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School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
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Prairie Grouse Population Trends And Their Historical Drivers In The Nebraska Sandhills, Danielle Berger
Prairie Grouse Population Trends And Their Historical Drivers In The Nebraska Sandhills, Danielle Berger
School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) has monitored greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) and plains sharp-tailed grouse populations (Tympanuchus phasianellus jamesi), collectively known as prairie grouse, since the 1950s using spring breeding ground counts. My research modeled long-term, species-specific spatial and temporal trends of prairie grouse abundance and potential environmental drivers in the Sandhills of Nebraska using NGPC’s historical monitoring data. Prairie-chicken populations have increased since the 1950s while sharp-tailed grouse populations have remained stable or slightly declined. These population trends arise in the context of a dynamic landscape. I created indices representing raptor predation …