{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/91088"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/91088","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Ecology of pronghorns on the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado","abstract":"During January 1983 - July 1985 the population dynamics, movements, and habitat use of pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) were studied on the 1040 km² Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, in southeastern Colorado, prior to initiation of military training. Forty-seven adults and 32 fawns were radio marked; 247 adults were color collared or ear tagged only. Using aerial strip and quadrat surveys, I estimated a summer population for 1983, 1984, and 1985 of 694, 690, and 657 respectively. Adult female pregnancy rate was approximately 98%, mean litter size for females > 1.5 years was 1.9, and fetal and fawn sex ratios were not different from 1:1. Fawn mortality was 89% in 1983 and 80% in 1984. Adult mortality was 20% in 1983 and 28% in 1984. Annual rate of increase (λ) over the 2 year study was .806. Home range size of pronghorns was extremely variable within and between sexes and among seasons. Winter ranges were 2-fold and 5-fold larger than summer range for females and males, respectively. Sixty-five percent of all weekly movements were < 3 km. Females preferred open grassland in all seasons, and cholla grassland in winter. Yucca grassland was preferred in spring and fall, and cholla/open grass edges were highly preferred in all seasons. Males preferred open grassland in all seasons but winter, and preferred cholla grassland in all seasons but spring, cholla/open grass edges were also preferred in all seasons. Fawns used open grassland and cholla/open grass edges more than expected, while using woodland and shrub habitats less than expected.","abstract_html":"During January 1983 - July 1985 the population dynamics, movements, and habitat use of pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) were studied on the 1040 km² Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, in southeastern Colorado, prior to initiation of military training. Forty-seven adults and 32 fawns were radio marked; 247 adults were color collared or ear tagged only. Using aerial strip and quadrat surveys, I estimated a summer population for 1983, 1984, and 1985 of 694, 690, and 657 respectively. Adult female pregnancy rate was approximately 98%, mean litter size for females &gt; 1.5 years was 1.9, and fetal and fawn sex ratios were not different from 1:1. Fawn mortality was 89% in 1983 and 80% in 1984. Adult mortality was 20% in 1983 and 28% in 1984. Annual rate of increase (λ) over the 2 year study was .806. Home range size of pronghorns was extremely variable within and between sexes and among seasons. Winter ranges were 2-fold and 5-fold larger than summer range for females and males, respectively. Sixty-five percent of all weekly movements were &lt; 3 km. Females preferred open grassland in all seasons, and cholla grassland in winter. Yucca grassland was preferred in spring and fall, and cholla/open grass edges were highly preferred in all seasons. Males preferred open grassland in all seasons but winter, and preferred cholla grassland in all seasons but spring, cholla/open grass edges were also preferred in all seasons. Fawns used open grassland and cholla/open grass edges more than expected, while using woodland and shrub habitats less than expected.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Firchow, Katherine Marie"],"institution":"Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences","degree_department":"Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1986,"date_issued":"1986","date_published":"1986","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:21Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en_US"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/91088","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Firchow, Katherine Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2019-07-03T18:56:53Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-07-03T18:56:53Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1986"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.dcmitype","label":"Dc Type Dcmitype","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_US"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/91088"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["During January 1983 - July 1985 the population dynamics, movements, and habitat use of pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) were studied on the 1040 km² Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, in southeastern Colorado, prior to initiation of military training. Forty-seven adults and 32 fawns were radio marked; 247 adults were color collared or ear tagged only. Using aerial strip and quadrat surveys, I estimated a summer population for 1983, 1984, and 1985 of 694, 690, and 657 respectively. Adult female pregnancy rate was approximately 98%, mean litter size for females > 1.5 years was 1.9, and fetal and fawn sex ratios were not different from 1:1. Fawn mortality was 89% in 1983 and 80% in 1984. Adult mortality was 20% in 1983 and 28% in 1984. Annual rate of increase (λ) over the 2 year study was .806. Home range size of pronghorns was extremely variable within and between sexes and among seasons. Winter ranges were 2-fold and 5-fold larger than summer range for females and males, respectively. Sixty-five percent of all weekly movements were < 3 km. Females preferred open grassland in all seasons, and cholla grassland in winter. Yucca grassland was preferred in spring and fall, and cholla/open grass edges were highly preferred in all seasons. Males preferred open grassland in all seasons but winter, and preferred cholla grassland in all seasons but spring, cholla/open grass edges were also preferred in all seasons. Fawns used open grassland and cholla/open grass edges more than expected, while using woodland and shrub habitats less than expected."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Ecology of pronghorns on the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.department":["Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences"],"dc:creator":["Firchow, Katherine Marie"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2019-07-03T18:56:53Z"],"dc:date.available":["2019-07-03T18:56:53Z"],"dc:date.issued":["1986"],"dc:description.abstract":["During January 1983 - July 1985 the population dynamics, movements, and habitat use of pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) were studied on the 1040 km² Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, in southeastern Colorado, prior to initiation of military training. Forty-seven adults and 32 fawns were radio marked; 247 adults were color collared or ear tagged only. Using aerial strip and quadrat surveys, I estimated a summer population for 1983, 1984, and 1985 of 694, 690, and 657 respectively. Adult female pregnancy rate was approximately 98%, mean litter size for females > 1.5 years was 1.9, and fetal and fawn sex ratios were not different from 1:1. Fawn mortality was 89% in 1983 and 80% in 1984. Adult mortality was 20% in 1983 and 28% in 1984. Annual rate of increase (λ) over the 2 year study was .806. Home range size of pronghorns was extremely variable within and between sexes and among seasons. Winter ranges were 2-fold and 5-fold larger than summer range for females and males, respectively. Sixty-five percent of all weekly movements were < 3 km. Females preferred open grassland in all seasons, and cholla grassland in winter. Yucca grassland was preferred in spring and fall, and cholla/open grass edges were highly preferred in all seasons. Males preferred open grassland in all seasons but winter, and preferred cholla grassland in all seasons but spring, cholla/open grass edges were also preferred in all seasons. Fawns used open grassland and cholla/open grass edges more than expected, while using woodland and shrub habitats less than expected."],"dc:description.degree":["M.S."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/91088"],"dc:language.iso":["en_US"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:title":["Ecology of pronghorns on the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.dcmitype":["Text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S."],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:21Z"}