Download or read book A Spatial Model of Waterfowl Nest Site Selection in Grassland Nesting Cover written by Duane Bruce Pool and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ducks Unlimited's (DU) mission statement is focused on providing for the annual lifecycle needs of migratory waterfowl. The largest impacts to the success and numbers of continental populations are determined by their activities on the breeding grounds. To model and therefore manage habitats and landscapes for ducks (Anas and Aythya spp.) it is necessary to understand several characteristics of their behavior. This research builds a model of nest site selection from nest probability based on remotely sensed data, presence data and minimum threshold theory. The methods used are applicable to other sensor platforms as well as other target species or phenomenon. Using data compression techniques, logistic regression, and spatial statistical functions (Ripley's k-function, a global k-function, and Multiple Response Permutation Procedure) we tested the observed point patterns and developed a point process model to predict nesting patterns. The application of this type of fine resolution da.

Download or read book Factors Affecting Duck Nesting in the Aspen Parklands written by David William Howerter and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Habitat fragmentation often has been cited as a cause for reduced reproductive success of grassland-nesting birds, including ducks, though results of many studies have been equivocal. As remotely sensed habitat data become increasingly available, an increased understanding of how habitat configurations affect demographic parameters will allow wildlife managers to make better decisions about habitat preservation and restoration. We used duck (Anas spp.) nesting data from 15 65-km2 study areas (n=6300 nests) dispersed throughout the aspen (Populus tremuloides) parklands of south-central Canada, to test hypotheses and build models that predict hatching rates and nest-site distributions in relation to landscape features. We constructed separate models using landscape features generated at 3 different spatial extents and using 3 different habitat classification schemes. Generalized linear mixed-modeling techniques were used to model hatching rates, and logistic regression was used to discr.

