Date of Award
2013
Publisher
North Dakota State University
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Awarded
Master of Science (MS)
Program
Natural Resources Management
Department
Natural Resources Management
College
Agriculture, Food Systems and Natural Resources
Faculty Advisor
Geaumont, Benjamin A.
Description
Radio telemetry was used to monitor a population of male and female ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus; hereafter pheasant) in southwestern North Dakota to examine pheasant habitat selection. Study objectives were to: 1) determine preferred pheasant winter cover habitat; 2) develop management recommendations to increase pheasant abundance; 3) identify habitat use, survival, and dispersion differences between male and female pheasants; and 4) compare nest-searching techniques to determine most efficient research technique for finding pheasant nests. We captured 191 pheasants, assessed weekly survival using known-fate models in Program MARK and determined home ranges and habitat selection and preference using ArcGIS. We assessed three common methods of nest searching: intense ground searching, chain dragging, and telemetry. Averaging >2000 hectares, our home ranges estimates. Pheasant showed selection toward farmsteads with livestock, large wetlands, and CRP-type grasslands. Pheasant survival estimates for the winters of 2011 and 2012 were 91 and 84 percent, respectively.
Recommended Citation
Stackhouse, Jeffery Wilson, "Ring-Necked Pheasant: Evaluation of Winter Survival, Habitat Use, and Current Research Methods of Nest Searching" (2013). Natural Resources Management. 26.
https://digitalcommons.ndsu.edu/nrm/26
Rights
NDSU policy 190.6.2
Rights Link
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf
Handle Identifier
https://hdl.handle.net/10365/26643