Mallard Age and Sex Determination from Wings

Carney, Samuel M.; Geis, Aelred D.

doi:10.2307/3796514

Cited by 22 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Another sample of waterfowl hunters is asked to take part in the PCS (Martin and Carney , Geissler ). Participating hunters submit duck wings and goose tail feathers (from which species, sex, and age can be identified [Carney and Geis , Carney ]) from the waterfowl they harvest during the season, along with information about the location (i.e., state and county) of harvest. Thus, the PCS provides data on species composition of the harvested sample, location of harvest (i.e., state and county), and residence (i.e., state and county) of the hunter.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating human dimensions objectives into waterfowl habitat planning and delivery

et al. 2017

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The 2012 revision of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) explicitly recognized the need to increase recruitment and retention of waterfowl hunters, birdwatchers, and other conservationists to maintain support for wetland conservation. The incorporation of human dimensions objectives within the NAWMP has compelled waterfowl and wetland managers to consider whether and to what extent landscape characteristics such as public land access; the type, amount, and location of wetlands; and site infrastructure will increase support for wetland conservation among user groups. Further, it has forced the waterfowl community to consider the possible trade‐offs between managing land to achieve biological versus social objectives. We used publicly available, long‐term data sets to illustrate a method of incorporating human dimensions into waterfowl habitat planning and management. We used United States Fish and Wildlife Service waterfowl harvest survey data, United States Geological Survey band encounter data, and Cornell Lab of Ornithology eBird data to summarize travel characteristics of wetland bird enthusiasts (i.e., waterfowl hunters and birdwatchers) in the Atlantic Flyway. Greater than 90% of all trips by wetland bird enthusiasts occurred within their state of residence. We used data from New York, USA, to demonstrate how to construct discrete choice recreation demand models to identify factors that influence site selection and participation. We demonstrate how model outputs, such as the expected change in the number and geographic distribution of recreational trips (i.e., hunting or birdwatching), can be used as an objective metric to evaluate the benefits of alternative habitat acquisition and restoration projects relative to the human dimensions objective of the NAWMP. These data and methods show promise for incorporating human dimensions objectives into habitat delivery and understanding potential trade‐offs relative to biological objectives. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating human dimensions objectives into waterfowl habitat planning and delivery

et al. 2017

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“…The presence of a bursa of Fabricius was used to distinguish hatchingyear (HY) from after-hatching-year (AHY, i .e., adult) birds (Kortwright 1942). Wing-feather criteria were used by Canadian Wildlife Service personnel (D. Dennis, N. North, Ontario Region; B. Barrow, Atlantic Region) to identify hybrids in the sample, which were deleted from analyses, and to age birds for which information regarding the bursa of Fabricius was unavailable (Carney and Geiss 1960;Carney 1964).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most obvious morphological difference between Black Ducks and Mallards is in plumage coloration (Johnsgard 1961 ; identify F, Black ~u c k -~a f i a r d hybrids, hereafter called hybrids (Carney and Geiss 1960;Carney 1964;Barnes 1989). Analysis of bill and tongue morphology indicated that there were no differences in the feeding apparatus of Mallards and Black Ducks (Tremblay and Couture 1986;Belanger et al 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphometric similarity of Mallards and American Black Ducks

Hanson¹,

Ankney²

1994

Can. J. Zool.

