Effects of Seasonal Fire Applications on Northern Bobwhite Brood Habitat and Hunting Success

Brennan, Leonard A.; Lee, Jeffrey M.; Staller, Eric L.; Wellendorf, Shane D.; Fuller, Richard

doi:10.7290/nqsp04lz04

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The Red Hills region experienced mild winters, similar to the long‐term normals, with monthly low temperatures

(\overset{x}{true}

= 8°C, high temp

\overset{x}{true}

= 20°C, precipitation

\overset{x}{true}

= 13 cm). The Red Hills region is largely composed of private plantations, primarily managed for hunting northern bobwhite ( Colinus virginianus ; Brennan et al 2000). Managed land in the Red Hills is predominately upland pine ( Pinus spp.)…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Winter Survival of Female Ring‐Necked Ducks in the Southern Atlantic Flyway

Mezebish

Olsen²,

Goodman³

et al. 2020

J Wildl Manag

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North American waterfowl harvest regulations are largely guided by the status of breeding populations. Nonetheless, understanding the demographics of wintering waterfowl populations can elucidate the effects of hunting pressure on population dynamics. The ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) breeds and winters in all North American administrative flyways and is one of the most abundant and most harvested diving ducks in the Atlantic Flyway. But few studies have investigated the winter ecology of ringnecked ducks. We used a known-fate analysis to estimate period survival probability using data from 87 female ring-necked ducks marked with satellite transmitters in 2 regions of the southern Atlantic Flyway during winters of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. Winter (128-day) survival probability was higher for individuals in the Red Hills region of southern Georgia and northern Florida (0.875, 95% CI = 0.691-0.952) than individuals in central South Carolina (0.288, 95% CI = 0.082-0.514). We attribute the regional disparity in winter survival probabilities to differences in hunting pressure, which are reflected in the number of harvests we observed in each region. Our findings warrant further investigation into regional variation in winter survival of southern Atlantic Flyway ring-necked ducks, and, specifically, the relationship between variable harvest pressure and winter survival and its influence on ring-necked duck population dynamics and adaptive harvest management decisions.

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“…The Red Hills region experienced mild winters, similar to the long‐term normals, with monthly low temperatures

(\overset{x}{true}

= 8°C, high temp

\overset{x}{true}

= 20°C, precipitation

\overset{x}{true}

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Winter Survival of Female Ring‐Necked Ducks in the Southern Atlantic Flyway

Mezebish

Olsen²,

Goodman³

et al. 2020

J Wildl Manag

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“…Previous research has indicated that prescribed burning and grazing manage the structure and composition of vegetation through the removal of litter , Glitzenstein et al 2012) and increased forage abundance and availability (Brennan et al 1997). In our study, the effect of management (i.e., prescribed burning or grazing) did not increase selection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Activities such as the harvest of row crops may lead to the creation of unusable space in the winter months (Leopold 1931, Roseberry and. Prescribed fire applied during winter may create unusable space for several months post-burn through the removal of grass cover, but creates bare ground for improved mobility for a couple of years post-burn , Glitzenstein et al 2012 and increases forage (i.e., seeds) abundance and availability (Brennan et al 1997). Similarly, grazing promotes the complex vegetation structure required by bobwhite as well as the amount of litter and bare ground consistent with the habitat requirements of bobwhite .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental drivers of Northern bobwhite fall and winter survival and resource selection in Southwest Missouri

