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Lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) populations have declined since the 1980s. Understanding factors influencing nest-site selection and nest survival are important for conservation and management of lesser prairie-chicken populations. However, >75% of the extant population is in the northern extent of the range where data on breeding season ecology are lacking. We tested factors influencing fine-scale and regional nest-site selection and nest survival across the northern portion of the lesser prairie-chicken range. We trapped and affixed satellite global positioning system and very high frequency transmitters to female lesser prairie-chickens (n = 307) in south-central and western Kansas and eastern Colorado, USA. We located and monitored 257 lesser prairie-chicken nests from 2013 to 2016. We evaluated nest-site selection and nest survival in comparison to vegetation composition and structure. Overall, nest-site selection in relation to vegetation characteristics was similar across our study area. Lesser prairie-chickens selected nest microsites with 75% visual obstruction 2.0-3.5 dm tall and 95.7% of all nests were in habitat with >= 1 dm and <= 4 dm visual obstruction. Nests were located in areas with 6-8% bare ground, on average, avoiding areas with greater percent cover of bare ground. The type of vegetation present was less important than cover of adequate height. Nest survival was maximized when 75% visual obstruction was 2.0-4.0 dm. Nest survival did not vary spatially or among years and generally increased as intensity of drought decreased throughout the study although not significantly. To provide nesting cover considering yearly variation in drought conditions, it is important to maintain residual cover by managing for structural heterogeneity of vegetation. Managing for structural heterogeneity could be accomplished by maintaining or strategically applying practices of the Conservation Reserve Program, using appropriate fire and grazing disturbances in native working grasslands, and establishing site-specific monitoring of vegetation composition and structure. (c) 2018 The Wildlife Society. ; Kansas Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism [KS W-73-R-3]; United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Services CRP Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation [7, KSCFWRU RWO 62]; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative ; Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the United States Government. We thank the private landowners for allowing us to access their land to conduct this research and all of the technicians who assisted with this research. We thank J. L. Kramer, M. W. Mitchener, J. A. Prendergast, P. G. Kramos, A. A. Flanders, J. H. Reitz, D. K. Dahlgren, and B. S. T. Hyberg for their assistance with the project. B. K. Sandercock, W. A. Boyle, C. Nichols, B. A. Grisham, the Associate Editor, and an anonymous reviewer provided helpful comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. We appreciate the assistance from M. R. Bain and Smoky Valley Ranch of The Nature Conservancy. Funding for the project was provided by Kansas Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (Federal Assistance Grant KS W-73-R-3); United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Services CRP Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation (12-IA-MRE CRP TA#7, KSCFWRU RWO 62); and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

Knowledge of landscape and regional circumstances where conservation programs are successful on working lands inagricultural production are needed. Convertingmarginal croplands to grasslands using conservation programs such as the United States Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) should be beneficial for many grassland-obligate wildlife species; however, addition of CRP grasslands may result indifferent population effects based on regional climate, characteristics of the surrounding landscape, or species planted or established. Within landscapes occupied by lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), CRP may provide habitat only for specific life stages and habitat selection for CRP may vary between wet and dry years. Among all study sites, we captured and fitted 280 female lesser prairie-chickens with very high frequency (VHF)- and global positioning system (GPS) transmitters during the spring lekking seasons of 2013-2015 to monitor habitat selection for CRP in regions of varying climate. We also estimated vital rates and habitat selection for 148 individuals, using sites in northwest Kansas, USA. The greatest ecological services of CRP became apparent when examining habitat selection and densities. Nest densities were approximately 3 times greater in CRP grasslands than native working grasslands (i.e., grazed), demonstrating a population-level benefit (CRP = 6.0 nests/10 km(2) +/- 1.29 [ SE], native working grassland = 1.7 nests/10 km(2) +/- 0.62). However, CRP supporting high nest density did not provide brood habitat; 85% of females with broods