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...
Presented by Catrina V. Terry - Email: cterry8@lsu.edu
Although the Prairie Pothole Region is responsible for producing the majority of North Americas dabbling ducks, more than two-thirds of the wetlands in this landscape are now surrounded by cropland. These wetlands are at high risk of conversion and m...
P.1-07: Investigating wing molt ecology of gadwall and mallards nesting in the Suisun Marsh of California
by Jeffrey D. Kohl, Avian Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, et al
Presented by Jeffrey Kohl - Email: jkohl@usgs.gov
We monitored postbreeding movements of hen gadwall (Mareca strepera) and hen mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) nesting in the Suisun Marsh of California to determine wing molt chronology and molt site selection during 2015-2018. GPS-GSM backpacks were a...
Presented by Josh Ackerman - Email: jackerman@usgs.gov
California produces the majority of mallard and gadwall that are harvested within the state, and as such is an important breeding area within the Pacific Flyway. As part of the Suisun Marsh Waterfowl Program, we have assessed long-term trends in mal...
Presented by Cindy J. Wood - Email: cindy.wood@canada.ca
The Boreal-Arctic transition zone falls outside of the continental waterfowl breeding survey area and information on waterfowl in this region is lacking. During 2017-2019, we conducted experimental helicopter aerial surveys for breeding waterfowl at ...
P.1-10: Probability of Mottled Duck Pair Pond Use on the Chenier Plain, Texas
by J. Boomer Malanchuk, Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, et al
Presented by J. Boomer Malanchuk - Email: bmalanchuk@ksu.edu
Mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) pairs use pair ponds from as early as February through mid-incubation. Mottled ducks defend pair ponds as territories because they provide access to resources and safety from predators. Pair ponds are important post-bree...
P.1-11: Sitting ducklings: Timing of hatch, nest departure, and predation risk for dabbling duck broods
by Sarah H. Peterson, Western Ecological Research Center, USGS, Dixon Field Station, Dixon, CA , et al
Presented by Joshua T. Ackerman - Email: jackerman@usgs.gov
For ground-nesting waterfowl, the timing of egg hatch and duckling departure from the nest may be constrained by the time required for ducklings to dry, to be developmentally ready to leave the nest, and to imprint on the hen, and influenced by preda...
P.1-12: Two decades of nest survival in the Nebraska Sandhills: the southern Prairie Pothole Region?
by Aaron Pearse, U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, ND, et al
Presented by Aaron Pearse - Email: apearse@usgs.gov
The Nebraska Sandhills can attract hundreds of thousands of nesting duck pairs annually. Yet, a limited number of studies conducted in this region have reported low recruitment potential. Biologists monitored duck nests at Crescent Lake National Wild...
P.1-13: Use of next boxes by wood ducks and hooded mergansers at Noxubee and Yazoo National Wildlife Refuges in Mississippi
by Daniel A. Davis, Department of Forestry, Mississippi State University, Box 9690, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA, et al
Presented by J. Brian Davis - Email: brian.davis@msstate.edu
Use of artificial nesting structures (hereafter, nest boxes) for wood ducks (Aix sponsa) have a storied history in North America. Nest boxes are often used by other species of cavity-nesting birds, including hooded mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus)...
P.1-14: Variation in individual quality of lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) ducklings in relation to spring phenology and density dependence
by Kyla E. Bas, Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan , et al
Presented by Kyla Bas - Email: kyla.bas@usask.ca
Determining how biotic and abiotic factors affect individual quality is important for understanding population processes and can help to inform management decisions. However, whether spring phenology and density dependence affect components of reprod...
P.1-15: Whats driving Wood Duck nest box use and success in Delaware?
by Justyn R. Foth, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Fish & Wildlife, 6180 Hay Point Land Road, Smyrna, DE 19977, USA, et al
Presented by Justyn R. Foth - Email: justyn.foth@delaware.gov
Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) select natural nesting cavities based on surrounding habitat types, cavity height, entrance dimensions, and other factors. If natural cavities are limiting, they readily use artificial nesting boxes. However, regional estimate...
