Abstracts

Presented by Jake Straub - Email: straub.47@gmail.com

The Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) is an important waterfowl species in North America. It ranks as the fourth most harvested duck species in North America and, as a species, nests almost exclusively below the 49th parallel in North America. Not surprisingly it is also one of the most studied species in North America, especially during its breeding season. Historically, wood ducks were thought to be limited by tree cavity availability and, therefore, intensive nest box management programs had been established throughout their breeding range. Decades of nest box research has illuminated a tremendous amount of knowledge about wood duck ecology. However, contemporary wood duck research has revealed low recruitment and high inter- and intra-specific nest parasitism from many of these boxes, and very few studies have focused on tree cavity-using populations. Given the history and contemporary importance of wood ducks, we conducted a meta-analysis summarizing breeding season life history characteristics across the wood ducks broad temporal and spatial range. We summarized and will present factors including survival rates, clutch size, nest success, habitat type, nest types, field methods and geographic location (time and space) with the goal of recognizing pertinent knowledge gaps and determining which parameters have the greatest certainty and reliability. Researchers could use our summaries to help parameterize population models and prioritize what types of studies, and where, are needed in the future for the conservation and management of the wood duck.