surviving to 7 days moved their young to other cover types. Regression analyses indicated lesser prairie-chickens were approximately 8 times more likely to use CRP when 5,000-ha landscapes were 70% rather than 20% grassland, indicating variation in the level of ecological services provided by CRP was dependent upon composition of the larger landscape. Further, CRP grasslands were 1.7 times more likely to be used by lesser prairie-chickens in regions receiving 40 cm compared to 70 cm of average annual precipitation and during years of greater drought intensity. Demographic and resource selection analyses revealed that establishing CRP grasslands in northwest Kansas can increase the amount nesting habitat in a region where it may have previously been limited, thereby providing refugia to sustain populations through periods of extreme drought. Nest survival, adult survival during breeding, and nonbreeding season survival did not vary between lesser prairie-chickens that used and did not use CRP grasslands. The finite rate of population growth was also similar for birds using CRP and using only native working grasslands, suggesting that CRP provides habitat similar to that of native working grassland in this region. Overall, lesser prairie-chickens may thrive in landscapes that are a mosaic of native working grassland, CRP grassland, with a minimal amount of cropland, particularly when nesting and brood habitat are in close proximity. (C) 2018 The Wildlife Society ; Kansas Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (Federal Assistance Grant) [KS W-73-R-3]; United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Services CRP Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation [7, KSCFWRU RWO 62]; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative ; Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the United States Government. We thank R. D. Rodgers for providing comments and edits on a previous draft of the manuscript. B. Anderson, S. Baker, S. Bard, G. Brinkman, K. Broadfoot, R. Cooper, J. Danner, J. Decker, E. D. Entsminger, R. M. Galvin, N. Gilbert, A. Godar, G. Gould, B. Hardy, S.P. Hoffman, D. Holt, B. M. Irle, T. Karish, A. Klais, H. Kruckman, K. Kuechle, S. J. Lane, E. A. Leipold, J. Letlebo, E. Mangelinckx, L. McCall, A. Nichter, K. Phillips, J. K. Proescholdt, J. Rabon, T. Reed, A. Rhodes, B. E. Ross, D. Spencer, A. M. Steed, A. E. Swicegood, P. Waldron, B. A. Walter, I. Waters, W. J. White, E. Wiens, J. B. Yantachka, and A. Zarazua, provided much needed assistance with data collection. We greatly appreciate the logistic and technical support provided by J. C. Pitman, J. Kramer, M. Mitchener, D. K. Dahlgren, J. A. Prendergast, C. Berens, G. Kramos, A. A. Flanders, and S. Hyberg. Funding for the project was provided by Kansas Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (Federal Assistance Grant KS W-73-R-3); United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Services CRP Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation (12-IA-MRE CRP TA#7, KSCFWRU RWO 62); and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

Agriculture and development have caused landscape change throughout the southwestern Great Plains in the range of the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). Landscape alteration within the lesser prairie-chicken range may contribute to range contraction and population losses through decreases in survival rates. Our objectives were to determine if: (1) landscape configuration (i.e., the spatial arrangement of habitat) or composition (i.e., the amount of habitat), at the study.site scale, affected annual survival of females, (2) relationships exist between landscape context (i.e., landscape configuration and composition) and weekly survival to assess effects of landscape composition and configuration on lesser prairie-chicken populations, and (3) anthropogenic features influenced daily mortality risk. We captured 170 female lesser prairie-chickens and used very-high-frequency and GPS (Global Positioning System) transmitters to track their movement and survival for 2 y. We used known-fate survival models to test if landscape configuration or composition within three sites in Kansas were related to differences in female survival among sites. In addition we tested for relationships between weekly survival and landscape configuration or composition within home ranges. Finally, we used Andersen-Gill models to test the influence of distance to anthropogenic features on daily mortality risk. Differences in survival were evident between sites with differing landscape compositions as annual survival in Northwestern Kansas (S=0.27) was half that of Clark County, Kansas (S=0.56), which corresponded with 41.9% more grassland on the landscape in Clark County; landscape configuration did not measurably differ among sites. Survival was greater for prairie-chickens with home-ranges that had greater patch richness and in areas with 30% crop and 57% grassland. Female lesser prairie-chickens also experienced greater mortality risk closer to fences at patch edges. Further conversion of grassland landscapes