Why did the chicken NOT cross the road? Anthropogenic development influences the movement of a grassland bird

Movement and selection are inherently linked behaviors that form the
foundation of a species space-use patterns. Anthropogenic development in
natural ecosystems can result in a variety of behavioral responses that
can involve changes in either movement (speed or direction of travel) or
selection (resources used) behaviors which in turn may cause differential
population level consequences including loss of landscape level
connectivity. Understanding how a species alters these different behaviors
in response to human activity is essential for effective conservation. In
this study, we investigated the effects of anthropogenic development such
as roads, power lines and oil wells on the greater prairie-chicken
(Typanuchus cupido) in the post-nesting and nonbreeding season. Our first
objective was to assess if greater prairie-chickens alter their movement
behaviors or their selection patterns when encountering oil wells, power
lines, or roads using integrated step selection analysis (iSSA). Our
second objective was to determine if prairie-chickens avoided crossing
linear features such as roads or power lines by comparing the number of
crossing events in greater prairie-chicken movement tracks to the number
of movements that crossed these features in simulated movement tracks.
Based on the iSSA analysis, we found that greater prairie-chickens avoided
oil wells, power lines, and roads in both seasons, but found little
evidence for changes in speed or direction of movement at the
population-level. However, at the individual level we observed individuals
using a number of strategies near development including avoidance and
increased rates of movements. Furthermore, prairie-chickens traveled
across roads and power lines at much lower rates than expected. Consistent
avoidance of development resulted in indirect habitat loss for greater
prairie-chickens. These behaviors also resulted in a potential loss of
landscape connectivity for this species. By considering both movement and
selection we were able to develop an ecological understanding of how
increasing human activity may influence the space-use of this species of
conservation concern. This research provides insight into the
decision-making process by animals when they encounter anthropogenic
development by considering multiple behavioral responses. --