Drumming, nesting, and brood habitats of ruffed grouse in an oak-hickory forest

We described drumming, nesting, and brood habitats selected by ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) in central Missouri oak (Quercus spp.)-hickory (Carya spp.) forest with no recent timber harvest. Habitat at drumming sites differed from that at randomly located non-drumming logs (P < 0.001). Drumming logs had higher coniferous and deciduous shrub stem densities, coniferous canopy closure, understory foliage density, total woody stem densities, and slope position than random logs. Deciduous tree density and deciduous canopy closure were lower at drumming logs. Habitat at brood locations differed from that at random sites (P < 0.001). Brood locations had higher percent ground cover, deciduous shrub stem density, and total woody stem densities; a lower number of coniferous trees; and a lower slope position. Habitat at nest sites was not different from that at randomly selected sites (P = 0.843). Drumming grouse and broods selected habitats with higher stem densities than the average available to them but lower than selected by grouse in other portions of their range. Significant differences existed among habitats found at drumming, nesting, brood, and random sites (P < 0.001). Drumming and brood habitat had the highest number of total woody stems/ ha. Drumming habitat had the highest number of coniferous shrub stems/ha and highest slope position. Brood sites had the lowest number of coniferous shrub stems/ha and the lowest slope position. Nest and random locations had the lowest number of total woody stems/ha and, on average, occurred mid-slope. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 51(3):568-575 There are few published studies of habitat use by ruffed grouse along the southern periphery of their range where aspen (Populus spp.) is not dominant. Ruffed grouse used areas of brushland or forest stands with a dense understory of shrubs for drumming sites in oak-hickory forests in Ohio (Stoll et al. 1979), Georgia (Hale et al. 1982), and Indiana (Backs 1984). In oak-hickory forests of Tennessee ruffed grouse used habitat similarly during fall and winter (White and Dimmick 1978). Habitat use by drumming males, nesting hens, and broods was described in Minnesota (Gullion 1977) and in New York (Bump et al. 1947). Stauffer and Peterson (1985) compared habitat use between drumming males and broods, and delineated seasonal use by all sex-age groups in Idaho. Those studies emphasized the importance of juxtaposition of several habitat types because ruffed grouse change patterns of habitat use throughout the year. No studies have compared drumming, nesting, and brood habitat in oak-hickory forests of the central United States. Such information should enhance forest management for ruffed grouse in this portion of their range and should enable us to evaluate suitable habitats for reintroductions. We investigated habitat characteristics of drumming sites, nesting sites, and brood locations in an unmanaged oak-hickory forest in central Missouri to characterize and differentiate between those aspects of breeding habitat. Habitat use described in this paper was obtained during a pretreatment (no timber harvest) study of a long-term project investigating the impact of clearcutting. Financial support for this study was provided by The Ruffed Grouse Soc. , the U.S. For. Serv. , an E. K. Love Fellowship, and the Mo. Dep. Conserv. This is a contribution of Mo. Agric. Exp. Stn. Proj. 189, J. Pap. 10056 and the Mo. Coop. Fish and Wildl. Res. Unit (U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv., Mo. Dep. Conserv., Univ. Missouri-Columbia, and Wildl. Manage. Inst., cooperating). We thank T. F. Glueck, K. J. Haroldson, B. W. Hunyadi, D. G. Kusmec, K. P. McDowell, and G. E. Schreckengast for assistance in various aspects of this study. G. W. Gullion, M. R. Ryan, and J. M. Sweeney provided constructive comments on the manu-