ABSTRACTRESOURCE SELECTION AND VIABILITY OF SHARP-TAILED GROUSE IN THE UPPER PENINSULA OF MICHIGANByHeather M. PorterSharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) have experienced declines and range contractions across their distribution. Within Michigan, sharp-tailed grouse expanded during European settlement but subsequently experienced declines and fragmentation. While populations were widespread, these grouse became an important species for hunters and wildlife viewers within the state. Uncertainty about their habitat requirements and how management may influence populations makes current management difficult. I modeled sharp-tailed grouse resource selection and mapped their relative likelihood of occurrence across Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula. The best model, based on AICc, included the variables of openland, upland forestland, lowland forestland, and upland shrubland. Sharp-tailed grouse selected sections with higher proportions of openland and shrubland and lower proportions of forest and forested wetlands. The relative likelihood of occurrence of sharp-tailed grouse was highest in the eastern and central Upper Peninsula. I also created a spatially explicit metapopulation model and used the model to predict population response to alternative harvest and habitat management options. Scenarios using estimates of current harvest rates did not significantly impact extinction risk and simulations of range-wide harvest indicated lower metapopulation viability than when harvest was localized. Simulations of habitat improvement indicate greater increases in grouse viability when modeled in one large patch versus the addition of small scattered patches. My results suggest that harvest regulations should be implemented locally and not exceed a 25% harvest rate and habitat management scenarios should be ranked by area of contiguous habitat.
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