Abstracts

J.1-1: Population Genetics and Hybridization of Mallards and Mallard-Like Ducks in North America

by Philip Lavretsky, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 79668, USA

Presented by Philip Lavretsky - Email: plavretsky@utep.edu

North America is home to five recently diverged, New World “mallards,” a group of dabbling duck species characterized by diagnosable phenotypic differences but minimal genetic differentiation. I present genomic data used to characterize population st...

J.1-2: Population Genomics Reveals Low levels of Hybridization between Mallards and Mexican Ducks

by Joshua I. Brown, Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, et al

Presented by Joshua I. Brown - Email: jibrown@miners.utep.edu

Little is known about the evolutionary history of the Chihuahuan desert endemic Mexican duck (Anas platyrhynchos diazi), which is one of fourteen Mallard-like ducks within the Mallard Complex. Hybridization with mallards (A. platyrhynchos) was origin...

J.1-3: Survival and seasonal habitat use of mottled ducks in southwest Louisiana

by Elizabeth S. Bonczek, Louisiana State University, et al

Presented by Elizabeth S. Bonczek - Email: lizzi.bonczek@gmail.com

Mottled ducks (Anas fulvigula) are endemic to the Gulf Coast of the United States, and are non-migratory throughout their range. Because of this, they rely on coastal marsh and associated habitat to fulfill their needs across the annual cycle. The Lo...

J.1-4: Population genetics 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, hereafter, black duck) breeding range. Due to the presence of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) on the breeding grounds and observed hybridization between the two s...

J.1-5: Applications of sUAS in the Northeastern United States forested environment

by Gary Macy, Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, et al

Presented by Gary Macy - Email: gjmacy@syr.edu

Small Unmanned Aerial Services (sUAS) offer great potential as a utility to survey waterfowl and their habitats. Benefits include increased observational angle and field of view from the aerial perspective, and resulting potential for increased detec...

J.2-1: History and Accomplishments for the Texas Prairie Wetland Project

by Taylor Abshier, Ducks Unlimited Inc. Richmond, Texas

Presented by Taylor Abshier - Email: tabshier@ducks.org

The Texas Prairie Wetlands Project (TPWP) was created in 1991 to deliver waterfowl habitat on private lands to attain objectives set forth by the Gulf Coast Joint Venture (GCJV), with underlying premises of maintaining sufficient overwinter survival ...

J.2-2: Assessing Grassland Distribution and Trends across the North American Great Plains to Inform Waterfowl Conservation Delivery

by Sean P. Fields, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Prairie Pothole Joint Venture, Great Falls, MT, et al

Presented by Sean P. Fields - Email: sean_fields@fws.gov

North American temperate grasslands are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. The North American Great Plains has sustained extensive grassland loss and degradation since the 1800s due to agricultural conversion and infrastructure dev...

J.2-3: Coots, Lines of Credit and Conservation Easements - Innovative approaches to conservation in the PPR

by Scott Stephens, Ducks Unlimited Canada, et al

Presented by Scott Stephens - Email: s_stephens@ducks.ca

Approaches to conserving waterfowl habitat in the Prairie Pothole Region have been varied and diverse through time. There has typically been a trade-off between the cost of conservation and the length of security for the habitat despite the fact th...

J.2-4: Using waterfowl ecology and economics to estimate return on conservation investments in prairie Canada

by James H. Devries, Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Stonewall, MB, et al

Presented by James H. Devries - Email: j_devries@ducks.ca

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has been delivering wetland and waterfowl conservation programs that protect and restore wetland and upland habitats for over 80 years. Historically, DUCs conservation programs in prairie Canada were guided by decision su...

J.2-5: Framing the 2018 NAWMP Update and Plan Committee priorities

by R. Joseph Benedict, Jr, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Nashville, TN 37211, et al

Presented by R. Joseph (Joe) Benedict, Jr. - Email: joe.benedict@tn.gov

The 2018 North American Waterfowl Management Plan Update, Connecting People, Waterfowl, and Wetlands, was signed by the United States, Canada, and Mexico and released January 29, 2019. The NAWMP has a long and successful history of conserving North ...

