DOI: 10.5061/dryad.tx95x6b4v
title: Data from: Upland Sandpipers select for later time since fire and experience high nest survival in grasslands managed with patch-burn grazing

description: Upland Sandpipers (Bartramia longicauda) are a grassland obligate
 shorebird that nests in dense vegetation structure near recently disturbed
 areas and could benefit from management practices that promote
 heterogenous vegetation structure. Although, Upland Sandpipers primary
 breeding range is generally managed for livestock production using
 traditional practices that lack patchy disturbances to facilitate higher
 levels of structural heterogeneity. Patch-burn grazing (PBG) could be an
 alternative management practice for Upland Sandpiper conservation for its
 ability to create areas of dense vegetation structure near recently
 disturbed areas. However, limited information is available regarding nest
 production of Upland Sandpipers within a PBG framework. To assess the
 compatibility of PBG with Upland Sandpiper conservation, we estimated nest
 site selection and survival of Upland Sandpiper nests on private lands
 managed with PBG in the unglaciated plains region of North Dakota. We
 located 59 nests from 2017–2020. Upland Sandpipers avoided 1 year since
 fire (YSF) patches and selected for 2 and 3 YSF patches for nest sites.
 Additionally, nest site selection decreased with increased bare ground and
 at intermediate distances to the nearest Upland Sandpiper nest. Upland
 Sandpipers experienced high overall nest survival during the study with 51
 of 59 nests successfully hatching, which limited our ability to make
 inferences between daily survival rates and variables of interest. Our
 findings suggest that PBG can provide suitable nesting cover for Upland
 Sandpipers in later YSF patches despite annual prescribed fire and
 livestock grazing during the nesting season. PBG seems a suitable
 grassland management strategy that should be included in conservation
 planning within Upland Sandpiper’s breeding distribution.
description: # Upland Sandpipers select for later time since fire and experience high
 nest survival in grasslands managed with patch-burn grazing Authors:
 Alexander C Rischette, Benjamin A Geaumont, Cameron A Duquette, Torre J
 Hovick Corresponding author: Alexander C Rischette
 () Note: Contact Alexander C
 Rischette for questions about the analysis
 Data files include:
 UPSA_DSR.csv = Daily survival data for nest survival analysis
 UPSA_PastureRSF.csv = Pasture group data for nest site selection analysis
 UPSA_VegRSF.csv = Vegetation group data for nest site selection analysis
 UPSASelectionRatio.csv = Selection ratio data for nest site selection
 analysis Note: Vegetation data was not able to be collected for certain
 nests in UPSA_DSR.csv and UPSA_VegRSF.csv and is represented as either
 blank cells or with NA. ## Description of the data and file structure Nest
 survival analysis (UPSA_DSR.csv) Variable definitions by model groups
 Generic variables of importance: nest id = individual nest identifier
 expos = calculated exposure period in days survive = (1 = nest still
 active or successful during exposure period; 0 = suspected nest
 depredation during exposure period) Time-related variables: year = study
 year date = date of nest check Vegetation variables: VOR = vegetation
 obstruction (dm) Lt = percent litter (%) BG = percent bare ground (%)
 Pasture variables: ysf = patch years since fire Note: all distance data
 can be extracted from UPSA_PastureRSF.csv Nest site selection analysis
 Selection ratio (UPSASelectionRatio.csv) Variable definitions: year =
 study year ysf = patch year since fire Generalized linear mixed effect
 regression (UPSA_VegRSF.csv, UPSA_VegRSF.csv) Variable definitions by
 model groups Vegetation variables: nest id = individual nest identifier
 use = used and random location year = study year VOR = vegetation
 obstruction (dm) Lt = percent litter (%) BG = percent bare ground (%)
 Pasture variables: nest id = individual nest identifier use = used and
 random location near nest = distance to nearest neighboring UPSA nest (m)
 fence = distance to nearest fence (m) edge = distance to nearest habitat
 edge (m) wetland = distance to nearest wetland (m)