Mosloff¹

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Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have declined over the last 50 years throughout the majority of their historical range, primarily due to habitat loss and degradation caused by modern farming practices, increased urbanization, succession of native grasslands to forests, decreases in native pasture acreage and increases in grazing intensity. Recent questions regarding conservation grazing and prescribed burning management regimes and extensive grassland management suggest further information on vegetation and management effects on bobwhite demographics is necessary for robust conservation planning. Information regarding the survival and resource selection through fall and winter is necessary to create a holistic management plan which benefits bobwhite at all stages of their annual cycle. Therefore, our objective was to determine the relationship of bobwhite survival and resource selection to vegetation types and management practices to fill in knowledge gaps of their annual cycle and demography. We used known-fate, logistic exposure survival models to estimate survival of birds fitted with tracking devices. We used 2068 bobwhite locations from 1 Nov to 31 Jan, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 to fit 7 models that represented competing hypotheses concerning the amount of native grass, intensive and extensive management, and woody cover. Variation in survival was not explained by the amount of native grass managed by prescribed burning and grazing on the landscape. However, survival was negatively related to prescribed burning. Survival was negatively related to the distance to shrubs but not related to shrub edge density or proportion of shrub cover within 50 m. Survival was also positively related to the distance from the nearest tree. We used conditional multinomial logit discrete models to evaluate the relationship of vegetation and management types to bobwhite resource selection by comparing covariates among the used point and a set of random points that defined a choice set for each bobwhite location. We used 671 choice sets from 1 Nov 2018 to 31 Jan 2019 to fit 6 candidate models in a model selection framework which represented combinations of our hypothesized drivers of bobwhite fall and winter resource selection. We found no support for an effect of native warm season grasses or the effect of prescribed burning and grazing on resource selection. Bobwhite selected locations with greater woody stem counts and greater visual obstruction, both of which are indicative of shrub cover, and there was a weak positive relationship with woody edge density However, bobwhite also selected locations that were closer to trees. We found weak support for negative effects of the percentages of forb and bare ground at a given location on resource selection, while there was a negative effect of grass on winter resource selection. Woody cover was an important component of vegetation contributing to fall and winter survival and resource selection of bobwhite in Missouri. More specifically, proximity to shrubs and distance from trees were positively related to survival. Greater quantities of woody stems, indicative of shrub thickets also increased the relative probability of selection. Interestingly, closer proximity to trees also increased the relative probability of selection, potentially indicating an ecological trap. While necessary, the utility of native grasslands for bobwhite is greatly diminished if they do not contain shrub cover. Prescribed burning is perhaps the most effective tool to manage native grasslands for bobwhite habitat as it simultaneously promotes native grass quality, removes litter, and prevents shrub cover from dominating the landscape and succeeding to trees. While prescribed fire is important for controlling woody vegetation and for the creation of breeding, nesting, and brood rearing habitat, its short-term effect was to reduce survival of bobwhite in the fall and winter. We suggest that application of prescribed fire on short intervals at large scales will likely reduce the quality of habitat available to bobwhite during the fall and winter seasons. However, the use of fire in a multiyear rotation in combination with grazing in native and restored grasslands can create the needed interspersion of shrub cover for fall and winter while meeting the other annual resource needs of bobwhite. Felling mature trees while still maintaining adequate interspersion of shrubs may also prevent an ecological trap because survival was lower nearer trees. Lastly, while our study focused on fall and winter habitat, we suggest conservation planning and management needs to consider quail needs throughout their full annual cycle.

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“…These disturbances may also improve juvenile-body condition in the first 3 weeks of life, thereby reducing mortalities due to starvation or exposure (Chapter 1). Burning grasslands removes accumulated litter and increases insect abundance, which facilitates foraging efficiency, thereby increasing development and survival of young Brennan et al 2000;Burke et al 2008;Gruchy and Harper 2014;Kamps et al 2017). Attending adults preferentially selected diurnal habitats with more bare ground, greater forb cover, and taller vegetation with greater visual obstruction for young broods .…”

Section: Local Cover and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Northern bobwhite brood ecology and population dynamics in southwest Missouri

