Much evidence suggests that nest success is one of the key drivers of duck production. Accordingly, for the past thirty years, waterfowl managers have focused their efforts on increasing nest success. One way to increase nest success is through predator trapping. Previous studies have shown that predator trapping increases nest success on different sized trapped blocks. This study attempted to answer the question: does trapping affect nest success on areas directly adjacent to trapped block boundaries? I hypothesized that predator abundance outside trapped blocks would be reduced. I predicted that nest success would decline with distance from the boundary while predator abundance would increase with distance from the boundary. This study was conducted in the Drift Prairie section of the Prairie Pothole Region in northeast North Dakota during the summers of 2005 and 2006. A total of 3,231 nests were found inside of six trapped blocks and a total of 2,006 nests were found outside of five trapped blocks. Daily survival rates were estimated using Shaffers logistic-exposure model and then related to distance from the center (for inside) or distance from the edge (for outside) of a trapped block, trapped block, field within a trapped block, and all interactions. Model fit was assessed using Akaikes information criteria as adjusted for small sample size. The most important variables for explaining variation in daily survival rates of nests, both inside and outside trapped blocks, were year, and field within a trapped block. Distance appeared to have a negligible effect on daily survival rates for nests inside and outside trapped blocks. Mean daily survival rates were higher inside trapped blocks. Trapping, therefore, did not appear to increase daily survival rates outside trapped blocks. Predator scent-stations were used in 2006 to obtain an index of predator activity. Distance from a trapped block edge did not affect visitation rates for any individual predator species or for all species combined, both inside and outside trapped blocks. There were, however, significantly higher visitation rates inside versus outside trapped blocks for raccoons and for all species combined.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-06112007-174348 |
| Date | 12 June 2007 |
| Creators | Kuhn, Margaret Jean |
| Contributors | James P. Geaghan, Michael J. Chamberlain, Frank C. Rohwer |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-06112007-174348/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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