Download or read book The Roles of Heterogeneity and Scale in Mallard Nest Site Selection written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Roles of Heterogeneity and Scale in Mallard Nest Site Selection written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Waterfowl use of tall, relatively homogeneous upland nesting cover established as part of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan has often been lower than predicted by computer planning tools. Little information exists regarding the influence of patchiness or the spatial scales at which mallards (' Areas platyrhynchos') select nesting habitats. The present study addresses these ques ions at the level of the nest site, and provides new information to managers concerned with improving the productivity of nesting habitat for prairie waterfowl. Data were collected in conjunction with Prairie Habitat Joint Venture Assessment research, near Minnedosa, Manitoba in 1998. A random sample of 64 mallard nests were chosen from all nests located on a 65 km2 study area. Vegetation characteristics were measured within 4 x 4, 16 x 16, and 32 x 32 meter sample grids centered at each nest and at paired non-nest points. Observed habitat preferences suggest that management for nesting cover with an intermediate height and density, a high diversity and interspersion of grasses, forbs and shrubs, and fine scale structural heterogeneity may increase its attractiveness to nesting mallards. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Download or read book Special Reference Briefs written by and published by . This book was released on 1983 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Behavioral Ecological Perspective on Density Dependence in Breeding Waterfowl written by Kevin Michael Ringelman and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Density-dependent population regulation is observed in many taxa, and understanding the mechanisms that generate density dependence is especially important for the conservation of heavily-managed species. In one such system, North American waterfowl, density dependence is often observed at continental scales, and nest predation has long been implicated as a key factor driving this pattern. However, despite extensive research on this topic, it remains unclear if and how nest density influences predation rates. Part of this confusion may have arisen because previous studies have examined density-dependent predation at relatively large spatial and temporal scales, and have failed to account for the effects of different types of predator behavior on nest success. I used observational and experimental field research and agent-based modeling to study the relationship between nest density and predation risk across a variety of spatial scales in a population of breeding dabbling ducks in the Suisun Marsh of California. In chapter 1, my coauthors and I replicated a predation experiment 10 years after the original study, using both natural and artificial nests, comparing a year when overall rates of nest predation were high (2000) to a year with moderate nest predation (2010). We found no evidence for density-dependent predation on artificial nests in either year, indicating that nest predation was not density-dependent at the spatial scale of our experimental replicates. Using nearest neighbor distances as a measure of nest dispersion, we also found little evidence for "dispersion-dependent" predation on artificial nests. However, when we tested for dispersion-dependent predation using natural nests, we found that nest survival increased with shorter nearest neighbor distances, and that neighboring nests were more likely to share the same nest fate than non-adjacent nests. Thus, at small spatial scales, density dependence appears to operate in the opposite direction as predicted: closer nearest neighbors are more likely to be successful. In chapter 2, we built on this exciting result, and more rigorously examined the relationship between local nest clustering and nest survival. Using three years of data, we used a local measure of spatial association (Ripley's L) to assess the degree of clustering across a continuum of spatial scales for each week of the nesting season. We found that the distribution of nests was consistently clustered at small spatial scales (~50 - 400 m), especially for Mallard nests, and that this pattern was robust to yearly variation in nest density and the intensity of predation. We then used modern logistic exposure techniques to examine how nest survival changed with nearest-neighbor distance. Similar to our findings in chapter 1, we demonstrated that local nest clustering had positive fitness consequences--nests with closer nearest neighbors were more likely to be successful. Thus, nest clustering appears to effectively dilute predation risk in our California study system, possibly because the primary nest predators (Striped Skunks, Mephitis mephitis and Raccoons, Procyon lotor) at our site are only incidental predators of duck nests. Nests appear to be adaptively clustered at our site in California, but this may not be true in other areas where predators behave differently; in fact, when predators respond strongly to prey density (e.g. through area-restricted search), the optimal strategy may be for birds to disperse their nests widely across the landscape. In chapter 3, I built an agent-based model in Netlogo designed to answer that qualitative question: are clustered nests more or less successful than dispersed nests, and how does that relative benefit vary depending on predator behavior? I modeled three types of waterfowl nest predators (to emulate the foraging behavior of skunks and foxes) that differ in their degree of spatial memory and their capacity for area-restricted search, foraging on different distributions of nests. As hypothesized, well-dispersed nests survived better with fox-like predators that performed area-restricted searches. On the other hand, clustered nests survived better when incidental skunk-like predators were present, but survival was dramatically reduced in the presence of foxes; thus, small changes in the predator community (e.g. introduction of foxes) without commensurate changes in nest clustering could have important effects on waterfowl populations. On simulated landscapes containing both clustered and dispersed nests and a mixed predator community, average nest success for clustered versus randomly placed nests was the same across possible predator mixes, but the variance in success for clustered nests was much higher; this suggests that there may be risk-reward tradeoffs when nesting near conspecifics. That said, the degree to which ducks can actually assess and respond to the presence of conspecifics is largely unknown, and it is believed that nest sites are selected based on habitat. Results from this model, combined with empirical data suggest that commonly-used management strategies that promote nest clustering, such as restoration of small parcels of habitat, can actually create ecological traps for nesting ducks, driven by predator behavior. In my final chapter, my coauthors and I used 15 years of nesting data to explore how spatial patterns of nest density and nest success shifted across the landscape through time. Specifically, we were interested in whether there were areas of consistently high or low predation risk, and whether we could detect win-stay, lose-switch dynamics (the tendency for successful birds to return to the same area, and unsuccessful birds to disperse to new areas) at a population level. We conducted a series of analyses at a variety of spatial scales, but, surprisingly, found no spatio-temporal correlation in predation risk, and no evidence for win-stay, lose-shift dynamics. We concluded that in our system, birds are not using prior experience to select nest sites because there is little year-to-year correlation in predation risk; hence, there is no advantage to win-stay, lose-shift. We suggest that in unpredictable environments, waterfowl may use current cues, such as the presence of conspecifics, to select nest sites. This spatially- and temporally-refined investigation into density-dependent nest predation in waterfowl has underscored the importance of understanding the individual-level processes that underlie population-level patterns. It seems clear that predator behavior can have important effects, not only on patterns of nest success, but on how waterfowl adaptively select nest sites and distribute themselves across the landscape. This research highlights the need to better understand the dynamic interplay between waterfowl habitat selection and nest predator foraging behavior. From a conservation perspective, it appears that density-dependent nest predation may occur at a smaller scale than previously examined, and may be positive or negative depending on the predator community. For maximum efficacy, management actions targeted at increasing nest success should be mindful of site-specific differences in predator communities.

Download or read book Dissertation Abstracts International written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 788 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Effects of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Fish and Wildlife written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The bibliography is a guide to recent scientific literature covering effects of agricultural conservation practices on fish and wildlife. The citations listed here provide information on how conservation programs and practices designed to improve fish and wildlife habitat, as well as those intended for other purposes (e.g., water quality improvement), affect various aquatic and terrestrial fauna"--Abstract.

