Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund 2012-2013 Request for Proposals (RFP) 008-A ENRTF ID: Project Title: Population Ecology of Wood Ducks in Minnesota A. Fisheries & Wildlife Research Topic Area: Total Project Budget: $ 677,175 Proposed Project Time Period for the Funding Requested: 5 yrs, July 2013 - June 2018 Other Non-State Funds: $ 0 Summary: The proposed project will examine the utility of nest boxes to inform management of wood ducks in natural cavities and effects of hunting regulation changes on population growth rates. Name: Charlotte Roy Sponsoring Organization: MN DNR Address: 102 23rd Street NE Bemidji MN 56601 Telephone Number: (218) 308-2288 Email charlotte.roy@state.mn.us Web Address http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/index.html Location Statewide Region: County Name: Statewide City / Township: _____ Funding Priorities _____ Multiple Benefits _____ Outcomes _____ Knowledge Base _____ Extent of Impact _____ Innovation _____ Scientific/Tech Basis _____ Urgency _____ Capacity Readiness _____ Leverage _____ Employment _______ TOTAL ______% 05/03/2012 Page 1 of 6
Environ nment and d Natural Resource es Trust Fu und (ENRT TF) 2012 ‐ 20 013 Main Proposal PROJECT TITLE: Popul ation Ecology y of Wood Du ucks in Minne esota I. PROJEC T STATEMEN NT In 2011, M Minnesota inc creased the d daily bag limit of wood duc cks from 2 to 3 birds and o opened the du uck season a w week early as s permitted b y the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USF WS). These c changes may increase t the harvest of f wood ducks s in Minnesot a. Minnesota a is 1 of 3 imp portant wate rfowl breedin ng states in t the Mississipp pi Flyway, inc luding Wisco nsin and Mic higan, and ha as traditional ly set conserv vative hunting re egulations to protect its br reeding popu ulations. Thus s, there is con ncern regardi ing the effect ts of these reg ulatory chang ges on the siz ze of the bree eding wood du uck populatio on. We propo ose to investi igate demograp phic vital rate es of wood du ucks, including g nest succes ss, hen breedi ing season su urvival, and br rood survival; a and to increas se monitoring g efforts so th hat harvest ra ates and annu ual survival ra ates can be estimated d, and popula tion models c can be develo oped. The goal o of the nesting g study is to c compare vital rates of woo od ducks nest ing in nest bo oxes to those of wood duc cks nesting in natural cavit ties on the sa me study are ea. Most nest ting studies o of wood ducks s are conducted d in nest boxe es because it is easier to o obtain data fro om hens nest ting in boxes. . However, w we know from m other publi ished studies that nest box xes do not em mulate condit tions in natur ral cavities, ye et we manage a a population t that nests pri marily in cavi ities with data a collected fr rom nest boxe es. Understa nding these diff erences is ne eeded to guid e manageme nt of a popul ation for whi ch data are li imited and difficult to o obtain. Acc curate vital ra ates will impro ove populatio on modeling a and provide i nformation o on the annual va riability of pr roduction am ong years in b birds using na atural cavities s. The goals of the popul ation monito ring compon ent of the pro oposed proje ect are to (1) g generate estimates s of harvest p arameters an nd annual surv vival rates of wood ducks from banding g data, (2) tes st published d predictions o of the change es in harvest rates that coi incide with a regulatory ch hange (i.e., 2 v 3 bird daily bag limit), (3 ) examine the e relationship p between ha arvest rates a nd annual su rvival rates, ( 4) develop a a population m model for wo od ducks, and d (5) compare e estimated r rates of popu lation growth h generated d from aerial surveys and p population m models. Such information w will enable im mproved managem ment decisions s, benefiting both waterfo owl hunters an nd non ‐ consu umptive reso urce users. To achiev e these goals s and objectiv ves, we will ca apture and at ttach leg band ds to wood du ucks. For the e nesting st tudy, hens wi ll be marked with radio ‐ tra ansmitters an nd followed b back to their n nesting locati ions in natural cavities and nest boxes. W We will moni tor nests unt til termination n to determin ne nest succe ess. We will th hen use radio ‐ telemetry to o locate hens and broods a and monitor s survival to fle edging. These e data will be use ed to generat te vital rate e estimates. II. DESCRI IPTION OF PR ROJECT ACTIV VITIES Activity 1 : Nesting eco ology study Budge et: $345,290 We will ca apture female e wood ducks s each spring as they begin n nesting. Ea ch hen will re eceive a radio o ‐ transmitte er so that we can track he r to her nest for weekly m monitoring unt til hatch or ne est terminatio on. Nests will be checked u using ladders as necessary y, camera equ uipment on a telescoping p pole, and sing gle ‐ rope clim bing techniqu ue. We will th hen track hen ns and their b broods at leas st twice a wee ek using telem metry technique es. We will co ount duckling gs and determ mine approxim mate ages for r calculations of brood surv vival and attrit ion. 1 05/03/2012 Page 2 of 6
Outcome Completion Date 1. Nest success estimates for 3 years 15 Sept 2016 2. Hen breeding season survival estimates for 3 years 15 Nov 2016 3. Brood survival estimates for 3 years 15 Nov 2016 4. Publish results in research summaries and peer ‐ reviewed publications 31 Dec 2017 Activity 2: Banding and monitoring wood ducks Budget: $331,885 Outcome Completion Date 1. Preliminary analyses of 1996 ‐ 2010 wood duck banding data and estimation of Complete sample sizes of banded individuals required for future work 2. Five year banding effort 20 Sept 2017 3. Data analysis 30 June 2018 4. Development and evaluation of wood duck population models 30 Nov 2018 5. Publish results in research summaries and peer ‐ reviewed publications 15 Jan 2019 Preliminary analyses of 1996 ‐ 2010 banding data have been conducted to identify information gaps and necessary sample sizes. These gaps will be filled by banding ducks at 4 ‐ 5 new sites in Minnesota. Re ‐ encounter data from live and hunter ‐ harvested birds will be obtained from the US Geological Survey (USGS) Bird Banding Lab, and used in data analyses. These analyses will provide estimates of harvest and annual survival rates, and will be used to develop population models. Resultant models will be evaluated. III. PROJECT STRATEGY A. Project Team/Partners Dr. Charlotte Roy, Department of Natural Resources ‐ Wetland Wildlife Population and Research Group (DNR ‐ WWPRG), principal investigator ‐ nesting ecology study; Dr. James Berdeen, DNR ‐ WWPRG, principal investigator ‐ banding; Dr. John Fieberg, DNR ‐ Biometrics Unit, collaborator; Dr. Jeffrey Lawrence, DNR ‐ WWPRG, collaborator; USFWS, collaborators. Funds will go to the DNR to conduct the nesting ecology research and to increase banding efforts beyond what is feasible without these funds. The USFWS will contribute by attempting to increase wood duck banding efforts at their capture sites. B. Timeline Requirements The nesting ecology research will require 3 field seasons to capture annual variability in vital rates. Banding efforts will be conducted for 5 years. Data analysis will occur up to approximately one year after the last field season because the USGS Bird Banding Lab requires time to finalize and process this data after hunting season. C. Long ‐ Term Strategy and Future Funding Needs This information will be used to guide management and population monitoring of wood ducks. More specifically, the research component will examine the validity of using information collected from nest boxes in lieu of data from natural cavities for management. Knowledge of the relationship between harvest rates and annual survival rates can inform harvest management decisions, and reliable population models can provide insight into changes in the wood duck population. 2 05/03/2012 Page 3 of 6
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