Several studies have documented the arrival time of spring migration of Virginia Rails (Rallus limicola), King Rails (R. elegans), and Soras (Porzana carolina) on the southwestern shore of Lake Erie, though not in recent decades, and most of this information is based on anecdotal records. These three species were captured in wetlands on Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Ottawa and Lucas Counties, Ohio, USA, from 2004 to 2009. Virginia Rails and Soras were documented arriving in northern Ohio earlier than previous research, but not older anecdotal records King Rails were within the bounds of all previous records. Using traps with playback may have allowed us to detect these species at earlier dates than previous research. Documenting current spring migration arrival timing of these three secretive marsh bird species is important for future monitoring, research and wetland management.

Canada goose (Branta canadensis) harvest management depends on reliable estimates of harvest composition, and established genetic methods provide an alternative to traditional methods. We expanded upon previous genetic studies by comparing the utility of 6 nuclear microsatellite loci and mitochondrial (mtDNA) control region sequences for discriminating among giant (B. c. maxima) and interior (B. c. interior) populations in Ohio (USA) Canada goose harvests at both individual and population levels. Subspecies and populations exhibited greater differentiation in mtDNA (FST = 0.202) than microsatellites (FST = 0.021), as would be expected based on differences in effective population size. Neither microsatellites nor mtDNA alone were sufficient for estimating harvest composition at the subspecies or population level in simulations and empirical blind tests using individuals of known origin; however, a combined microsatellite + mtDNA dataset yielded accurate and precise harvest derivations at the subspecies level. Both population-level mixed stock analysis and individual-level assignment tests provided accurate results, but a large proportion of birds could not be assigned with confidence at the individual level. We applied mixed stock analysis and the combined microsatellite + mtDNA dataset to Ohio's 2003-2004 harvest and found that interior populations accounted for 4.9% (95% CI = 1.7-8.0%) of the statewide early season and 9.3% (95% CI = 6.9-11.6%) of the regular and late-season harvested sample. These results suggest that maximum likelihood harvest derivations are highly dependent on the choice of genetic markers. Studies should only employ markers that exhibit sufficient variation and have been shown through simulations and empirical testing to accurately discriminate among the subspecies or management populations of interest.

The Florida grasshopper sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum floridanus, is a non-migratory, endangered subspecies endemic to the prairie region of south-central Florida. It has experienced significant population declines and is currently restricted to five locations. We found substantial levels of variation in microsatellites and mtDNA control region sequences, estimates of inbreeding genetic effective population sizes that were much larger than the estimated census size, and no evidence of inbreeding within five sampled populations (n = 105). We also found a lack of genetic structure among populations (F ST = 0.0123 for microsatellites and θ = 0.008 for mtDNA), and evidence for dispersal between populations, with 7.6% of all individuals identified as immigrants to their population of capture. We suggest that the subspecies be managed as a single management unit on a regional scale rather than as multiple management units on a local subpopulation scale. There is still a limited opportunity to preserve much of the present genetic variation in this subspecies, if immediate measures are taken to reverse the current population decline before this variation is reduced by genetic drift.

Canada goose ( Branta canadensis ) harvest management depends on reliable estimates of harvest composition, and established genetic methods provide an alternative to traditional methods. We expanded upon previous genetic studies by comparing the utility of 6 nuclear microsatellite loci and mitochondrial (mtDNA) control region sequences for discriminating among giant ( B. c. maxima ) and interior ( B. c. interior ) populations in Ohio (USA) Canada goose harvests at both individual and population levels. Subspecies and populations exhibited greater differentiation in mtDNA ( F ST = 0.202) than microsatellites ( F ST = 0.021), as would be expected based on differences in effective population size. Neither microsatellites nor mtDNA alone were sufficient for estimating harvest composition at the subspecies or population level in simulations and empirical blind tests using individuals of known origin; however, a combined microsatellite + mtDNA dataset yielded accurate and precise harvest derivations at the subspecies level. Both population‐level mixed stock analysis and individual‐level assignment tests provided accurate results, but a large proportion of birds could not be assigned with confidence at the individual level. We applied mixed stock analysis and the combined microsatellite + mtDNA dataset to Ohio's 2003–2004 harvest and found that interior populations accounted for 4.9% (95% CI = 1.7–8.0%) of the statewide early season and 9.3% (95% CI = 6.9–11.6%) of the regular and late‐season harvested sample. These results suggest that maximum likelihood harvest derivations are highly dependent on the choice of genetic markers. Studies should only employ markers that exhibit sufficient variation and have been shown through simulations and empirical testing to accurately discriminate among the subspecies or management populations of interest.