Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2000
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
Department
Wildlife and Fisheries Resources
Committee Chair
John W. Edwards.
Abstract
I examined productivity, chick mortality, and factors influencing ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) chick survival in West Virginia during 1998--1999. The proportion of hens that attempted to nest, hen success, average clutch size, and hatch dates were similar between age classes, between sites, and between years. Hatch dates were similar between age classes and between sites. Depredation was the major cause of nest failure. I examined 2 types of radio transmitter attachment methods (glue-on and collar type) to determine mortality and survival in ≤3-day-old grouse chicks. Glue-on transmitters performed poorly, whereas collar types had excellent retention time. Chick survival was low (<30%) within the first 5 weeks post-hatch for both years. Most mortality was attributed to avian and mammalian predation. I examined arthropod abundance, biomass, and family richness, and concluded that these measures were not limiting in ruffed grouse chick survival.
Recommended Citation
Dobony, Christopher A., "Factors influencing ruffed grouse productivity and chick survival in West Virginia" (2000). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 1106.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/1106