Abstracts

K.1-1: Standardizing hybrid identification: Developing a genetically-vetted field key to distinguish between Mexican ducks, mallards, and their hybrids.

by Flor Hernandez, University of Texas El Paso, et al

Presented by Flor Hernandez - Email: fbhernandez2@miners.utep.edu

Hybridization rates between the Mexican duck (Anas platyrhynchos diazi) and mallards (A. platyrhynchos) were previously based on plumage characteristics only. However, traits among Mallard-like ducks that appear to be indicative of a hybrid may, in f...

K.1-2: Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) Regulate Stress Responsiveness According to Energetic Demands During the Fall and Winter

by Jerad Henson, Christian Brothers University, et al

Presented by Jerad Henson - Email: jhenson2@cbu.edu

Many bird species exhibit a seasonally variable glucocorticoid response to a standardized capture and handling protocol. Corticosterone (CORT), the primary avian glucocorticoid, is elevated in response to a wide-range of stressors to facilitate the m...

K.1-3: Are Great Lakes mallards underperforming compared to the remainder of the Mid-continent population?

by David R. Luukkonen, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, et al

Presented by Drew Fowler - Email: drew.fowler@wisconsin.gov

Mallards are the most heavily harvested duck species in the Mississippi Flyway (MF), including the Great Lakes states and these birds help support over 2.5 million duck hunter-days in the MF annually. Harvests of mallards originating from breeding ar...

K.1-4: Influence of Agricultural Grains on Diets, Body Condition, and Stress in Black Ducks and Mallards Wintering on Long Island, New York

by Aidan J. Flores, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, et al

Presented by Aidan Flores - Email: aflore06@syr.edu

Availability of winter habitat and forage for American black ducks (Anas rubripes; hereon black ducks) can be limiting. Increasing urbanization, sea level rise, and other stressors often make restoration of coastal marshes infeasible or logistically ...

K.2-1: Individuals Versus Environments: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Influences on Waterfowl Reproductive Success

by David Johns, Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, et al

Presented by David Johns - Email: david.johns@usask.ca

Drivers of variation in waterfowl reproductive success can broadly be grouped as restraints by an individual (i.e., breeding decision), constraints imposed from within individuals (i.e., intrinsic quality/condition) or from the surrounding environmen...

K.2-2: Energetic Carrying Capacity of Submersed Aquatic Vegetation in Semi-permanent Wetlands Important to Waterfowl in the Upper Midwest

by Joseph D. Lancaster, Illinois Natural History Survey, Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center and Forbes Biological Station, Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois, Havana, IL, 62644, USA, et al

Presented by Joseph D. Lancaster - Email: lancastj@illinois.edu

Intensification of land use practices and climate change has resulted in extensive wetland loss and declines of native submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) from wetlands across North America. Although SAV is an important diet component of many species...

K.2-3: True Metabolizable Energy of Submersed Aquatic Vegetation for Ducks

by Margaret Gross, Shallow Lakes Program, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Windom, MN 56101, USA, et al

Presented by Margaret Gross - Email: margaret.gross@state.mn.us

Improving the accuracy of energetic models used to set and evaluate habitat objectives to meet dietary needs of waterfowl requires true metabolizable energy (TME) estimates for numerous diet items. While significant effort has been devoted to estimat...

K.2-4: Influence of vegetation richness on dabbling duck nesting productivity

by Mike Eichholz, Cooperative Wildlife Research Lab., Center for Ecology, Dept. of Zoology Southern Illinois University Carbondale, et al

Presented by Mike Eichholz - Email: eichholz@siu.edu

A common restoration practice aimed at waterfowl production involves the establishment of low-diversity (3 5 species) Dense Nesting Cover (DNC) areas seeded with a mixture of introduced grasses and forbs. While DNC provides secure duck nesting habit...

K.3-1: Quantifying the influence of weather conditions on behavioral contributions to reproductive attempts in birds of contrasting migration strategy

by Mitch D. Weegman, School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, et al

Presented by Mitch D. Weegman - Email: weegmanm@missouri.edu

Migratory birds often face substantial risk as they travel between breeding and wintering areas annually. Spring migration is particularly risky because individuals must store energy for migration and reproduction. Hence, individuals attempt to time ...

K.3-2: Behavioral Responses of Common Eiders to Drones Surveys

by Susan Ellis-Felege, Biology Department, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, et al

Presented by Susan Ellis-Felege - Email: susan.felege@email.und.edu

Drones are relatively new technologies gaining popularity among wildlife biologists. As with any new tool in wildlife science, operating protocols must be developed through rigorous impact testing to avoid potential biases. Some studies have quantifi...

