Survival Demographics of Montezuma Quail in Southeast Arizona

Pedro Mazier Chavarria (New Mexico State University) Nova Silvy & Roel Lopez & Donald Davis (Texas A&M University) Angel Montoya (USFWS) Quail VIII Conference (Knoxville, TN) July 2017 Overview

 Background: Survival research

 Overview of methods

 Survival probability estimates

 Causes of mortality

 Stochastic factors affecting survival

 Management implications

Future research

 Acknowledgements and Closing Notes Montezuma Quail (Cyrtonix montezumae mearnsi) Introduction

 Least understood quail in N. America Adult male  Montezuma quail, also known as Harlequin quail, are typically found in pine-oak woodlands of Mexico and the southwestern U.S.

 Four subspecies throughout the range; some regions extirpated. Adult female

 Most cited/notable studies by:

Wallmo (1954) Leopold and McCabe (1957) Bishop and Hungerford (1965) Juvenile Brown (1975) Stromberg (1990)  Southeast Arizona: 2008 – 2010  Coronado National Forest (Sonoita, Patagonia, San Rafael Valley)  Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch (Elgin) Traditional methods used to study Montezuma Quail:

Photo by Steve Hopkins

Total Captures (All Methods Combined):

 STEVENS CANYON: Total 14 captured. 10 individuals captured from January–May 2008, additional 4 birds in Fall 2008

 HOG CANYON: Total 13 captured (6 December 2008 to 31 May 2009)

 RESEARCH RANCH: Total 55 individuals captured (31 in 2009, 24 in 2010). Radio-tracking for Survival and Range Estimates

 Monitoring through triangulation of signal was conducted about 2–5 times a week at random times stratified by morning of afternoon

 Walk-ins and flush counts were conducted at least once every 3 weeks during the non-breeding season. Usually as a result of trapping.

 This was done to determine:  the health status of a bird  covey size with which a tagged bird was interacting  habitat use, roost selection, nest-site selection

 Night-time walk-ins were conducted at least once every 2 weeks during the breeding season to determine clutch size and hatch size if nests had been established. Survival Estimation Analysis

 Kaplan-Meier staggered entry estimator (Pollock et al. 1989) to calculate survival rates (S)

 Seasonal survival rates were determined for birds captured post-Fall

 Censored observations or losses from mortality were categorized into groups based on any available evidence at the recovery site:  Predation (avian, mammalian)  Hunted  Unknown  Other (trap injury, trap stress, dropped transmitter).

 I used the log-rank Chi-squared test, at P = 0.05, to determine differences among survival distributions by gender and age-class. Table 1. Finite (weekly) survival probability estimates (S ± SE) calculated using Kaplan-Meier staggered entry design (Pollock et al. 1989) for radio-tagged Montezuma quail

Included in the table is sample size (n) for individuals trapped, mean ± SD and range for number of days tracked for each category. Survival Estimates: Stevens Canyon

 Low sample size ; estimates not very reliable

 High survival? in a hunted site? for a (r-selected) quail species?

 Problems with “right-censoring” due to missing birds

 Problems with unreported mortalities from hunting

 Very wide confidence interval explains unreliability of estimate Survival Estimates: Hog Canyon

 Moderate sample size ; estimates somewhat reliable

 Moderately high survival? in a hunted site? Plausible, but unlikely.

 Problems with “right-censoring” due to missing birds

 Problems with unreported mortalities from hunting (Dec-Jan)

 Very wide confidence interval explains unreliability of estimate Survival Estimates: Research Ranch

 Moderate/Large sample size ; estimates more reliable

 Survival rate typical of most quail species. Reasonably “low”

 Non-hunted site! No problems with unreported hunting mortalities

 Confidence interval still wide. Reflects issues with “right censoring”

 Standard Error reflects a reasonable range for survival for this species Stevens Canyon: Cause of Mortality

 Confirmed hunting mortality (n = 1), and suspected hunting mortalities (n = 3).

Hog Canyon: Cause of Mortality

 4 confirmed mortalities: confirmed raptor (n = 2), owl suspected (n = 1), and unknown (n = 1).

 There were 9 censures: suspected mortality (unknown, n = 1), suspected hunting mortalities (n = 3), and suspected transmitter failures (n = 5).

 Of the suspected hunting mortalities, 2 were later confirmed as hunting mortalities from reports submitted through AZGF wing barrel counts. Research Ranch: Cause of Mortality

 29 confirmed mortalities:  confirmed raptor (n = 7; 1 Northern harrier, 1 owl, 1 Harris hawk), suspected raptor (n = 8)

 confirmed mammal (n = 1), suspected mammal (n = 7)

 frozen on roost (n = 3)

 mortality suspected (n = 1), trap injury (n = 1), and unknown cause (n =1).

 There were 25 censures:  suspected mortalities (n =6; unknown), suspected mortalities from raptor (n = 5)  fallen transmitters (n = 3), transmitter failures (n = 9)  injury-rehabilitation (n = 1), and untagged (n = 1).

Conclusion Conclusions:

 Methods for studying wild Montezuma quail populations improved

 Survival estimates similar to other North American quail, but need more data to verify in absence of stochastic factors: fire, sever winter, drought

 Adult males and females had higher survival than subadults (P=0.235)  This is to be expected due to survival skills learned over time  “naïve” behavior of sudadults

 Adult male survival lower than adult females (P=0.566)  Perhaps due to risky behavior taken in seeking mates during breeding season  Lack of camouflage in comparison to females  Will feed, roost, nest in a burned area in sacaton bottomlands

 Trend of higher survival of adult females to juvenile females (P=0.096)  Established nesting sites  reduced risk and mortality during breeding season? Management implications:

 Survival estimates derived from combined use of radio telemetry and dog- assisted flush counts provide valuable data for managers

 Survival probabilities should be accounted for all seasons (i.e. spring, summer, autumn, winter) to note diverse seasonal impacts on survival

 Impacts of anthropogenic activities on survival are feasible on this species if an experimental site can “control” for accounting of hunted birds taken

 How do you manage for Montezuma quail in the face of natural catastrophes as observed in Winter 2010 ? Acknowledgements

• Texas A&M University: Dr. Nova Silvy, Dr. Roel Lopez, Dr. Donald Davis

• Sul Ross State University: Dr. Louis Harveson

• Arizona Game and Fish: Edwin Juarez, Kirby Bristow, Jim Heffelfinger,

• Angel Montoya (The Peregrine Fund, USFWS)

• Arizona Quail Alliance: Dr. Tad Pfister, Steve Hopkins, Dennis Warren, Dennis Cavenaugh

• Liberty Wildlife Rehabilitation: Alison Kocek, Jan Miller

• Field Assistants: Alison Kocek, Cynthia Soria, Joon Hyung, Lily Ng, • Raquel Chavarria

• National Audubon Society: Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch; Research Ranch Foundation, Dr. Christine Haas, Dr. Linda Kennedy, Dr. Mark Stromberg Acknowledgements Gene Kindred, Canyon View Kennels

In Memory of Blanca (2010) and Chico (2015) for their dedication to PhD research and being brave, loyal companions in the field