Editing Sharp-tailed grouse (section)

==Habitat selection==
The sharp-tailed grouse is found throughout different prairie ecosystems in North America. They inhabit ecosystems from the pine savannahs of the eastern upper Midwest to the short grass, mid grass, and shrub steppe prairies of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain West.<ref name="Johnsgard" /><ref name="Johnsgard-2" /><ref>Aldrich, J.W. 1963. Geographic orientation of American Tetraonidae. Journal of Wildlife Management 27: 529–545.</ref> Selection of specific habitat characteristics and vegetation communities is variable among the different subspecies of sharp-tailed grouse. Selection of these specific habitats depends on the quality of habitat available to grouse.<ref name="Goddard">Goddard, A. D.; R. D. Dawson; M.P. Gillingham. 2009. Habitat selection by nesting and brood-rearing sharp-tailedgrouse. Canadian Journal of Zoology, Apr2009, Vol. 87 Issue 4, p326-336, 10p, 6 charts, 2 graphs; {{doi|10.1139/Z09-016}}; (AN 37580857)</ref><ref name="Roersma">Roersma, S.J. 2001. Nesting and brood rearing ecology of plains sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus jamesi) in a mixed-grass/fescue ecoregion of Southern Alberta. M.Sc. thesis, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg.</ref><ref name="Swenson">Swenson, J. E. 1985. Seasonal habitat use by sharp- tailed grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus, on mixed-grass prairie in Montana. Can. Field-Nat. 99:40-46. YOCOM, C. F. 1952.</ref><ref name="Kohn">Kohn, S. C. 1976. Sharp-tailed grouse nesting and brooding habitat in southwestern North Dakota, North Dakota Game and Fish Department.</ref><ref name="Johnsgard-2" />
The major habitats used by sharp-tailed grouse, recorded in the literature, are savannah style prairie with grasses dominant and shrub patches mixed throughout, with minimal patches of trees.<ref name="Moyles">Moyles, DLJ. 1981. Seasonal and Daily Use of Plant Communities by Sharp-Tailed Grouse (Pedioecetes phasianellus ) in the Parklands of Alberta. Canadian Field-Naturalist. Ottawa ON Vol. 95, no. 3, pp.&nbsp;287–291.</ref><ref name="Hamerstrom Jr">Hamerstrom Jr, F. N. 1963.Sharptail Brood Habitats in Wisconsin’s Northern Pine Barrens. The Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 27, No. 4. 793–802.</ref><ref>Robel, R. J., R.F. Henderson, and W. Jackson. 1972. Some Sharp-Tailed Grouse PopulationStatistics from South Dakota. The Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Jan., 1972), pp.&nbsp;87–98.</ref><ref name="Goddard" /><ref name="Johnsgard" /> In fact, Hammerstrom (1963) states the taller the woody vegetation, the less of it there should be in the habitat. The savannah style habitat is mostly preferred during the summer and brood rearing months through autumn. This general habitat is used during all four seasons for different features. Habitat selection and usage vary by season with; lekking, nesting, brood rearing, and winter habitat selected and utilized differently.

===Lekking habitat===
The lek, or dancing ground is, usually made up of short, relatively flat native vegetation.<ref>Hanowski, JAM, D.P. Christian, and G.J. Niemi. 2000. Landscape requirements of prairie sharp- tailed grouse Tympanuchus phasianellus campestris in Minnesota, USA. Wildlife Biology Vol. 6, no. 4, pp.&nbsp;257–263.</ref><ref name="Manske">Manske, L. L.; W. T. Barker. 1987. Habitat Usage by prairie grouse on the Sheyenne National Grasslands. pp.&nbsp;8–20. In: A. J. Bjugstad, tech. coord. Prairie Chickens on the Sheyenne National Grasslands. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-159. Fort Collins, CO: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station.</ref> Other habitat types utilized for leks are cultivated lands, recent burns, mowed sites, grazed hill tops, and [[wet meadow]]s.<ref name="Ammann">Ammann, G.A. 1957. The prairie grouse of Michigan. Michigan Department of Conservation technical bulletin.</ref><ref>Kobriger, G. D. 1965. Status, Movements, Habitats, and Foods of Prairie Grouse on a Sandhills Refuge. The Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Oct., 1965), pp.&nbsp;788–800.</ref><ref name="Johnsgard-2" /><ref name="Johnsgard" /> Manske and Barker (1987) reported sun sedge (''[[Carex inops]]''), needle and thread grass (''[[Hesperostipa comata]]''), and blue grama (''[[Bouteloua gracilis]]'') on lekking grounds in the [[Sheyenne National Grassland]] in North Dakota.  The males also select for upland or midland habitat type on the tops of ridges or hills.<ref name="Manske" /> 
Leks surrounded by high residual vegetation were observed by Kirsch et al. (1973). They noticed lek distribution was influenced by the amount of tall residual vegetation adjacent to the lek. Lek sites eventually became abandoned if vegetation structure was allowed to get too high. The invasion of woody vegetation and trees into lekking arenas also caused displaying males to abandon leks.<ref name="Moyles" /><ref name="Swenson" /> Moyles (1981) observed an inverse relationship of lek attendance by males with an increase in quaking aspen (''[[Populus tremuloides]]'') within 0.8&nbsp;km of arenas in the Alberta parklands. Berger and Baydack (1992) also observed a similar trend in aspen encroachment where 50% (7 of 14) of leks were abandoned when aspen coverage increased to over 56 percent of the total area within 1&nbsp;km of the lek.  Males select hilltops, ridges, or any place with a good field of view for leks. So they can see the surrounding displaying males, approaching females to the dancing ground, and predators.<ref name="Johnsgard" /><ref name="Sisson" /><ref name="Manske" />

