A formal framework for the adaptive management of duck harvests (Adaptive Harvest Management; AHM) was adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1995. In addition to concomitantly facilitating management decision making and reducing uncertainty, the process can reduce conflict among stakeholders within the regulation-setting process. However, evidence for reductions in conflict due to adaptive management has been largely anecdotal. We examined Federal Register documents to characterize and quantify the number and types of conflicts that occurred before and after the implementation of AHM for setting annual duck hunting regulations. We used Poisson regression models to test the effects of AHM implementation, habitat quality, and duck abundance on the number of conflicts documented in the regulation-setting process. Exponentiated coefficients from the best model indicated a 38% decrease in conflicts per additional one million ponds and a 9% decrease per additional one million total ducks. The number of annual conflicts before AHM was adopted was 1.72-fold greater than after its implementation.

American black ducks Anas rubripes (hereafter, black ducks) are an important game species in the eastern United States (U.S.) and Canada that declined between the 1950s and 1990s, which resulted in the implementation of restrictive hunting regulations in the United States and Canada. Black duck harvest is managed by the Black Duck International Adaptive Harvest Management (BDAHM) strategy that was developed between Canada and the U.S. The strategy requires that the black duck population be maintained at a level that is commensurate with legal mandates, provides for use appropriate for the habitat carrying capacity, and managed in a manner that maintains equitable access (between Canada and the U.S.) to the black duck resource. Fulfilling these mandates requires unbiased country-specific harvest probability estimates, which in turn require estimates of band reporting probability, that is, the probability that a hunter who harvests a banded bird will report it to the North American Bird Banding Program (NABBP; i.e., either the US Bird Banding Lab (BBL) or Canadian Bird Banding Office (BBO)). We conducted a reporting probability study during the 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 hunting seasons, using reward bands to estimate continental and country-specific band reporting probabilities. The continental (pooled) band reporting probability was 0.80 (0.660–0.945, 95% confidence interval). Band reporting probability was lower in Canada 0.65 (0.487—0.821, 95% CI) than in the United States 1.00 (0.978–1.022, 95% CI), but increased in both countries since they were last estimated in the 2000s. Increased reporting probability, as well as the difference in reporting between the two countries, should be accounted for to most effectively meet the objectives of the BDAHM strategy.

Sustainable game management requires effective monitoring of population trends and demography at a biologically relevant scale. As a commonly harvested species that uses forested wetlands throughout their annual cycle, wood ducks ( Aix sponsa ) are challenging to monitor using traditional abundance methods; thus, banding is critical for assessing vital rates. We used capture‐mark‐recovery data of wood ducks banded during the pre‐season period from 2000–2022 to evaluate spatial variation in demographic rates and used the results to provide updated monitoring recommendations. We fit a dead‐recovery model with Brownie parameterization within a Bayesian framework at varying spatial scales to characterize demographic rate variability. We identified significant latitudinal gradients in wood duck demography within the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways. Specifically, 3 latitudinal regions maximized inter‐region variation and minimized intra‐region variation in survival and harvest probabilities. Using simulations of varied band deployment across these latitudinal zones, we found that current deployment distribution was reasonably robust to latitudinal bias, but changing deployments in the future could lead to considerable bias in flyway‐wide estimates of survival and harvest probability, which are used to set harvest regulations. We recommend revised banding goals and annual estimation of survival and harvest probabilities by latitudinal region to optimize wood duck harvest management and account for changes in band distribution over time.

