Habitat Selection Modeling for Northern Bobwhites on Subtropical Rangeland

Knowledge of habitat preference-avoidance behavior by a wildlife species provides a theoretical background for habitat management decisions. We studied habitat selection by northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) on subtropical rangeland in Texas during 1994-95 and developed a continuous selection...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of wildlife management 1998-07, Vol.62 (3), p.884-895
Main Authors: Kopp, Steven D., Guthery, Fred S., Forrester, N. David, Cohen, Will E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal behavior
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Autoecology
Aves
Biological and medical sciences
Birds
Bobwhites
Density distributions
Forest habitats
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Habitat preferences
Habitat selection
Habitats
Probability distributions
Rangelands
Vegetation
Vegetation canopies
Vertebrata
Wildlife
Wildlife habitats
Wildlife management
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Knowledge of habitat preference-avoidance behavior by a wildlife species provides a theoretical background for habitat management decisions. We studied habitat selection by northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) on subtropical rangeland in Texas during 1994-95 and developed a continuous selection function for describing preference-avoidance behavior. Our results validated use of canopy coverage by woody and herbaceous vegetation and exposure of bare ground in habitat modeling for bobwhites. Bobwhites were not sensitive to dry mass of herbaceous vegetation in the landscape we studied. The birds seemed sensitive to cover screening based on indices of exposure to ground and aerial predators. Continuous selection functions provide a means of prioritizing habitat management needs on an area. Managers should consider probability distributions of habitat features in space and time to develop sound habitat management programs.
ISSN:0022-541X
1937-2817
DOI:10.2307/3802539