Nest site selection and nest survival of Greater Prairie-Chickens near a wind energy facility

[摘要] ABSTRACT Rapid development of wind energy facilities in the Great Plains of North America has raised concerns regarding their potential negative impact on the nesting ecology of Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus). We investigated the effects of a pre-existing, 36-turbine wind energy facility on nest site selection and nest survival of Greater Prairie-Chickens in the unfragmented grasslands of the Nebraska Sandhills, USA. In 2013 and 2014, we monitored 91 nests along a 24-km disturbance gradient leading away from the wind energy facility. We found little evidence of an effect of the wind energy facility on Greater Prairie-Chicken nest site selection and nest survival. Instead, we found that the primary drivers of nest site selection and nest survival were related to landscape and habitat factors. Greater Prairie-Chickens avoided nesting near roads, with 74% of Greater Prairie-Chickens selecting nest sites >700 m from roads. Greater Prairie-Chickens selected nest sites with more than twi...

[学科分类] 动物科学

[关键词] grouse;habitat selection;Nebraska;nesting ecology;Sandhills;Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus;wind farm;wind turbine