Estimates of Waste Rice, Natural Seeds, and Wetland Birds in Gulf Coast Prairie Ricelands

Template B v3.0 (beta): Created by J. Nail 06/2015 Estimates of waste rice, natural seeds, and wetland birds in Gulf Coast Prairie ricelands during fall–winter By TITLE PAGE Joseph R. Marty A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Resources in the College of Forest Resources Mississippi State, Mississippi May 2017 Estimates of waste rice, natural seeds, and wetland birds in Gulf Coast Prairie ricelands during fall–winter By APPROVAL PAGE Joseph R. Marty Approved: ____________________________________ J. Brian Davis (Major Professor) ____________________________________ Richard M. Kaminski (Committee Member) ____________________________________ Michael G. Brasher (Committee Member) ____________________________________ Scott A. Rush (Committee Member) ____________________________________ Andrew J. Kouba (Department Head) ____________________________________ Kevin M. Hunt (Graduate Coordinator) ____________________________________ George M. Hopper Dean College of Forest Resources Name: Joseph R. Marty ABSTRACT Date of Degree: May 5, 2017 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Forest Resources Major Professor: J. Brian Davis Title of Study: Estimates of waste rice, natural seeds, and wetland birds in Gulf Coast Prairie ricelands during fall–winter Pages in Study:202 Candidate for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Hundreds of wetland bird species use ricelands annually in the Gulf Coast Prairie region of Louisiana and Texas. Much of the original ecosystem was transformed for rice and other crops, cattle ranching, flood control, and other human uses. Flooded production and idled ricelands provide critical foraging habitat for breeding, migrating, and wintering wetland birds. Ricelands in coastal Louisiana and Texas provide approximately 42% of the estimated habitat carrying capacity for wintering waterfowl in this region. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico prompted enactment of the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI) by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The MBHI provided avian habitat, including flooded ricelands, inland from oil impacted areas. My objectives were to: 1) estimate and model variation in biomass of waste rice and natural seeds as potential waterfowl forage in Gulf Coast Prairie ricelands, 2) estimate and model variation in wetland bird use of ricelands, and 3) conduct sensitivity analyses of bioenergetics models by varying foraging thresholds and true metabolizable energy (TME) values. A growing season of ~270 days allows Gulf Coast rice producers to grow two rice crops (i.e., the second termed ratoon). Waste rice was greatest in production fields with harvested and standing ratoon crops, and natural seed biomass was greatest in idled fields with standing vegetation. Wetland bird species richness and waterbird abundance were greatest in shallowly flooded (1–15 cm) ricelands with sparse vertical vegetation (1–20 cm), and duck abundance was greatest in shallow– intermediately (1–30 cm) flooded ricelands with short vegetation (1–15 cm). Shallowly flooded rice fields containing harvested or standing ratoon crops, and shallowly flooded idled fields with standing vegetation provided abundant potential foods for waterfowl and waterbirds. Bioenergetics models indicated that planners in the Gulf Coast Prairie region may be underestimating riceland habitat requirements for waterfowl by 10,000 ha. Models were most sensitive to changes in seed biomass estimates, and less sensitive to changes in foraging thresholds and TME values. Collectively, these results will facilitate conservation partners to refine models for conserving habitats for waterfowl and other waterbirds in the Gulf Coast Prairie. DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my wife, Deanna, who has showed endless support, encouragement, love, and care for me during my education at Mississippi State University. I am eternally grateful for all you have given me, and I look forward to our future. I also dedicate my dissertation to my father and mother, Paul and Sandra Marty. They were without doubt my greatest supporters who encouraged me to pursue my dreams and follow my passions. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to the Gulf Coast Joint Venture of the North American Waterfowl Management Plant for providing initial and primary financial support for this research. Without the vision and support of Dr. Mike Brasher and Barry Wilson, I would not have been able to undertake this ambitious research project. Furthermore, I thank Ducks Unlimited, Inc.; the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative program); Texas Parks and Wildlife; Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; the United States Geological Survey National Wetlands Research Center; the Wisconsin Waterfowl Hunters’ Conference; the Mississippi State University, Forest and Wildlife Research Center; and the Mississippi State University James C. Kennedy Endowed Chair in Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation for their financial support. I especially thank the Louisiana State University Agriculture Center, Ducks Unlimited, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for critical technical and logistical support. Particularly, I thank, J. Callicutt, B. Courville, B. Dew, K. Feaga, K. Fontenot, J. Foret, J. Foth, S. Gauthier, H. Hagy, M. Kaminski, J. Lancaster, S. Linscombe, C. Shipes, J. Stafford, B. Wilson, A. Wiseman, dozens of student laboratory technicians, and many others who showed great support for my projects and went above and beyond their duties to assist with this research. iii I thank my Dissertation committee members, Drs. Brian Davis (major professor), Rick Kaminski, Mike Brasher, and Scott Rush for their sound advice, support, and endless encouragement during my years at Mississippi State University. I thank Brian for bringing me to Mississippi State and for providing me an opportunity to pursue my dreams and passions. I thank all of my fellow graduate students, the faculty and staff in the College of Forest Resources, and especially, Team Duck, for support and friendship. I thank my parents, Paul and Sandra Marty, for establishing in me the drive and work ethic required to complete this research and dissertation. Finally and most importantly, I thank my wife, Deanna, for her support, patience, and advice. Thank you, Deanna, for your support and patience during my field work, examinations, and endless traveling. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ xi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 15 References ....................................................................................................... 18 II. SPATIO-TEMPORAL EVALUATION OF WASTE-RICE AND NATURAL SEED BIOMASS IN PRODUCTION AND IDLED RICE FIELDS IN THE GULF COAST PRAIRIES OF LOUISIANA AND TEXAS ................................................................ 21 Study Area ...................................................................................................... 28 Methods .......................................................................................................... 29 Sampling Design ....................................................................................... 29 Field Sampling .......................................................................................... 30 Laboratory Procedures ............................................................................... 32 Statistical Analysis .......................................................................................... 33 Seed Biomass in Production, Seed- and Idled Rice Fields .......................... 33 Modeling Variation in November Seed Biomass ........................................ 34 Results ............................................................................................................ 36 Soil Core Sampling Summary Statistics ..................................................... 36 Gulf Coast Prairie Seed Biomass Estimates................................................ 37 Production Rice Fields ......................................................................... 37 Idled Rice Fields .................................................................................. 37 Seed-Rice Fields .................................................................................. 38 Modeling Variation in November Rice and Natural Seed Biomass ............. 38 Gulf Coast Prairie Seed Biomass by Rice Seed Variety .............................. 40 Discussion ....................................................................................................... 41 Seed Biomass: Gulf Coast Prairie .............................................................. 41 Production Rice Fields ......................................................................... 41 Idled Rice Fields .................................................................................

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