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HANSON, A.R., and ANKNEY, C.D. 1994. Morphometric similarity of Mallards and American Black Ducks. Can. J. Zool. 72: 2248 -225 1. Morphometric data were collected from 347 American Black Ducks (Anas rubripes), and 1466 Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) taken by hunters in the Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie regions of southwestern Ontario during autumn 1986 and from 51 1 American Black Ducks shot throughout the province of New Brunswick during the 1988 and 1989 hunting seasons. Discriminant function analyses based on eight external morphometric variables (wing chord, tarsus length, middle toe length, hind toe length, culmen, head length, naris width, and bill width) did not accurately distinguish Black Ducks from Mallards. Discriminant function analyses produced correct classification rates that, averaged over the four age-sex classes, were 61 % for Mallards and 71 % for Black Ducks. The highest classification rates were from the discriminant function analyses of Ontario Black Ducks and New Brunswick Black Ducks that, averaged over the four age-sex classes, were 74% for Ontario Black Ducks and 80% for New Brunswick Black Ducks. Although our morphometric analyses did not incorporate all morphometric characteristics of Black Ducks and Mallards, they do show that Black Ducks and Mallards collected in eastern Canada are morphometrically very similar. HANSON, A.R., et ANKNEY, C.D. 1994. Morphometric similarity of Mallards and American Black Ducks. Can. J. Zool. 72 : 2248-2251. Des donnkes morphomktriques ont kt6 recueillies chez 347 Canards noirs (Anus rubripes) et 1466 Canards colverts (Anas platyrhynchos) abattus par les chasseurs dans les rkgions du lac St. Clair et du lac Erik, dans le sud-ouest ontarien, a l'automne de 1986, et chez 51 1 Canards noirs abattus au Nouveau-Brunswick au cours des saisons de chasse de 1988 et 1989. Des analyses des fonctions discriminantes baskes sur huit variables morphomktriques externes (longueur de l'aile non aplatie, longueur du tarse, longueur du doigt mkdian, longueur du doigt postkrieur, culmen, longueur de la tete, largeur de la narine et largeur du bec) n'ont pas mis en kvidence de diffkrences prkcises entre les deux espkces de canards. Les analyses ont permis la classification juste (en moyenne, chez les quatre classes d'iige-sexe) de 61 % des colverts et de 71 % des Canards noirs. Les taux de classification les plus klevks ont kt6 obtenus par les analyses DFA des Canards noirs d'ontario et des Canards noirs du Nouveau-Brunswick (en moyenne, chez les quatre classes d'iige-sexe) : 74% des Canards noirs d'ontario et 80% des Canards noirs du Nouveau-Brunswick ont kt6 identifiks correctement. Bien que nos analyses morphomktriques ne soient pas baskes sur toutes les caractkristiques morphologiques des Canards noirs et des Canards colverts, elles dkmontrent que les Canards noirs et les Canards colverts capturks dans l'est du Canada sont trks semblables morphomktriquement. [Traduit par la Rkdaction]

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“…Although techniques for interpreting wing plumage to assign species, sex, and age were developed decades ago (Carney and Geis , Carney ), the accuracy of these methods has not been assessed within the context of the Waterfowl Parts Collection Survey. Previous users of data from the Waterfowl Parts Collection Survey have suggested potential for biases related primarily to biased samples of wings from hunters (Martin and Carney , Afton and Anderson , Oetgen ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our objectives were primarily to assess accuracy of age assignment based on wing plumage and, secondarily, to determine accuracy of determining species and sex. Earlier evaluations focused on accuracy of the wing plumage method as performed by individual participants (Carney and Geis , Hopper and Funk ). Our evaluations estimated accuracy of protocols within the operational survey procedure by incorporating wings from birds of known species, sex, and age.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Accuracy of aging ducks in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Waterfowl Parts Collection Survey

et al. 2013

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducts an annual Waterfowl Parts Collection Survey to estimate composition of harvested waterfowl by species, sex, and age (i.e., juv or ad). The survey relies on interpretation of duck wings by a group of experienced biologists at annual meetings (hereafter, flyway wingbees). Our objectives were to estimate accuracy of age assignment at flyway wingbees and to explore how accuracy rates may influence bias of age composition estimates. We used banded mallards (Anas platyrhynchos; n = 791), wood ducks (Aix sponsa; n = 242), and blue‐winged teal (Anas discors; n = 39) harvested and donated by hunters as our source of birds used in accuracy assessments. We sent wings of donated birds to wingbees after the 2002–2003 and 2003–2004 hunting seasons and compared species, sex, and age determinations made at wingbees with our assessments based on internal and external examination of birds and corresponding banding records. Determinations of species and sex of mallards, wood ducks, and blue‐winged teal were accurate (>99%). Accuracy of aging adult mallards increased with harvest date, whereas accuracy of aging juvenile male wood ducks and juvenile blue‐winged teal decreased with harvest date. Accuracy rates were highest (96% and 95%) for adult and juvenile mallards, moderate for adult and juvenile wood ducks (92% and 92%), and lowest for adult and juvenile blue‐winged teal (84% and 82%). We used these estimates to calculate bias for all possible age compositions (0–100% proportion juv) and determined the range of age compositions estimated with acceptable levels of bias. Comparing these ranges with age compositions estimated from Parts Collection Surveys conducted from 1961 to 2008 revealed that mallard and wood duck age compositions were estimated with insignificant levels of bias in all national surveys. However, 69% of age compositions for blue‐winged teal were estimated with an unacceptable level of bias. The low preliminary accuracy rates of aging blue‐winged teal based on our limited sample suggest a more extensive accuracy assessment study may be considered for interpreting age compositions of this species. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA

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Mallard Age and Sex Determination from Wings

Cited by 22 publications

References 4 publications

Incorporating human dimensions objectives into waterfowl habitat planning and delivery

Incorporating human dimensions objectives into waterfowl habitat planning and delivery

Morphometric similarity of Mallards and American Black Ducks

Accuracy of aging ducks in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Waterfowl Parts Collection Survey

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