Lek hypotheses and the location, dispersion, and size of lesser prairie chicken leks

The location, dispersion, and size of Lesser Prairie Chicken leks in eastern New Mexico were compared with predictions of several hypotheses designed to explain lekking. Spring leks were located by driving throughout the study area and periodically stopping to listen for leks. Eighteen of 21 (85%) leks located in 1983, and 29 of 34 (85%) leks located in 1984 were located on abandoned oil well locations (oilpads).;Males did not group together to form leks because suitable display sites were limited. Failure to use some oilpads as lek sites was not related to the vegetative cover types surrounding the oilpad. Several oilpads not utilized in 1983 were utilized in 1984, thus they were apparently suitable display sites. Furthermore, the numbers of males displaying at a lek was not related to (1) amounts of different vegetative cover types surrounding the oilpad, or (2) relative amount of vegetative cover on the oilpad itself.;Leks were too close together to be spaced in accordance with the female preference model. Most leks were closer to an adjacent lek than the one female home range diameter predicted by the female preference model. The distance at which females can detect leks would have to be between 64 to 228 m to fit the female preference model. Observations of males temporarily moving from one lek to an adjacent lek suggest prairie chickens can hear leks at least 900 m away.;Neither the least-costly male hypothesis nor the decoy/sentinel models explain the dispersion of leks. Patterns of nest locations, and new lek locations show that females do not, or can not, force leks to form in locations that will provide the proposed benefit of greater nesting success through less predation. Leks form too close to existing leks, and would attract predators into proposed zones of lower predation. Reduced nest predation may be a consequence of male group display, but not a cause.;Lesser Prairie Chicken populations tend to grow by forming new leks rather than by increasing the average number of males per lek, a pattern consistent with the hotspot hypothesis.;Variability in the number of males attending leks, and observations of male behavior are consistent with the hotshot hypothesis.