5. Responses of Prairie Chickens to Habitat Manipulation 
Vo I. 8, No. 9 
Page 4 
R. J. Ellis 
A study of prairie chicken nests on the Bogota Study Area was conducted 
(1963-65) to gather information on the characteristics of preferred nest sites 
Information was gathered on 13 nests established in 1965- 
Eight of 11 nests were made of dead grass; the remaining three nests were 
constructed of mixtures of dead grass and legumes. Eleven of I 3 nests were on 
sites dominated by grasses and two were on sites dominated by legumes. 
Nine of 13 nests were located on the highest third of the study area, the 
remaining four on the third comprising the middle elevation. Nine of 13 nests 
were on sites with 1 percent or less slope. Only one nest was on a slope as steep 
as 2 percent. 
The coverage index of ten nests examined averaged .93 (93 percent of the 
ground was shaded at noon) and the range of coverage indices was 0.70 - i.00. 
These data suggest that prairie chickens at Bogota prefer dense growths of 
grass and the higher elevations for nesting sites. 
6. Rabbit Management J. A. Bailey, R. J. Siglin 
Hunter-success cards have been collected on the Sam Dale State Park in Wayne 
County and the Stephen A. Forbes State Park in Marion County during the past two 
4) hunting seasons (1963-64 and 1964-65)- The success of hunters who visited these 
two areas specifically to hunt cottontail rabbits is presented in Table 3- (Data 
concerning hunters who visited the areas to hunt quail only, or both rabbits and 
quail, are not presented.) 
Both areas realized an increase in rabbit-hunting pressure during the 1964-65 
season. The recorded numbers of hunter-trips and of hunter-hours in 1964-65 were 
more than twice those recorded in 1963-64. The number of rabbits harvested on 
the Forbes Area increased proportionately as hunter success remained about the 
same as in 1963-64. However, hunter success declined markedly on the Dale Area 
in 1964-65- 
Eye lenses were collected from samples of the harvested rabbits. The age- 
distributions of these samples are presented in Table 4. Due to the small sample 
sizes, there are no significant differences among the ratios of juveniles to 
adults -- neither between areas nor between years. None of these age ratios 
differ significantly from what is considered normal for cottontails in the Midwest. 
In both years, the average date of birth for juvenile rabbits collected on 
the Dale Area was about 3 weeks earlier than that of juvenile rabbits collected 
on the Forbes Area. These results suggest that there may be significant differences 
between the life-equations of these two populations. It is unlikely that such 
differences would be caused by differences in climate, since the Dale and Forbes 
areas are only 17 miles apart. It is therefore probable that important habitat 
differences which affect seasonal rates of mortality and reproduction exist 
£ between the Dale and Forbes areas. 
