Summaries of Wildlife Research Findings 2015 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife Wildlife Populations and Research Unit SUMMARIES OF WILDLIFE RESEARCH FINDINGS 2015 Edited by: Lou Cornicelli Michelle Carstensen Gino D’Angelo Michael A. Larson Jeffrey S. Lawrence Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife Wildlife Populations and Research Unit 500 Lafayette Road, Box 20 St. Paul, MN 55155-4020 (651) 259-5202 ©January 2017 State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources For more information contact: DNR Information Center 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155-4040 (651) 296-6157 (Metro Area) 1 888 MINNDNR (1-888-646-6367) TTY (651) 296-5484 (Metro Area) 1 800 657-3929 http://www.mndnr.gov This volume contains interim results of wildlife research projects. Some of the data and interpretations may change as a result of additional findings or future, more comprehensive analysis of the data. Authors should be contacted regarding use of any of their data. Printed in accordance with Minn. Stat. Sec. 84.03 Equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from programs of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is available to all individuals regardless of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, age, sexual orientation, membership or activity in a local commission, or disability. Discrimination inquiries should be sent to MN DNR, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155-4031; or the Equal Opportunity Office, Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240. Printed on recycled paper containing a minimum of 30% post-consumer waste and soy-based ink. TABLE OF CONTENTS Forest Wildlife Research Group Ecology and Population Dynamics of Black Bears in Minnesota David L. Garshelis, Andrew Tri, and Brian J. Dirks ......................................................... 1 Hair-Snaring Population Estimate of Black Bears in the Chippewa National Forest: Subsampling for Cost Efficiency with Spatially Explicit Capture‒Recapture Models Nick Gondek, David L. Garshelis, Karen V. Noyce, and John R. Fieberg ..................... 20 Quantifying the Relationship Between Grasslands, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Enrollments and Greater Prairie-Chicken Populations (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) in Minnesota Kaly Adkins, Charlotte Roy, and Robert Wright ............................................................ 22 Sharp-Tailed Grouse Responses to Fall Prescribed Fire and Mowing Charlotte Roy and Lindsey Shartell .............................................................................. 36 Identifying Barriers to Movement and the Effectiveness of Corridors for Connecting Core Areas: Landscape Genetics of Prairie Grouse in Fragmented Landscapes Charlotte Roy, Eric Nelson, and Andrew Gregory ......................................................... 48 Neonicotinoids on the Landscape: Evaluating Avian Exposure to Treated Seeds in Agricultural Landscapes Charlotte Roy, Da Chen Julia Ponder, and Mark Jankowski ......................................... 54 Monitoring Spruce Grouse in Minnesota: A Pilot Study (2014-2016) Charlotte Roy, John Giudice, and Chris Scharenbroich ................................................ 69 Assessing the Value of Permanently Managed Wildlife Openings for American Woodcock Lindsey Shartell ............................................................................................................ 93 Using Movement Behavior of Adult Female Moose to Estimate Survival and Cause-Specific Mortality of Calves in Northeastern Minnesota Tyler R. Obermoller, Glenn D. DelGiudice, William J. Severud, Bradley D. Smith, Jamie L. Goethlich, and Ryan A. Willaert ................................................................................ 98 Survival, Cause-Specific Mortality, and Space Use of Moose Calves in a Declining Population William J. Severud, Glenn D. DelGiudice, and Tyler R. Obermoller ............................ 110 Climate Change, Winter Nutritional Restriction, and the Decline of Moose in Northeastern Minnesota, Winters 2013–2016 Glenn D. DelGiudice and William J. Severud .............................................................. 124 Evaluation of Design and Analysis of a Camera-Based Multi-Species Occupancy Survey of Carnivores in Minnesota Fabiola Iannarilli, John Erb, Todd Arnold, and John Fieberg ....................................... 140 Reproductive Ecology of Fishers and American Martens in Minnesota John Erb, Pam Coy, and Barry Sampson ................................................................... 153 Survival and Causes of Mortality for Fishers and Martens in Minnesota John Erb, Pam Coy, and Barry Sampson ................................................................... 