"A thesis presented to the Graduate college of Iowa state college in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy."--Foot-note, p. v. / Frontispiece accompanied by guard sheet with descriptive letterpress. "Literature cited": p. 133-137.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1981. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 18-21).

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The mid-Atlantic coast region, an area of continental significance to migratory and wintering waterfowl and shorebirds, contains numerous moist-soil impoundments that are managed for waterbirds. Positive relationships between nonbreeding body condition and subsequent survival and reproduction have been documented for waterfowl, yet few evaluations of habitat management consider nutritional value of foods. I assessed 2 types of impoundment manipulation, using nutritional data as a basis for evaluation.Invertebrate and plant seed production were measured in disced and control plots in impoundments at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Seed production was higher (P = 0.0614) in disced (1052 ± 468 kg / ha) than in control (529 ± 226 kg / ha) plots. Discing produced higher Chironomid larva abundance during spring, and higher abundance of Amphipods and non-Chironomid Diptera during fall. Waterbird predation reduced abundance of Chironomid larvae, non-Chironomid Diptera, and Amphipods. The predation effect on Total Invertebrate dry mass was 2x higher in disced than in control areas.Invertebrate production also was measured in habitats denuded by foraging greater snow geese (Anser caerulescens atlantica) at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Chironomid larvae were 2 -6x more abundant in vegetated habitats than in areas where geese had foraged intensively, but exclosure data showed little effect of shorebird predation on invertebrate abundance. These results suggest that high goose populations can reduce waterbird food availability, and that shorebird use of invertebrates in denuded habitats is low.Mean true metabolizable energy (TME) of moist-soil seeds and invertebrates in blue-winged teal (Anas discors) ranged from -0.18 - 3.47 kcal / g. Correction of means for fiber concentration eliminated negative values, thereby enhancing their practical value.Potential duck use-days predicted using TME and seed production data were about 2x higher for disced than for control areas at Back Bay. Magnitude of the discing effect on duck use-days was largely insensitive to different estimates of seed nutritional value, although substantial variation in absolute measures of potential carrying capacity occurred. Discing positively influenced invertebrate abundance, and quantity and quality of moist-soil seeds produced, and should be considered a viable habitat management approach for both shorebirds and waterfowl. / Ph. D.

The aim of this study is to improve our understanding of the ecology, spatiotemporal patterns, and risk of infectious pathogens of migratory waterfowl, using the blue-winged teal (Anas discors, BWTE), as a model. From 2007-2010, 1,869 BWTE were sampled in the prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada) to examine infection status and/or evidence of previous exposure to avian influenza virus (AIV), West Nile virus (WNV), and avian paramyxovirus-1 (APMV-1), in relation to host demographic variables (age, sex, body condition, exposure to other pathogens), other ecological variables such as local waterfowl breeding population density and local pond density, and year. The probability of AIV infection depended on an interaction between age and AIV antibody status. Hatch year birds with antibodies to AIV were more likely to be infected, suggesting an antibody response to an active infection. After hatch year birds with antibodies to AIV were less likely to be infected, suggesting immunity resulting from previous exposure. AIV infection was positively associated with local BWTE density, supporting the hypothesis of density dependent transmission. Exposure to WNV and APMV-1 were also associated with age and year. Furthermore, the probability of WNV exposure was positively associated with local pond density rather than host population density, likely because ponds provide suitable breeding habitat for mosquitoes, the primary vectors for transmission. We also investigated large-scale spatiotemporal trends in apparent prevalence of AIV across Canada and the United States throughout the year, using data from national avian influenza surveillance programs in Canada and the US in 2007-2010. Our analyses revealed that age, sex, year of sampling, flyway, latitude, and season (categorized by stages of the BWTE annual life cycle) were all important variables in predicting probability of AIV infection. There was an interaction between age and season. During late summer staging (August) and fall migration (September-October), hatch year birds were more likely to be infected than after hatch year birds, however there was no difference between age categories for the remainder of the year (winter, spring migration, and breeding season). Probability of infection increased non-linearly with latitude, and was highest in summer, corresponding to the beginning of fall migration when densities of birds and the proportion of susceptible hatch year birds in the population are highest. Birds in the Pacific, Central and Mississippi flyways were significantly more likely to be infected compared to those in the Atlantic flyway. Observed trends in seasonal, annual, and geographic patterns of AIV infection in BWTE across Canada and the US were primarily driven by the dynamics of AIV infection in hatch year birds. Our results demonstrate demographic as well as seasonal, latitudinal and flyway trends across Canada and the US. This research provided further evidence for the role of wild dabbling ducks, particularly BWTE, in the maintenance and ecology of AIV. This improved understanding of the role of BWTE as natural hosts, and the geographic, demographic and temporal variables that affect infection and transmission parameters, moves us closer to deciphering the overall ecology of the virus and its transmission and transportation pathways at the individual, population and continental levels. This knowledge, in turn, will permit development of better tools to predict and perhaps to prevent possible outbreaks in domestic animals as well as in humans.

Several factors have contributed to impeding the progress of migratory waterfowl spatial modeling, such as (1) waterfowl’s reliance on wetlands, (2) lack of understanding about shifts in distributions through time, and (3) large-scale seasonal migration. This doctoral dissertation provides an array of tools to address each of these concerns in order to better understand and conserve this group of species. The second chapter of this dissertation addresses issues of modeling species dependent on wetlands, a dynamic and often ephemeral habitat type. Correlation models of the relationships between climatic variables and species occurrence will not capture the full habitat constraints of waterfowl. This study introduces a novel data source that explicitly models the depth to water table, which is a simulated long-term measure of the point where climate and geological/topographic water fluxes balance. The inclusion of the depth to water table data contributes significantly to the ability to predict species probability of occurrence. Furthermore, this data source provides advantages over traditional proxies for wetland habitat, because it is not a static measure of wetland location, and is not biased by sampling method. Utilizing the long-term banding bird data again, the third chapter examines the behavior of waterfowl niche selection through time. By using the methods developed in chapter two, probability of occurrence models for the 1950s and the 1990s were developed. It was then possible to detect movements in geographic and environmental space, and how movements in these two spaces are related. This type of analysis provides insight into how different bird species might respond to environment changes and potentially improve climate change forecasts. The final chapter presents a new method for predicting the migratory movement of waterfowl. The method incorporates not only the environmental constraints of stopover habitat, but also includes likely distance and bearing traveled from a source point. This approach uses the USGS’ banding bird database; more specifically, it relies on banding locations, which have multiple recoveries within short time periods. Models made from these banding locations create a framework of migration movement, and allow for predictions to be made from locations where no banding/recovery data are available. / text