occupied by lesser prairie-chickens should be avoided to reduce habitat loss and fragmentation thresholds that could affect survival. We suggest continued encouragement of Conservation Reserve Program enrollment in western areas of the lesser prairie-chicken range to maintain or increase the amount of grassland to increase annual survival. ; Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Grant [W-73-R]; US Geological SurveyUnited States Geological Survey; US Dept ofAgriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative; Kansas Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism [KS W-73-R-3]; USDA Farm Services CRP Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation [7, KSCFWRU RWO 62] ; Wethank J. Pitman, K. Sexton, J. Kramer, M. Mitchener, D. Dahlgren, J. Prendergast, C. Berens, G. Kramos, A. Flanders, and S. Hyberg for their assistance with the project. Research was funded by the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Grant W-73-R; US Geological Survey; US Dept ofAgriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative; Kansas Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (Federal Assistance Grant KS W-73-R-3); USDA Farm Services CRP Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation (12-IA-MRE CRP TA#7, KSCFWRU RWO 62). We also thank two anonymous reviewers for reviewing earlier versions of this manuscript. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

Grazing management recommendations often sacrifice the intrinsic heterogeneity of grasslands by prescribing uniform grazing distributions through smaller pastures, increased stocking densities, and reduced grazing periods. The lack of patch-burn grazing in semi-arid landscapes of the western Great Plains in North America requires alternative grazing management strategies to create and maintain heterogeneity of habitat structure (e.g., animal unit distribution, pasture configuration), but knowledge of their effects on grassland fauna is limited. The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), an imperiled, grassland-obligate, native to the southern Great Plains, is an excellent candidate for investigating effects of heterogeneity-based grazing management strategies because it requires diverse microhabitats among life-history stages in a semi-arid landscape. We evaluated influences of heterogeneity-based grazing management strategies on vegetation structure, habitat selection, and nest and adult survival of lesser prairie-chickens in western Kansas, USA. We captured and monitored 116 female lesser prairie-chickens marked with very high frequency (VHF) or global positioning system (GPS) transmitters and collected landscape-scale vegetation and grazing data during 2013-2015. Vegetation structure heterogeneity increased at stocking densities = 40%. Probability of use was positively affected by increasing pasture area. A quadratic relationship existed between growing season deferment and probability of use. We found that 70% of nests were located in grazing units in which grazing pressure was <0.8 animal unit months/ha. Daily nest survival was negatively correlated with grazing pressure. We found no relationship between adult survival and grazing management strategies. Conservation in grasslands expressing flora community composition appropriate for lesser prairie-chickens can maintain appropriate habitat structure heterogeneity through the use of low to moderate stocking densities (<0.26 animal units/ha), greater pasture areas, and site-appropriate deferment periods. Alternative grazing management strategies (e.g., rest-rotation, season-long rest) may be appropriate in grasslands requiring greater heterogeneity or during intensive drought. Grazing management favoring habitat heterogeneity instead of uniform grazing distributions will likely be more conducive for preserving lesser prairie-chicken populations and grassland biodiversity. (c) 2021 The Wildlife Society. ; Published version ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

Diets during critical brooding and winter periods likely influence the growth of Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) populations. During the brooding period, rapidly growing Lesser Prairie-Chicken chicks have high calorie demands and are restricted to foods within immediate surroundings. For adults and juveniles during cold winters, meeting thermoregulatory demands with available food items of limited nutrient content may be challenging. Our objective was to determine the primary animal and plant components of Lesser Prairie-Chicken diets among native prairie, cropland, and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields in Kansas and Colorado, USA, during brooding and winter using a DNA metabarcoding approach. Lesser Prairie-Chicken fecal samples (n = 314) were collected during summer 2014 and winter 2014-2015, DNA was extracted, amplified, and sequenced. A region of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene was sequenced to determine the arthropod component of the diet, and a portion of the trnL intron region was used to determine the plant component. Relying on fecal DNA to