Sensitivity of multiple vital rates for ruffed grouse in the upper Great Lakes region

Effective management of wildlife requires a full understanding of population dynamics and knowledge of potential drivers that influence population growth.  The Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is a popular upland game bird widely distributed across the northern United States and Canada that has experienced population declines within portions of its range in response to forest maturation and habitat loss.  Although the species has been extensively studied, few efforts have been made to synthesize demographic data into a sensitivity analysis to guide management actions.  We reviewed the literature and compiled Ruffed Grouse vital rates from 14 field studies conducted across four decades (1982−2018) within the Upper Great Lakes region of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, USA.  We parameterized a deterministic matrix model to evaluate population dynamics and conducted sensitivity analyses to identify vital rates projected to have the greatest influence on the finite rate of population chan...

野生动物的有效管理，需要全面掌握种群动态，以及明晰影响种群增长的潜在驱动因素。披肩榛鸡（Bonasa umbellus）是一种广受欢迎的高地猎禽，广泛分布于美国北部与加拿大境内；其分布区内的部分种群因森林成熟化与栖息地丧失，正经历种群数量下降。尽管该物种已被广泛研究，但鲜有研究尝试整合其种群统计数据开展敏感性分析，以辅助管理决策制定。本研究通过文献综述，整合了美国密歇根州、明尼苏达州与威斯康星州大湖上游地区14项野外研究（1982年至2018年，跨度四十年）中的披肩榛鸡生命率数据。本研究构建了确定性矩阵模型以评估种群动态，并开展敏感性分析，以识别对种群有限增长率影响最大的生命率...