title: Integrating spatially explicit indices of abundance and habitat quality: an applied example for greater sage-grouse management.
abstract: Predictive species distributional models are a cornerstone of wildlife conservation planning. Constructing such models requires robust underpinning science that integrates formerly disparate data types to achieve effective species management.Greater sage-grouseCentrocercus urophasianus, hereafter 'sage-grouse' populations are declining throughout sagebrush-steppe ecosystems in North America, particularly within the Great Basin, which heightens the need for novel management tools that maximize the use of available information.Herein, we improve upon existing species distribution models by combining information about sage-grouse habitat quality, distribution and abundance from multiple data sources. To measure habitat, we created spatially explicit maps depicting habitat selection indices (HSI) informed by >35 500 independent telemetry locations from >1600 sage-grouse collected over 15 years across much of the Great Basin. These indices were derived from models that accounted for selection at different spatial scales and seasons. A region-wide HSI was calculated using the HSI surfaces modelled for 12 independent subregions and then demarcated into distinct habitat quality classes.We also employed a novel index to describe landscape patterns of sage-grouse abundance and space use (AUI). The AUI is a probabilistic composite of the following: (i) breeding density patterns based on the spatial configuration of breeding leks and associated trends in male attendance; and (ii) year-round patterns of space use indexed by the decreasing probability of use with increasing distance to leks. The continuous AUI surface was then reclassified into two classes representing high and low/no use and abundance.Synthesis and applications. Using the example of sage-grouse, we demonstrate how the joint application of indices of habitat selection, abundance and space use derived from multiple data sources yields a composite map that can guide effective allocation of management intensity across multiple spatial scales. As applied to sage-grouse, the composite map identifies spatially explicit management categories within sagebrush steppe that are most critical to sustaining sage-grouse populations as well as those areas where changes in land use would likely have minimal impact. Importantly, collaborative efforts among stakeholders guide which intersections of habitat selection indices and abundance and space use classes are used to define management categories. Because sage-grouse are an umbrella species, our joint-index modelling approach can help target effective conservation for other sagebrush obligate species and can be readily applied to species in other ecosystems with similar life histories, such as central-placed breeding.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center Dixon Field Station 800 Business Park Drive, Suite D Dixon CA 95620 USA.
authors.forename: Peter S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Coates
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center Dixon Field Station 800 Business Park Drive, Suite D Dixon CA 95620 USA.
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Casazza
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center Dixon Field Station 800 Business Park Drive, Suite D Dixon CA 95620 USA.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ricca
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center Dixon Field Station 800 Business Park Drive, Suite D Dixon CA 95620 USA.
authors.forename: Brianne E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Brussee
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology University of Maine Orono ME 04469-5775 USA.
authors.forename: Erik J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Blomberg
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center Dixon Field Station 800 Business Park Drive, Suite D Dixon CA 95620 USA.
authors.forename: K Benjamin
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Gustafson
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center Dixon Field Station 800 Business Park Drive, Suite D Dixon CA 95620 USA.
authors.forename: Cory T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Overton
authors.affiliation: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ecological Services 911 NE 11th Avenue Portland OR 97232 USA.
authors.forename: Dawn M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Nevada Sagebrush Ecosystem Program 201 South Roop Street Suite 101Carson City NV 89701 USA; Nevada Department of Wildlife 1100 Valley Road Reno NV 89512 USA.
authors.forename: Lara E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Niell
authors.affiliation: Nevada Department of Wildlife 1100 Valley Road Reno NV 89512 USA.
authors.forename: Shawn P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Espinosa
authors.affiliation: California Department of Fish and Wildlife 1416 9th Street 12th Floor Sacramento CA 95819 USA.
authors.forename: Scott C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences Idaho State University Pocatello ID 83209 USA.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Delehanty
keywords: Centrocercus urophasianus; Great Basin; abundance; conservation planning; habitat selection index; lek; map; resource selection function; sagebrush steppe; species distribution modelling