No abstract

Autumn waterfowl habitat management often focuses on providing high energy food resources to attract and concentrate waterfowl for harvest. Similarly, many waterfowl conservation plans assume food resources are the primary, controllable limiting factor influencing waterfowl distribution during migration; however, hunting‐related disturbance also influences waterfowl distribution in autumn. We investigated factors influencing mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) movements in an intensively hunted and food‐rich landscape in Ohio, USA, during autumn of 2015 and 2016. We used locations from female mallards equipped with global positioning system (GPS) back‐pack‐transmitters to determine the probability of mallards switching land cover types based on seasonal and daily patterns of hunting disturbance and to determine the distances mallards moved between cover types that offer refuge and those that offer food resources as evidence for or against food resource depletion during the hunting season. Mallards switched cover types to exploit food‐rich but intensively hunted locations nocturnally and cover type switching during times subject to disturbance increased significantly from the early segment to the late segment of hunting season. Distances mallards moved between refuge cover types and food‐rich cover types did not change over the duration of the study. Hunting disturbance is a key variable influencing autumn movements and distribution of mallards, and mallards in a food‐rich and intensively hunted landscape likely employ nocturnal foraging as a strategy to survive autumn migration. Nocturnal foraging behavior has consequences for waterfowl managers tasked with providing quality waterfowl hunting opportunities because ducks that forage only at night are largely unavailable to hunters. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

Growth of temperate breeding Canada goose (Branta canadensis maxima) populations remains a challenge for agencies that seek to balance social acceptance with demand for hunting opportunity from constituents. Harvest regulation is the principle means by which federal and state agencies attempt to keep populations in balance with their environment. Band recovery data and aerial surveys are used to monitor populations and evaluate population control efforts. Greater than 140,000 temperate‐breeding Canada geese were banded in Ohio, USA, from 1990 to 2015. We used Brownie dead‐recovery models to estimate survival rates as a function of time, age, urban–rural status, winter weather severity, and hunting regulations. We derived annual direct‐recovery rates by age and urban–rural cohorts. We mapped all recoveries of Ohio‐banded geese to investigate changes in harvest distribution over time. The highest‐ranked model that explained survival of Ohio‐banded geese had urban–rural status, age, and winter weather severity effects. Survival rates were lower during severe winters for adult rural geese, adult urban geese, and hatch‐year urban geese; however, hatch‐year rural geese had greater survival rates during severe winters. Direct recovery rates of all geese remained stable over the duration of the study (1990–2015), and there was a shift eastward in distribution of band recoveries over time. Survival rates of Ohio‐banded Canada geese appear to be largely unaffected by annual harvest regulations. Furthermore, long‐term moderation of winter weather in Ohio could result in increased adult goose survival, requiring additional management actions to temper population growth. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

Waterfowl hunter numbers and waterfowl populations were closely correlated until the past 2 decades when hunter numbers declined despite near‐record breeding population estimates for ducks in North America. As a result, efforts to recruit, retain, and reactivate (R3) waterfowl hunters have been promoted by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan community because hunters are a key source of funding for wetland‐wildlife habitat conservation and management. Increasing access and opportunity for hunting appears to be the primary R3 strategy in North America. We suggest that hunt quality is an equal, if not more important, facet of waterfowl hunter R3 that is substantially overlooked and undervalued by current R3 initiatives. We contend that providing abundant access and opportunity to hunt waterfowl alone, especially if it jeopardizes hunting quality, is inadequate. We urge the R3 community to integrate principles and methods used within the human dimensions field to focus on the relationships between quality, motivation, and satisfaction across various audiences and market segments. Such an approach will help R3 initiatives establish an empirical evidence base to develop strategies specifically focused on identifying key hunt quality or opportunity factors. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

No abstract

The king rail (Rallus elegans) is a secretive marsh bird that is threatened or endangered in eight of nine states and provinces in the Laurentian Great Lakes (Great Lakes) region. Available survey data suggests that this species has undergone population declines across this region and these are believed to have been driven by habitat loss and degradation. An improved understanding of the amount and type of habitat king rails require during the breeding season at sites within the Great Lakes region would inform and improve progress toward conservation goals. During 2019–2021, we caught and radio‐tagged 14 king rails in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan within impounded coastal wetlands of western Lake Erie. We used radio telemetry to identify breeding season (May–August) home‐range characteristics and third order habitat selection within home ranges (hereafter microhabitat). For the birds whose home range stabilized (N = 10), we found a mean home‐range size of 8.8 ha (±1.63 [SE]; range = 1.9 to 15.8). We generated a classification tree to determine which habitat characteristics were associated with king rail presence within home ranges in our study. We found that vegetative density within home ranges was particularly associated with king rail presence. Phragmites australis was also associated with king rail presence, despite its invasiveness and negative ecological impacts in the region, and could be selectively maintained to benefit king rails. Our results suggest that managers may be able to provide microhabitat for king rails by maintaining water depths of 6 to 17 cm and by promoting native, robust vegetation in the genera Carex and Juncus. Our findings could help inform wetland managers and conservation planners in the Great Lakes region, particularly in western Lake Erie coastal marshes, of patch sizes, water depths, plant communities, and vegetative structure preferred by king rails.

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Active influenza A virus (IAV) surveillance in wild waterfowl in the United States has revolved around convenience-based sampling methods, resulting in gaps in surveillance during the spring season. We conducted active IAV surveillance in mallards continuously from July 2017 to July 2019 in the coastal marshes of Lake Erie near Port Clinton, Ohio. We aimed to understand ecological and evolutionary dynamics of IAV across multiple seasons, including the under-sampled spring season. We collected 2096 cloacal swabs and estimated a 6.1% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.050–0.071) prevalence during the study period. Prevalence was lowest during spring (1.0%, 95% CI: 0.004–0.015). Time-stamped phylogenetic analyses revealed local persistence of genetic lineages of multiple gene segments. The PA segment consists of a lineage detected in multiple seasons with a time to most recent common ancestor of 2.48 years (95% highest posterior density: 2.16–2.74). Analysis of the H3 and H6 segments showed close relation between IAVs detected in spring and the following autumn migration. Though the mechanisms behind viral persistence in a single location are not well understood, we provide evidence that viruses can persist across several seasons. Current surveillance methods should be evaluated to ensure they are capturing the breadth of genetic diversity of IAV in waterfowl and prepare for IAV outbreaks in both animals and humans.