Vol. II, No. 12 
Page 3 
rushes ( Juncus spp.), and beggar-ticks ( Bidens spp.). These plants represent the 
early serai stages of plant communities in this general area. The abundance of these 
plants varied according to site location and soil fertility. Within this group of 
plants are annuals and perennials, and, with the exception of Korean lespedeza, all 
are native to the area. Korean lespedeza and common ragweed are important quail 
foods. 
The amount of bare ground in this early serai stage (6 to 18 months after burn¬ 
ing or sharecropping) ranged from 15 to 36 percent. The amount of bare ground tended 
to decrease as the age of the plant community increased. Thus, the life-forms of 
these plants created a situation that tended to be open underneath, with some canopy 
cover. In these early serai stages, quail could move freely, have a limited amount 
of protective cover, and find food. 
5. Responses of Pra i r ie Ch ickens to Habitat Manipulation R. L. Westemeier 
At Bogota during the 6-year period of 1963-68, distances between 84 prairie 
chicken nests and the estimated centers of the nearest booming grounds have ranged 
from 117 to 1,700 yards, with a median distance of 360 yards. Seventy-four percent 
of the 84 nests were within 175 yards of this median distance; thus, most nesting 
occurred within zones about 350 yards wide, encircling booming grounds. It also 
appears that hens prefer to nest at least 120 yards from booming grounds. 
The Zimmerman booming ground in 1 968 presented the only instance during the 
6-year period where nesting cover completely encircled a booming ground. Although 
prairie chicken hens could have nested up to 660 yards from the estimated center of 
the Zimmerman booming ground, six nests were found at distances ranging from 210 
yards to 254 yards; a seventh nest was 323 yards from the booming ground. On this 
basis the preferred zone for nesting may be in closer proximity to booming grounds than 
is indicated by the pooled data for all 6 years. 
Two management implications are suggested by these data: (1) the "no nest space" 
with a radius of about 120 yards from booming ground centers indicates that suitable 
sites for booming should be at least 10 acres in size; and (2) although prairie 
chickens will shift booming locations from year to year, cover should be established 
at distances ranging from 200 to 500 yards of traditional booming grounds to best 
meet nesting requirements. Provision of suitable booming sites (by burning, mowing, 
or soil tillage) is desirable on management tracts of over 40 acres. 
6. Rabb it Management K. P. Thomas 
Bailey (1967- MWRL 10(7)- 3) reported that the conditi on index 
for 499 cottontails collected on the Allerton Park 4-H Area or on t 
Illinois farms near Urbana, Illinois, was 5-48. A condition index higher than 5-48 
indicated that the rabbits were heavier than average in respect to their total length. 
The weights and lengths of 187 rabbits taken during trapping and night1ighting 
operations on the sharecrop-burn management zone on the Forbes Area in 1 968 between 
late September and early November were used to compute a condition index. 
The condition index for the rabbits collected on Zone I was 6.16; thus, these 
rabbits were apparently in good physical condition. 
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