J.3-1: An Assessment of Waterfowl Use of Intensely Managed Areas in Michigan

by Trey McClinton, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, et al

Presented by Trey McClinton - Email: mcclin73@msu.edu

Waterfowl provide significant economic, ecological, and social benefits, and management strives to provide adequate populations to support hunting and non-hunting benefits of these resources. Given their importance, there is a need to regularly evalu...

J.3-2: Using the NAWMP to guide a state-wide waterfowl habitat management plan in Wisconsin

by Jacob Straub, Unviersity of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, et al

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

The goals of the 2012 North American Waterfowl Management Plan target a combination of biological and social objectives that are prioritized regionally through Joint Venture (JV) partnerships. The Upper Mississippi River and Great Lakes (UMRGLR) JV d...

J.3-3: Hydrological management for submersed aquatic vegetation and invertebrates in South Carolina

by Beau Bauer, Nemours Wildlife Foundation, Yemassee, South Carolina, et al

Presented by Beau Bauer - Email: beau.a.bauer@gmail.com

Widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima) and other native SAV are propagated in brackish managed tidal impoundments (MTIs) in coastal South Carolina to provide forage for waterfowl and other waterbirds and habitat for aquatic invertebrates. We conducted a fiel...

J.3-4: Accounting for the effects of water depth on energy availability estimates for ducks in northeastern Colorado

by Adam C. Behney, Avian Research Section, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Fort Collins, CO

Presented by Adam Behney - Email: adam.behney@state.co.us

Habitat management and planning strategies for nonbreeding ducks are focused on providing enough energy to support population goals. Therefore, regional estimates of energy availability are required to determine if sufficient habitat exists. I samp...

J.3-5: Ecological assessment of wetland management techniques on restored wetlands in the Montezuma Wetlands Complex

by Edward B. Farley, Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of NY - College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, et al

Presented by Edward B. Farley - Email: efarley@ducks.org

Wetland managers need to understand how wetland management techniques influence food availability for waterfowl to help meet regional conservation goals. However, there is an information deficit on ecological returns on post-construction management ...

J.4-1: Microhabitat nest-site selection of ducks in the western boreal forest

by Matthew Dyson, University of Waterloo, et al

Presented by Bradley Fedy - Email: bfedy@uwaterloo.ca

The boreal forest is one of North Americas most important breeding areas for ducks, but knowledge of duck nesting ecology in the region is limited. We collected microhabitat data related to vegetation structure and composition at 157 duck nests and p...

J.4-2: Identifying critical nesting habitat for ducks in Alberta's western boreal forest.

by Matthew Dyson, University of Waterloo, et al

Presented by Matthew Dyson - Email: mdyson@uwaterloo.ca

The western boreal forest (WBF) is an important breeding area for North American ducks, second only to the Canadian Prairies. The WBF is under intensive industrial development, causing habitat loss and fragmentation. Land use change can have profound...

J.4-3: Did duck population trajectories change with anthropogenic disturbance in the Boreal Plains ecozone?

by Howard Singer, IWWR, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Stonewall, MB, Canada, et al

Presented by Howard Singer - Email: h_singer@ducks.ca

Anthropogenic disturbances in the boreal forest are hypothesized to negatively affect breeding ducks. We examined relationships between population trajectory of duck pairs and amount of anthropogenic disturbance in the Boreal Plains ecozone of wester...

J.4-4: The Boreal-Arctic transition zone of Canada: duck factory of the not-so-famous?

by Eric T. Reed, Canadian Wildlife Service, Yellowknie NT, et al

Presented by Christian Roy - Email: christian.roy3@canada.ca

Concern over population status and the adequacy of operational breeding waterfowl surveys for sea duck and scaup populations persists. Large areas of the Boreal-Arctic transition zone of Canada (Taiga Plains and Shield ecoregions) are excluded from ...

J.4-5: Breeding habitat selection of scoters and scaup in the Boreal-Arctic transition zone

by Eric T. Reed, Canadian Wildlife Service, Yellowknife NT, et al

Presented by Cindy Wood - Email: cindy.wood@canada.ca

Several sea ducks and both scaup species nest in remote regions of the Taiga Shield and Taiga Plains ecoregions, an area that straddles the tree line from Labrador to Alaska. Recent satellite telemetry studies have shown that these regions encompass ...

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...