{"id":{"repo_id":"sdstate","oai_identifier":"oai:openprairie.sdstate.edu:etd-1564"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/sdstate/oai:openprairie.sdstate.edu:etd-1564","repository":{"repo_id":"sdstate","name":"South Dakota State University","base_url":"https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Distribution and Landscape Attributes of Greater Prairie Chickens and Sharp-Tailed Grouse Outside of Their Traditional Range in South Dakota","abstract":"Grasslands play a critical role in providing habitat for greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) and sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus). Due to increased conversion of grassland to cropland, South Dakota is losing this critical habitat. This study identifies areas of eastern SD where populations of prairie-chickens and sharp-tailed grouse were suspected to reside, characterizes landscape attributes within 3,000 m of leks, and analyzes landscape characteristics using GIS modeling to develop a predictive model. Survey routes were developed in areas of potential suitable habitat and were sampled beginning ½ hour before sunrise and ending 2 to 2½ hours after sunrise during the breeding period of mid-March to early June of each year, with listening points established at 1.6 km (1 mile) intervals. Leks were located and recorded. All land and land-uses within 3,000 m of identified leks and randomly selected non-use points were digitized and labeled into a GIS. Land-use around these points was analyzed at 7 scales (400, 800, 1200, 1600, 2000, 2400, and 3000-m). 70 grouse leks were found in eastern South Dakota outside of the traditional grouse range. Significantly more grass (grassland and undisturbed grass) was found around grouse leks than non-use points. Conversely, there was less cropland surrounding lek locations than non-use points. The combination of the proportion of total grass (grassland, undisturbed grass, and hay) and patches on the landscape was a strong predictor of lek presence at all spatial scales. An avoidance of trees and wetlands was evident at the 800-m scale. Multi-scale modeling revealed the number of patches at 3000-m and the total amount of grass on the landscape at 2000-m to be the strongest predictors of lek presence. Within the multi-scale models, grasslands were most important at 2000-m, undisturbed grass was most important at 1600-m, and the important scale for hayed land was variable, ranging from 400-m to 2400-m, with 1200-m being most common.","abstract_html":"Grasslands play a critical role in providing habitat for greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) and sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus). Due to increased conversion of grassland to cropland, South Dakota is losing this critical habitat. This study identifies areas of eastern SD where populations of prairie-chickens and sharp-tailed grouse were suspected to reside, characterizes landscape attributes within 3,000 m of leks, and analyzes landscape characteristics using GIS modeling to develop a predictive model. Survey routes were developed in areas of potential suitable habitat and were sampled beginning ½ hour before sunrise and ending 2 to 2½ hours after sunrise during the breeding period of mid-March to early June of each year, with listening points established at 1.6 km (1 mile) intervals. Leks were located and recorded. All land and land-uses within 3,000 m of identified leks and randomly selected non-use points were digitized and labeled into a GIS. Land-use around these points was analyzed at 7 scales (400, 800, 1200, 1600, 2000, 2400, and 3000-m). 70 grouse leks were found in eastern South Dakota outside of the traditional grouse range. Significantly more grass (grassland and undisturbed grass) was found around grouse leks than non-use points. Conversely, there was less cropland surrounding lek locations than non-use points. The combination of the proportion of total grass (grassland, undisturbed grass, and hay) and patches on the landscape was a strong predictor of lek presence at all spatial scales. An avoidance of trees and wetlands was evident at the 800-m scale. Multi-scale modeling revealed the number of patches at 3000-m and the total amount of grass on the landscape at 2000-m to be the strongest predictors of lek presence. Within the multi-scale models, grasslands were most important at 2000-m, undisturbed grass was most important at 1600-m, and the important scale for hayed land was variable, ranging from 400-m to 2400-m, with 1200-m being most common.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Orth, Mandy R."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Thesis - University Access Only","degree_discipline":"Natural Resource Management","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kent C. Jensen","David Willis"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:28:04Z","subjects":["Natural Resources and Conservation"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright © 2012 Mandy R. Orth. All rights reserved."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/564","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kent C. 