Sprih Harsh | USGS Science

USGS2025

Weather, habitat area, connectivity, and number of patches influence breeding ecology of ring-necked pheasants

Understanding habitat selection is critical in habitat prioritization for species of conservation and management concern. Information on habitat selection is particularly important for grassland bird species whose populations have suffered steep declines over the last few decades. We assessed ring-necked pheasants' ( Phasianus colchicus ) habitat selection in a dynamic agricultural landscape. The population dynamics of pheasants are partially related to nest survival, which may be influenced by the quality of nesting habitat. Consequently, knowledge of vegetation composition and structural characteristics associated with the selection and survival of nests would help inform management decisions to improve nest success. We monitored nests from 103 radio-collared pheasants inhabiting an agricultural landscape in South Dakota, USA, from 2017–2019 to determine the effect of landscape composition and configuration on nest-site selection and nest survival. We explored nesting behavior at 2 orders of selection: resource selection within the home range (third order) and selection of specific resource items from a resource patch (fourth order). Proportion of row crop and connectivity of row crop was negatively associated with nest-site selection at the third order. At the fourth order, pheasants tended to select for taller vegetation and greater percent grass cover than at paired random sites. Pheasants also selected areas with more grasslands. A 1% increase in grass cover and proportion of grassland increased the odds of nest-site selection by 1% and 2%, respectively. Connectivity of row crop patches was negatively associated with daily nest survival. We also evaluated factors affecting pheasant brood-site selection. A 1-unit increase in grass cover and Hemiptera biomass increased the odds of brood-site selection by 4%. The probability of brood-site selection also increased with fewer row crop patches. Weather played a crucial role in driving nest survival. The consideration of local weather trends and regional variation in habitat can inform habitat management for pheasants. Pheasant populations may benefit from research that identifies thermal landscapes and land management techniques that promote cooler microclimates for nesting and brood-rearing activities.

South Dakota↗

USGS2024

Seasonal resource selection of a grassland bird in a dynamic landscape: Importance of a heterogeneous landscape

Habitat loss and fragmentation are a growing threat to wildlife, and a better understanding of these landscape processes is needed to mitigate their effects on species populations. Grassland biomes are among the most imperiled ecosystems in the world, and grassland birds are experiencing significant population declines in North America. Understanding how species respond to differences in resource availabilities across spatiotemporal extents is critical to determining animals' distributions. Here, we investigated the relationship of landscape attributes to spatiotemporal distribution of a grassland bird, the ring-necked pheasant ( Phasianus colchicus ), which has experienced population declines in the Midwest, USA. Pheasant declines have been attributed to two anthropogenic stressors, land use change and climate change. In this study, we evaluated the effect of landscape attributes (composition and configuration) on the home-range size and resource selection of pheasants. We used a 95% fixed kernel estimator to estimate home-range size and identified scales at which landscape features influenced home-range sizes. We quantified landscape features within radii of 250, 500, and 1000 m (i.e., local to broader spatial scales) from the home-range center. We also used resource selection functions to predict the home-range placement (second order) and resource selection within home ranges (third order) of pheasants during winter, pre-nesting, and nesting seasons. We developed multi-scale predictions of pheasant resource selection and identified wetlands, grasslands, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands, and small grains as land cover types used by pheasants to fulfill their life requirements. Our results indicated home ranges were more likely to be in a landscape with more CRP, wetlands, and grasslands; more connected grasslands; and a greater number of grassland patches. Pheasants also selected heterogeneous landscape and avoided row crops at both orders of selection. Maintaining habitat heterogeneity, by managing landscapes composed of a high proportion of grasslands and CRP surrounded by small grains and wetlands, could enhance the benefits of local management practices for pheasants. Collectively, insights obtained from our study can advance habitat conservation efforts for similar grassland birds and consequently are of broad utility to biologists and wildlife managers.

South Dakota↗