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Riecke TV, Gibson D, Sedinger JS. Accurately estimating correlations between demographic parameters: A comment on Deane et al. (2023). Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e70286. [PMID: 39296737 PMCID: PMC11408121 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2024] [Revised: 06/20/2024] [Accepted: 08/15/2024] [Indexed: 09/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Estimating correlations among demographic parameters is an important method in population ecology. A recent paper by Deane et al. (Ecology and Evolution 13:e9847, 2023) attempted to explore the effects of different priors for covariance matrices on inference when using mark-recovery data. Unfortunately, Deane et al. (2023) made a mistake when parameterizing some of their models. Rather than exploring the effects of different priors, they examined the effects of the use of incorrect equations on inference. In this manuscript, we clearly describe the mistake in Deane et al. (2023). We then demonstrate the use of an alternative and appropriate method and reach different conclusions regarding the effects of priors on inference. Consistent with other recent literature, informative inverse Wishart priors can lead to flawed inference, while vague priors on covariance matrix components have little impact when sample sizes are adequate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas V Riecke
- Wildlife Biology Program University of Montana Missoula Montana USA
| | - Dan Gibson
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota USA
| | - James S Sedinger
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science University of Nevada Reno Nevada USA
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2
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Grzegorczyk E, Caizergues A, Eraud C, Francesiaz C, Le Rest K, Guillemain M. Demographic and evolutionary consequences of hunting of wild birds. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:1298-1313. [PMID: 38409953 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Hunting has a long tradition in human evolutionary history and remains a common leisure activity or an important source of food. Herein, we first briefly review the literature on the demographic consequences of hunting and associated analytical methods. We then address the question of potential selective hunting and its possible genetic/evolutionary consequences. Birds have historically been popular models for demographic studies, and the huge amount of census and ringing data accumulated over the last century has paved the way for research about the demographic effects of harvesting. By contrast, the literature on the evolutionary consequences of harvesting is dominated by studies on mammals (especially ungulates) and fish. In these taxa, individuals selected for harvest often have particular traits such as large body size or extravagant secondary sexual characters (e.g. antlers, horns, etc.). Our review shows that targeting individuals according to such genetically heritable traits can exert strong selective pressures and alter the evolutionary trajectory of populations for these or correlated traits. Studies focusing on the evolutionary consequences of hunting in birds are extremely rare, likely because birds within populations appear much more similar, and do not display individual differences to the same extent as many mammals and fishes. Nevertheless, even without conscious choice by hunters, there remains the potential for selection through hunting in birds, for example by genetically inherited traits such as personality or pace-of-life. We emphasise that because so many bird species experience high hunting pressure, the possible selective effect of harvest in birds and its evolutionary consequences deserves far more attention, and that hunting may be one major driver of bird evolutionary trajectories that should be carefully considered in wildlife management schemes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilienne Grzegorczyk
- Office Français de la Biodiversité, Service Conservation et Gestion Durable des Espèces Exploitées, 405 Route de Prissé-la-Charrière, Villiers-en-Bois, 79360, France
| | - Alain Caizergues
- Office Français de la Biodiversité, Service Conservation et Gestion Durable des Espèces Exploitées, 08 Bd A. Einstein, CS42355, Nantes Cedex 3, 44323, France
| | - Cyril Eraud
- Office Français de la Biodiversité, Service Conservation et Gestion des Espèces à Enjeux, 405 Route de Prissé-la-Charrière, Villiers-en-Bois, 79360, France
| | - Charlotte Francesiaz
- Office Français de la Biodiversité, Service Conservation et Gestion Durable des Espèces Exploitées, 147 Avenue de Lodève, Juvignac, 34990, France
| | - Kévin Le Rest
- Office Français de la Biodiversité, Service Conservation et Gestion Durable des Espèces Exploitées, 08 Bd A. Einstein, CS42355, Nantes Cedex 3, 44323, France
| | - Matthieu Guillemain
- Office Français de la Biodiversité, Service Conservation et Gestion Durable des Espèces Exploitées, La Tour du Valat, Le Sambuc, Arles, 13200, France
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3
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Masto NM, Keever AC, Highway CJ, Blake-Bradshaw AG, Feddersen JC, Hagy HM, Cohen BS. Proximity among protected area networks promotes functional connectivity for wintering waterfowl. Sci Rep 2024; 14:17527. [PMID: 39080395 PMCID: PMC11289371 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-68175-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/22/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
The equilibrium theorem provided a fundamental framework for understanding species' distributions and movement in fragmented ecosystems. Wetland-dependent avian species are model organisms to test insular predictions within protected area networks because their mobility allows surveillance of isolated patches without landscape barriers. We hypothesized size and isolation would influence functional connectivity of sanctuaries by GPS-marked wintering mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) within a mesocosm protected sanctuary area network. We evaluated functional connectivity and sanctuary use, measured by movements between sanctuaries, using a multistate modeling framework. Proximity drove connectivity, underscoring that patch isolation-not size-influenced connectivity, even for an avian species with no ascertainable landscape resistance or barriers. We also found that sanctuary use increased overwintering survival by reducing harvest mortality. Our test of equilibrium theory predictions demonstrated that isolation of protected sanctuary areas supersedes their size in determining functional connectivity for mallards and access to these areas may have direct fitness consequences. Our findings could refine land acquisition, restoration, and management practices with equal or greater emphasis on adjacency in protected area network design, especially for wetland-dependent migratory gamebirds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas M Masto
- Tennessee Technological University, College of Arts and Sciences, Cookeville, TN, USA.
