Nest site selection and nest survival of Greater Prairie-Chickens near a wind energy facility

摘要

ABSTRACT Rapid development of wind energy facilities in the Great Plains of North America has raised concerns regarding their potential negative impact on the nesting ecology of Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus). We investigated the effects of a pre-existing, 36-turbine wind energy facility on nest site selection and nest survival of Greater Prairie-Chickens in the unfragmented grasslands of the Nebraska Sandhills, USA. In 2013 and 2014, we monitored 91 nests along a 24-km disturbance gradient leading away from the wind energy facility. We found little evidence of an effect of the wind energy facility on Greater Prairie-Chicken nest site selection and nest survival. Instead, we found that the primary drivers of nest site selection and nest survival were related to landscape and habitat factors. Greater Prairie-Chickens avoided nesting near roads, with 74% of Greater Prairie-Chickens selecting nest sites 700 m from roads. Greater Prairie-Chickens selected nest sites with more than twi...