===Nesting habitat===
Nesting cover is one of the most important habitat types needed by sharp-tailed grouse hens. Nesting habitat varies widely among the different subspecies of sharp-tailed grouse.<ref name="Roersma" /> Hamerstrom Jr. (1939) found the majority of prairie sharp-tailed grouse (''T. p. campestris'') nests occupied dense brush and woods at marsh edges. Gieson and Connelly (1993) reported that Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (''T. p. columbianus'') selected for dense shrub stands with taller, denser shrubs located at the nest site. Plains sharp-tailed grouse (''T. p. jamesii'') selected nest sites with dense residual vegetation and a shrubby component.<ref name="Roersma" />  However, nest sites are usually characterized by dense tall residual vegetation (last year’s growth) with the presence of woody vegetation either at the nest site or nearby.<ref name="Manske" /><ref>Prose, B.L., B.S. Cade, and D. Hein. 2002. Selection of nesting habitat by sharp-tailed grouse in the Nebraska sandhills. Prairie Naturalist. 34(3/4):85-105.</ref> Goddard et al. (2009) state that the use of shrub dominated habitats has not been documented by many other researchers. Goddard et al. (2009) found that sharp-tailed grouse hens in Alberta, Canada selected more for shrub steppe habitats in their first nest attempts because of increased concealment provided by the shrubs than the residual grass earlier in the breeding season. Roersma (2001) also found that grouse in southern Alberta selected taller, woody vegetation compared to all other habitats assessed, and grouse used this area in greater proportions to available woody habitat. These findings contradict Prose et al. (2002), who states that residual vegetation is critical to sharp-tailed grouse nest success due to the early seasonal nesting nature of the grouse.

===Brood habitat===
Sharp-tailed grouse are a precocial species, meaning that they hatch with their eyes open, are self-reliant, and do not require the mother to feed them. Shortly after hatching, the chicks and mother leave the nest site in search of cover and food.  Brood rearing habitats of sharp-tailed grouse have many characteristics including: shrubby vegetation for concealment, short vegetation nearby for feeding, and high amounts of forbs present.<ref name="Hamerstrom Jr" /><ref name="Kohn" /><ref name="Manske" /><ref name="Roersma" /><ref name="Goddard" /> This could explain why sharp-tailed grouse nest in or close to shrub communities. The shrub component in brooding habitat provides good canopy protection from direct sunlight and avian predators.<ref name="Roersma" /><ref name="Goddard" />  Hamerstrom (1963) and Goddard et al. (2009) both observed the greatest number of sharp-tailed grouse broods present in open, rather than wooded landscapes. Both hypothesized this use of open landscape was due to an abundance of insects for the chicks and green herbaceous cover for the hen to feed on.
Habitat usage by sharp-tailed grouse broods is a function of time of day, available habitat, and weather.<ref name="Ammann" /><ref name="Kohn" /> Brood habitats are made up of many complex habitat types. Broods may utilize shrubby areas or oak grassland savannah type habitats.<ref name="Hamerstrom Jr" /> Broods utilize these types of habitats for cover, while remaining close to prime foraging habitats in the form of shorter vegetation with a mixture of native vegetation.

===Winter habitat===
Winter habitat usage by sharp-tailed grouse seems to shift toward denser cover for thermal insulation. Hammerstrom and Hammerstrom (1951) noticed that grouse use thicker edge type habitat more than the open ground during the winter in Michigan and Wisconsin. Hammerstrom and Hammerstrom (1951) also noted that birds, when found in open habitat, were no more than a few hundred meters from thicker cover. These birds were usually utilizing grain fields. Swenson (1985) observed the same trend in Montana. Hamerstrom and Hammerstrom (1951) declared that use of forested habitat by sharp-tailed grouse vary by location, noting that sharp-tailed grouse in more semi-arid and arid areas utilize brush less frequently in winter. However, Hammerstrom and Hammerstrom (1951) did report that sharp-tailed grouse in Washington and California were observed using edge type habitats more frequently during winter months. Manske and Barker (1987) noticed a similar trend in winter habitat usage in North Dakota, noting that sharp-tailed grouse in small flocks joined together to form larger packs in severe weather. These packs move from open prairie, to shelterbelts, and adjacent croplands with standing corn and sunflowers. Habitat usage in winter varies greatly as a function of snow depth (Swenson 1985). As snow depth increases, habitat selection shifts from cropland and prairie to shelterbelts and woody vegetation.  One habitat change seen by Hamerstrom and Hamerstrom (1951), was grouse would select large snow banks to burrow into, to keep warm during cold nights. The use of burrows was also noted by Gratson (1988).