ABSTRACT Wildlife biologists commonly use marked individuals to estimate population size and vital rates. If markers are lost or become too illegible to be reported (which we define as functional loss), population size and vital rates derived from marked individuals could be biased. We double‐banded 4,990 lesser scaup ( Aythya affinis ) and 1,429 redheads ( A. americana ) with a traditionally used band made of aluminum, plus another band made of incoloy designed to be more resistant to wear. Banding took place at 10 late‐summer banding stations in the northcentral United States and Canada during 2009 and 2010 and during spring at Pool 19 on the Mississippi River, Iowa, USA, during 2009–2011. We then examined bands recovered from hunter‐shot birds to assess wear of paired bands. We also conducted band‐recovery analyses to test for differences in band retention and reporting rates between birds banded with aluminum versus hard metal bands. Band wear assessments indicated that incoloy bands lost zero mass over time and showed no effects of wear. Although no bands were lost, aluminum bands showed significant mass loss and wear over time. For double‐banded lesser scaup recovered in their fourth year after banding, 71.9% of aluminum bands had contact information that was completely unreadable, compared with only 12.5% for those worn by redheads. Based on our recent double‐band recovery data, up to 34% of lesser scaup bands would be recovered during the fifth through eighth hunting seasons of band wear. Band wear affected estimated recovery rates of both species, with stronger effects in lesser scaup. Our results indicate that use of aluminum bands resulted in a substantial loss of information; thus, banders should only use bands made of hard metal alloys (e.g., incoloy or stainless steel), and discontinue all use of aluminum bands for these species and other diving ducks with sparse recovery data. Future demographic analyses using banding data for species with excessive band wear and low numbers of band‐recoveries should account for band type and functional band loss. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

ABSTRACTThe Florida mottled duck (Anas fulvigula fulvigula) inhabits a relatively small range of approximately 90,000 km2 within peninsular Florida, USA, and is threatened by habitat loss and genetic introgression with feral mallards (Anas platyrhynchos). Moreover, the Florida mottled duck population status has not been assessed for more than a decade. We used band‐recovery and recapture data from 2000–2013 to examine geographic and demographic factors that influence the survival of Florida mottled ducks and to determine whether survival and harvest probabilities have changed over time. Mean survival probabilities were higher for birds banded in the southern portion of their Florida range than for those banded in the northern portion and higher for adult males than for adult females in both areas. Harvest probabilities increased in the northern extent of its range in Florida for adults and juveniles and remained relatively constant in the southern portion of its range during the study period. Mean harvest probabilities for adult males in both areas were higher than for adult females. Mean harvest probability for juvenile females was higher than that for juvenile males in the north but was similar between the sexes in the south. Our results suggest that mortality rates are generally greater in the northern portion of the Florida mottled duck range because of regional differences in habitat distribution and permanence and in how mottled ducks and humans use wetlands in these areas. We suggest increasing conservation efforts in the north portion of the Florida mottled duck range and improving inferences from leg banding by incorporating live recapture data. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

The Canadian Arctic and subarctic are the primary breeding areas of many species of North American water and land birds. Because of the remote location and the logistical difficulties of working there, wildlife biologists have not systematically surveyed most important areas for wildlife, nor have they surveyed these areas very frequently. During the summers of 2005-2011, various Joint Ventures, and U.S., Canadian, and state wildlife agencies and other partners funded exploratory fixed-wing aircraft surveys of migratory birds (excluding passerines and shorebirds) in important habitats in Canada's western and central Arctic. Our objectives were to provide access to the complete survey dataset (all bird and mammal observations and associated location data) and summarize information on several species. Thus, we produced maps of average relative density and estimates of abundance in the survey area for cackling geese Branta hutchinsii, greater white-fronted geese Anser albifrons, tundra swans Cygnus columbianus, king eiders Somateria spectabilis, long-tailed ducks Clangula hyemalis, white-winged Melanitta fusca and surf Melanitta perspicillatas scoters, and yellow-billed Gavia adamsii, red-throated Gavia stellata, and Pacific Gavia pacifica loons. We reviewed previous survey efforts in the area and, where possible, compared them with our results.

ABSTRACT The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) uses data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) to assist in monitoring and management of some migratory birds. However, BBS analyses provide indices of population change rather than estimates of population size, precluding their use in developing abundance-based objectives and limiting applicability to harvest management. Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) are important harvested birds in the Atlantic Flyway (AF) that are difficult to detect during aerial surveys because they prefer forested habitat. We integrated Wood Duck count data from a ground-plot survey in the northeastern U.S. with AF-wide BBS, banding, parts collection, and harvest data to derive estimates of population size for the AF. Overlapping results between the smaller-scale intensive ground-plot survey and the BBS in the northeastern U.S. provided a means for scaling BBS indices to the breeding population size estimates. We applied these scaling factors to BBS results for portions of the AF lacking intensive surveys. Banding data provided estimates of annual survival and harvest rates; the latter, when combined with parts-collection data, provided estimates of recruitment. We used the harvest data to estimate fall population size. Our estimates of breeding population size and variability from the integrated population model (N̄ = 0.99 million, SD = 0.04) were similar to estimates of breeding population size based solely on data from the AF ground-plot surveys and the BBS (N̄ = 1.01 million, SD = 0.04) from 1998 to 2015. Integrating BBS data with other data provided reliable population size estimates for Wood Ducks at a scale useful for harvest and habitat management in the AF, and allowed us to derive estimates of important demographic parameters (e.g., seasonal survival rates, sex ratio) that were not directly informed by data.