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All rights reserved."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/564"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Grasslands play a critical role in providing habitat for greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) and sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus). Due to increased conversion of grassland to cropland, South Dakota is losing this critical habitat. This study identifies areas of eastern SD where populations of prairie-chickens and sharp-tailed grouse were suspected to reside, characterizes landscape attributes within 3,000 m of leks, and analyzes landscape characteristics using GIS modeling to develop a predictive model. Survey routes were developed in areas of potential suitable habitat and were sampled beginning ½ hour before sunrise and ending 2 to 2½ hours after sunrise during the breeding period of mid-March to early June of each year, with listening points established at 1.6 km (1 mile) intervals. Leks were located and recorded. All land and land-uses within 3,000 m of identified leks and randomly selected non-use points were digitized and labeled into a GIS. Land-use around these points was analyzed at 7 scales (400, 800, 1200, 1600, 2000, 2400, and 3000-m). 70 grouse leks were found in eastern South Dakota outside of the traditional grouse range. Significantly more grass (grassland and undisturbed grass) was found around grouse leks than non-use points. Conversely, there was less cropland surrounding lek locations than non-use points. The combination of the proportion of total grass (grassland, undisturbed grass, and hay) and patches on the landscape was a strong predictor of lek presence at all spatial scales. An avoidance of trees and wetlands was evident at the 800-m scale. Multi-scale modeling revealed the number of patches at 3000-m and the total amount of grass on the landscape at 2000-m to be the strongest predictors of lek presence. Within the multi-scale models, grasslands were most important at 2000-m, undisturbed grass was most important at 1600-m, and the important scale for hayed land was variable, ranging from 400-m to 2400-m, with 1200-m being most common."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Distribution and Landscape Attributes of Greater Prairie Chickens and Sharp-Tailed Grouse Outside of Their Traditional Range in South Dakota"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kent C. Jensen","David Willis"],"dc:creator":["Orth, Mandy R."],"dc:description.abstract":["Grasslands play a critical role in providing habitat for greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) and sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus). Due to increased conversion of grassland to cropland, South Dakota is losing this critical habitat. This study identifies areas of eastern SD where populations of prairie-chickens and sharp-tailed grouse were suspected to reside, characterizes landscape attributes within 3,000 m of leks, and analyzes landscape characteristics using GIS modeling to develop a predictive model. Survey routes were developed in areas of potential suitable habitat and were sampled beginning ½ hour before sunrise and ending 2 to 2½ hours after sunrise during the breeding period of mid-March to early June of each year, with listening points established at 1.6 km (1 mile) intervals. Leks were located and recorded. All land and land-uses within 3,000 m of identified leks and randomly selected non-use points were digitized and labeled into a GIS. Land-use around these points was analyzed at 7 scales (400, 800, 1200, 1600, 2000, 2400, and 3000-m). 70 grouse leks were found in eastern South Dakota outside of the traditional grouse range. Significantly more grass (grassland and undisturbed grass) was found around grouse leks than non-use points. Conversely, there was less cropland surrounding lek locations than non-use points. The combination of the proportion of total grass (grassland, undisturbed grass, and hay) and patches on the landscape was a strong predictor of lek presence at all spatial scales. An avoidance of trees and wetlands was evident at the 800-m scale. Multi-scale modeling revealed the number of patches at 3000-m and the total amount of grass on the landscape at 2000-m to be the strongest predictors of lek presence. Within the multi-scale models, grasslands were most important at 2000-m, undisturbed grass was most important at 1600-m, and the important scale for hayed land was variable, ranging from 400-m to 2400-m, with 1200-m being most common."],"dc:identifier":["https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/564"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright © 2012 Mandy R. Orth. All rights reserved."],"dc:subject":["Natural Resources and Conservation"],"dc:title":["Distribution and Landscape Attributes of Greater Prairie Chickens and Sharp-Tailed Grouse Outside of Their Traditional Range in South Dakota"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Natural Resource Management"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - University Access Only"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:28:04Z"}