The distribution and range of lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) has been reduced by >90% since European settlement of the Great Plains of North America. Currently, lesser prairie-chickens occupy 3 general vegetation communities: sand sagebrush (Artemisia filifolia), sand shinnery oak (Quercus havardii), and mixed-grass prairies juxtaposed with Conservation Reserve Program grasslands. As a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act, there is a need for a synthesis that characterizes habitat structure rangewide. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis of vegetation characteristics at nest sites and brood habitats to determine whether there was an overall effect (Hedges' d) of habitat selection and to estimate average (95% CI) habitat characteristics at use sites. We estimated effect sizes (d[subscript]i) from the difference between use (nests and brood sites) and random sampling sites for each study (n = 14), and derived an overall effect size (d₊₊). There was a general effect for habitat selection as evidenced by low levels of variation in effect sizes across studies and regions. There was a small to medium effect (d₊₊ = 0.20–0.82) of selection for greater vertical structure (visual obstruction) by nesting females in both vegetation communities, and selection against bare ground (d₊₊ = 0.20–0.58). Females with broods exhibited less selectivity for habitat components except for vertical structure. The variation of d₊₊ was greater during nesting than brooding periods, signifying a seasonal shift in habitat use, and perhaps a greater range of tolerance for brood-rearing habitat. The overall estimates of vegetation cover were consistent with those provided in management guidelines for the species.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article is copyrighted by the Wildlife Society and published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. It can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%291938-5463aThis article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.Keywords: effect size, Tympanuchus pallidicinctus, Quercus havardii, sand shinnery oak, breeding habitat, sand sagebrush, lesser prairie-chicken, Conservation Reserve Program, Hedges' d, Artemisia filifoli
