Life Sciences Commons^™

Ecological Investigations Of Chukars In Western Utah, Randy T. Larsen

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents three separate manuscripts in chapter format dealing with the ecology of Chukars (Alectoris chukar) in western North America. All three manuscripts have been formatted for publication in professional journals. Chapter one confirms discovery of ingested lead pellets in Chukars across a broad region of western Utah including all four western counties sampled. Prevalence rates were 1.9% (n=105) for crops and 10.7% (n=75) of gizzards showing no evidence of penetration wounds. Ingestion is likely related to grit size preferences that are consistent with common shot sizes. The second chapter describes watering patterns and water-site selection of Chukars. Chukars …