Illinois Waterfowl Surveys and Investigations W-43-R-64 Annual Progress Report FY2017 Period: 1 July 2016 – 30 June 2017

Objectives 1) Inventory abundance and distribution of waterfowl, shorebirds, and other waterbirds (a minimum of 10 species and guilds) during autumn migration at a minimum of 30 sites along and nearby the Illinois and central Mississippi rivers, 2) Estimate waterfowl and other waterbird population sizes (a minimum of 10 species and guilds) during autumn migration using an aerial quadrat survey in the central Illinois River Valley for comparison with aerial inventories (Objective 1), 3) Investigate movement and population ecology of lesser scaup, canvasback, and other diving ducks by trapping and leg-banding a minimum of 1,000 individuals during spring migration along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, 4) Investigate the ecology of American green-winged teal and gadwall by radio-marking a minimum of 40 individuals of each species during spring migration in and nearby the central Illinois River Valley, 5) Investigate movements and home range size of a minimum of 10 Canada geese during winter in and near the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area (GCMA) of Illinois, 6) Determine habitat quality of a minimum of 50 wetland and deepwater polygons during spring, summer, and early autumn for migrating dabbling ducks, breeding wetland birds, and migrating shorebirds in Illinois, and 7) Distribute results and findings to site managers and biologists of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and other state agencies, the Mississippi Flyway Technical Section, the Upper Mississippi River and Great Lakes Region (UMRGLR) Joint Venture, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, other scientists and collaborators as requested, and the general public through oral presentations, popular articles, technical reports, and peer reviewed publications; make recommendations for future wetland management practices and research needs based on results and related research; contribute to regional conservation planning efforts during the project period as appropriate and requested.Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife & U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Contract Number: RC09-13FWUIUCunpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors Determining Diving Duck Condition and Habitat Quality during Spring Migration in the Upper Midwest

The Illinois and Mississippi river corridors historically provide critical stopover habitat for spring-migrating diving ducks (Havera 1999). However, recent evidence suggests that wetlands associated with these river systems in the region provide limited seed and invertebrate biomass during spring (Straub et al. 2012). We evaluated habitat quality throughout the upper Midwest during springs 2014–2015 by sampling foods available to diving ducks and examining an index of daily lipid deposition of lethally collected lesser scaup and canvasbacks (DLDs; Anteau and Afton 2008b). We related habitat quality metrics to body condition, determined by proximate analyses, and habitat selection of diving ducks.Additionally, we estimated levels of the stress hormone, corticosterone, and bioaccumulated hepatic elements to describe physiological condition of lesser scaup at Midwest stopover locations. Our data indicate that regional differences in body condition, stress levels, nutrient acquisition, foraging patch selection, and foraging area selection were more important than other factors (e.g., food densities) during spring migration.We observed low food densities, diverse diets, and negative energy balances, suggesting that food may be limited for diving ducks during spring. In particular, lack of evidence for patch and area selection may indicate that diving ducks are often unable to differentiate foraging patches based on energetic value. Additionally, other stressors such as introduced parasites may be an emerging threat to lesser scaup populations and important contributors to the Spring Condition Hypothesis (England 2016).unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Do Market-Level Hospital and Physician Resources Affect Small Area Variation in Hospital Use?

This study evaluates the effect of market-level physician and hospital resources on hospital use. It is anticipated that higher hospital discharges are associated with (1) greater hospital and physician resources, (2) more differentiated hospital and physician resources, and (3) higher levels of teaching intensity in the community. Data on 14 modified diagnostically related groups (DRGs) and 58 hospital market communities in Michigan are analyzed during a 7-year period. Findings indicate that physician resources, hospital resources, differentiation of hospital and physician resources, and teaching intensity contribute only modestly to discharges, holding constant the socioeconomic attributes of the community and adjusting for the variation in hospital use over time. With the inclusion of hospital and physician resource variables, socioeconomic factors remain important determinants of the variation across market communities. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for health care organizations, managed care programs, and cost control efforts in general.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68450/2/6.pd

Conspicuous Female Ornamentation and Tests of Male Mate Preference in Threespine Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Sexual selection drives the evolution of exaggerated male ornaments in many animal species. Female ornamentation is now acknowledged also to be common but is generally less well understood. One example is the recently documented red female throat coloration in some threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations. Although female sticklebacks often exhibit a preference for red male throat coloration, the possibility of sexual selection on female coloration has been little studied. Using sequential and simultaneous mate choice trials, we examined male mate preferences for female throat color, as well as pelvic spine color and standard length, using wild-captured threespine sticklebacks from the Little Campbell River, British Columbia. In a multivariate analysis, we found no evidence for a population-level mate preference in males, suggesting the absence of directional sexual selection on these traits arising from male mate choice. Significant variation was detected among males in their preference functions, but this appeared to arise from differences in their mean responsiveness across mating trials and not from variation in the strength (i.e., slope) of their preference, suggesting the absence of individual-level preferences as well. When presented with conspecific intruder males, male response decreased as intruder red throat coloration increased, suggesting that males can discriminate color and other aspects of phenotype in our experiment and that males may use these traits in intrasexual interactions. The results presented here are the first to explicitly address male preference for female throat color in threespine sticklebacks.Open Access Publishing Fun

Addressing climate change with behavioral science:A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions' effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior-several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people's initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors.</p

Addressing climate change with behavioral science: a global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions’ effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior—several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people’s initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors

Addressing climate change with behavioral science:A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions' effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior-several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people's initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors.</p