Journal Article

Lesser Prairie‐chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structure

Gehrt, Jacquelyn M., Haukos, David A., Verheijen, Bram H. F., Sullins, Daniel S.

2023

Overview

Incubation breaks are necessary for any nesting bird but can increase the mortality risk of the nest or attending parent. How intrinsic and extrinsic variables affect nest attentiveness—the proportion of time a female is on nest during incubation— and subsequent survival of the nest remains unclear for uniparental species. We related female nest attentiveness to nest survival and tested the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic variables on nest attentiveness by female Lesser Prairie‐chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) using GPS locations of 87 females at 109 nest sites in 3 study areas in Kansas during 2013–2015. Daily nest survival increased by 39% when nest attentiveness increased from 21% to 98%. Female Lesser Prairie‐chickens were 18% less attentive as body mass increased from 600 to 920 g. Daily precipitation and temperature, controlled for days into the incubation period, had interactive effects on nest attentiveness with nest attentiveness lowest on cool, wet days and increasing as temperature increased, regardless of precipitation (41% attentiveness at 16°C and 79 mm of precipitation to 90% attentiveness at 37°C and 41 mm of precipitation). Nest attentiveness increased by 11% as the quantity of grass at the nest site increased from 5% to 78% when visual obstruction was at 1 and 2 decimeters (dm) and increased 9% as the quantity of grass at the nest site increased from 5% to 83% when visual obstruction was at its maximum (3 dm). Our findings reveal the critical importance of nest attentiveness and incubation behavior, not only in relation to demography, but within the context of changing environmental conditions. As warmer temperatures and extreme precipitation events become more common and change the growth rates of vegetation, species like the Lesser Prairie‐chicken that are ground‐nesting, rely on vegetation cover, and exhibit uniparental care could experience negative demographic consequences. Over a 3‐year study, we collected movement data of 87 females at 109 nest sites to determine what factors influence incubation behavior and how that influences nest success. We tested both intrinsic and extrinsic factors and found that extrinsic factors, particularly vegetation structure surrounding the nest site influence incubation behavior the most and that incubation behavior does affect nest success.

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc,John Wiley and Sons Inc,Wiley
• Subject: Applied Ecology / behavior / Behavioural Ecology / Birds / Body mass / Chickens / Climate change / Demography / Endangered & extinct species / Environmental changes / Environmental conditions / Extreme weather / Females / Grasses / Health risks / Incubation / Incubation behavior / Interactive control / Kansas / Lesser Prairie‐chicken / Mortality risk / Nesting / Poultry / Precipitation / Predation / Survival / temperature / Tympanuchus pallidicinctus / Vegetation / Vegetation cover