166 Using Lidar Data to Quantify Forest Structural Habitat Variables Important to Fishers and Martens Michael Joyce, John Erb, Barry Sampson, and Ron Moen ......................................... 176 Wildlife Health Program Determining Cause- Specific Mortality of Adult Moose in Northeast Minnesota, February 2013 – July 2016 Michelle Carstensen, Erik C. Hildebrand, Dawn Plattner, Margaret Dexter, Christopher Jennelle, and Robert G. Wright .................................................................................. 188 Surveillance for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Minnesota’s Wild Waterfowl in 2015-16 Chris Jennelle, Michelle Carstensen, Erik Hildebrand, and Lou Cornicelli .................. 198 Calibration of a Rumen Bolus to Measure Internal Body Temperature in Moose Andrew Herberg, Véronique St-Louis, Michelle Carstensen, James Forester ............. 208 Wetland Wildlife Research Group Fall Movement of Mallards in Minnesota Bruce E. Davis ............................................................................................................ 226 Shallow Lakes in Minnesota: Can we Predict Future Conditions? Kelsey Vitense, John Fieberg, Nicole Hansel-Welch, Mark A. Hanson, Brian R. Herwig, and Kyle D. Zimmer .................................................................................................... 231 Developing Methodologies for Predicting the Locations of Wood Duck Breeding Habitat Components in Minnesota James B. Berdeen, Edmund Zlonis, Tyler Kaebisch, and Mark D. Nelson .................. 243 Farmland Wildlife Research Group Evaluation of Localized Deer Management for Reducing Agricultural Damage Caused by White- Tailed Deer in Minnesota Gino J. D’Angelo ........................................................................................................ 247 An Evaluation of Nesting and Brood-Rearing Habitat Selection and Survival Rates of Ring- Necked Pheasants in Relation to Vegetation Structure and Composition Nicole Davros ............................................................................................................. 254 Seasonal Homerange Movements and Habitat Selection of Female Elk in Northwestern Minnesota Alicia E. Freeman, Gino J. D’Angelo, Louis Cornicelli, and John D. Krenz .................. 268 Assessing the Contribution of Harvest Mortality Rates to Overall Mortality Rates of Gray and Fox Squirrels on Public Land in Minnesota Ryan G. Tebo and John H. Giudice ............................................................................ 279 Publications ......................................................................................................................... 294 Forest Wildlife Populations and Research Group 1201 East Highway 2 Grand Rapids, Minnesota 55744 (218) 327-4432 ECOLOGY AND POPULATION DYNAMICS OF BLACK BEARS IN MINNESOTA David L. Garshelis, Andrew Tri, and Brian J. Dirks1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS During April 2015–March 2016, we monitored 22 radiocollared black bears (Ursus americanus) at 4 study sites representing contrasting portions of the bear’s geographic range in Minnesota: Voyageurs National Park (VNP, northern extreme, poorest food), Chippewa National Forest (CNF; central), Camp Ripley Training Center (southern fringe), and a site at the northwestern (NW) edge of the range. At sites with a higher abundance of foods, bears matured earlier: at NW and Camp Ripley (which has plentiful oaks), >80% of females produced a surviving litter of cubs by age 4, whereas no VNP bears had cubs by age 4. The NW area had the highest reproductive rate, due to an abundance of both agricultural crops and natural foods. Litter sizes of 3 were most common in NW and CNF, whereas litter sizes of 2 were most common in VNP; in Camp Ripley, 3-year-old mothers all had litters of 2, whereas older mothers had an equal proportion of 2- and 3-cub litters. Hunting has been the primary source of mortality in all areas, although vehicle collisions have been a significant source of mortality for bears wandering off Camp Ripley, which is flanked by highways. Camera traps set outside den sites revealed dates of den emergence, and indicated that early, warm springs may prompt bears to leave wet dens. INTRODUCTION AND STUDY AREAS Telemetry-based research on black bears was initiated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) in 1981, and has been ongoing continuously since then. Objectives shifted over the years, and study areas were added to encompass the range of habitats and food productivity across the bear range. For the first 10 years, the bear study was limited to the Chippewa National Forest (CNF), near the geographic center of the Minnesota bear range (Figure 1). The CNF is one of the most heavily hunted areas of the