Response of Blue-Winged Teal to Range Management on Waterfowl Production Areas in Southeastern South Dakota

Abstract

The blue-winged teal (Anus discors) was the predominant upland-nesting waterfowl species in Waterfowl Production Areas (WPA’s) in southeastern South Dakota. In native plant communities, factors that resulted in high nest density and success were excellent range condition (high proportion of climax vegetational and matted residual vegetation. In tame plant communities, smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis) cover in which residual vegetation formed a matted mulch had high nest densities and nest success. Many prime wetland areas that have been acquired in the prairie pothole region of the United States by the Fish and Wildlife Service are known as Waterfowl Production Areas and are managed as breeding habitat for waterfowl. Habitat conditions for nesting waterfowl are improved by the maintenance of certain vegetative characteristics of native and tame plant communities and by controlling the state of plant succession. Conflicting opinions on proper management of grassland nesting cover for individual waterfowl species probably results from differences in habitats at different geographical locations and the proportion of different duck species on a study site. Nesting habitat in Iowa that had Kentucky bluegrass (Poa praterzsis) as the dominant cover type and that was grazed lightly to moderately was more productive of blue-winged teal than was ungrazed habitat. Overgrazing was detrimental to teal production (Bennett 1938; Glover 1956; Burgess et al. 1965). Where the surface-feeding duck population included nearly equal proportions of mallards, gadwalls, pintails, and bluewinged teal in North Dakota, overall duck production was reduced considerably by grazing (Kirsh 1969). The potential production of upland nesting waterfowl will increase as our understanding of the relationships between plant and animal communities increases. Our study was designed to determine plant community types and vegetational characteristics present on the WPA’s that provide habitat for upland-nesting waterfowl. Field work was conducted in spring and summer of 1974, while the senior author was a student employee at the Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge, Lake Andes, South Dakota.