Nest Survival of Scaup and Other Ducks in the Boreal Forest of Alaska

Walker, Johann; Lindberg, Mark S.; MacCluskie, Margaret C.; Petrula, Michael J.; Sedinger, James S.

doi:10.2193/0022-541x(2005)069[0582:nsosao]2.0.co;2

Cited by 34 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(32 reference statements)

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“…Some have found that nest survival declines mid-season (Dinsmore et al 2002;Wilson et al 2007), while others have found positive (e.g. Grant et al 2005), negative (Burhans et al 2002;Jehle et al 2004), or no relationship between time and nest survival (Traylor et al 2004;Walker et al 2005). We found that, among ground-nesting shorebirds, nest survival was depressed during the mid-season in 5 of 8 years while it was higher in the remaining 3.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 44%

Intraseasonal patterns in shorebird nest survival are related to nest age and defence behaviour

Smith

Wilson

2010

Oecologia

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Nest survival may vary throughout the breeding season for many bird species, and the nature of this temporal variation can reveal the links between birds, their predators, and other components of the ecosystem. We used program Mark to model patterns in nest survival within the breeding season for shorebirds nesting on arctic tundra. From 2000 to 2007, we monitored 521 nests of five shorebird species and found strong evidence for variation in nest survival within a nesting season. Daily nest survival was lowest in the mid-season in 5 of 8 years, but the timing and magnitude of the lows varied. We found no evidence that this quadratic time effect was driven by seasonal changes in weather or the abundance of predators. Contrary to our prediction, the risk of predation was not greatest when the number of active shorebird nests was highest. Although nest abundance reached a maximum near the middle of the breeding season, a daily index of shorebird nest activity was not supported as a predictor of nest survival in the models. Predators' access to other diet items, in addition to shorebird nests, may instead determine the temporal patterns of nest predation. Nest survival also displayed a positive, linear relationship with nest age; however, this effect was most pronounced among species with biparental incubation. Among biparental species, parents defended older nests with greater intensity. We did not detect a similar relationship among uniparental species, and conclude that the stronger relationship between nest age and both nest defence and nest survival for biparental species reflects that their nest defence is more effective.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 44%

Intraseasonal patterns in shorebird nest survival are related to nest age and defence behaviour

Smith

Wilson

2010

Oecologia

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“…To obtain nests for trapping, we visited ponds and lake shore segments throughout the study area (Fig. ) with crews of 2–6 people walking abreast and using willow switches to search floating vegetation along margins and up to 50 m into uplands (Walker et al ). We selected nests for trapping from across the study area, with the only criterion being appropriate stage of incubation ( < 5 days from predicted hatch; determined by candling eggs [Weller ]) to reduce potential for nest abandonment.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual survival in female white‐winged scoters and lesser scaup

Slattery

Clark

2019

J Wildl Manag

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Quantifying survival and understanding underlying sources of variation are important for developing population models and informing management decisions. We estimated apparent survival (i.e., true survival less permanent emigration) for adult female white‐winged scoters (Melanitta fusca) and lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) breeding at a northern boreal forest site in western Canada, 2002–2008. We also evaluated variation in survival relative to indices of breeding status, individual quality, spring weather conditions, local small‐mammal abundance, and overwinter climate. Breeding female scoters had higher apparent survival than did nonbreeding females, suggesting that breeders had higher survival or fidelity to the study area, or that more nonbreeders were transient birds that may have bred elsewhere in subsequent years. Apparent survival rate for breeding female scoters was unrelated to other individual and environmental covariates. Nest‐trapped female scaup had higher apparent survival rates than did prenesting females captured in decoy traps, implying that more pre‐nesters dispersed permanently or died after marking. Nesting female scaup with higher body condition or those in years when small mammals were more abundant had higher apparent survival; associations between survival and other environmental covariates were less certain. Overall, apparent survival rate of breeding adult female scoters was lower than reported for scoters from other North American locations or for other sea duck species, whereas estimates for nesting female scaup were comparable with those from other boreal and prairie‐parkland locations. Our results indicate that for scaup in this region, factors influencing female body condition, such as maintaining high‐quality habitat, areas with abundant food or low disturbance, could improve annual survival. © The Wildlife Society, 2019

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“…The boreal forest is the second most productive breeding area for ducks in North America and may serve as an important refuge for prairie waterfowl in dry years due to the abundance of permanent wetlands (Derksen and Eldridge , Batt et al , Slattery et al ). However, little is known about the nesting ecology of ducks in the boreal forest (Petrula , Walker and Lindberg , Slattery et al ). Variation in nest‐site selection among species is driven by habitat availability, weather and climate patterns, and predation pressure (Batt et al ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Microhabitat nest‐site selection by ducks in the boreal forest

2019

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The boreal forest is one of the North America's most important breeding areas for ducks, but information about the nesting ecology of ducks in the region is limited. We collected microhabitat data related to vegetation structure and composition at 157 duck nests and paired random locations in Alberta's boreal forest region from 2016 to 2018. We identified fine-scale vegetation features selected by ducks for all nests, between nesting guilds, and among five species using conditional logistic regression. Ducks in the boreal forest selected nest sites with greater overhead and graminoid cover, but less forb cover than random sites. Characteristics of the nest sites of upland-and overwater-nesting guilds differed, with species nesting in upland habitat selecting nests that provided greater shrub cover and less lateral concealment and species nesting over water selecting nests with less shrub cover. We examined the characteristics of nest sites of American Wigeon (Mareca americana), Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors), Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca), Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris), and found differences among species that may facilitate species coexistence at a regional scale. Our results suggest that females of species nesting in upland habitat selected nest sites that optimized concealment from aerial predators while also allowing detection of and escape from terrestrial predators. Consequently, alteration in the composition and heterogeneity of vegetation and predator communities caused by climate change and industrial development in the boreal forest of Canada may affect the nest-site selection strategies of boreal ducks. RESUMEN.Selecci on del microh abitat de anidamiento de parte de patos en un bosque boreal El bosque boreal es uno de los lugares m as importantes para la reproducci on de patos en Norte Am erica, pero la informaci on que se tiene sobre la ecolog ıa de anidamiento de estos, en la regi on, es limitada. Recopilamos datos del microh abitat, relacionado con la composici on y estructura de la vegetaci on, de 157 nidos de patos y pareamos localidades al azar en la regi on de bosque boreal de Alberta, Canad a de 2016 a 2018. Identificamos atributos, a pequeña escala, del microh abitat de la vegetaci on seleccionada por los patos para anidar, entre gremios de nidos, y entre cinco especies, utilizando una regresi on log ıstica condicionada. En el bosque boreal, los patos seleccionaron lugares para anidar con mayor cantidad de cubertura superior de gram ıneas, pero con menos cubierta de herb aceas que lugares seleccionados al azar. Las caracter ısticas del lugar de anidamiento de gremios que anidaron en tierras altas y sobre el agua result o diferente, al de especies que anidaron en h abitat de tierras altas, y que seleccionaron para anidar lugares que proveyeron de mayor cobertura arbustiva y menos cubierta lateral y especies que anidaron sobre agua y que seleccionaron lugares con menor cobertura arbustiva. Examinamos las caracter ısticas del lugar de anidamiento de ...

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Nest Survival of Scaup and Other Ducks in the Boreal Forest of Alaska

Cited by 34 publications

References 19 publications

Intraseasonal patterns in shorebird nest survival are related to nest age and defence behaviour

Intraseasonal patterns in shorebird nest survival are related to nest age and defence behaviour

Annual survival in female white‐winged scoters and lesser scaup

Microhabitat nest‐site selection by ducks in the boreal forest

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