Table 1.
The number of birds counted on a lek (mean ± SD) per observation, the maximum number of birds seen on a lek, the number of cow days/ha (cow days), percent utilization (% Util), annual precipitation (cm) average annual modified Palmer drought index (Avg PMDI), minimum PMDI (min PMDI), annual maximum temperature (°C; max temp), and the number of hot days (days above the 90th percentile) in pastures containing 49 lesser prairie‐chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) leks in Milnesand Prairie Preserve, New Mexico, 2004–2015. Blank spaces indicate missing data. Mean ± SD are reported when values differed by pasture
| Covariate | Predrought | Postdrought | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
| Avg birds | 8 ± 9 | 11 ± 9 | 15 ± 13 | 8 ± 8 | 9 ± 12 | 5 ± 7 | 3 ± 3 | 6 ± 10 | 3 ± 5 | 2 ± 4 | 1 ± 2 | 1 ± 2 |
| Max birds | 35 | 36 | 67 | 44 | 65 | 28 | 10 | 51 | 14 | 21 | 5 | 9 |
| Cow days | 2.0 ± 0.8 | 1.0 ± 0.5 | 1.2 ± 0.5 | 0.9 ± 0.6 | 1.4 ± 0.9 | 1.0 ± 0.7 | 0.4 ± 0.3 | 0.2 ± 0.1 | 0.2 ± 0.2 | 0.3 ± 0.2 | ||
| % Util | 61 ± 24 | 50 ± 27 | 46 ± 18 | 52 ± 27 | 59 ± 23 | |||||||
| Precipitation | 69.55 | 33.7 | 47.78 | 45.57 | 31.88 | 43.1 | 43.36 | 20.47 | 21.11 | 46.46 | 31.678 | 66.09 |
| Avg PMDI | 0.53 | 3.36 | −1.55 | 0.09 | −1.36 | −2.22 | 0.85 | −3.74 | −4.56 | −3.25 | −2.62 | 2.72 |
| Min PMDI | −3.85 | −0.06 | −3.92 | −2.59 | −3.31 | −3.55 | −1.09 | −6.18 | −5.86 | −5.01 | −3.4 | −0.09 |
| Max temp | 38.33 | 38.89 | 39.44 | 40.56 | 40.00 | 39.44 | 39.44 | 42.78 | 41.11 | 40.00 | 41.11 | 40.56 |
| Hot days | 27 | 22 | 41 | 12 | 30 | 37 | 36 | 84 | 59 | 35 | 27 | 44 |