Download or read book Effects of Temperature on Nest Site Selection of Ground nesting Grassland Birds written by Kimberly Marie Suedkamp and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Prairie Pothole Region At the Current Pace of Acquistions the U S Fish and Wildlife Service is Unlikely to Achieve its Habitat Protection Goals for Migratory Birds written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Birdscapes written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Waterfowl Distribution and Productivity in the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada written by James H. Devries and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Species conservation requires an understanding of the factors and interactions affecting species distribution and behavior, habitat availability and use, and corresponding vital rates at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Opportunities to investigate these relationships across broad geographic regions are rare. We combined long-term waterfowl population surveys, and studies of habitat use and breeding success, to develop models that identify and incorporate these interactions for upland-nesting waterfowl in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of Canada. Specifically, we used data from the annual Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (1961-2009) at the survey segment level and associated habitat covariates to model and map the long-term average duck density across the Canadian PPR. We analyzed nest location and fate data from approximately 25,000 duck nests found during 3 multi-year nesting studies (1994-2011) to model factors associated with nest survival and habitat selection through the nesting season for the 5 most common upland nesting duck species: mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), gadwall (Mareca strepera), blue-winged teal (Spatula discors), northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata), and northern pintail (Anas acuta). Duck density was highly variable across the Canadian PPR, reflecting positive responses to local wetland area and count, and amounts of cropland and grassland, a regional positive response to latitude, and a negative response to local amounts of tree cover. Nest survival was affected by temporal and spatial variables at multiple scales. Specifically, nest survival demonstrated interactive effects among species, nest initiation date, and nesting cover type and was influenced by relative annual wetness, population density, and surrounding landscape composition at landscape scales, and broad geographic gradients (east-west and north-south). Likewise, species-specific probability of nest habitat selection was influenced by timing of nest initiation, population density, relative annual wetness, herbaceous cover, and tree cover in the surrounding landscape, and location within the Canadian PPR. We combined these models, with estimates of breeding effort (nesting, renesting, and nest attempts) from existing literature, in a stochastic conservation planning model that estimates nest distribution and success given spatiotemporal variation in duck density, habitat availability, and influential covariates. We demonstrate the use of this model by examining various conservation planning scenarios. These models allow estimation of local, landscape, and regional influence of conservation investments and other landscape changes on the productivity of breeding duck populations across the PPR of Canada. These models lay the groundwork for the incorporation of conservation delivery costs for full return-on-investment analyses and scenario analyses of climate, habitat, and land use change in regional and continental population models.

Download or read book Annual Report written by Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration in the Americas written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 672 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Evaluations of Duck Habitat and Estimation of Duck Population Sizes with a Remote sensing based System written by Lewis M. Cowardin and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Wildlife Management and Landscapes written by William F. Porter and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wildlife management specialists and landscape ecologists offer a new perspective on the important intersection of these fields in the twenty-first century. It's been clear for decades that landscape-level patterns and processes, along with the tenets and tools of landscape ecology, are vitally important in understanding wildlife-habitat relationships and sustaining wildlife populations. Today, significant shifts in the spatial scale of extractive, agricultural, ranching, and urban land uses are upon us, making it more important than ever before to connect wildlife management and landscape ecology. Landscape ecologists must understand the constraints that wildlife managers face and be able to use that knowledge to translate their work into more practical applications. Wildlife managers, for their part, can benefit greatly from becoming comfortable with the vocabulary, conceptual processes, and perspectives of landscape ecologists. In Wildlife Management and Landscapes, the foremost landscape ecology experts and wildlife management specialists come together to discuss the emerging role of landscape concepts in habitat management. Their contributions • make the case that a landscape perspective is necessary to address management questions • translate concepts in landscape ecology to wildlife management • explain why studying some important habitat-wildlife relationships is still inherently difficult • explore the dynamic and heterogeneous structure of natural systems • reveal why factors such as soil, hydrology, fire, grazing, and timber harvest lead to uncertainty in management decisions • explain matching scale between population processes and management • discuss limitations to management across jurisdictional boundaries and balancing objectives of private landowners and management agencies • offer practical ideas for improving communication between professionals • outline the impediments that limit a full union of landscape ecology and wildlife management Using concrete examples of modern conservation challenges that range from oil and gas development to agriculture and urbanization, the volume posits that shifts in conservation funding from a hunter constituent base to other sources will bring a dramatic change in the way we manage wildlife. Explicating the foundational similarity of wildlife management and landscape ecology, Wildlife and Landscapes builds crucial bridges between theoretical and practical applications. Contributors: Jocelyn L. Aycrigg, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Jon P. Beckmann, Joseph R. Bennett, William M. Block, Todd R. Bogenschutz, Teresa C. Cohn, John W. Connelly, Courtney J. Conway, Bridgett E. Costanzo, David D. Diamond, Karl A. Didier, Lee F. Elliott, Michael E. Estey, Lenore Fahrig, Cameron J. Fiss, Jacqueline L. Frair, Elsa M. Haubold, Fidel Hernández, Jodi A. Hilty, Joseph D. Holbrook, Cynthia A. Jacobson, Kevin M. Johnson, Jeffrey K. Keller, Jeffery L. Larkin, Kimberly A. Lisgo, Casey A. Lott, Amanda E. Martin, James A. Martin, Darin J. McNeil, Michael L. Morrison, Betsy E. Neely, Neal D. Niemuth, Chad J. Parent, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso, Ronald D. Pritchert, Fiona K. A. Schmiegelow, Amanda L. Sesser, Gregory J. Soulliere, Leona K. Svancara, Stephen C. Torbit, Joseph A. Veech, Kerri T. Vierling, Greg Wathen, David M. Williams, Mark J. Witecha, John M. Yeiser

Download or read book Assessment of Grassland Ecosystem Conditions in the Southwestern United States written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Volume 2 (this volume) describes wildlife and fish species, their habitat requirements, and species-specific management concerns, in Southwestern grasslands. This assessment is regional in scale and pertains primarily to lands administered by the Southwestern Region of the USDA Forest Service (Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas, and western Oklahoma)."--Abstract.