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- Title
Impacts of weather on northern bobwhite sex ratios, body mass, and annual production in South Texas.
- Authors
Tri, Andrew N.; Sands, Joseph P.; Buelow, Michael C.; Williford, Damon; Wehland, Erin M.; Larson, Jon A.; Brazil, Kyle A.; Hardin, Jason B.; Hernández, Fidel; Brennan, Leonard A.
- Abstract
A landscape-scale assessment of how bobwhite productivity varies in relation to weather does not exist for northern bobwhite ( Colinus virginianus). We collected age and sex ratio and body mass data from hunter-harvested bobwhites in 16 counties of South Texas ( n = 72,797 bobwhites) during 2001-2009 hunting seasons. We evaluated annual bobwhite production (juvenile:adult age ratios) as a function of cumulative April-August rainfall using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather station data from Falfurrias and Hebbronville, Texas. We observed minimal among-year change in percent males harvested (51.0-54.5% male) and mean mass (156-160 g) of bobwhites across South Texas. We found no relationship between percent male or body mass and weather. We documented a positive, linear relationship between cumulative April-August rainfall and bobwhite age ratios ( r2 = 0.94); we also documented a negative, linear relationship between summer (Jun-Aug) mean maximum daily temperature and bobwhite age ratios ( r2 = 0.38). Our results suggest that rainfall is a landscape-scale indicator of annual bobwhite production in South Texas and can thus be used to manage annual expectations of quail hunters prior to the hunting season. © The Wildlife Society, 2012
- Subjects
TEXAS; BOBWHITES; ODONTOPHORIDAE; ANIMAL populations; SEX ratio
- Publication
Journal of Wildlife Management, 2013, Vol 77, Issue 3, p579
- ISSN
0022-541X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/jwmg.490