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Allison C Keever
- Tennessee Technological University, College of Arts and Sciences, Cookeville, TN, USA
| | - Cory J Highway
- Tennessee Technological University, College of Arts and Sciences, Cookeville, TN, USA
| | | | - Jamie C Feddersen
- Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Migratory Gamebird Program, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Heath M Hagy
- United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Refuge System, Southeast Region, Stanton, TN, USA.
- United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Habitat and Population Evaluation Team, Bismarck, ND, USA.
| | - Bradley S Cohen
- Tennessee Technological University, College of Arts and Sciences, Cookeville, TN, USA
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Weegman MD, Devries JH, Clark RG, Howerter DW, Gibson D, Donnelly JP, Arnold TW. Ecological and anthropogenic drivers of waterfowl productivity are synchronous across species, space, and time. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 34:e2979. [PMID: 38710618 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Knowledge of interspecific and spatiotemporal variation in demography-environment relationships is key for understanding the population dynamics of sympatric species and developing multispecies conservation strategies. We used hierarchical random-effects models to examine interspecific and spatial variation in annual productivity in six migratory ducks (i.e., American wigeon [Mareca americana], blue-winged teal [Spatula discors], gadwall [Mareca strepera], green-winged teal [Anas crecca], mallard [Anas platyrhynchos] and northern pintail [Anas acuta]) across six distinct ecostrata in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America. We tested whether breeding habitat conditions (seasonal pond counts, agricultural intensification, and grassland acreage) or cross-seasonal effects (indexed by flooded rice acreage in primary wintering areas) better explained variation in the proportion of juveniles captured during late summer banding. The proportion of juveniles (i.e., productivity) was highly variable within species and ecostrata throughout 1961-2019 and generally declined through time in blue-winged teal, gadwall, mallard, pintail, and wigeon, but there was no support for a trend in green-winged teal. Productivity in Canadian ecostrata declined with increasing agricultural intensification and increased with increasing pond counts. We also found a strong cross-seasonal effect, whereby more flooded rice hectares during winter resulted in higher subsequent productivity. Our results suggest highly consistent environmental and anthropogenic effects on waterfowl productivity across species and space. Our study advances our understanding of current year and cross-seasonal effects on duck productivity across a suite of species and at finer spatial scales, which could help managers better target working-lands conservation programs on both breeding and wintering areas. We encourage other researchers to evaluate environmental drivers of population dynamics among species in a single modeling framework for a deeper understanding of whether conservation plans should be generalized or customized given limited financial resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitch D Weegman
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - James H Devries
- Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Stonewall, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Robert G Clark
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Prairie and Northern Wildlife Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - David W Howerter
- Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Stonewall, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Daniel Gibson
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - J Patrick Donnelly
- W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Todd W Arnold
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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Masto NM, Blake-Bradshaw AG, Highway CJ, Keever AC, Feddersen JC, Hagy HM, Cohen BS. Human access constrains optimal foraging and habitat availability in an avian generalist. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 34:e2952. [PMID: 38417451 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
Animals balance costs of antipredator behaviors with resource acquisition to minimize hunting and other mortality risks and maximize their physiological condition. This inherent trade-off between forage abundance, its quality, and mortality risk is intensified in human-dominated landscapes because fragmentation, habitat loss, and degradation of natural vegetation communities is often coupled with artificially enhanced vegetation (i.e., food plots), creating high-risk, high-reward resource selection decisions. Our goal was to evaluate autumn-winter resource selection trade-offs for an intensively hunted avian generalist. We hypothesized human access was a reliable cue for hunting predation risk. Therefore, we predicted resource selection patterns would be spatiotemporally dependent upon levels of access and associated perceived risk. Specifically, we evaluated resource selection of local-scale flights between diel periods for 426 mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) relative to wetland type, forage quality, and differing levels of human access