Habitat associations of breeding mallards and Canada geese in southern Ontario, Canada

Messmer, David J.; Petrie, Scott A.; Badzinski, Shannon S.; Gloutney, Mark L.; Schummer, Michael L.

doi:10.1002/wsb.550

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The LSC region and much of the rest of southwestern Ontario has experienced substantial wetland loss (Ducks Unlimited Canada 2010), which has resulted in sparse and minimal Mallard breeding habitat (Messmer et al 2015). It is tempting to explain the low proportion of locally harvested Mallards in our study as being a direct consequence of wetland loss and low amounts of suitable habitat to support and produce local birds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Harvested birds in the lower Great Lakes region could originate from the adjacent midcontinent or eastern breeding populations. Much of the existing demographic information for Mallards in North America has been from the midcontinent population, although knowledge gaps are increasingly being filled for the eastern population, including the lower Great Lakes region (Hoekman et al 2004, 2006a, b, Coluccy et al 2008, Messmer et al 2015. Migratory connectivity of the eastern population of Mallards in the Great Lakes region, however, has received little attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Origins of harvested Mallards from Lake St. Clair, Ontario: a stable isotope approach

Palumbo¹,

Tozer²,

Hobson³

2019

ACE

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Determining origins of waterfowl is important for establishing appropriate management and conservation strategies. In North America, much information is available from long-term mark-recapture programs involving banding on breeding or molting grounds. However, this approach is less able to identify origins of individuals across broad areas where banding effort is low. We used stable-hydrogen isotope analyses of feathers (δ 2 H f) from Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) harvested during the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 hunting seasons at Lake St. Clair (LSC), Ontario, Canada (n = 237 individuals). We created a feather isoscape and applied Bayesian assignment approaches to determine probability of origin. The proportion of hatch-year Mallards produced locally, i.e., at the same latitude as LSC, as opposed to farther north or south of LSC, ranged from 13.1% to 22.0% with almost no difference by sex. The proportion of after-hatch-year (AHY) birds that molted locally ranged from 3.5% to 11.7%, with slightly fewer local AHY females compared with local AHY males. Nearly all birds that did not originate locally came from latitudes to the north of LSC, and only 2 from south of LSC. Whether this pattern is representative of locations in the Great Lakes beyond our study area is unknown but is of great relevance for harvest management. As such, we are expanding our study with plans to examine isotope-based origins of Mallards and other harvested waterfowl species at locations throughout the Great Lakes region. Because of its unique potential to fill knowledge gaps, we advocate the use of the stable isotope technique in the management of North American waterfowl and encourage more research in this area. Origines des colverts prélevés sur le Lac St. Clair, dans l'Ontario : approche par isotopes stables RÉSUMÉ. La détermination des origines des oiseaux aquatiques est importante pour établir des stratégies appropriées de gestion et de conservation. En Amérique du Nord, de nombreuses informations sont disponibles auprès des programmes de marquage-recapture à long terme qui comprennent le marquage des territoires de reproduction ou de mue. Toutefois, cette approche est moins efficace pour identifier les origines des individus dans de vastes régions où l'effort de marquage est peu important. Nous avons utilisé les analyses par isotopes d'hydrogène stable sur les plumes (δ2Hf) de colverts (Anas platyrhynchos) prélevés au cours des saisons de chasse 2014-2015 et 2015-2016 sur le lac St. Clair (LSC), dans l'Ontario, au Canada (n = 237 individus). Nous avons créé une isocarte des plumes et appliqué des modèles d'affectation bayesiens pour déterminer la probabilité d'origine. La proportion de colverts de l'année produits localement, c'est-à-dire à la même latitude que le LSC, par opposition aux individus provenant de régions plus au nord ou au sud du LSC, variait de 13,1 % à 22,0 %, pratiquement sans différence entre les sexes. La proportion d'oiseaux après l'année d'éclosion qui avaient mué localement variait de 3,5 % à 11,7 %, les femelles étan...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origins of harvested Mallards from Lake St. Clair, Ontario: a stable isotope approach

Palumbo¹,

Tozer²,

Hobson³

2019

ACE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…While Canada Geese are known to have a high level of overlap with human habitation resulting in human-wildlife conflict (Smith et al 1999, Fox 2019, some studies have found that developed land cover was not a significant predictor of occupancy or abundance in this species (North Carolina, Southern Ontario;McAlister et al, 2017;Messmer et al, 2015), with the presence of open water and pasture being the best predictors. Nevertheless, in the Maritime Provinces, Canada Geese showed a strong association with urban and built land cover, possibly reflecting lower development density and agricultural land cover in our region which could lead to more attractive urban forage opportunities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land cover habitat associations of breeding marsh birds and priority waterfowl differ in eastern Canada