ABSTRACTWe combined data from the Atlantic Flyway Breeding Waterfowl Survey (AFBWS) and the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) to estimate the number of wood ducks (Aix sponsa) in the United States portion of the Atlantic Flyway from 1993 to 2013. The AFBWS is a plot‐based survey that covers most of the northern and central portions of the Flyway; when analyzed with adjustments for survey time of day effects, these data can be used to estimate population size. The BBS provides an index of wood duck abundance along roadside routes. Although factors influencing change in BBS counts over time can be controlled in BBS analysis, BBS indices alone cannot be used to derive population size estimates. We used AFBWS data to scale BBS indices for Bird Conservation Regions (BCR), basing the scaling factors on the ratio of estimated AFBWS population sizes to regional BBS indices for portions of BCRs that were common to both surveys. We summed scaled BBS results for portions of the Flyway not covered by the AFBWS with AFBWS population estimates to estimate a mean yearly total of 1,295,875 (mean 95% CI: 1,013,940–1,727,922) wood ducks. Scaling factors varied among BCRs from 16.7 to 148.0; the mean scaling factor was 68.9 (mean 95% CI: 53.5–90.9). Flyway‐wide, population estimates from the combined analysis were consistent with alternative estimates derived from harvest data, and also provide population estimates within states and BCRs. We recommend their use in harvest and habitat management within the Atlantic Flyway. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

In waterfowl banding studies, the preseason banding period is commonly ac- cepted as July through September; however, in an effort to increase Aix sponsa (Wood Duck) banding in the Atlantic Flyway, several state agency biologists have considered banding Wood Ducks in June. We analyzed existing Wood Duck banding data to determine if direct band-recovery rates of Wood Ducks banded in June differed from those banded during July-September. We calculated direct recovery rates by state, month, and year for 1998-2007 at selected states in the Atlantic Flyway. Arcsine-transformed direct band- recovery rates differed by month of banding (P = 0.0099; F = 3.973; df = 3, 111) and were lower in June than in July or August. We suggest that state or federal agencies conducting Wood Duck banding should spend their time and effort during the traditional banding period 1 July-30 September.

ABSTRACTEstimates of band reporting probabilities are used for managing North American waterfowl to convert band recovery probabilities into harvest probabilities, which are used to set harvest regulations. Band reporting probability is the probability that someone who has shot and retrieved a banded bird will report the band. This probability can vary relative to a number of factors, particularly the inscription on the band and the ease with which it can be reported. Other factors, such as geographic reporting region, and species and sex of the bird may also play a role. We tested whether reporting probabilities of wood ducks (Aix sponsa) and American black ducks (black ducks; Anas rubripes) differed from those of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and whether band reporting varied geographically or by the sex of the banded bird. In the analysis of spatially comparable wood duck and mallard data, a band reporting probability of 0.73 (95% CI = 0.67–0.78) was appropriate for use across species, sex, and reporting region within the United States. In the black duck–mallard comparison, the band reporting probability of black ducks in Eastern Canada (0.50, 95% CI = 0.44–0.57) was lower than in the Eastern United States (0.73, 95% CI = 0.62–0.83). These estimates reflected an increase in overall band reporting probability following the addition of a toll‐free telephone number to band inscriptions. Lower reporting in Eastern Canada may be because of cultural, linguistic, or logistical barriers. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.