across hunting and nonhunting seasons. Mallards selected areas that prohibited human access and generally avoided areas that allowed access diurnally, especially during the hunting season. Mallards compensated by selecting for high-energy and greater quality foraging patches on allowable human access areas nocturnally when they were devoid of hunters. Postseason selection across human access gradients did not return to prehunting levels immediately, perhaps suggesting a delayed response to reacclimate to nonhunted activities and thus agreeing with the assessment mismatch hypothesis. Last, wetland availability and human access constrained selection for optimal natural forage quality (i.e., seed biomass and forage productivity) diurnally during preseason and hunting season, respectively; however, mallards were freed from these constraints nocturnally during hunting season and postseason periods. Our results suggest risk-avoidance of human accessible (i.e., hunted) areas is a primary driver of resource selection behaviors by mallards and could be a local to landscape-level process influencing distributions, instead of forage abundance and quality, which has long-been assumed by waterfowl conservation planners in North America. Broadly, even an avian generalist, well adapted to anthropogenic landscapes, avoids areas where hunting and human access are allowed. Future conservation planning and implementation must consider management for recreational access (i.e., people) equally important as foraging habitat management for wintering waterfowl.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas M Masto
- Tennessee Technological University, College of Interdisciplinary Studies, Cookeville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Abigail G Blake-Bradshaw
- Tennessee Technological University, College of Interdisciplinary Studies, Cookeville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Cory J Highway
- Tennessee Technological University, College of Arts and Sciences, Cookeville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Allison C Keever
- Tennessee Technological University, College of Arts and Sciences, Cookeville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jamie C Feddersen
- Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Migratory Gamebird Program, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Heath M Hagy
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Refuge System, Stanton, Tennessee, USA
| | - Bradley S Cohen
- Tennessee Technological University, College of Arts and Sciences, Cookeville, Tennessee, USA
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Roberts AJ, Hostetler JA, Stiller JC, Devers PK, Link WA. Population dynamics and harvest management of eastern mallards. J Wildl Manage 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Anthony J. Roberts
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Migratory Bird Management Laurel MD 20708 USA
| | - Jeffrey A. Hostetler
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Migratory Bird Management Laurel MD 20708 USA
| | - Joshua C. Stiller
- New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany NY 12233 USA
| | - Patrick K. Devers
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Migratory Bird Management Laurel MD 20708 USA
| | - William A. Link
- U.S. Geological Survey Eastern Ecological Science Center Laurel MD 20708 USA
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Riecke TV, Lohman MG, Sedinger BS, Arnold TW, Feldheim CL, Koons DN, Rohwer FC, Schaub M, Williams PJ, Sedinger JS. Density-dependence produces spurious relationships among demographic parameters in a harvested species. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:2261-2272. [PMID: 36054772 PMCID: PMC9826280 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Harvest of wild organisms is an important component of human culture, economy, and recreation, but can also put species at risk of extinction. Decisions that guide successful management actions therefore rely on the ability of researchers to link changes in demographic processes to the anthropogenic actions or environmental changes that underlie variation in demographic parameters. Ecologists often use population models or maximum sustained yield curves to estimate the impacts of harvest on wildlife and fish populations. Applications of these models usually focus exclusively on the impact of harvest and often fail to consider adequately other potential, often collinear, mechanistic drivers of the observed relationships between harvest and demographic rates. In this study, we used an integrated population model and long-term data (1973-2016) to examine the relationships among hunting and natural mortality, the number of hunters, habitat conditions, and population size of blue-winged teal Spatula discors, an abundant North American dabbling duck with a relatively fast-paced life history strategy. Over the last two and a half decades of the study, teal abundance tripled, hunting mortality probability increased slightly ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:semantics><mml:mrow><mml:mo><</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.02</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:semantics> </mml:math> ), and natural mortality probability increased substantially ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:semantics><mml:mrow><mml:mo>></mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.1</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:semantics> </mml:math> ) at