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The sagebrush steppe is generally comprised of treeless, shrub-dominated communities along the eastern and northeastern boundary of California. This chapter discusses the characteristics, climate, and topography of the sagebrush steppe, focusing on the potential plant communities that comprise the natural vegetation of the Artemisia steppe of California. These communities are identified by dominant shrub and herbaceous species. The chapter also provides examples of several plant communities that currently characterize much of the Artemisia steppe of California.

This chapter tries to keep to the spirit of the Oxford Epigraphical Seminar, in making sets of observations on texts, and proposing corrections. The texts are the following: I. Kaunos 46 (not a dedication by Maussollos, but a statue of Artemisia); I. Knidos 164–5 (not an ‘altar dedication’, but a private honorific); Inschr. Milet 244 (not a dedication by Ptolemy I, but a statue of Ptolemy I set up by two officials). The section of the chapter on history of the honorific statue in the fourth century bc argues that the honorific statue was never a purely civic form: its origins lie in the conciliation of powerful victors; political work was necessary to accommodate it within political discourse in early fourth-century Greece. A further section on the ‘private honorific statue’ between royal and civic offers here a series of observations on this often neglected genre: its history and diffusion, and its diverse nature (aristocratic, elitist, royal, and civic).

This chapter examines the ecology of West Nile virus in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems of western North America, as well as its influence on Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) mortality and survival. Using demographic models, it also discusses potential impacts on population growth and recommends strategies for managing and monitoring such impacts. West Nile virus can simultaneously reduce juvenile, yearling, and adult survival — three vital rates important for population growth in this species — and persistent low-level West Nile virus mortality and severe outbreaks may lead to local and regional population declines. West Nile virus mortality in simulations was projected to reduce population growth. However, marked spatial and annual fluctuations in nest success, chick survival, and other sources of adult mortality are likely to mask population-level impacts in most years. Eliminating mosquito breeding habitat from anthropogenic water sources is crucial for reducing impacts. Better data are needed on geographic and temporal variation in infection rates, mortality, and seroprevalence range-wide.

The distribution of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) within the Sage-Grouse Conservation Area (SGCA), the historical distribution of Greater Sage-Grouse buffered by fifty kilometers, stretches from British Columbia and Saskatchewan in the north, to northern Arizona and New Mexico in the south, and from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains to western South Dakota. The dominant sagebrush (sub)species as well as the composition and proportion of shrubs, grasses, and forbs varies across different ecological sites as a function of precipitation, temperature, soils, topographic position, elevation, and disturbance history. Invasive plant species, wildfires, and weather and climate change are major influences on sagebrush habitats and present significant challenges to their long-term conservation. A large proportion of existing sagebrush communities are at moderate to high risk of invasion by cheatgrass. Juniper and pinyon woodlands have expanded into sagebrush habitats at higher elevations creating an elevational squeeze on the sagebrush ecosystem from both extremes.

Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems are under threat from a variety of land uses, disturbance, and invasive species, and are also thought by some to have been affected by fire exclusion and require burning as a part of restoration. To better understand the historical range of variation (HRV) of fire in sagebrush ecosystems and whether sagebrush fire regimes today have too much or too little fire, a study was conducted to estimate fire rotation (expected time to burn the area of a landscape) in sagebrush ecosystems under the HRV. Landscape dynamics under the HRV were likely dominated in all sagebrush areas by infrequent episodes of large, high-severity fires followed by long interludes with smaller, patchier fires, allowing mature sagebrush to dominate for extended periods. Fire rotation, estimated from recent fire records, suggests that fire exclusion had little effect on fire in sagebrush ecosystems. Instead, cheatgrass, human-set fires, and global warming may have led to too much fire relative to the HRV in four floristic provinces within the range of sagebrush in the western United States.

