Habitat Requirements

Greater prairie chickens have numerous habitat requirements. Of great

importance is Leks, display grounds where males perform to attract females. The

prairie chickens require that these areas be open and with only low-growing

vegetation. There are numerous ways in which these requirements can be met.

Locations such as grazed rangelands, oil pads and cultivated fields can all provide

possible leks. (Ryan, 1998)

The next habitat that greater prairie chickens require is for nesting. These

areas must be made up of medium sized vegetation that is able to provide shade and

protection while still being open enough so that adults can see predators. This

habitat is usually composed of grasses reaching heights of 12”-15” tall but also avoid

being over 31”. (Kirsch, 1974)

Brood habitat, consisting of mainly open area where young of the year can

move around while still providing cover from predation is a deeply important

element of the habitat requirements. This is due to high mortality among young

greater prairie chickens. In most areas brood habitat is made up of areas with recent

disturbance such as grazed native prairie.

It has been shown that increased energy expenditure in attempts to find food

is a major source of increased mortality for prairie chickens in the winter months. It

is for this purpose that food sources, such as agricultural fields, should be in close

proximity to areas capable of providing cover. Winter cover generally consists of tall

grasses (over 20 inches).

In general, greater prairie chicken habitat requirements consist of prairie

and cropland to the ratio of 3 to 1 with no more than 10 percent of the total area

being either wooded or urban for the highest chances of survival. 2,000 acres is

generally considered to be the minimum area necessary to provide for a viable

population of prairie chickens.

Reasons for Decline

Several reasons explain the Greater Prairie-Chicken’s decline in the state of

Missouri. To begin with, native tallgrass prairies once covered 34% of the state.

They now make up roughly .5%. As is the case with several endangered species

habitat fragmentation deeply hampers the species ability to persist. Addressing this

fragmentation is central to recovery efforts.

Related to this is contamination of areas by invasive species. By taking over

native prairies and pushing out food and cover species Greater Prairie Chickens the

mortality risks are increased. Non-native cool season grasses have led to a decrease

in overall vegetative quality in the historic prairies of the Greater Prairie Chicken.

This leads to the next reason of decline. (Johnson, 2003)

Predation and competition significantly reduce prairie chicken numbers.

While all prey species suffer some degree of predation, the limited numbers of

prairie chickens make the losses from predators such as raptors and raccoons more

detrimental on the population. Furthermore, competition for what resources there

are increases stress on prairie chickens. Ring-necked pheasants are known to lay

eggs in prairie chicken nests. Another competitor for habitat is that of sharp-tailed

grouse.

Limited habitat contributes to the possible outbreak of disease. This comes

from two possible sources. Prairie chickens have the potential to pick up disease

from close contact with other prairie chickens as well as possible outbreaks from

commercial poultry. Increasing habitat and decreasing contact with foreign species

tends to result in the best outcomes for the prairie chicken populations.

Sources:

Ryan, Mark R., Loren W. Burger, David P. Jones, and Alice P. Wywialowski.

"Breeding Ecology of Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) in Relation

to Prairie Landscape Composition." American Midland Naturalist Jul., 1998 111-

121. Web.

Kirsch, Leo M., "Habitat Management Considerations for Prairie Chickens."

Wildlife Society Bulletin Autumn, 1974 pp. 124-129 . Web.

Johnson, Jeff A. , John E. Toepfer, Peter O. Dunn, and "Contrasting patterns of

mitochondrial and microsatellite population structure in fragmented populations of

greater prairie-chickens ." Molecular Ecology 28 Oct 2003 3335 - 3347. Web.