build upon a simple mathematical modeling framework developed to predict (1) how information promotes population persistence in a highly heterogeneous environment and (2) how disruption of information resulting from habitat fragmentation increases the probability of population extinction. Because (1) tumors grow in a highly heterogeneous microenvironment and (2) many cancer therapies fragment tumors into isolated, small cancer cell populations, we identify parallels between these 2 systems and develop ideas for cancer cure based on lessons gleaned from Anthropocene extinctions. In many Anthropocene extinctions, such as that of the North American heath hen (Tympanuchus cupido cupido), a large and widespread population was initially reduced and fragmented owing to overexploitation by humans (a “first strike”). After this, the small surviving populations are vulnerable to extinction from environmental or demographic stochastic disturbances (a “second strike”). Following this analogy, after a tumor is fragmented into small populations of isolated cancer cells by an initial therapy, additional treatment can be applied with the intent of extinction (cure). Disrupting a cancer cell’s ability to acquire and use information in a heterogeneous environment may be an important tactic for causing extinction following an effective initial therapy. Thus, information, from the scale of cells within tumors to that of species within ecosystems, can be used to identify vulnerabilities to extinction and opportunities for novel treatment strategies.

Use of Predator-Deterrent Fences to Increase Attwater's Prairie-Chicken Nest Success

AbstractWe retrospectively evaluated 20 y of using predator-deterrent fences to mitigate unusually high nest predation for the critically endangered Attwater's prairie-chicken Tympanuchus cupido attwateri at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge. Refuge staff constructed fences of 0.9-m-high, 0.32–0.64-cm mesh hardware cloth, with 15.2-m-long sides, and staked at the bottom to discourage predators from going under the fence. Workers placed fences around nests at a mean of 3.2 d of incubation. Eighty-two percent of fenced nests were successful vs. 12% for unfenced nests. Daily survival rate increased from 0.9159 for unfenced nests in 1997–2011 to 0.9916 for fenced nests during 2000–2019. Fencing did not increase abandonment or reduce the proportion of eggs that hatched in successful nests. After 2012, we reduced fence sides from 15.2 m to 7.6 m in length. Larger and smaller fences were equally effective with respect to daily survival rate and proportion of abandoned nests. The median proportion of eggs that hatched from successful nests was 6% higher for larger fences vs. smaller fences, but this difference was not statistically significant. Predator-deterrent fences substantially increased Attwater's prairie-chicken nesting success in this study, and may represent a viable management strategy for increasing nesting success for other populations of ground-nesting birds with high conservation value.

Multi-targeted management of upland game birds at the agroecosystem interface in midwestern North America.

Despite its imperative, biodiversity conservation is chronically underfunded, a deficiency that often forces management agencies to prioritize. Single-species recovery thus becomes a focus (often with socio-political implications), whereas a more economical approach would be the transition to multi-targeted management (= MTM). This challenge is best represented in Midwestern North America where biodiversity has been impacted by 300+ years of chronic anthropogenic disturbance such that native tall-grass prairie is now supplanted by an agroecosystem. Here, we develop an MTM with a population genetic metric to collaboratively manage three Illinois upland gamebirds: common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus; pheasant), northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus; quail), and threatened-endangered (T&E) greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus; prairie chicken). We first genotyped our study pheasant at 19 microsatellite DNA loci and identified three captive breeding stocks (N = 143; IL Department of Natural Resources) as being significantly bottlenecked, with relatedness >1st-cousin (μR = 0.158). ‘Wild’ (non-stocked) pheasant [N = 543; 14 Pheasant-Habitat-Areas (PHAs)] were also bottlenecked, significantly interrelated (μR = 0.150) and differentiated (μFST = 0.047), yet distinct from propagation stock. PHAs that encompassed significantly with larger areas also reflected greater effective population sizes (μNE = 43; P<0.007). We juxtaposed these data against previously published results for prairie chicken and quail, and found population genetic structure driven by drift, habitat/climate impacts, and gender-biased selection via hunter-harvest. Each species (hunter-harvested or T&E) is independently managed, yet their composite population genetic baseline provides the quantitative criteria needed for an upland game bird MTM. Its implementation would require agricultural plots to be rehabilitated/reclaimed using a land-sharing/sparing portfolio that differs markedly from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), where sequestered land decreases as agricultural prices escalate. Cost-savings for an MTM would accrue by synchronizing single-species management with a dwindling hunter-harvest program, and by eliminating propagation/stocking programs. This would sustain not only native grasslands and their resident species, but also accelerate conservation at the wildlife-agroecosystem interface.

Female Greater Prairie‐Chicken response to energy development and rangeland management

AbstractWildlife habitat use is the result of behaviors that occur at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The interactions between these behaviors can often result in complex patterns of selection that can make it challenging to select the most appropriate scale to implement management actions. Greater Prairie‐Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido), a declining grassland grouse species, face many conservation challenges throughout its distribution, including increased fragmentation from anthropogenic activities (e.g., energy development and altered disturbance regimes). However, much of the literature on this species has focused on a narrow portion of its lifecycle, specifically the breeding season. We examined habitat use of female Greater Prairie‐Chickens in a grassland that is managed with prescribed fire and grazing and that has also undergone considerable development for oil and gas production. We developed discrete choice models for four behaviorally distinct life‐history stages and two spatial scales to evaluate how rangeland management, energy development, and scale influence habitat use throughout the annual cycle. Additionally, we used cumulative distribution functions to determine response distances to landscape features. We found that time since fire, proximity to woodlands and proximity of lek sites were the most consistent predictors of habitat use during most periods and spatial scales. Greater Prairie‐Chickens consistently avoided woodlands and remained relatively close to lek sites during all parts of the year. Selection of time since fire varied through the year with Greater Prairie‐Chickens primarily using unburned patches in the lekking and nesting season and recently burned patches in the post‐nesting and nonbreeding season. Greater Prairie‐Chickens demonstrated a seasonally variable response to energy development, avoiding power lines and areas with a high densities of oil wells by as much as 300–600 m in the lekking, post‐nesting, and nonbreeding season. Management actions that promote vegetation heterogeneity will benefit Greater Prairie‐Chickens by creating a variety of seral stages used during different life stages, but efforts should be made to limit future fragmentation of grasslands by energy development.

Anthropogenic noise does not surpass land cover in explaining habitat selection of Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido)

AbstractOver the last century, increasing human populations and conversion of grassland to agriculture have had severe consequences for numbers of Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido). Understanding Greater Prairie-Chicken response to human disturbance, including the effects of anthropogenic noise and landscape modification, is vital for conserving remaining populations because these disturbances are becoming more common in grassland systems. Here, we evaluate the effect of low-frequency noise emitted from a wind energy facility on habitat selection. We used the Normalized Difference Soundscape Index, a ratio of human-generated and biological acoustic components, to determine the impact of the dominant acoustic characteristics of habitat relative to physical landscape features known to influence within–home range habitat selection. Female Greater Prairie-Chickens avoided wooded areas and row crops but showed no selection or avoidance of wind turbines based on the availability of these features across their home range. Although the acoustic environment near the wind energy facility was dominated by anthropogenic noise, our results show that acoustic habitat selection is not evident for this species. In contrast, our work highlights the need to reduce the presence of trees, which have been historically absent from the region, as well as decrease the conversion of grassland to row-crop agriculture. Our findings suggest physical landscape changes surpass altered acoustic environments in mediating Greater Prairie-Chicken habitat selection.