Effect of Habitat Management on Duck Behavior and Distribution During Spring Migration in Indiana

Abstract

Abstract Spring migration is an important life stage for ducks because their ability to find and acquire nutrients can affect subsequent reproductive success. Therefore, providing sufficient habitat to support the energetic needs of ducks and facilitate efficient feeding is a goal of habitat management and restoration. The rapid, unpredictable flood events that regularly occur in highly modified landscapes can make habitat management challenging and justify diverse management strategies. We examined the effect of habitat management on dabbling duck behavior and distribution during spring migration in southwest Indiana. We investigated three management options for wetlands: active management, passive management, and unmanaged agricultural food plots. We assessed duck behavior and density on 14 wetlands at Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area. The agricultural food-plot areas had the lowest estimates of food availability followed by the actively managed areas; the passively managed wetlands had the greatest estimate. Dabbling duck density was greatest on the actively managed wetlands followed by food plots coming in second and passively managed wetlands third. Most dabbling ducks fed more intensively while on the passively managed wetlands followed by the actively managed and food-plot wetlands. Conservation prioritization of passively managed areas would provide larger areas for dabbling ducks to feed, but active management provides habitat regardless of climatic variability. Moving forward, wetland complexes encompassing diverse wetland management approaches would be the best option for spring-migrating waterfowl as these complexes can provide high-quality habitats and buffer against uncontrollable climactic conditions.