Invasion of annual grasses following wildfire corresponds to maladaptive habitat selection by a sagebrush ecosystem indicator species

• DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02147
• Publication Date: 2022-05-05T17:46:29Z
• Authors: Brianne E. Brussee; Peter S. Coates; Shawn T. O’Neil; Michael L. Casazza; Shawn P. Espinosa; John D. Boone; Elisabeth M. Ammon; Scott C. Gardner; David J. Delehanty
• Keywords: Shrubland; Vital rates

Numerous wildlife species within semi-arid shrubland ecosystems across western North America are experiencing substantial habitat loss and fragmentation. These changes in often attributed to a diverse suite of factors including prolonged increasingly severe droughts, conifer expansion, anthropogenic development, domestic feral livestock grazing, invasion exotic annual grasses, which promotes increased wildfire frequency severity. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse) considered an indicator sagebrush ecosystem health have experienced widespread population decline associated with degradation, as well predator communities. Our objectives were model map selection survival during the important brood-rearing life stage relation landscape-scale environmental predictors. Furthermore, we sought understand impacts grass on brood habitat, these accelerated disturbance regimes primary cause Great Basin region USA. We used hierarchical Bayesian modeling framework estimate resource functions for early late stages broad characteristics evaluated at multiple spatial scales from 2009 2019. Sage-grouse selected greater perennial cover, higher relative elevations, areas closer springs wet meadows both brood-rearing. Terrain characteristics, heat load aspect, models, was variation shrub height. also found strong evidence broods previously burned areas, but decreased cover (i.e. cheatgrass, Bromus tectorum) increased. This interaction effect demonstrates how grasses into has become prevalent ecosystems, can lead maladaptive by sage-grouse. Understanding complex relationships aids conservation management cycles continue accelerate ecosystems.