‘‘Silver Sagebrush Community Associations in Southeastern Alberta, Canada’’: A Response

Abstract

Habitat, or resource selection, studies are a keystone discipline in wildlife conservation and management. Historically, resource selection studies were completed at a single scale, usually the site level, because of a lack of landscape-level data. With the advent of faster computers and geographical information systems, analysis at more than one scale is possible and desirable (Manly et al. 2002). For greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus ) in Alberta, Canada,the analysis of resource selection has been completed at the site scale (Aldridge 2000; Aldridge and Brigham 2002). A lack of spatial data, characterizing ecological sites or habitat types, impeded the analysis of resource selection by sage grouse at the landscape level.