Surveys and Investigations Projects as Required by Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, Missouri. Study No. 55: Population Ecology of Quail. Job No. 3: Quail Population Dynamics during Breeding Season on MDC Lands under 3 Habitat Management Strategie

摘要

Bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) are now recognized as the most imperiled North American gamebird species. Despite intensive management and research, populations continue to decrease throughout their range. Loss of habitat as a result of changes in landscape management practices, specifically farming are considered to be one of the main causes of the bobwhite's demise. Because of deteriorating habitat quality on private lands, it has become critical to maximize the effectiveness of public land management. Current land management practices could be improved through a better understanding of the relationship between habitat and bobwhite fitness (survival and reproductive success). Surprisingly, little research has focused on investigation of this relationship. I propose a data analysis procedure that relates habitat metrics measure around daily bird locations and nest sites to survival and reproductive success. Annual survival pooled over years was 0.31 (SE=0.07 n=162). Overall survival over the period of incubation was 53.5%. It was found that nest and brood status (whether a bird was nesting or had been rearing brood), influenced bobwhite survival more than habitat composition. For nesting success, three spatial scales (50m, 200m, 400m) were considered. Based upon both a priori models and post hoc models, at the 50m radius scale, ground woody cover had a positive influence on nesting success and forest mean patch size had a negative effect. At the 200m and 400m scales no habitat variables were found to influence nest success. Application of this data analysis design can promote a better understanding of the habitat-fitness dynamic and result in improved habitat management decisions.