13.2.11. Increasing Waterfowl Nesting Success on Islands and Peninsulas

Waterfowl that nest in uplands in the prairie pothole region have had low recruitment rates in recent decades, primarily because of predation. The loss of breeding waterfowl and their progeny has generated interest in management techniques that safeguard incubating hens and their eggs. Developing islands and peninsulas for nesting waterfowl has potential because these sites are naturally attractive to breeding ducks and geese. In fact, dense nesting colonies of ducks developed on some islands when successful females and a portion of their female progeny returned in subsequent years. Managers have successfully duplicated the beneficial attributes of islands by developing various nesting habitats that are protected by water barriers. This chapter addresses the management of existing islands, the creation of new islands, and the modification of peninsulas into islands to increase nesting success in waterfowl

Control of One Native Animal Species To Benefit Another Native Species

This paper expresses my feelings on the topic of controlling one native animal species (small carnivores) for the benefit of another native species (waterfowl). The relationship between the predator and prey has always been an interesting one. During much of man\u27s experience with wildlife, predators were generally feared and persecuted. It was almost universally agreed that killing predators resulted in larger game populations, which man wanted for food or sport

Game fence presence and permeability influences the local movement and distribution of South African mammals

Fences are utilized throughout the world to restrict the movements of wildlife, protecting them from threats and reducing human-wildlife conflict. In South Africa the number of privately-owned fenced game reserves has greatly increased in recent years, but little is known about how fencing affects the distribution and movements of target and non-target mammals. We surveyed 2m either side of the complete fence line of a recently established commercial game reserve in South Africa, identifying signs of animal presence (spoor, scat, foraging or other field signs) while also recording damage (holes) to the fence. Every 250m we carried out 100m perpendicular transects either side of the fence, recording vegetation cover and height at 10m intervals along the transect. We found that livestock (largely cattle) were excluded from the reserve. However, 12% of records of large animal species were recorded outside of the fence line. These species had been introduced to the reserve, strongly suggesting that they had crossed the boundary into the surrounding farmland. Sixteen naturally present wild species were found on both sides of the fence, but we found more evidence of their presence inside the reserve. Observational evidence suggests that they were regularly crossing the boundary, particularly where the fence was damaged, with hole size affecting species recorded. We also found evidence that the construction of the fence had led to a difference in vegetation structure with plant diversity and percentage of non-woody plant cover significantly higher inside the fence. While fencing was highly effective at preventing movement of livestock, introduced and wild animals were able to cross the boundary, via holes in the fence. This work shows that the efficacy of the most common approach to preventing animal movement around protected areas depends on the species being considered and fence condition

Early History of the North Dakota Natural Science Society

A year ago, Paul Kannowski, editor of The Prairie Naturalist, asked me to write a short history of the formative period of the North Dakota Natural Science Society (Society). Finally, a year later, I accomplished the task. It seems that the history of the Society might be a little tedious to current readers of The Prairie Naturalist. However, the history of an organization that has succeeded for 25 years is worthy of documentation. Also, I take some comfort from the thought that many old-timers and prior North Dakota residents still belong to the Society and presumably take an interest in its history

Upland Nesting of American Bitterns, Marsh Hawks, and Short-Eared Owls

Nests of American Bitterns (Botaurus lentiginosus), marsh hawks (Circus cyaneus), and short-eared owls (Asio flammeus) are usually found in wetland habitats. Although large marshes containing dense stands of bulrushes (Scirpus), cattails (Typha), or other wetland vegetation are favored nesting cover, these birds have also been reported to nest in stands of tall, dense shrubs and grasses on the upland (Bent 1961, 1963; Palmer 1962; Sealy 1967; Stewart 1975). During 1968-74, we regularly found upland nests of these three species while conducting duck nesting studies in planted fields of undisturbed grass-legume cover in the Dakotas (Duebbert and Lokemoen 1976). Our findings on nest densities, hatching success, site characteristics, clutch sizes, and other ecological factors are presented in this paper. A bib (1975) indicated that the three species discussed in the present paper, in all or a significant part of their range, currently exhibit potentially dangerous, apparently non-cyclical population declines. Our general observations in North Dakota over the past 20 years also suggest an alarming decrease in populations of these birds during the breeding season. We believe that these population declines may be correlated with the widespread destruction or degradation of essential nesting habitats as agriculture has become increasingly more intensive

Waterfowl Production on Stock-Watering Ponds in the Northern Plains

In a 5-year study of stock-watering ponds in western North Dakota, pond size was found to be the major factor influencing duck use. As pond size increased, total pair and brood use per pond increased. Pairs used ponds as small as 0.1 acre in size, but broods were seldom seen on ponds of less than 1.0 surface acre. Dam-type ponds larger than 1.0 surface acre comprised only 29% of all man-made ponds on the study area but received 65% of the pair use and 87% of the brood use. Utilization of fenced ponds by pairs and broods was not significantly different from utilization of unfenced ponds. Grazing rates of 2 to 3 acres per AUM and lower rates permitted the development of grassy shoreline cover preferred by pairs and brushy and emergent shorelines preferred by broods. Duck pairs were significantly more numerous on older ponds and ponds with grassy shorelines but less numerous on ponds that had heavy deposits of sediment or were isolated from other wetlands. Broods were significantly more numerous on ponds with brushy shorelines and emergent vegetation than on those without. Broods were less numerous on turbid and newly constructed ponds. The most suitable stock-watering units for maximum waterfowl production were dam-type ponds of 1.5 surface acres, or larger, built in gentle to rolling terrain away from major sources of siltation.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Increasing Waterfowl Production on Points and Islands by Reducing Mammalian Predation

On 12 points, with electric predator barriers, there were 0.84 duck nests per acre with a hatching rate of 60%. On 12 control points, there were 0.23 nests per acre with a hatching rate of 8%. On 9 islands where predators were removed, there were 851 nests in 1986 with 87% nest success. In 1984 and 1985, before predators were controlled, these islands contained 52 nests with 8% nest success. The management cost to produce hatched young on treated points was $7.13 compared with$0.33 for each hatched young on islands