Survival and habitat selection of wood duck ducklings.

Dyson, Matthew E.; Schummer, Michael L.; Barney, Ted S.; Fedy, Bradley C.; Henry, Hugh A. L.; Petrie, Scott A.

Survival and habitat selection during brood‐rearing influences reproductive success and waterfowl population dynamics. For effective management, it is important to understand vital rates and habitat choice range wide. We investigated survival and habitat selection of female wood ducks (Aix sponsa) and ducklings at Long Point, Lake Erie, Ontario, Canada in 2014. We captured incubating females (n = 40) in nest boxes and used radio‐telemetry to monitor survival and habitat use to 30 days post‐hatch. Four female mortalities occurred during brood‐rearing and apparent brood and duckling survival were 0.42 (85% CI = 0.33, 0.51) and 0.16 (85% CI = 0.14, 0.18), respectively. Duckling survival was negatively associated with brood size and distance of first movement, whereas survival was positively associated with precipitation. Successful brood‐rearing wood ducks selected forested wetlands and habitats that provided dense vegetative cover. Conservation and restoration of forested wetlands and similar cover should increase the availability of brood‐rearing habitat. Placement of nest boxes close to selected land cover types and strategies associated with reducing inflated clutch sizes may improve offspring survival. Our spatially explicit habitat selection model informs spatial prioritization of habitat conservation and nest box placement strategies within the Great Lakes region. © 2018 The Wildlife Society. We determined wood duck duckling survival within broods in Ontario, Canada, was positively associated with precipitation and negatively associated with initial brood size and length of first step and developed a resource selection function model for successful brood habitat use with high predictive capability. Management in the Great Lakes region should focus on conservation and provision of habitats that provide dense vegetative cover to ensure adequate brood‐rearing habitat that promotes duckling survival.

WATERFOWL; HABITAT selection; POPULATION dynamics; WATERFOWL management; WOOD duck; DUCKLINGS; BREEDING

Journal of Wildlife Management, 2018, Vol 82, Issue 8, p1725

0022-541X

Academic Journal

10.1002/jwmg.21508