Reliable estimates of annual harvest rates are required for the implementation of mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) adaptive harvest management decision frameworks. Because not all standard bands recovered during the hunting season are reported, band reporting probabilities are needed to estimate mallard harvest rates. Information from birds recovered with bands that notify finders of a reward (i.e., reward bands) can be used to estimate band reporting rates. We analyzed reward banding data for 3 stocks of mallards to estimate reporting probabilities that can be used to estimate harvest rates for birds recovered with toll-free or web-address bands. Specifically, we explored spatial variability in reporting probabilities, and assessed whether reporting probabilities varied among years. Our analysis indicated that reporting probabilities varied among the 4 Flyways, eastern Canada, and western Canada and Alaska. We had difficulty interpreting temporal fluctuations and found little evidence for any meaningful trends in reporting rates between 2002 and 2010. We recommend that reporting probabilities of 0.67 in the Atlantic Flyway, 0.81 in the Mississippi Flyway, 0.70 in the Central Flyway, 0.76 in the Pacific Flyway, 0.50 in eastern Canada, and 0.57 in western Canada and Alaska be used to estimate harvest probabilities for birds recovered in these regions. (c) 2013 The Wildlife Society.

We developed a method for predicting wood duck (Aix sponsa) harvest rates in eastern North America using waterfowl banding and recovery data, annual indices of hunter numbers, and harvest survey data from the United States and Canada. We predicted that under the current season length (60 days), if hunter numbers remain unchanged, increasing the wood duck bag limit from 2 to 3 would increase harvest of adult male wood ducks in the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways by 12.3%, causing an increase in harvest rate of 7.1% from 0.087 to 0.093. The Flyway Councils and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service can consider this information to predict the impacts of regulatory changes.

Nest parasitism in dabbling ducks is uncommon. Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata) are considered infrequent parasites and Blue-winged Teal (A. discors) are rarely hosts to nest parasitism. We documented parasitism of a Blue-winged Teal nest by a Northern Shoveler. We reviewed 3,003 records from nests located in 1994 to 1997 in North Dakota and documented only one duck nest parasitized by a Northern Shoveler. Only nine of 1,494 Blue-winged Teal nests were parasitized. We found no evidence of Northern Shovelers parasitizing Blue-winged Teal nests in our nest records and only one account in the literature. Received 12 January 2010. Accepted 24 March 2010.

