Survival, habitat use, and movements of female northern pintails radio-marked in the Suisun Marsh, California
No abstract available at this time
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Geology topics
D.P. Connelly
Publications and source records attributed to D.P. Connelly.
Duck harvest on public hunting areas in California
We summarized hunter visits and success, and the magnitude and species composition of the duck harvest recorded on California public hunting areas (PHAs) during 1950-87. Hunter visits and harvest increased during 1950-74 as new PHAs were added, then declined concurrently with duck populations. Of six geographic regions, the Sacramento Valley, with numerous PHAs and the largest duck concentrations, accounted for the largest portion of PHA hunter visits (28%) and harvest (35%). Duck population levels, regulations, and hunter numbers affected PHA hunter success. Success was highest during 1955-59 but declined with no consistent trend after 1960. Species vulnerability, abundance, distribution, and hunter preference affected harvest composition. Northern pintails, Anas acuta, averaged 27% of the PHA harvest but declined in importance after 1974. Green-winged teal, A. crecca, the most important species in southern regions, averaged 21% of the PHA harvest. Mallards, A. platyrhynchos, averaged 16% of the PHA harvest but increased in importance after 1974 to become the most common duck bagged after 1983. PHA harvest comprised a small (4-16%) portion of the total state harvest. However, this portion increased from 1950-70 because of increased hunter visits to new PHAs and after 1970 because hunter success on PHAs did not decline as on other areas. PHA hunters tended to harvest fewer preferred species and more vulnerable species, as proportions of total bag, than did other hunters. The continued decline in numbers of waterfowl hunters presents important challenges for management of waterfowl areas in California.
California Fish and Game↗
Duck harvest on public hunting areas in California
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California Fish and Game↗
Dabbling duck harvest dynamics in the Central Valley of California--implications for recruitment
Age and sex ratios and body weights were obtained for northern pintails (Anas acuta), mallards (A. platyrhynchos), American wigeon (A. americana), green-winged teal (A. crecca), and northern shovelers (A. clypeata) shot at Mendota State Wildlife Area in the San Joaquin Valley (SANJV) and at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in the Sacramento Valley (SACV) during 1982-83 and 1983-84. Age ratios were determined for pintails at four locations during 1980-83. Cooperative Waterfowl Parts Collection Survey (1982-84; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and California preseason-banding data (1973-77, for mallards and pintails) also were used to measure age ratios of the California harvest. Harvest rate (ducks shot per day) was obtained and summed from all SACV and SANJV public hunting areas in 1982-84. All species except female wigeon and adult female mallards lost weight between October and January. Except for wigeon, harvest rate was high in October when hunting began. Harvest rates were low in November and December but rose markedly in January in the SACV for all species and for all except pintails in the SANJV. Proportion of adults in the bag as measured by all methods increased progressively through the hunting season. Proportion of adults in the harvest was higher in 1982-83 than in 1983-84 and was greater in the SACV than the SANJV both years for most species. Adult females formed a small component of total kill but 50% or more of female kill. The harvest of pintails at a SACV and a SANJV location consistently contained about half as many immatures per adult as that at two other California locations for 1980-83. The substantial harvest of adults in January eliminates the most productive breeders from the population. Thus, winter hunting mortality may influence age composition of the spring flight and, hence, recruitment potential of the breeding population.
Book chapter↗