Mountain plover nest survival in relation to prairie dog and fire dynamics in shortgrass steppe

• Published in: The Journal of wildlife management 2014-05, Vol.78 (4), p.595-602
• Main Authors: Augustine, David J., Skagen, Susan K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal behavior; Animal nesting; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Aves; Biological and medical sciences; Bird nesting; black-tailed prairie dogs; Charadrius montanus; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Cynomys ludovicianus; disturbance regimes; Dogs; Endangered & extinct species; Forest & brush fires; Forest and land fires; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; grassland birds; Grasslands; Growing season; Growing seasons; Habitat conservation; Habitats; Nesting; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Plains; Population Ecology; Prairie dogs; Prairies; Prescribed fire; rangeland management; spatial heterogeneity; Steppes; Survival; Survival rates; Synecology; Terrestrial ecosystems; Vegetation; vegetation structure; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; Weather damages. Fires; Wildlife conservation; Wildlife management
• ISSN: 0022-541X; 1937-2817
• DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.700

Disturbed xeric grasslands with short, sparse vegetation provide breeding habitat for mountain plovers (Charadrius montanus) across the western Great Plains. Maintaining local disturbance regimes through prairie dog conservation and prescribed fire may contribute to the sustainability of recently declining mountain plover populations, but these management approaches can be controversial. We estimated habitatspecific mountain plover densities and nest survival rates on black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies and burns in the shortgrass steppe of northeastern Colorado. Mountain plover densities were similar on prairie dog colonies (5.9 birds/km²; 95% CI = 4.7-7.4) and sites burned during the preceding dormant season (6.7 birds/km²; 95% CI = 4.6-9.6), whereas the 29-day nest survival rate was greater on prairie dog colonies (0.81 in 2011 and 0.39 in 2012) compared to the burned sites (0.64 in 2011 and 0.17 in 2012). Reduced nest survival in 2012 compared to 2011 was associated with higher maximum daily temperatures in 2012, consistent with a previous weather-based model of mountain plover nest survival in the southern Great Plains. Measurements of mountain plover density relative to time since disturbance showed that removal of prairie dog disturbance by sylvatic plague reduced mountain plover density by 70% relative to active prairie dog colonies after 1 year. Plover densities declined at a similar rate (by 78%) at burned sites between the first and second post-burn growing season. Results indicate that black-tailed prairie dog colonies are a particularly important nesting habitat for mountain plovers in the southern Great Plains. In addition, findings suggest that prescribed burning can be a valuable means to create nesting habitat in landscapes where other types of disturbances (such as prairie dog colonies) are limited in distribution and size. Published 2014. This article is a U. S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.