Date of Award

8-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Wildlife and Fisheries Biology

Committee Chair/Advisor

Dr. James T. Anderson

Committee Member

Dr. Robert F. Baldwin

Committee Member

Dr. Donald L. Hagan

Abstract

Wood ducks (Aix sponsa) garner significant ecologic and economic importance as the second most harvested waterfowl species in two of the four migratory flyways in North America, but the accuracy of population monitoring, relative to other duck species, is stifled by the wood duck’s secretive nature and nesting habitat. As an alternate, population models would improve current assessments, but more data on the demographic vital rates of cavity-nesting wood ducks is needed. I aimed to help bridge this knowledge gap by developing a method to increase data collection efficiency, and with it, accomplish two objectives: 1) Calculate the relative abundance of cavities and cavities suitable for wood duck nesting in the five most common forest types of South Carolina; 2) Identify tree and stand forest metrics that influence the occurrence of cavities and suitable cavities. The goal of these objectives was to identify which forest and tree characteristics are indicative of cavities and increase our understanding of cavity-nesting wood duck reproductive ecology throughout the Southeast. My third chapter gathered information to maximize research efforts and increase our understanding of cavity-nesting wood ducks by evaluating activity patterns among months and diel periods. Timing trapping effort is fundamental to successfully trapping locally nesting wood duck hens. The results of my study aim to increase trap success by directing efforts to the most appropriate seasonal and diel periods. Strengthening our understanding would raise our ability to identify cavities and monitor breeding behavior, thereby increasing the precision of population estimates, which ultimately better informs regional management plans. Using my results as guidelines for future trapping efforts could greatly improve the trapping success of wood duck hens during the breeding season, thus increasing our understanding of the reproductive ecology of cavity-nesting wood ducks and best-informing management decisions.

Author ORCID Identifier

0000-0002-4447-3526

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