Sinnott

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Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) have experienced widespread, long-term population declines. Bobwhite populations in Missouri have declined 2.7 percent annually between 1966 and 2015, and 3.5 percent annually between 2005 and 2015, for a cumulative loss of 80 percent since 1966. Maintaining healthy populations requires a better understanding of how population growth and vital rates across seasons are affected by habitat and land management practices. We examined bobwhite brood ecology and population dynamics in southwest Missouri. My dissertation objectives were to: (1) Examine the influence of cover type, management, and weather on juvenile bobwhite body condition; (2) Estimate bobwhite juvenile survival from hatch as a function of herbaceous cover, habitat management practices, woody vegetation structure, and landscape patterns; (3) Determine population-level bobwhite brood resource selection patterns for managed grasslands and agricultural habitat; and (4) Estimate site-specific bobwhite fecundity, seasonal age- and sex-specific survival, and the relative contributions of these vital rates to trends in abundance. Among our five study sites, Wade and June Shelton Memorial Conservation Area, Stony Point Prairie Conservation Area, and Wah'Kon-Tah Prairie are native grasslands ranging in size from 320 to 3030 acres. These sites were considered extensively managed, with fire, grazing, mowing and haying implemented to maintain continuous tracts of native grasslands. By contrast, Robert E. Talbot and Shawnee Trail conservation areas (3635-4361 acres) are intensively managed sites. In addition to grassland habitats, both of these areas incorporated small units of agriculture, food plots, and woody vegetation strips for wildlife use. We used radio telemetry and brood capture data to evaluate the influence of habitat management on juvenile body condition, survival, and brood habitat selection patterns. Brood attending adults were tracked daily from nest hatch to brood capture at approximately 3-weeks old. On capture, juveniles were fitted with transmitters and observed through the life of the bird or the life of the transmitter. Habitat was characterized using maps of herbaceous cover (native- mixed- and cool-season grasslands, and agricultural cover), management activities (prescribed burning, conservation grazing, mowing/haying), and woody vegetation structure (shrub and tree cover). To evaluate environmental influencers on bobwhite juvenile body condition, we captured 216 individuals from 33 broods >16-days old across our study sites in 2017 and 2018. We used the residuals from a linear regression of tarsus length and body mass as an index of body condition in a generalized linear mixed model evaluating effects of season, weather, and habitat. We found some support for improved body condition early in the breeding season, under warmer average temperatures, and in native grasslands that were burned and grazed in the previous two years. We estimated bobwhite juvenile survival based on observations of 705 individuals from 75 broods for a total of 14,904 exposure days. This included 493 individuals observed from hatch to capture and 212 radio-tagged individuals. We estimated 28.6 percent 114-day period survival for juvenile bobwhite 2016-2018. Survival was highest on native grasslands burned and grazed at least once in the previous two years and survival increased with local shrub cover. Local agricultural cover also improved survival, however landscape interactions suggest survival is low in small units of cultivated crops surrounded by grasslands or woody vegetation. We evaluated patterns in brood resource selection and the effects of those choices on brood survival using integrated step selection analysis. We quantified resource selection behavior of 101 bobwhite broods by comparing each of 2,788 chosen daily steps to 10 random available steps not taken. Consistent with our body condition and survival results, native grasslands that were burned and grazed at least once in the previous two years had the highest relative probability of use. Selection for idle native grasslands increased with age. We also found selection influenced brood success; broods that succeeded were more likely to choose available habitats with more shrub cover, while failed broods avoided available habitats with more shrub cover. Successful broods also selected areas farther from trees than failed broods. To quantify full annual cycle population dynamics in an integrated population model, we tracked 766 juveniles and 618 adults during the breeding season, we tracked 772 juveniles and 349 adults during the non-breeding season, we monitored success of 276 nests incubated among 576 adults, and conducted whistle counts in May 2016-2018. Talbot Conservation Area had the lowest population growth rate ([lambda]TAL = 0.31, 95 percent CRI: 0.03, 0.65), due to low fecundity and summer adult survival. Shelton Memorial Conservation Area had low estimated breeding season juvenile survival, non-breeding season survival, and the second lowest population growth rate ([lambda]SLT = 0.37, 95 percent CRI: 0.00, 0.74), possibly due to its small area (320 acres) and low bobwhite density. Stony Point Prairie had high fecundity and adult breeding season survival probabilities, but the lowest non-breeding season survival among all sites, which depressed population growth ([lambda]STP = 0.51 95 percent CRI: 0.08, 0.85). Extensive native grasslands had consistently higher fecundity and adult summer survival probabilities than intensively managed conservation areas. Wah'Kon-Tah Prairie, our largest extensively managed site, had the highest population growth rate ([lambda]WKT = 0.55, 95 percent CRI: 0.13, 0.94). We found declining population trends on all conservation areas. Non-breeding season survival from 1 November to 30 April was most strongly correlated with abundance, followed by juvenile breeding season survival. Greater, less variable non-breeding season survival is required to achieve population stability. Further evaluation of intra-annual environmental influencers and the relationship between habitat area and population viability would better inform bobwhite management approaches. Important next steps in this research include examining finer temporal scales that separately evaluate breeding, winter, and transitional periods in the annual cycle. Additionally, effects of weather and climate on population viability will be important considerations as Missouri experiences warmer temperatures and potentially extreme changes in precipitation patterns. Finally, this study generated valuable data that can be used to simulate regional population trends and projections across the surrounding landscape.

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Effects of Seasonal Fire Applications on Northern Bobwhite Brood Habitat and Hunting Success

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Winter Survival of Female Ring‐Necked Ducks in the Southern Atlantic Flyway

Winter Survival of Female Ring‐Necked Ducks in the Southern Atlantic Flyway

Environmental drivers of Northern bobwhite fall and winter survival and resource selection in Southwest Missouri

Northern bobwhite brood ecology and population dynamics in southwest Missouri

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