Summer and Fall Diet Choices
of the Gunnison Sage GrouseSummer and Fall Diet Choices
of the Gunnison Sage GrouseGunnison Sage Grouse (Centrocercus minimus) in the Gunnison Basin, Colorado require diverse habitats throughout the year implying that they change diets with the change in habitat. Since this species has been identified, no specifics of their eating habits have been accurately documented. I propose to test the differences in male and female food selection and whether or not invertebrate density increases with forb density. Furthermore, I will gather data on when the sage grouse switch from their summer to winter diet, and which subspecies of sagebrush is their predominate food supply. It is important to understand the eating habits of the sage grouse to improve existing sagebrush communities to increase population sizes of Gunnison Sage Grouse and to restore ecosystem health. The information gained in this base-line study will be directly used by public land management agencies for further investigation of the Gunnison Sage Grouse habits.
One of the favorite summer forbs for Gunnison Sage-Grouse appeared to be Fringe Sagebrush.
Different subspecies of sagebrush respond to blacklight by fluorescing different colors.