quantify dietary composition, as opposed to traditional visual identification of gut contents, revealed a greater proportion of soft-bodied arthropods than previously recorded. Among 80 fecal samples for which threshold arthropod DNA reads were obtained, 35% of the sequences were most likely from Lepidoptera, 26% from Orthoptera, 14% from Araneae, 13% from Hemiptera, and 12% from other orders. Plant sequences from 137 fecal samples were composed of species similar to Ambrosia (27%), followed by species similar to Lactuca or Taraxacum (10%), Medicago (6%), and Triticum (5%). Forbs were the predominant (>50% of reads) plant food consumed during both brood rearing and winter. The importance both of native forbs and of a broad array of arthropods that rely on forbs suggests that disturbance regimes that promote forbs may be crucial in providing food for Lesser Prairie-Chickens in the northern portion of their distribution. ; Kansas Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism [KS W-73-R-3]; USDA Farm Services CRP Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation [12-IA-MRE CRP TA#7, KSCFWRU RWO 62]; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative ; Funding for the project was provided by Kansas Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (Federal Assistance Grant KS W-73-R-3); USDA Farm Services CRP Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation (12-IA-MRE CRP TA#7, KSCFWRU RWO 62); and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

For millennia grasslands have provided a myriad of ecosystem services and have been coupled with human resource use. The loss of 46% of grasslands worldwide necessitates the need for conservation that is spatially, temporally, and socioeconomically strategic. In the Southern Great Plains of the United States, conversion of native grasslands to cropland, woody encroachment, and establishment of vertical anthropogenic features have made large intact grasslands rare for lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). However, it remains unclear how the spatial distribution of grasslands and anthropogenic features constrain populations and influence conservation. We estimated the distribution of lesser prairie-chickens using data from individuals marked with GPS transmitters in Kansas and Colorado, USA, and empirically derived relationships with anthropogenic structure densities and grassland composition. Our model suggested decreased probability of use in 2-km radius (12.6 km(2)) landscapes that had greater than two vertical features, two oil wells, 8 km of county roads, and 0.15 km of major roads or transmission lines. Predicted probability of use was greatest in 5-km radius landscapes that were 77% grassland. Based on our model predictions, similar to 10% of the current expected lesser prairie-chicken distribution was available as habitat. We used our estimated species distribution to provide spatially explicit prescriptions for CRP enrollment and tree removal in locations most likely to benefit lesser prairie-chickens. Spatially incentivized CRP sign up has the potential to provide 4189 km2 of additional habitat and strategic application of tree removal has the potential to restore 1154 km(2). Tree removal and CRP enrollment are conservation tools that can align with landowner goals and are much more likely to be effective on privately owned working lands. ; Kansas Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (Federal Assistance Grant) [KS W-73-R-3]; United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Services CRP Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation [12-IA-MRE CRP TA, KSCFWRU RWO 62, 7]; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative ; We thank Kent Fricke, three anonymous reviewers, and the associate editor for providing reviews that improved the quality of the manuscript. We thank K. Schultz and A. Chappell for capturing and providing GPS data from lesser prairie-chickens captured on the Cimarron National Grasslands. B. Anderson, S. Baker, S. Bard, G. Brinkman, K. Broadfoot, R. Cooper, J. Danner, J. Decker, E. D. Entsminger, R. M. Galvin, N. Gilbert, A. Godar, G. Gould, B. Hardy, S.P. Hoffman, D. Holt, B. M. Irle, T. Karish, A. Klais, H. Kruckman, K. Kuechle, S. J. Lane, E. A. Leipold, J. Letlebo, E. Mangelinckx, L. McCall, A. Nichter, K. Phillips, J. K. Proescholdt, J. Rabon, T. Reed, A. Rhodes, B. E. Ross, D. Spencer, A. M. Steed, A. E. Swicegood, P. Waldron, B. A. Walter, I. Waters, W. J. White, E. Wiens, J. B. Yantachka, and A. Zarazua, provided much needed assistance with data collection. We greatly appreciate the logistic and technical support provided by J. C. Pitman, J. Kramer, M. Mitchener, D. K. Dahlgren, J. A. Prendergast, C. Berens, G. Kramos, and A. A. Flanders. Funding for the project was provided by Kansas Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (Federal Assistance Grant KS W-73-R-3); United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Services CRP Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation (12-IA-MRE CRP TA#7, KSCFWRU RWO 62); and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee