Data and statistical program files for analysis of Northern Bobwhite resource selection during fall and winter in southwest Missouri

We provide data and statistical program files related to Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) resource selection during fall and winter in southwest Missouri. Working in five Missouri Department of Conservation conservation areas (Robert E. Talbot, Shawnee Trail, Stony Point Prairie, Wade and June Shelton Memorial, and Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie) from October 2017 through January 2019, we captured 158 bobwhite from 67 unique coveys and attached transmitters to 119 individuals. From this base collection we created 650 choice sets, comprised of 1 used location and 3 available (i.e., random) locations, that represent 90 individual bobwhite from 47 unique coveys.
Our objective was to investigate Northern Bobwhite fall and winter resource selection in southwest Missouri as a function of vegetation structure, composition, and management from traditionally (intensively) managed sites and remnant (extensively managed) grassland sites using multinomial logit discrete choice models in a Bayesian framework. Information regarding winter resource selection is necessary to quantify whether fall and winter resource requirements are different from the better-documented breeding season requirements, and the extent to which fall and winter requirements might be contributing to the observed declines in Northern Bobwhite populations.