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1 January 2011 Occupancy Modeling of Ruffed Grouse in the Black Hills National Forest
Christopher P. Hansen, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Mark A. Rumble
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Abstract

Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) are a popular game bird and the management indicator species for quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in the Black Hills National Forest (BHNF), which requires development of a robust monitoring protocol to evaluate trends in ruffed grouse populations. We used roadside drumming surveys in spring 2007 and 2008 to estimate ruffed grouse occupancy and detection probabilities in the BHNF while simultaneously assessing the influence of sampling and site covariates on these processes. Ruffed grouse occupancy estimates were constant between spring 2007 and 2008 (ψ; = 0.12, SE = 0.03) and were positively influenced by the amount of aspen surrounding the site. Detection probability estimates were constant between spring 2007 and 2008 (p = 0.27, SE = 0.06) and were influenced by survey date in a quadratic form and negatively influenced by wind speed and time of the survey. Collectively, our results demonstrated that ruffed grouse occupancy and detection probabilities in the BHNF were low. Occupancy could be increased by increasing the extent of aspen. To improve monitoring efficiency and maximize probability of detecting ruffed grouse, ruffed grouse monitoring should be conducted during the peak of drumming (mid-May), during favorable weather conditions such as low wind speeds and little precipitation, and during early morning, near sunrise.

© 2011 The Wildlife Society.
Christopher P. Hansen, Joshua J. Millspaugh, and Mark A. Rumble "Occupancy Modeling of Ruffed Grouse in the Black Hills National Forest," Journal of Wildlife Management 75(1), 71-77, (1 January 2011). https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.21
Received: 22 December 2010; Accepted: 1 May 2010; Published: 1 January 2011
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KEYWORDS
Black Hills National Forest
Bonasa umbellus
detection probability
drumming surveys
occupancy modeling
ruffed grouse
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