greater population densities. We demonstrate strong density-dependent effects on natural mortality and fecundity as population density increased, indicative of compensatory harvest mortality and compensatory natality. Critically, an analysis that only assessed the relationship between survival and hunting mortality would spuriously indicate depensatory mortality due to multicollinearity between abundance, natural mortality and hunting mortality. Our findings demonstrate that models that only consider the direct effect of hunting on survival or natural mortality can fail to accurately assess the mechanistic impact of hunting on population dynamics due to multicollinearity among demographic drivers. This multicollinearity limits inference and may have strong impacts on applied management actions globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas V. Riecke
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation BiologyUniversity of NevadaRenoNevadaUSA,Department of Natural Resources and Environmental ScienceUniversity of NevadaRenoNevadaUSA,Swiss Ornithological InstituteSempachSwitzerland
| | - Madeleine G. Lohman
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation BiologyUniversity of NevadaRenoNevadaUSA,Department of Natural Resources and Environmental ScienceUniversity of NevadaRenoNevadaUSA
| | - Benjamin S. Sedinger
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation BiologyUniversity of NevadaRenoNevadaUSA,Department of Natural Resources and Environmental ScienceUniversity of NevadaRenoNevadaUSA,University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, Stevens PointStevens PointWisconsinUSA
| | - Todd W. Arnold
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSt. PaulMinnesotaUSA
| | | | - David N. Koons
- Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology & Graduate Degree Program in EcologyColorado State UniversityFt. CollinsColoradoUSA
| | | | | | - Perry J. Williams
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental ScienceUniversity of NevadaRenoNevadaUSA
| | - James S. Sedinger
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental ScienceUniversity of NevadaRenoNevadaUSA
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Riecke TV, Sedinger BS, Arnold TW, Gibson D, Koons DN, Lohman MG, Schaub M, Williams PJ, Sedinger JS. A hierarchical model for jointly assessing ecological and anthropogenic impacts on animal demography. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:1612-1626. [PMID: 35603988 PMCID: PMC9543922 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The management of sustainable harvest of animal populations is of great ecological and conservation importance. Development of formal quantitative tools to estimate and mitigate the impacts of harvest on animal populations has positively impacted conservation efforts. The vast majority of existing harvest models, however, do not simultaneously estimate ecological and harvest impacts on demographic parameters and population trends. Given that the impacts of ecological drivers are often equal to or greater than the effects of harvest, and can covary with harvest, this disconnect has the potential to lead to flawed inference. In this study, we used Bayesian hierarchical models and a 43-year capture-mark-recovery dataset from 404,241 female mallards Anas platyrhynchos released in the North American midcontinent to estimate mallard demographic parameters. Furthermore, we model the dynamics of waterfowl hunters and habitat, and the direct and indirect effects of anthropogenic and ecological processes on mallard demographic parameters. We demonstrate that density dependence, habitat conditions and harvest can simultaneously impact demographic parameters of female mallards, and discuss implications for existing and future harvest management models. Our results demonstrate the importance of controlling for multicollinearity among demographic drivers in harvest management models, and provide evidence for multiple mechanisms that lead to partial compensation of mallard harvest. We provide a novel model structure to assess these relationships that may allow for improved inference and prediction in future iterations of harvest management models across taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas V. Riecke
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation BiologyUniversity of NevadaRenoNVUSA
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental ScienceUniversity of NevadaRenoNVUSA
- Swiss Ornithological InstituteSempachSwitzerland
| | - Benjamin S. Sedinger
- College of Natural ResourcesUniversity of Wisconsin–Stevens PointStevens PointWIUSA
| | - Todd W. Arnold
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSt. PaulMNUSA
| | - Dan Gibson
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityCOUSA
| | - David N. Koons
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityCOUSA
| | - Madeleine G. Lohman
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation BiologyUniversity of NevadaRenoNVUSA
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental ScienceUniversity of NevadaRenoNVUSA
| | | | - Perry J. Williams
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental ScienceUniversity of NevadaRenoNVUSA
| | - James S. Sedinger
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental ScienceUniversity of NevadaRenoNVUSA
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