K.3-3: Lake Michigan Long-tailed Ducks: Migration Patterns and Habitat Use

by Luke Fara, U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin and Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois, et al

Presented by Luke Fara - Email: lfara@usgs.gov

Previous studies suggest that long-tailed duck (LTDU; Clangula hyemalis) populations are in decline and further efforts have been made to better understand their population distributions. Long-tailed ducks rank high in priority with the Sea Duck Joi...

K.3-4: Time at High Altitude Dictates Evolutionary Response to Hypoxia

by Kevin G. McCracken, Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, et al

Presented by Kevin G. McCracken - Email: kevin.g.mccracken@gmail.com

High-altitude species generally have evolved greatly increased capacities in the O2-transport cascade for ventilation, pulmonary diffusion, circulation and tissue diffusion, mitochondrial function, and metabolism. However, the extent of interspecific...

K.4-1: Does proximity to roads affect pair density of canvasbacks and redheads?

by Michael G. Anderson, Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, Ducks Unlimited Canada (Retired), Stonewall, MB, et al

Presented by Michael G. Anderson - Email: m_anderson@ducks.ca

Many waterfowl surveys in the prairie pothole region were established along grid roads, generally spaced a mile apart, where indicated pairs were counted for some set distance on either side of the roadway. Often this comprised a strip 0.25 miles wid...

K.4-2: Relating predator community composition and duck nest survival in eastern South Dakota

by Samantha Fino, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, et al

Presented by Samantha Fino - Email: samantha.fino@sdstate.edu

Depredation is a major cause of nest failure. Understanding the predator community composition and predator movements, influenced by patch dynamics, is critical to explain predator-prey interactions, spatiotemporal habitat use, and foraging of nest p...

K.4-3: Nesting ecology of American black ducks in coastal North Carolina

by Daniel Lawson, Waterfowl and Upland Gamebird Program, Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, dlawso@udel.edu, et al

Presented by Daniel M. Lawson - Email: dlawso@udel.edu

North Carolina represents the southern extent of the American black ducks (Anas rubripes) breeding range; however, their breeding ecology in this region is not fully understood. We located and monitored 140 nesting black ducks over two years (2017-1...

K.4-4: Inter-specific plasticity in timing of breeding among northern hemisphere female ducks

by David Messmer, Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, et al

Presented by Robert Clark - Email: bob.clark@canada.ca

Relative timing and flexibility for breeding dates may influence a species population vulnerability to climate change via potential phenological mismatch with their environments. Despite high interest in climate-individual-population interactions, t...

P.1-01: Impacts of oil and gas development on duck brood abundance

by Kaylan Kemink, Great Plains Regional Office, Ducks Unlimited, 2525 River Road, Bismarck, ND 58503, USA, et al

Presented by Kaylan Kemink - Email: kkemink@ducks.org

The extraction of oil and natural gas from reserves in the Bakken Formation has increased dramatically from 2004 to 2017 in North Dakota and northeast Montana, USA. High development areas overlap substantially with wetland and grassland habitat ident...

P.1-02: Effects of unconventional oil and gas development on duck nesting ecology

by Cassandra G. Skaggs , School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA, et al

Presented by Kevin M. Ringelman - Email: kringelman@agcenter.lsu.edu

Over the past decade, the United States has seen a boom in petroleum extraction from unconventional sources, particularly the Bakken shale formation in northwestern North Dakota. The Bakken overlaps with the Prairie Pothole Region, the most critical...

P.1-03: Black-bellied Whistling Duck Site Fidelity and Nest Box Use at the Northern Edge of Their Expanding Range

by Starla Phelps, Christian Brothers University, Memphis, TN, et al

Presented by Starla Phelps - Email: sphelps1@cbu.edu

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (BBWD) (Dendrocygna autumnalis) historic North American range lies along the gulf coast. They are traditionally non-migratory but have expanded their breeding range north to take advantage of new resources and nest sites...

P.1-04: Breeding waterfowl productivity in a flood-irrigated agricultural system

by Casey M. Setash, Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, et al

Presented by Casey M. Setash - Email: csetash@rams.colostate.edu

Similar to agricultural production, the sustainable management of waterfowl populations across the western United States inherently depends on informed water management. Both endeavors are increasingly challenged by human demands for water, drought, ...

P.1-05: Comparison of brood composition and characteristics between the Coteau and glaciated plains of the Dakotas

by David A. Brandt, USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, et al

Presented by David A. Brandt - Email: dbrandt@usgs.gov

The Prairie Pothole Region of the Dakotas is arguably the most important area for waterfowl production in the U.S. and includes two general physiographic regions that vary greatly in wetland and landscape characteristics. The Glaciated Plains locate...