In the traditional survey area (strata 1-18, 20-50, and 75-77), total duck abundance was 36.1 ± 0.6 [SE] million birds. This was 14% below (P< 0.001) last year’s estimate of 41.8 ± 0.7 million birds, but still 9% above the long-term (1955-2000) average (P < 0.001). Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) abundance was 7.9 ± 0.2 million, which is 17% below (P<0.001) the 2000 estimate of 9.5 ± 0.3 million and similar to the long-term average (P=0.08). Blue-winged teal (Anas discors) abundance was 5.8 ± 0.3 million, which was 23% below last year’s estimate of 7.4 ± 0.4 million (P=0.001), but 29% above the long-term average (P = 0.001). Green-winged teal (Anas crecca) abundance was 2.5 ± 0.2 million, 39% above the long-term average (P<0.001) but 21% lower than last year (P=0.007). Gadwall (Anas strepera; 2.7 ± 0.1 million, +66%) and northern shovelers (Anas clypeata; 3.3 ± 0.2 million, +60%), were above their long-term averages (P < 0.04), while northern pintails (Anas acuta; 3.3 ± 0.3 million, -23%) and scaup (Aythya marila and A. affinis combined; 3.7 ± 0.2 million, -31%) remained below their long-term averages (P<0.01). Redheads (Aythya americana; 0.7 + 0.07 million) were 23% below 2000 numbers (P=0.04), and similar to their long-term average (P=0.22). American wigeon (Anas Americana; 2.5 + 0.1 million) and canvasback (Aythya valisineria; 0.6 + 0.05 million) estimates were similar to those of last year (P≥0.19) and to long-term averages (P>0.22). Habitat conditions in May in the traditional survey area were generally wetter than last year, but varied considerably among areas. The estimate of May ponds in Prairie Canada and the U.S. combined was 4.6 ± 0.1 million, up 18% from 2000, but not statistically different from the long-term average (P=0.07). The eastern survey area comprises strata 51-56 and 62-69. The 2001 total duck population estimate for the eastern survey area was 3.3 ± 0.3 million birds, similar to last year’s total duck estimate of 3.2 ± 0.3 million birds. Abundances of individual species were similar to last year, with the exception of ring-necked ducks (Aythya collaris; 0.35 + 0.04 million, -43%, P=0.001) and buffleheads (Bucephala albeola; 0.10 ± 0.02 million, +93%, P = 0.05). The mid-continent mallard fall flight is predicted to be 10.5 million mallards, 6% lower than that of last year (P=0.02). This section summarizes the most recent information about the status of North American duck populations and their habitats to facilitate development of harvest regulations in the U.S. The annual status of these populations is monitored using a variety of databases, which include estimates of the size of breeding populations, production, and harvest. The data and analyses were the most current available when this report was written. Future analyses may yield slightly different results as databases are updated and new analytical procedures become available. METHODS Breeding Population and Habitat Survey Federal, provincial, and state agencies conduct surveys each spring to estimate the size of breeding populations and to evaluate the condition of the habitats. These surveys are conducted using fixedwing aircraft and encompass principal breeding areas of North America, and cover over 2.0 million square miles. The traditional survey area (strata 1-18, 20-50, and 75-77) is comprised of parts of Alaska, Canada, and the northcentral U.S., and includes approximately 1.3 million square miles (Appendix C). The eastern survey area (strata 51-56 and 62-69) includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, New York and Maine, covering an area of approximately 0.7 million square miles. In Prairie Canada and the north-central U.S., estimates of ducks and ponds seen from the air are corrected annually for visibility bias by conducting ground counts. In the northern portions of the traditional survey area and the eastern survey area, duck estimates are corrected using visibility rates derived from a comparison of airplane and helicopter counts. Annual estimates of duck abundance are available since 1955 for the traditional survey area and for all strata in the eastern survey area since 1996, although portions of the eastern survey area have been surveyed since 1990. In the traditional survey area, estimates of pond abundance in Prairie Canada are available since 1961, whereas estimates for the north-central U.S. are available only since 1974. Several provinces and states also conduct breeding waterfowl surveys using various methods; some have survey designs that allow calculation of measures of precision for estimates of duck abundance. Information about habitat conditions was supplied primarily by biologists in the survey areas. However, much ancillary weather information was obtained from one serial publication and two Internet sites, referenced at the end of this document.

Author(s): Brian Czech, Eugene Allen, David Batker, Paul Beier, Herman Daly, Jon Erickson, Pamela Garrettson, Valerius Geist, John Gowdy, Lynn Greenwalt, Helen Hands, Paul Krausman, Patrick Magee, Craig Miller, Kelly Novak, Genevieve Pullis, Chris Robinson, Jack Santa-Barbara, James Teer, David Trauger and Chuck Willer Reviewed work(s): Source: Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Summer, 2003), pp. 574-577 Published by: Allen Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3784341 . Accessed: 09/08/2012 12:03

This report summarizes preliminary information about the status of duck populations and their habitats during spring 2001, and focuses on areas encompassed by the Breeding Waterfowl and Habitat Survey. These numbers are preliminary, and do not include information from state or provincial surveys. The traditional survey area includes strata 1-18, 20-50, and 75-77. In the traditional survey area, the total duck population estimate (excluding scoters [Melanitta spp.], eiders [Somateria and Polysticta spp.], longtailed ducks [Clangula hyemalis], mergansers [Mergus and Lophodytes spp.], and wood ducks [Aix sponsa]) was 36.1 ± 0.6 million birds, 14 % below (P 0.2) their long-term averages. Scaup numbers (3.7 ± 0.2 million, -31%) were again below the long-term average (P<0.001). The northern pintail was unchanged compared to 2000 (3.3 ± 0.3 million), but their numbers remained below the 1955-2000 average (P<0.001). The eastern survey area is comprised of strata 51-56 and 62-69. The 2001 total duck population estimate for the eastern survey area was 3.3 ± 0.2 million birds, similar to last year’s total duck estimate of 3.2 ± 0.3 million birds (P=0.76), and to the 1996-2000 average (P=0.35). Abundances of individual species were similar to those of last year,

Conservation BiologyVolume 13, Issue 4 p. 945-945 A Conversation about Population First published: 24 December 2001 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1999.00032.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume13, Issue4August 1999Pages 945-945 RelatedInformation