Northern bobwhite foraging response to hunting

Abstract

ABSTRACTPrey species must consistently balance the need for resource acquisition with the threat of predation. This balance is particularly true for gallinaceous birds, such as the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), which are ground foragers and are often exposed to increased predation risk compared to arboreal foragers. We studied how bobwhites might mitigate the threat of human hunting pressure by altering their foraging strategy. We directly monitored hunting encounters with bobwhites, during October 2014–March 2015, and collected daily movement paths (n = 514) using radio‐telemetry. We performed first‐passage time analysis to infer foraging behavior by calculating bout frequency, area, duration, and timing. We found bobwhites mitigated exposure to human hunters by increasing foraging frequency coupled with a decrease in duration (15.4%) and area (7.1%) in response to hunting pressure. We observed a temporal shift in foraging away from peak hunting hours by 30 minutes when birds were recently exposed to a discharged firearm. Our results imply that hunting game species can disrupt timing of foraging and therefore influence allocation to competing activities such as anti‐predator vigilance. We propose implementing a dynamic harvest management regime that distributes hunting activity temporally and spatially to mitigate high hunting pressure and reduce behavioral effects on bobwhites. Careful planning of hunting activity should reduce its additive effects on natural mortality while improving hunter satisfaction. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.