| population cycles are highly correlated over long time series and large spatial scales in two unrelated species: greater sage-grouse and cottontail rabbits. | animal species across multiple taxa demonstrate multi-annual population cycles, which have long been of interest to ecologists. correlated population cycles between species that do not share a predator-prey relationship are particularly intriguing and challenging to explain. we investigated annual population trends of greater sage-grouse (centrocercus urophasianus) and cottontail rabbits (sylvilagus sp.) across wyoming to explore the possibility of correlations between unrelated species, over mu ... | 2011 | 20848136 |
| identifying greater sage-grouse source and sink habitats for conservation planning in an energy development landscape. | conserving a declining species that is facing many threats, including overlap of its habitats with energy extraction activities, depends upon identifying and prioritizing the value of the habitats that remain. in addition, habitat quality is often compromised when source habitats are lost or fragmented due to anthropogenic development. our objective was to build an ecological model to classify and map habitat quality in terms of source or sink dynamics for greater sage-grouse (centrocercus uroph ... | 2015 | 26465037 |
| differential influences of local subpopulations on regional diversity and differentiation for greater sage-grouse (centrocercus urophasianus). | the distribution of spatial genetic variation across a region can shape evolutionary dynamics and impact population persistence. local population dynamics and among-population dispersal rates are strong drivers of this spatial genetic variation, yet for many species we lack a clear understanding of how these population processes interact in space to shape within-species genetic variation. here, we used extensive genetic and demographic data from 10 subpopulations of greater sage-grouse to parame ... | 2016 | 27483196 |
| effectiveness of wyoming's sage-grouse core areas: influences on energy development and male lek attendance. | greater sage-grouse (centrocercus urophasianus) populations have declined across their range due to human-assisted factors driving large-scale habitat change. in response, the state of wyoming implemented the sage-grouse executive order protection policy in 2008 as a voluntary regulatory mechanism to minimize anthropogenic disturbance within defined sage-grouse core population areas. our objectives were to evaluate areas designated as sage-grouse executive order core areas on: (1) oil and gas we ... | 2017 | 27826693 |
| microhabitat conditions in wyoming's sage-grouse core areas: effects on nest site selection and success. | the purpose of our study was to identify microhabitat characteristics of greater sage-grouse (centrocercus urophasianus) nest site selection and survival to determine the quality of sage-grouse habitat in 5 regions of central and southwest wyoming associated with wyoming's core area policy. wyoming's core area policy was enacted in 2008 to reduce human disturbance near the greatest densities of sage-grouse. our analyses aimed to assess sage-grouse nest selection and success at multiple micro-spa ... | 2016 | 27002531 |
| does wyoming's core area policy protect winter habitats for greater sage-grouse? | conservation reserves established to protect important habitat for wildlife species are used world-wide as a wildlife conservation measure. effective reserves must adequately protect year-round habitats to maintain wildlife populations. wyoming's sage-grouse core area policy was established to protect breeding habitats for greater sage-grouse (centrocercus urophasianus). protecting only one important seasonal habitat could result in loss or degradation of other important habitats and potential d ... | 2016 | 27515024 |
| combined effects of energy development and disease on greater sage-grouse. | species of conservation concern are increasingly threatened by multiple, anthropogenic stressors which are outside their evolutionary experience. greater sage-grouse are highly susceptible to the impacts of two such stressors: oil and gas (energy) development and west nile virus (wnv). however, the combined effects of these stressors and their potential interactions have not been quantified. we used lek (breeding ground) counts across a landscape encompassing extensive local and regional variati ... | 2013 | 23940732 |
| measuring the effectiveness of conservation: a novel framework to quantify the benefits of sage-grouse conservation policy and easements in wyoming. | increasing energy and housing demands are impacting wildlife populations throughout western north america. greater sage-grouse (centrocercus urophasianus), a species known for its sensitivity to landscape-scale disturbance, inhabits the same low elevation sage-steppe in which much of this development is occurring. wyoming has committed to maintain sage-grouse populations through conservation easements and policy changes that conserves high bird abundance "core" habitat and encourages development ... | 2013 | 23826250 |
| liver metal concentrations in greater sage-grouse (centrocercus urophasianus). | greater sage-grouse (centrocercus urophasianus) are a species of concern due to shrinking populations associated with habitat fragmentation and loss. baseline health parameters for this species are limited or lacking, especially with regard to tissue metal concentrations. to obtain a range of tissue metal concentrations, livers were collected from 71 greater sage-grouse from wyoming and montana. mean +/- se metal concentrations (mg/kg wet weight) in liver were determined for vanadium (v) (0.12 + ... | 2008 | 18436686 |
| spatial heterogeneity in response of male greater sage-grouse lek attendance to energy development. | landscape modification due to rapidly expanding energy development, in particular oil and gas, in the westernusa, have prompted concerns over how such developments may impact wildlife. one species of conservation concern across much of the intermountain west is the greater sage-grouse (centrocercusurophasianus). sage-grouse have been petitioned for listing under provisions of the endangered species act 7 times and the state of wyoming alone represents 64% of the extant sage-grouse population in ... | 2014 | 24918922 |
| post-fire seeding on wyoming big sagebrush ecological sites: regression analyses of seeded nonnative and native species densities. | since the mid-1980s, sagebrush rangelands in the great basin of the united states have experienced more frequent and larger wildfires. these fires affect livestock forage, the sagebrush/grasses/forbs mosaic that is important for many wildlife species (e.g., the greater sage grouse (centrocercus urophasianus)), post-fire flammability and fire frequency. when a sagebrush, especially a wyoming big sagebrush (artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis (beetle & a. young)), dominated area largely devoid ... | 2009 | 18790557 |
| historical fire regimes, reconstructed from land-survey data, led to complexity and fluctuation in sagebrush landscapes. | sagebrush landscapes provide habitat for sage-grouse and other sagebrush obligates, yet historical fire regimes and the structure of historical sagebrush landscapes are poorly known, hampering ecological restoration and management. to remedy this, general land office survey (glo) survey notes were used to reconstruct over two million hectares of historical vegetation for four sagebrush-dominated (artemisia spp.) study areas in the western united states. reconstructed vegetation was analyzed for ... | 2013 | 23734485 |
| forb, insect, and soil response to burning and mowing wyoming big sagebrush in greater sage-grouse breeding habitat. | wyoming big sagebrush (artemisia tridentata wyomingensis a. t. nutt. ssp. wyomingensis beetle and young) communities provide structure and forbs and insects needed by greater sage-grouse (centrocercus urophasianus) for growth and survival. we evaluated forb, insect, and soil responses at six mowed and 19 prescribed burned sites compared to 25, paired and untreated reference sites. sites were classified by treatment type, soil type, season, and decade of treatment (sites burned during 1990-1999 a ... | 2014 | 24499871 |