CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: Spatial-Temporal Variation in Survival of Harvested Greater Sage-Grouse.

Adult survival is often the demographic parameter to which rate of population change is most sensitive, yet few estimates of survival exist for Greater Sage-Grouse (Certtrocercus urophasianus). We used relocations of radio-tagged sage grouse to estimate monthly survival throughout their range in Nevada. We also evaluated the relationship between hunter harvest in October and survival during October and November-December, and the relationships between late fall survival and landcover variables in sage grouse home ranges measured from Southwest Regional GAP landcover types. The best performing model of monthly survival allowed survival to vary among seven local sage grouse planning areas in Nevada. This model also allowed survival to differ between October, November-December, and other months and allowed for an additive negative effect of harvest during October. We found no evidence that landscape-level habitat variables in home ranges affected survival during fall. Annual survival varied from 0.16 ± 0.12 in the bistate area along the California-Nevada border to 0.72 ± 0.06 in the south-central area. Total harvest of sage grouse during October was negatively related to survival in October (β = -0.65 ± 0.17). Our study demonstrates the potential for substantial spatial variation in survival of sage grouse and the potential for effects of harvest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]