Ecology of Prince of Wales spruce grouse

Abstract

Recently, spruce grouse on Prince of Wales Island (POW) in southeast Alaska have been proposed as a separate subspecies. Furthermore, life-history of spruce grouse on POW, which is temperate coastal rainforest, varies sufficiently from birds in mainland areas, mostly boreal forest, to warrant specific management. Therefore, I examined the ecology of spruce grouse on POW to determine how timber harvest influences their survival and habitat selection and ultimately to provide recommendations for their conservation. During 2007-2009, we found that the greatest variation in survival probability was attributed to breeding status. The annual survival of non-breeding birds was 0.72±0.082 (S±) while for breeding birds it was 0.08±0.099. Logging did not adequately predict survival, with no differences among habitats. Conversely, I found differences in selection among habitats. At the watershed scale, spruce grouse preferred unharvested forest. At both watershed and homerange scales, spruce grouse avoided edges and preferred roads. Road-related mortality was the largest known source of death. POW spruce grouse and mainland subspecies exhibit sufficiently different survival rates and habitat preference to warrant specific management. We recommend limited road closures during periods when POW spruce grouse are most vulnerable due to the high rates of mortality associated with this preferred habitat.