Land use in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) landscapes influences all sage-grouse (Centrocercus spp.) populations in western North America. Croplands and the network of irrigation canals cover 230,000 square kilometers and indirectly influence up to 77% of the Sage-Grouse Conservation Area and 73% of sagebrush land cover by subsidizing synanthropic predators on sage-grouse. Urbanization and the demands of human population growth have created an extensive network of connecting infrastructure that is expanding its influence on sagebrush landscapes. Management of lands grazed by livestock has influenced sagebrush ecosystems by vegetation treatments to increase forage and reduce sagebrush and other plant species unpalatable to livestock. Land use will continue to be a dominant stressor on sagebrush systems; its individual and cumulative effects will challenge long-term conservation of sage-grouse populations.

Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems in the western United States have changed in quantity and configuration from a variety of causes including agriculture and human population growth since Euro-American settlement. Activities sustaining human society can decrease or fragment land cover and alter ecological processes within sagebrush ecosystems. The extent of these activities, cumulatively called the human footprint, within the range of sage-grouse has not been evaluated. Using a recent human-footprint model of the western United States, a study was undertaken to evaluate human-footprint intensity: across the sage-grouse range within seven Sage-Grouse Management Zones (SMZs), across five sagebrush land-cover classes and a non-sagebrush land-cover class within SMZ, and on landscape pattern of sagebrush land cover in relation to three scenarios differing in human-footprint effect area. A landscape-pattern analysis, using a lacunarity index, or measure of sagebrush patchiness, revealed sagebrush landscapes to be multiscaled. These results support growing evidence that sage-grouse respond to environmental factors at larger scales than those currently applied in management.

Free-roaming equids (horses [Equus caballus] and burros [E. asinus]) in the United States were introduced to North America at the end of the fifteenth century, and have unique management status among ungulates. Past research has elaborated that free-roaming horses can exert notable direct influences in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) communities on structure and composition of vegetation and soils, as well as indirect influences on numerous animal groups whose abundance collectively may indicate the ecological integrity of such communities. Alterations to vegetation attributes and invertebrates can most directly affect fitness of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and other sagebrush-obligate species; alterations of soils and other ecosystem properties may also indirectly affect these species. Many wildlife species have been negatively affected by changes to sagebrush ecosystems. For example, many sagebrush-obligate birds have experienced population declines and range contractions over the past forty years.

Spatial patterns influence the processes that maintain Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations and sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) landscapes on which they depend. Connectivity analyses were carried out to delineate the dominant pattern of sagebrush landscapes; identify regions of the current range-wide distribution of greater sage-grouse important for conservation; estimate distance thresholds that potentially isolate populations; and understand how landscape pattern, environmental disturbance, or location within the spatial network influenced lek persistence during a population decline. The most important leks (breeding locations) for maintaining connectivity, characterized by higher counts of sage-grouse and connections with other leks, were within the core regions of the sagegrouse range. Sage-grouse populations presently have the highest levels of connectivity in the Wyoming Basin and lowest in the Columbia Basin Sage-Grouse Management Zones (SMZs). Connectivity among sage-grouse populations was lost during population declines from 1965–1979 to 1998-2007, most dramatically in the Columbia Basin SMZ. Leks that persisted during this period were larger in size, were more highly connected, and had lower levels of broad-scale fire and human disturbance.

The Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), endemic to western North America, is of great conservation interest. Its populations are tracked by spring counts of males at lek sites. This study explored the relations between trends of Greater Sage-Grouse lek counts from 1997 to 2007 and a variety of natural and anthropogenic features. The results show that trends were correlated with several habitat features, but not always similarly throughout the range. Lek trends were positively associated with proportion of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) cover, within five and eighteen kilometers. Lek trends had negative associations with the coverage of agriculture and exotic plant species. Trends also tended to be lower for leks where a greater proportion of their surrounding landscape had been burned. Lek trends were reduced where communication towers were nearby, whereas no effect of power lines was detected. Active oil or natural gas wells and highways, but not secondary roads, were associated with lower trends. These findings are important for identifying features that could threaten Greater Sage-Grouse populations.

