EFFECTS OF LANDSCAPE AND WEATHER ON WINTER SURVIVAL OF RING-NECKED PHEASANT HENS

We studied populations of ring-necked pheasant hens (Phasianus colchic us) on a diverse landscape in Pale Alto County, Iowa and on an intensi vely farmed area in Kossuth County, Iowa to examine the hypothesis tha t differences in habitat composition influence winter survival. We cap tured hen pheasants by nightlighting or bait trapping on each site and relocated them with telemetry from December through March, 1989-94. W e determined home range area, habitat use, and movements during the da y. We estimated survival using Kaplan-Meier statistics and related sur vival to habitat and weather covariates using parametric models. In bo th landscapes, home ranges were located in areas with more grass habit at than the surrounding landscape (P < 0.05). Home range area averaged 76 ha and daily movements averaged 251 m at Palo Alto, whereas these variables were 96 ha and 270 m at Kossuth. Survival from 27 November t o 1 April ranged from 0.23 in 1993 on Kossuth to 0.96 in 1990 on Palo Alto but the average difference in survival between sites among years was not different from zero (P = 0.77). Parametric hazards models indi cated that measures of weather and temperature were predictive of mort ality, but that small scale habitat use and daily movements were not. Winters with extensive snow cover and fold temperatures periodically r educe survival even where the distribution of small blocks of cover su ch as idle grass, woody cover, and wetlands is considered adequate by managers.