SECOND NORTH AMERICAN DUCK SYMPOSIUM & WORKSHOP OCTOBER 11-15, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Welcome to Saskatoon ……………………………………………………. …………. 3 Plenary Speakers …………………………………………………….………………… 4 Symposium Major Sponsors …………………………………………………………. 5 Symposium Co-Sponsors ……………………………………………………………… 6 Scientific Program Committee ………………………………………………………… 7 Local Organizing Committee ………………………………………………………….. 8 Student Travel and Presentation Awards Committees ………………………………… 9 Recipients of Student Travel Awards …………………………………………………. 9 Symposium Artist ……………………………………………………………………… 10 Scientific Program ……………………………………………………………………… 11 Abstracts - Species of Concern Here and Abroad ……………………………………… 17 Abstracts - Open Session A …………………………………………………………….. 21 Abstracts - Open Session B …………………………………………………..………… 25 Abstracts - Duck Recruitment in Agricultural and Forested Landscapes Part A - Field Studies …………………………………………………………….…… 30 Part B - Modeling Duck Population Dynamics ……………………………………….. 35 Abstracts - Evolutionary Ecology and Management …………………………….……… 38 Abstracts - “Top Down” and “Bottom Up” Perspectives on Duck Population Limitation and Regulation ………………………………….……… 43 Workshop Outlines Systematic Approaches to Management Decisions: Improving the Biological Foundations of NAWMP ………………………………… 47 N Common Statistical Mistakes in Ecology ………………………………………….. 48 Waterfowl Community Ecology in Breeding and Nonbreeding Areas in the Holarctic ………………………………………………… 50 Recent Advances in Survival Analysis ………………………………………………… 52 Poster Abstracts (alphabetical order) …………………………………………….……… 54 Workshop Abstracts …………………………………………………………………….. 79 3 WELCOME TO SASKATOON Downtown Saskatoon,, with South Saskatchewan River, bridges, and Delta-Bessborough Hotel (The “Castle”; just above the centre of the photograph). Welcome to Saskatoon*, Saskatchewan, Canada, for the 2nd North American Duck Symposium and Workshop. The principal objectives of the meeting are to provide scientists, managers and administrators with current knowledge about the biology and management of ducks, and to foster an open exchange of ideas about the future of waterfowl research and management in North America and world-wide. The symposium has attracted interest from recognized and "up-and-coming" scientists and managers with diverse backgrounds and interests from around the globe. The committees have worked hard to provide an exciting and stimulating program, and we further hope you find the accommodations and entertainment to be truly enjoyable. This symposium is patterned after the 1st North American Duck Symposium, held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1997. It features presentations on topical issues challenging individuals charged with duck management and research. The conference program includes invited plenary lectures by five internationally recognized speakers, 70 contributed verbal presentations, four educational workshops, and a poster session featuring more than 70 posters. In addition, an opening reception, banquet with multicultural entertainment, and optional full-day field trips to prairie locations are available to registered participants. Check the web site for further information about the program, the symposium sponsors, Saskatoon, and the province of Saskatchewan… Check out the web site for the 2nd North American Duck Symposium: http://www.extension.usask.ca/go/DuckSymp2 * The name Saskatoon comes from the Cree Indian name "Mis-sask-quah-toomina" for what we know today as Saskatoon berries. 4 INVITED PLENARY SPEAKERS (alphabetical order) Dr. John Eadie University of California - Davis From the arcane to the applied: can evolutionary ecology offer any useful insight to waterfowl management? Dr. James Nichols United States Geological Survey, Laurel, Maryland. Population limitation and regulation in ducks. Dr. Lewis Oring University of Nevada - Reno Conservation crises among ducks: threatened and endangered species of the world. Dr. James Ringelman Ducks Unlimited Inc., Bismarck, North Dakota Duck recruitment in agricultural and forested landscapes: empirical field studies. Dr. Jay Rotella Montana State University, Bozeman Modeling duck population dynamics: recent advances and future challenges. 