P.1-16: Box-nesting ecology of wood duck and black-bellied whistling duck in South Carolina
by Gillie D. Croft, Nemours Wildlife Foundation, Yemassee, SC, et al
Presented by Gillie D. Croft - Email: gcroft@clemson.edu
We surveyed nest-structure use, duckling production, and other metrics of reproductive ecology of wood ducks (Aix sponsa), black-bellied whistling ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis), and hooded mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) during a landscape-scale ...
P.2-01: Increasing Capture Efficiency of Long-tailed Ducks on Lake Michigan
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
Locating and capturing long-tailed ducks (LTDU: Clangula hyemalis) and other pelagic waterbirds at night is difficult on large bodies of water, such as the Great Lakes, particularly when there is little knowledge of night-time distributions. To incr...
P.2-02: Using Artificial Intelligence to Count and Identify Sea Ducks
by Luke Fara, U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin, et al
Presented by Luke Fara - Email: lfara@usgs.gov
In collaboration with the Bureau of Ocean Energy and Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Vision Group at the International Computer Science Institute at the University of California - Berkeley, U.S. Geological Survey scientists are de...
P.2-03: Phylogenomics and Evolution of Sea Ducks (Tribe Mergini)
by Philip Lavretsky, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 79668, USA, et al
Presented by Philip Lavretsky - Email: plavretsky@utep.edu
We reconstruct phylogenetic relationships within Tribe Mergini by sequencing ddRAD-seq markers (> 3000 loci) for 387 samples (N = 9-56 per taxon) across all North American sea ducks. Individual estimates of population ancestry recovered all major gen...
P.2-04: A Meta-analysis of Band Reporting Probability for North American Waterfowl
by Todd W Arnold, Dept. of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, et al
Presented by Todd Arnold - Email: arnol065@umn.edu
Knowledge of band reporting is important for converting band encounter data into estimates of harvest probabilities, which can then be used to assess harvest management goals or estimate population size and other vital rates. Historical estimates of ...
P.2-05: A Redesign Approach for Improving the Mottled Duck Breeding Population Survey in Western Gulf Coast
by Vijayan Sundararaj, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, et al
Presented by Vijayan Sundararaj - Email: Vijayan.Sundararaj@tamuk.edu
Estimating animal abundance through surveys plays a crucial role in understanding population dynamics for species of wildlife, particularly game species. The Western Gulf Coast (WGC) Mottled Duck population has shown a general decline over the last 4...
P.2-06: Aerial transect surveys for monitoring fall-winter waterfowl abundance and distribution in South Carolina
by Nicholas M Masto, Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, et al
Presented by Nick Masto - Email: nmasto@g.clemson.edu
Aerial surveys are effective and cost-efficient for quantifying waterfowl and other waterbird populations and habitat use across vast and especially inaccessible landscapes. Due to to cessation of the Midwinter Waterfowl Survey in 2016 and need for r...
Presented by Jacob Bushaw - Email: jbusha1@lsu.edu
Nest predation is the primary cause of nest failure in waterfowl, and in many geographies, mesocarnivores are the primary threat to nests and hens. However, terrestrial predators are difficult to survey at a population level because their widely spa...
Presented by Blake J Mitchell - Email: bjmitch@iastate.edu
Duckling survival has potential to drive population dynamics and has been related to conditions experienced on wetlands including forage availability. Specifically, invertebrate forage is linked to early growth and greater energy reserves for young d...
P.2-09: Development of a Long-Term Monitoring Program for Waterfowl in the Rainwater Basin Region
by Dana Varner, Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, Grand Island, Nebraska, et al
Presented by Dana Varner - Email: Dana_Varner@fws.gov
The Rainwater Basin Wetland region (RWB) of Nebraska is the focal point of spring waterfowl migration in the Central Flyway. Currently, over 85% of the historic wetland basins have been drained for agriculture production. Based on population object...
