NEST SURVIVAL OF SCAUP AND OTHER DUCKS IN THE BOREAL FOREST OF ALASKA

We estimated variation in nest survival of lesser scaup (Aythya affinis), greater scaup (A. marila), and other common duck species at Minto Flats, Alaska, USA, during 1989–1993 and 2002–2003. Daily survival probability of scaup nests, as well as nests of all other duck species, varied with year, dat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of wildlife management 2005-04, Vol.69 (2), p.582-591
Main Authors: WALKER, JOHANN, LINDBERG, MARK S, MACCLUSKIE, MARGARET C, PETRULA, MICHAEL J, SEDINGER, JAMES S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alaska
Animal nesting
Animal populations
Aquatic birds
Aythya affinis
Aythya marila
Bird nesting
boreal forest
Boreal forests
Breeding
CONTENTS
Ducks
Eggs
Environmental monitoring
Forest habitats
Forests
Freshwater
habitat management
Habitats
nest success
nest survival
Nests
Oil and gas exploration
population dynamics
Predators
scaup
Survival
Survival analysis
Water levels
Waterfowl
Wildfowl
Wildlife ecology
Wildlife management
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Summary:We estimated variation in nest survival of lesser scaup (Aythya affinis), greater scaup (A. marila), and other common duck species at Minto Flats, Alaska, USA, during 1989–1993 and 2002–2003. Daily survival probability of scaup nests, as well as nests of all other duck species, varied with year, date, and nest habitat. Daily survival probability was unrelated to nest age and distance from the nest to water. Average, year-specific nest survival of all ducks at Minto Flats was 0.11 (95% CI: 0.05 to 0.22), comparable to nest survival of ducks breeding in mid-continent regions (i.e., the prairie pothole region and the Canadian prairie-parklands). Nest survival of scaup was variable among years, ranging from 0.01 (95% CI: 0.00 to 0.06) in 1992 to 0.61 (95% CI: 0.50 to 0.74) in 1993 and was probably related to variation in predation risk and water levels. Scaup production could have been limited by low nest survival during most years of this study; nest survival exceeded 20% only in 1993 and 2002. Because of the high densities of breeding scaup and other waterfowl species at Minto Flats, we recommend management to maintain existing habitat for breeding scaup and other duck species. This management could be most effectively informed by yearly monitoring of production to more accurately understand spatial and temporal variation in recruitment and to identify potential effects of proposed oil and gas exploration on recruitment of ducks at Minto Flats.
ISSN:0022-541X
1937-2817
DOI:10.2193/0022-541X(2005)069[0582:NSOSAO]2.0.CO;2