Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Colorado
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Problem statement: Data associated with individual tracking of avian wildlife species are often collected using handheld telemetry equipment, but the measurement errors associated with such data are not often accommodated in statistical analyses, nor are the movements of individuals formally coupled with demography. So What? Why this research matters: The ability to formally make inferences about important species such as the Gunnison sage-grouse is critical for understanding the variation in space use associated with the demography of these populations. Collaboration/Partners: This project is in collaboration with scientists at Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Research That Informs Decisions: Formal statistical models that account for the various sources of uncertainty in tracking data while inferring the underlying individual-level movement can be coupled with demographic information to better understand the population so that effective management strategies can be developed.