February 13, 2018 by Shawna
Richter-Ryerson, University
of Nebraska-Lincoln
A study by University of
Nebraska-Lincoln researchers has found that predicted increased temperatures
across the Great Plains are likely to influence the survival of the
sharp-tailed grouse, a native game bird species, by reducing nesting space.
"Our study carried out in
the Sandhills rangeland of western Nebraska provides a baseline for
understanding sharp-tailed grouse thermal ecology," said E.J. Raynor,
postdoctoral research associate in agronomy and horticulture at Nebraska and
lead author of the study. "Our findings suggest sharp-tailed grouse
selected nest sites that
reduced their exposure to high temperatures during
the hottest part of the day."
Those nests experienced 88-degree
or higher temperatures for at least an hour less than nearby available sites in
the same pasture, Raynor said, noting that 88 degrees is the threshold where
sharp-tailed grouse experience heat stress and pant to cool their bodies.
Past research found the birds
preferred small shrubs and yucca plants as nesting locations. The study showed
that availability of these fine-scale vegetative habitats within grasslands is
important because they regulate nest temperature more than other vegetation in
the study area.
For the study, Raynor and
colleagues Larkin Powell, professor of ecology, and Walt Schacht, professor of
agronomy, measured temperatures of grouse nests and nearby available spaces
conducive for nesting in the Valentine area of the Nebraska Sandhills. They
also documented vegetation characteristics of the sites. Temperature
measurements were then compared to future projections of air temperature under
different emission scenarios for the year 2080.
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