Studholme¹,

Tranquilla²,

Berrigan³

et al. 2022

ACE

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Waterfowl (ducks, geese, swans) are among the few bird groups showing recent population increases in North America. By contrast, marsh birds (bitterns, rails, grebes) are declining, despite this group appearing to benefit from many of the same conservation actions applied for waterfowl. To help understand this dichotomy, we 1) assessed land cover habitat associations for breeding marsh birds and priority waterfowl in eastern Canada at a broad range of spatial scales, and 2) compared these results between guilds -using data collected by the Maritimes Marsh Monitoring Program of Birds Canada. As we observed variation both within and between these groups, managers will do well to take species-specific or life-history-based approaches to wetland conservation and landscape management. Nonetheless, we offer guild-level generalizations that capture the majority of the effects on occupancy for the species we analyzed in our study area. We found that occupancy of both groups was higher in protected wetlands (e.g., in parks, land trusts) and at wetlands influenced by water control structures; however, marsh birds may benefit more than waterfowl from water level control. Occupancy by both groups increased with increasing amounts of water and wetland in the surrounding landscape, but this was more pronounced and included a greater variety of wetland types at broader spatial scales for marsh birds compared to waterfowl. Some marsh birds showed negative associations with urban land use and none had strong relationships with agriculture, yet occupancy of nearly all waterfowl increased with either urban or agricultural land cover. Actions that will benefit both groups include conserving large wetland complexes interspersed with, and surrounded by, low and intermediate amounts of urban and agricultural land use, respectively. A greater understanding of habitat use by wetland bird species helps construct sustainable working landscapes that benefit both birds and people.Les associations d'habitats de couverture terrestre des oiseaux de marais nicheurs et de la sauvagine prioritaire diffèrent dans l'est du Canada RÉSUMÉ. Les oiseaux aquatiques (canards, oies, cygnes) fait partie des quelques groupes d'oiseaux dont la population a récemment augmenté en Amérique du Nord. En revanche, les oiseaux des marais (butors, râles, grèbes) sont en déclin, bien que ce groupe semble bénéficier d'un grand nombre des mêmes mesures de conservation que celles appliquées aux oiseaux aquatiques. Pour mieux comprendre cette dichotomie, nous avons 1) évalué les associations d'habitats de couverture terrestre pour les oiseaux de marais nicheurs et les oiseaux aquatiques prioritaires dans l'est du Canada à une large gamme d'échelles spatiales, et 2) comparé ces résultats entre les guildes -en utilisant les données recueillies par le Programme de surveillance des marais des Maritimes d'Oiseaux Canada. Comme nous avons observé des variations tant au sein de ces groupes qu'entre eux, les gestionnaires auront intérêt à adopter des actions de la conservation ...

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“…We measured this information within a 4‐m radius centered on the nest. We quantified the same vegetation information at 5 randomly generated points >4 m but within a 30‐m radius of each nest found (Messmer et al , Guerena et al ). Measuring vegetation at that scale allowed us to examine the factors influencing a female's selection of a nest site within its home range.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest Site Selection Influences Cinnamon Teal Nest Survival in Colorado

Setash¹,

Kendall

Olson³

2020

J Wildl Manag

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Nest survival of ducks is partially a function of the spatiotemporal characteristics of the site at which a bird chooses to nest. Nest survival is also a fundamental component of population growth in waterfowl but is relatively unstudied for cinnamon teal (Spatula cyanoptera). We investigated cinnamon teal nest survival in a managed wetland complex in southern Colorado, USA, and assessed nest site selection to determine whether nest site characteristics were adaptive. We monitored 85 nests in 2015–2017 on Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado and did not detect a difference in nest survival across years. Based on nest site selection data from 2017, cinnamon teal selected nest sites characterized by a lower proportion of forbs than available sites. The relationships between habitat characteristics and nest survival were variable. Microhabitat characteristics exhibited only weak effects on nest survival during the laying stage. Nest survival during incubation was negatively related to the proportion of forbs at the nest site and, to a lesser extent, the proportion of grasses. Nest site selection was predictive of future nest survival based on the percent of forbs and grasses around the nest site, suggesting teal select nest locations to benefit reproductive success. These results have the potential to guide local habitat management actions for breeding waterfowl. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

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Habitat associations of breeding mallards and Canada geese in southern Ontario, Canada

Cited by 8 publications

References 28 publications

Origins of harvested Mallards from Lake St. Clair, Ontario: a stable isotope approach

Origins of harvested Mallards from Lake St. Clair, Ontario: a stable isotope approach

Land cover habitat associations of breeding marsh birds and priority waterfowl differ in eastern Canada

Nest Site Selection Influences Cinnamon Teal Nest Survival in Colorado

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