Seasonal Survival and Treatment Use of Northern Bobwhites in Kansas

• Published in: Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science Vol. 117; no. 1-2; pp. 1 - 14
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kansas Academy of Science 01.04.2014
• Subjects: Kansas
• ISSN: 0022-8443; 1938-5420
• DOI: 10.1660/062.117.0102

Habitat management for Northern Bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) has been suggested by researchers and managers to improve conditions for the species. The Fort Riley Conservation staff radio collared 154 bobwhites during the winters of 2010 and 2011 on the Fort Riley Military Reservation to investigate seasonal space use and survival around strip disking, woody manipulation, combination of strip disking and woody manipulation, and control treatment types. Bobwhite winter home ranges overlapped significantly higher amounts of area that had received habitat manipulations versus control treatment types. Bobwhite summer home ranges overlapped significantly more area that had received combination treatment versus other treatment types. Bobwhite winter survival increased when closer to strip disking and summer survival decreased when closer to edge feathering. Bobwhite survival probability in the winter was higher for males than females but there was no difference in survival during the spring and summer. Habitat manipulations at Fort Riley appear to have influenced bobwhite survival.