Sharp-Tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) Habitat Selection and Population Trends in Saskatchewan
type: CreativeWork
description: The sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) is a symbol of Saskatchewan and has important cultural and economic status in the province. Over the last few decades this species has been declining in Saskatchewan, especially in southern grassland regions. While the decline in sharp-tailed grouse populations has been variously attributed to habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation, the major factors affecting population trends remain to be definitively identified. Two areas of importance for research were highlighted by provincial government scientists to inform long-term management and conservation of sharp-tailed grouse in Saskatchewan: (1) identify sharp-tailed grouse habitat and its distribution in the province; and (2) understand population changes in relation to weather conditions. My research was undertaken to address these knowledge gaps for the plains subspecies of the sharp-tailed grouse in Saskatchewan. Leks, communal dancing grounds, form the basis for much of the life history knowledge of sharp-tailed grouse and are often used in the management of the species. Correspondingly, the probability of lek occurrence is an excellent indicator of habitat quality. However, the specific characteristics of the landscape around leks that draws sharp-tailed grouse to an area are still relatively unknown. To study the habitat distribution of plains sharp-tailed grouse in Saskatchewan, I identified lek locations using both contemporary field surveys and historical data collected by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment (MOE). I generated a habitat suitability index (HSI) model, which provides a probability of lek occurrence using the known locations compared to various landcover types. I included two variations of each landcover type variable in the HSI: one at a 1x1 km scale and another at a 5x5 km scale. The most important predictors for lek occurrence from the model were the proportion of grasslands at 5x5 km, followed by the amount of grassland within 1x…
abstract: The sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) is a symbol of Saskatchewan and has important cultural and economic status in the province. Over the last few decades this species has been declining in Saskatchewan, especially in southern grassland regions. While the decline in sharp-tailed grouse populations has been variously attributed to habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation, the major factors affecting population trends remain to be definitively identified. Two areas of importance for research were highlighted by provincial government scientists to inform long-term management and conservation of sharp-tailed grouse in Saskatchewan: (1) identify sharp-tailed grouse habitat and its distribution in the province; and (2) understand population changes in relation to weather conditions. My research was undertaken to address these knowledge gaps for the plains subspecies of the sharp-tailed grouse in Saskatchewan. Leks, communal dancing grounds, form the basis for much of the life history knowledge of sharp-tailed grouse and are often used in the management of the species. Correspondingly, the probability of lek occurrence is an excellent indicator of habitat quality. However, the specific characteristics of the landscape around leks that draws sharp-tailed grouse to an area are still relatively unknown. To study the habitat distribution of plains sharp-tailed grouse in Saskatchewan, I identified lek locations using both contemporary field surveys and historical data collected by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment (MOE). I generated a habitat suitability index (HSI) model, which provides a probability of lek occurrence using the known locations compared to various landcover types. I included two variations of each landcover type variable in the HSI: one at a 1x1 km scale and another at a 5x5 km scale. The most important predictors for lek occurrence from the model were the proportion of grasslands at 5x5 km, followed by the amount of grassland within 1x…
author: Burda, Brandon David
language: en
date published: 2020-12
date modified: 2026-07-24T04:03:45Z
provider: University of Regina
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/10294/14320

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.82465/4846