Love is in the air for Prairie-Chickens. Head out to their communal leks around sunrise, and you may spot flamboyant male Prairie-Chickens performing their “booming” displays to defend territory and attract females. While Lesser and Greater Prairie-Chickens look similar and both face steep conservation challenges, their ranges do not overlap.
The Lesser Prairie-Chicken has lost 90 percent of its historical range to agriculture and energy development and fewer than 30,000 individuals remain. Recent research examining the genetic health of Lesser Prairie-Chickens across eastern New Mexico and western Texas found that despite dramatic population swings driven by habitat loss and fragmentation, the species has so far maintained its genetic diversity, with no evidence of genetic bottlenecks. The authors cautioned, however, that continued habitat loss and isolation could quickly change this picture.
Greater Prairie-Chickens also are under threat from the loss of habitat and genetic diversity. Researchers investigated how conservation grazing practices affected their nesting in northwestern Minnesota, examining the relationship between cattle grazing, vegetation structure, and nest survival in tallgrass prairie.