Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jonathan B. Dinkins, Kirstie J. Lawson, Jeffrey L. Beck
Summary: This study examined the impact of hunting on greater sage-grouse populations over the past few decades. The results showed that cessation of hunting could lead to higher population growth rates, but this was not consistent across all populations. Different populations may be influenced by various environmental factors and human disturbances.
Article
Ecology
Jordan C. Rabon, Peter S. Coates, Mark A. Ricca, Tracey N. Johnson
Summary: The study found that in areas where juniper is expanding, hens with chicks tend to prefer juniper cover with lower coverage, while hens without chicks prefer wetlands dominated by woody vegetation.
RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Aidan T. Beers, Shandra N. Frey
Summary: Studying the relationships between wildlife and their habitat at the edges of their range provides valuable insights into the factors affecting their distributions and potential extinction risks. Understanding the limitations of suitable habitat at both regional and local scales is crucial, especially in the face of large-scale landscape changes. The greater sage-grouse is particularly vulnerable to habitat loss due to its specific habitat requirements, and the impacts of landscape changes are likely to be non-linear and vary across different study areas. This highlights the need for place-based conservation efforts to protect this species and other imperiled species, and incorporating local impacts into conservation planning is essential for effective habitat creation and adaptation to environmental change.
Article
Ecology
Aaron C. Pratt, Jeffrey L. Beck
Summary: The study found that greater sage-grouse exhibit both adaptive and maladaptive habitat selection behaviors across different seasons, with conflicting habitat characteristics selection primarily related to environmental variables. Although there were instances of apparent maladaptive selection, particularly in the nest and adult summer survival, the overall impact on fitness was deemed not biologically significant after accounting for all demographic rates that determine fitness.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Gregory T. Wann, Nathan D. Van Schmidt, Jessica E. Shyvers, Bryan C. Tarbox, Megan M. McLachlan, Michael S. O. 'Donnell, Anthony J. Titolo, Peter S. Coates, David R. Edmunds, Julie A. Heinrichs, Adrian P. Monroe, Cameron L. Aldridge
Summary: Identifying habitat needs for species with large distributions is challenging due to spatial nonstationarity and jurisdictional boundaries. The greater sage-grouse is a declining species that responds to habitat conditions across various scales and regions. A collaborative model was developed to evaluate environmental covariates, account for regional differences, and predict probabilities of persistence.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Michael S. O'Donnell, David R. Edmunds, Cameron L. Aldridge, Julie A. Heinrichs, Adrian P. Monroe, Peter S. Coates, Brian G. Prochazka, Steve E. Hanser, Lief A. Wiechman, Thomas J. Christiansen, Avery A. Cook, Shawn P. Espinosa, Lee J. Foster, Kathleen A. Griffin, Jesse L. Kolar, Katherine S. Miller, Ann M. Moser, Thomas E. Remington, Travis J. Runia, Leslie A. Schreiber, Michael A. Schroeder, San J. Stiver, Nyssa I. Whitford, Catherine S. Wightman
Summary: Long-term monitoring of natural resources is crucial for understanding ecosystem processes and services, but faces challenges such as changing monitoring methods, different data management by organizations, and fluctuating monetary resources. Collaboration is essential due to species responses to habitat changes across management boundaries. Standardizing long-term monitoring data for the greater sage-grouse population in the western US can improve data integrity for population assessments and inform detection probabilities, population trends, and monitoring guidelines.
ECOLOGICAL INFORMATICS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Bryan S. Stevens, Shane B. Roberts, Courtney J. Conway, Devin K. Englestead
Summary: Global change has led to an increase in megafire events, which significantly impact wildlife habitat. This study examined the functional responses and space use of breeding greater sage-grouse before and after a large-scale wildfire in Idaho, USA. The results showed that megafire altered the distribution of available resources and influenced the use of nesting habitat, while individual variation in resources affected brood rearing. Importantly, resource selection models built prior to the fire had poor transferability in predicting post-fire space use. These findings have important implications for understanding how animals respond to changing environments and can aid in habitat conservation efforts.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marcella R. Fremgen-Tarantino, Peter J. Olsoy, Graham G. Frye, John W. Connelly, Alan H. Krakauer, Gail L. Patricelli, Jennifer Sorensen Forbey
Summary: The study found that the GAP dataset had higher overall classification accuracy for broad cover types, while the LANDFIRE dataset had lower accuracy for narrower cover types. In predicting percent cover and height of sagebrush, the estimates from the LANDFIRE dataset were not accurate.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Matthew J. Germino, Christopher R. Anthony, Chad R. Kluender, Ethan Ellsworth, Ann M. Moser, Cara Applestein, Matthew R. Fisk
Summary: Megafires are causing conservation problems for wildlife that depend on fire-intolerant plant species. The greater sage-grouse in western North America is threatened by the loss of native perennials and the increase of exotic grasses caused by wildfires. The effectiveness of post-fire restoration treatments for the sage-grouse has not been well assessed.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jonathan B. Dinkins, Courtney J. Duchardt, Jacob D. Hennig, Jeffrey L. Beck
Summary: The study examines the impact of hunter harvest on sage-grouse populations and how wildlife agencies have implemented increasingly conservative harvest regulations to reduce hunter success and harvested numbers. Data on harvest regulations from 11 western U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces were analyzed to assess changes in hunting management over the years. Restrictions in harvest regulations were found to be significant, especially for greater sage-grouse, with reduced possession limits and season lengths to minimize additive mortality.
Article
Ecology
K. J. Randall, M. J. Ellison, J. Yelich, W. J. Price, T. N. Johnson
Summary: This study evaluated the relationship between short-duration grazing treatments and habitat components important to sage-grouse in mesic meadows. The results showed that early-season and high-intensity grazing had positive effects on the cover and biomass of important forbs, and had no impact on the cover of noxious weeds.
RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Tessa Behnke, Phillip Street, Scott Davies, Jenny Ouyang, James Sedinger
Summary: Non-native ungulate grazing has negative impacts on native species, and native avian herbivores exhibit physiological responses to the pressure from non-native grazing, which is intensified under unfavorable weather conditions.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Anna T. Maher, Nicolas E. Quintana Ashwell, John A. Tanaka, John P. Ritten, Kristie A. Maczko
Summary: Sagebrush ecosystems in the western U.S. are vital for both ranching livelihoods and the conservation of the endangered Greater Sage-grouse population. The Sage-Grouse Initiative (SGI), led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), provides financial support to ranchers in adopting conservation practices. This study assesses the economic impact of SGI/NRCS support on participating ranches and finds that while it alleviates financial burdens for some, negative impacts are more common for smaller ranches.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Todd B. Cross, Jeffery R. Row, Michael K. Schwartz, Dave E. Naugle, Jennifer A. Fike, Kristopher Winiarski, Brad C. Fedy
Summary: Characterizing genetic structure across a species' range is crucial for management and conservation. In this study, using the Greater Sage-grouse as an example, the authors propose strategies to overcome the challenges in characterizing genetic structure of wide-ranging species. They identify genetic differentiation centers and highlight the importance of maintaining genetic diversity and connectivity.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
D. Joanne Saher, Michael S. O'Donnell, Cameron L. Aldridge, Julie A. Heinrichs
Summary: Identifying and protecting habitats for declining wildlife populations is crucial for species conservation. We developed a modeling approach that considers population-specific environmental differences in order to identify effective habitat improvement actions. Using Gunnison sage-grouse as a case study, we found both similarities and differences among populations and different scales of resource conditions, highlighting the importance of considering these factors in habitat management efforts. This approach can benefit spatially-structured populations with different environmental contexts and species with complex habitat needs.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)