| | Accession Number | 5001879 |
| | Title | Effect of hunting on survival and habitat use by American woodcock Scolopax minor |
| | on breeding and migration areas |
| | Project Description | The American woodcock (Scolopax minor) population has declined over the last 29 years at an |
| | annual rate of 2.5% in the Eastern region and 1.6% in the Central region (Bruggink 1996). In 1996, |
| | the breeding population index was 1.48 singing males per route in the Eastern region, which was |
| | the lowest on record since the survey began. The major causes of the decline are thought to be |
| | degradation and loss of suitable habitat on both breeding and wintering areas, caused by forest |
| | succession and changes in land use (Dwyer et al. 1983, Owen et al. 1977, Straw et al. 1994). |
| | Although hunting is not thought to be a cause of the decline, there is a need to determine the |
| | effects of harvest on this declining population (USDI 1990). Under the hypothesis of compensatory |
| | mortality, hunting and non-hunting mortality are inversely related as long as hunting mortality is |
| | below some threshold point (harvest level) (Anderson and Burnham 1976). Yearly variation in the |
| | size, age and sex structure of the population, and the quantity and quality of habitat may influence |
| | what that threshold is (Anderson and Burnham 1976). Estimates of the retrieved kill of woodcock |
| | increased from 789,000 in 1969 (Sheldon 1971) to 1,328,000 (U. S. only) in 1977 (Owen et al. |
| | 1977) to 2,000,000 in 1990 (USDI 1990), suggesting an increasing annual mortality from hunting |
| | (Martin et al. 1977). Although harvest estimates after harvest restrictions dropped to about 1.1 |
| | million (Straw et al. 1994) and data from the Wing Surveys indicated that seasonal hunter |
| | success has been declining during the last decade (Bruggink 1996), available habitat continues to |
| | decline. Because habitat quality and quantity have been declining along with the woodcock |
| | population, woodcock harvest levels may now be at or above the threshold of additivity. Because |
| | the causes of the woodcock decline are unknown and hunting mortality can be controlled, |
| | research on the effects of hunting mortality on woodcock populations at both local and regional |
| | levels is needed. We will use radio-telemetry to determine sources of mortality, survival rates, |
| | habitat use, and movement of juvenile woodcock during fall on local areas within the breeding |
| | range of the woodcock and on staging areas during migration,. Also, we will determine effects of |
| | fall survival on size of the spring population. This study will be a cooperative venture among |
| | PWRC, USFWS-Region 5, Moosehorn NWR, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, |
| | PA Game Commission, Erie NWR, The Ruffed Grouse Society, Champion International Corp., |
| | Dartmouth College, New Hampshire Fish and Game, The Wildlife Management Institute and |
| | Vermont National Guard. Results of this study will characterize natural processes and identify |
| | factors that influence the quantity and quality of the Nations biological resources and will facilitate |
| | sound management of the Nations biological resources by collaborating with partners in all |
| | phases of work. |
| | Keywords | american woodcock, effects of hunting, habitat use, movements, scolopax minor, survival, |
| | Principal | Daniel G McAuley, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center: dan_mcauley@usgs.gov; Jerry R |
| | Investigators | Longcore, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center: jerry_longcore@usgs.gov; Greg F Sepik, |
| | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 5: r5rw_rwb@fws.gov; R. B Allen, Maine Department of |
| | Inland Fisheries and Wildlife: brad.allen@state.me.us; Bill Palmer, Pennsylvania Game |
| | Commission: ; John Dunn, Pennsylvania Game Commission: ; |
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