Working groups and government agencies are planning and conducting land actions in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) habitats to benefit Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations. Managers have adopted an umbrella concept, creating habitat characteristics specific to sage-grouse requirements, in the belief that other wildlife species dependent on sagebrush will benefit. The efficacy of this approach was tested by first identifying the primary environmental gradients underlying sagebrush steppe bird communities, including Greater Sage-Grouse. Field sampling for birds and vegetation was integrated with geographic information system data to characterize 305 sites sampled throughout the current range of Greater Sage-Grouse in the Intermountain West, United States. The relative overlap of sagegrouse with thirteen species of passerine birds was observed along the multiscale gradients. Passerine birds associated with sagebrush steppe habitats had high levels of overlap with Greater Sage-Grouse along the multiscale environmental gradients. However, the overlap of the umbrella species was primarily a function of the broad range of sagebrush habitats used by sage-grouse.

A framework for conservation planning was developed to evaluate options for reducing development impacts on Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Lek-count data (2,336 leks) were used to delineate high-abundance population centers, termed core regions, that contained 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the known breeding population. Sage-grouse abundance varied by state. Wyoming contains 64% of the known sage-grouse population and more active leks than all the other states combined within the study area. Montana contains fewer sage-grouse (24%) than Wyoming, but actions that reduce sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) tillage by providing private landowners incentives to maintain sagebrush-dominated landscapes would provide lasting benefits because core regions in Montana are at comparatively low development risk. Habitat restoration in areas with low risk of development but containing fewer sage-grouse fit into the overall conservation strategy by targeting populations that promote connectivity of core regions.

Less than half of the original habitat of the Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) currently exists. Some has been permanently lost to farms and urban areas, but the remaining varies in condition from high quality to no longer adequate. Restoration of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) grassland ecosystems may be possible for resilient lands. However, Greater Sage-Grouse require a wide variety of habitats over large areas to complete their life cycle. Effective habitat restoration will require a regional approach for prioritizing and identifying appropriate options across the landscape. A landscape triage method is recommended for prioritizing lands for restoration. Spatial models can indicate where to protect and connect intact quality habitat with other similar habitat via restoration. The ecological site concept of land classification is recommended for characterizing potential habitat across the region along with their accompanying state and transition models of plant community dynamics.

Recent analyses of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations indicate substantial declines in many areas but relatively stable populations in other portions of the species' range. Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) habitats necessary to support sage-grouse are being burned by large wildfires, invaded by non-native plants, and developed for energy resources (gas, oil, and wind). Management on public lands, which contain 70% of sagebrush habitats, has changed over the last thirty years from large sagebrush control projects directed at enhancing livestock grazing to a greater emphasis on projects that often attempt to improve or restore ecological integrity. Demand and use of resources contained in sagebrush landscapes plus the associated infrastructure to support increasing human populations in the western United States will continue to challenge conservation efforts for Greater Sage-Grouse. This chapter summarizes the status of sage-grouse populations and habitats, provides a synthesis of major threats and challenges to conservation of sage-grouse, and suggests a roadmap to attaining conservation goals.

The Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is often called an icon of the West because the species has become the symbol for conserving sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems, one of the most difficult environmental challenges in North America. Sage-grouse have undergone long-term population declines and now are absent from almost half of their estimated distribution prior to Euro-American settlement. Proximate reasons for population declines differ across the sage-grouse distribution, but ultimately, the underlying cause is loss of suitable sagebrush habitat. Conserving and managing Greater Sage-Grouse is as much about the ecology of the bird as it is about understanding the dynamics of sagebrush ecosystems. This book presents a multifaceted view of the ecology of Greater Sage-Grouse and sagebrush from wildlife biologists, landscape ecologists, and shrubland biologists. It describes the Sage-Grouse Conservation Area that was delineated from the estimated presettlement distribution of sage-grouse.

