Montezuma quail (Cyrtonix montezumae) life history is the least understood of all North American quail due to historical difficulties in capturing and monitoring marked individuals of this species. Most aspects of its population dynamics, range and habitat use have remained as knowledge gaps until now. My study overcame these difficulties and I was able to trap and monitor 88 individuals from 2008–2010 at 3 study sites in southeast Arizona. Techniques for trapping and monitoring included the use of trained pointing dogs, hoop nets, funnel traps, and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras. I estimated survival probabilities as well as range size for radio-marked individuals. The estimated survival, using the Kaplan-Meier staggered entry method, combined amongst 3 study sties, was 21.9% from fall 2008–2009. Survival for quail at the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch in 2010 was 4.8%. For range estimation, I used the minimum convex polygon (MCP) and fixed kernel estimators. The largest MCP range estimate for an individual (206.65 ha) was far greater than previous estimates reported for this species in the literature. The mean seasonal range size, using the fixed kernel 95% utilization distribution, also was 60% higher at Stevens Canyon, 63% higher at Hog Canyon, and 47% higher at the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch than the largest use area (50 ha) reported in the literature. A wildfire in 2009 provided an opportunity to examine post-fire succession and habitat use. I observed roosting in fire-affected areas within 1 week post-fire and successful nesting in fire-affected areas within 3 months post-fire. Low survival and reduced 95% fixed kernel ranges for quail at the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch in 2010 was attributed to strong El Niño conditions in the Pacific that brought a severe winter storm to the region. The combined results from this research help to address knowledge gaps about Montezuma quail survival demographics, range, habitat use, and provide references to baseline data to assist managing potential impacts associated with stochastic events such as wildfire and periods of inclement weather associated with above average winter precipitation.

<p>Humans have altered natural landscape since the agricultural revolution, but it has been most destructive since human globalization and rampant industrialization in the last two centuries. These activities deteriorate and fragments natural habitat of many wild species that creates small isolated populations that lose genetic diversity over time. Loss of genetic diversity reduces the adaptive capacity of a population to respond to future environmental change and increases their extinction risks. Implementing strategies for wildlife conservation is a challenge primarily because of our lack of understanding of the biology of many wild species, the risks they are currently facing, and their evolutionary histories. With the advent of genomic and computational techniques, it is now possible to address these concerns. In my research, I used genomics to study the evolutionary history of the Montezuma Quail (<i>Cyrtonyx montezumae</i>) and created monitoring tools that can be readily applied by wildlife managers for its conservation. Montezuma Quail is a small gamebird found mostly in Mexico with peripheral populations existing in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Montezuma Quail are going through species wide decline in the United States and are listed as vulnerable in the state of Texas due to their small population sizes and geographic isolation from rest of the range. My results show that Texas quail are genetically distinct and significantly less diverse than Arizona quail. Analysis of whole genome sequences from multiple individuals show that due to small population sizes and isolation, Texas quail are significantly more inbred and genetic drift is the major contributor for loss of genetic diversity we see today. Inbreeding is negatively impacting Texas quail as they carry more deleterious alleles within their genome that reduce fitness of the individuals. Demographic models predict that both Arizona and Texas populations were formed via founding bottlenecks around 20,000 years ago. Texas populations have maintained small population sizes since its split from the ancestral populations and are less efficient in purging new deleterious mutations that arise post-bottleneck. The inferences from my research not only carries direct implications for Montezuma Quail conservationists, but also illustrate the power of evolutionary genomics in implementing targeted management strategies for any species that face existential threats in today’s waning world. </p>