Nest site selection and brood home ranges of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in the Centennial Valley, Montana

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to estimate the fine-scale nest site selection of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and to investigate the differences in brood home range size in response to cattle grazing in the Centennial Valley, Montana. A total of 111 sage-grouse hens were captured across two breeding seasons (2014-2015). Hens were captured on leks using spotlighting/dip netting techniques. A total of 90 nests were found across both breeding seasons using radio-collared sage-grouse (VHF). Vegetation surveys were conducted at nests and random sites that measured the nest shrub and the cover within 3 m of the nest. All habitat variables that were included in the top model (GLMs) were nest shrub morphological characteristics and the cover provided by the nest shrub. It appears that sage-grouse are selecting nest sites based on the concealment provided by the nest shrub. Forty-five percent of nests were under mountain big sagebrush plants (Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana), 21% nests were under three-tip sagebrush (A. tripartita), and 20% of nests were under basin big sagebrush plants (A. tridentata ssp. tridentata). Nests under mountain big sagebrush and three-tip sagebrush shrubs provided twice the amount of lateral cover that basin big sagebrush provided. Of the 90 nests found, 18 produced successful broods. Grazing utilization levels, grass heights, and dominant sagebrush type were recorded at brood locations and extrapolated to estimate those values across the brood's home range. Two sample t-tests were used to test if there was a difference between the habitat variables in grazed and ungrazed pastures as well as by habitat type. Grazing utilization levels were on average 4% in brood home ranges across both years of the study. There was no year effect in brood home range size and brood home range size did not differ by grazed and ungrazed pastures or across the two habitat types the broods used. Brood home range size is most likely delineated by other factor(s) besides cattle grazing. Managers should focus on conserving continuous stands of mountain big sagebrush and three-tip sagebrush habitats because they provide higher concealment for nesting and were highly used for brood-rearing.