5 SYMPOSIUM SPONSORS Canadian Wildlife Service U.S Geological Survey - Environment Canada Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Centre U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service North American Waterfowl Federation Atlantic, Central, Mississippi and Pacific Flyway Councils Alberta NAWMP Partners 6 Co-Sponsors Delta-Bessborough Hotel University Of Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Wetland Conservation Corporation California Waterfowl Association Delta Waterfowl Foundation City of Saskatoon Great Western Brewery, Saskatoon Minnesota Waterfowl Association South Carolina Waterfowl Association Wetland Habitat Alliance of Texas 7 SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM COMMITTEE Robert Clark, Chair Canadian Wildlife Service, Prairie & Northern Wildlife Research Center, Saskatoon, SK Alan Afton Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA Ray Alisauskas Canadian Wildlife Service, Prairie & Northern Wildlife Research Center, Saskatoon, SK Michael Anderson Ducks Unlimited Canada, Oak Hammock Marsh, MB. Todd Arnold Delta Waterfowl Foundation,Portage la Prairie, MB. (Present address: Ducks Unlimited Canada, Oak Hammock Marsh, MB) Robert Cox USGS - Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Centre, Jamestown, ND Robert McLandress California Waterfowl Association, Sacramento, CA Thomas Nudds Department of Zoology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ONT. Mark Petrie Institute for Wetland & Waterfowl Research, Memphis, TN Jay Rotella Department of Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana Graham Smith U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Laurel, Maryland 8 Local Organizing Committee Robert Clark, Conference Chair Canadian Wildlife Service, Prairie & Northern Wildlife Research Center, Saskatoon, SK Ray Alisauskas Canadian Wildlife Service, Prairie & Northern Wildlife Research Center, Saskatoon, SK Kim Eskowich Ducks Unlimited Canada, Melfort, SK Peter Jonker Extension Division, University of Saskatchewan , Saskatoon, SK Robert MacFarlane Saskatchewan Wetland Conservation Corporation & Ducks Unlimited Canada, Regina SK (Present address: Nature Conservancy of Canada, Regina, SK) Daniel Nieman Canadian Wildlife Service, Prairie & Northern Wildlife Research Center, Saskatoon, SK Eric Woodsworth Canadian Wildlife Service, Prairie & Northern Wildlife Research Center, Saskatoon, SK With special thanks to: Robert Brua, Kevin Dufour, Garry Gentle, Stephen Leach, Blayne Petrowicz, Jack Smith 9 Student Awards Committees Student Travel Award Judges: Paul Flint, USGS - Anchorage Patrick Weatherhead, University of Illinois James Leafloor, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources J. Barry Grand, Auburn University Brian Gray, Ducks Unlimited Canada Student Travel Award Recipients ($600.00 Cdn each) Glen Benoy, University of Guelph Grace Bottita, Trent University Elizabeth Loos, University of Louisiana - Lafayette Eric Osnas, Indiana University Kenneth Richkus, Louisiana State University Poster and Paper Presentation Judges : Trent Bollinger, University of Saskatchewan David Duncan, Canadian Wildlife Service, Edmonton Grant Gilchrist, Canadian Wildlife Service, Yellowknife Frank Rohwer, Louisiana State University James Sedinger, University of Alaska - Fairbanks Rodger Titman, Macdonald College - McGill University Names of winning graduate students (3 verbal and 3 poster presentations, valued at $400.00 Canadian each) will be announced at the Banquet, and posted on the web site after the meeting. 10 SYMPOSIUM ARTIST Robert Billings, a Canadian-born wildlife and sportsman artist, resides in Melfort, Saskatchewan. His love of the outdoors includes hunting, fishing, and canoeing, and gives him a special ability to bring images to life on canvas, whether his subject is wildlife or landscapes. Robert’s works have been selected by Ducks Unlimited for both national limited edition and provincial art programs. Pheasants Forever selected his work in both their 1996 and 1997 Print of the Year Program. He continues to donate his work to these and other organizations to help raise funds for wildlife habitat. Elegant male northern pintails fly over a backdrop of cattails, wetland, wheat field, grain elevator and rising sun, all hallmarks of the Canadian prairies… 2nd North American Duck Symposium & Workshop 11 PROGRAM* WEDNESDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2000 1900-2200 REGISTRATION AND WELCOMING RECEPTION - Foyer & Adam Ballroom THURSDAY, 12 OCTOBER 2000 0730-1030 REGISTRATION - Foyer, Conference Level 0800-0820 Welcoming remarks - Adam Ballroom SPECIES OF CONCERN, HERE AND ABROAD - ADAM BALLROOM Chair: Gerald McKeating, Canadian Wildlife Service, Edmonton, Alberta 08:20-08:40 Andy Green, Baz Hughes, Simon Delany & Des Callaghan - Globally threatened ducks world- wide, and species of concern in Europe. 08:40-08:55 Barry Grand, Robert F. Rockwell, Paul Flint & Margaret Petersen - A global perspective on spectacled eider populations. 08:55-09:10 Margaret Petersen, Paul Flint, Christian Dau, James Hines & James Nichols - Annual survival and site fidelity of Steller's eiders molting along the Alaska peninsula. 09:10-09:25 Dan Rosenberg & Michael Petrula - Tracking the movements of surf and white-winged scoters with satellite telemetry. 09:25-09:40 Ian Goudie, Gregory Robertson, Fred Cooke & Cyndi Smith - Annual survival rates of harlequin ducks moulting and wintering in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia. 09:40-09:55 Mark Petrie,