The historical disposition and development of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) landscapes have resulted in land ownership mosaics and differences in environmental qualities among land managers that influence today's conservation planning. Early land-use policies following major land acquisitions from 1776 to 1867 in the western United States were designed to transfer the vast public resources to private ownership. Federal legislation enacted during the late 1800s and early 1900s encouraged development of arable regions, facilitated livestock grazing, created transportation corridors, and provided for access to minerals, coal, and petroleum. Privately owned lands are a major constituent of sagebrush landscapes in the Great Plains and Columbia Basin and are intermixed with public lands in other Sage-Grouse Management Zones. The public still retains large areas and 70% of current sagebrush habitats. More recent legislation reflects changing public values to maintain or restore natural components, such as plants and wildlife, and minimize the impact of land uses in sagebrush landscapes. Very little of the land used by Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) has protected status in national parks or reserves.

Early investigations supported the view that Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) population dynamics were typical of other upland game birds. More recently, greater insights into the demographics of Greater Sage-Grouse revealed this species was relatively unique because populations tended to have low winter mortality, and relatively high annual survival. This chapter describes the population characteristics of Greater Sage-Grouse and summarizes traits that make it one of North America's most unique bird species. It analyzes data on movements, lek attendance, and nests as well as female demographics during the breeding season for the eastern and western portions of the species' range. Lengthy migrations between distinct seasonal ranges are one of the more distinctive characteristics of Greater Sage-Grouse. These migratory movements and large annual home ranges help integrate Greater Sage-Grouse populations across vast landscapes of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)-dominated habitats. The sex ratio of adult Greater Sage-Grouse favors females but reported rates vary considerably. Long-term age ratios (productivity) in the fall have varied from 1.4 to 3.0 juveniles/adult female.

Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) depend on sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) for much of their annual food and cover. This association is most pronounced in late autumn, winter, and early spring when sage-grouse are dependent on sagebrush for both food and cover. However, sage-grouse also rely on sagebrush at other times of year, especially for nesting cover during the breeding season. Other habitat characteristics may not be as obviously important as sagebrush, but may be nearly as essential. For example, herbaceous vegetation provides important food and cover during nesting and early brood-rearing seasons, and thus has a major role in the population dynamics of sage-grouse. Available evidence clearly supports the conclusion that conserving large landscapes with suitable habitat is important for conservation of sage-grouse. Sagebrush habitats have been lost, fragmented, and degraded as a result of many different anthropogenic disturbances. Land management agencies must establish sagebrush conservation as one of their highest priorities if remaining habitats are to be maintained.

Although Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) face a suite of predators in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) communities across the species' range, none of these predators specializes on sage-grouse. Greater Sage-Grouse are susceptible to predation from egg to adult, leading to the hypothesis that predator control would be an effective conservation tool for sage-grouse populations. This chapter reviews the literature pertaining to predator communities across the range of Greater Sage-Grouse and assesses the effects of predation on sage-grouse life history. It then provides a framework for evaluating when predator management may be warranted. Generally, nest-success rates and adult survival are high, suggesting that on average predation is not limiting. However, in fragmented landscapes or in areas with subsidized predator populations, predation may limit population growth. Few studies linked habitat quality to mortality rates, and fewer still linked these rates to predation. Evaluating the need for predator management will require linking reduced demographic rates to habitat fragmentation or habitat degradation or predator populations out of the natural range of variability (exotic species of subsidized populations).

This chapter examines the representation of the women rulers Tomyris, Zenobia, and Artemisia II in the gallery books and dramas produced during Anne of Austria’s regency in seventeenth-century France. It examines the ways in which the dynamic of gender and sovereign virtue is varyingly cast, and the construction of exemplarity diversely negotiated, in the reception of the three rulers. While Artemisia is aligned with a gendered female virtue, Zenobia is cast as the morally androgynous ‘complete prince’, and Du Bosc’s Tomyris subverts the very concept of a binary sexual ethics. Furthermore, their reception demonstrates the ways in which the rhetoric of exemplarity at the time hinges on the erosion of distance and difference, as ancient and modern examples are merged in the instruction and glorification of contemporary women, not least the rulers Anne of Austria and Christina of France, duchess of Savoy.