Survival and mortality of green-winged teal banded on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta,Alaska |
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| Authors: | Jordan M. Thompson Thomas V. Riecke Bryan L. Daniels Kyle A. Spragens Melissa L. Gabrielson Christopher A. Nicolai Benjamin S. Sedinger |
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| Affiliation: | 1. College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 800 Reserve Street, Stevens Point, WI, 54481 USA;2. Swiss Ornithological Institute, CH-6204 Sempach, Switzerland;3. Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 807 Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway, Bethel, AK, 99559 USA;4. Waterfowl Section, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1111 Washington Street SE, Olympia, WA, 98501 USA;5. Chippewa National Forest, U.S. Forest Service, 1235 Division Street, Deer River, MN, 56636 USA;6. Delta Waterfowl Foundation, 1412 Basin Avenue, Bismarck, ND, 58504 USA |
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| Abstract: | Despite the importance of green-winged teal (Anas crecca) as a harvested species in North America, recent information on variation in vital rates among regions is lacking. We used band recovery data and hierarchical autoregressive models to examine temporal and age-sex-class variation in survival, hunting mortality, and nonhunting mortality probabilities of green-winged teal banded at Kgun Lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, USA, from 1997–2019. We used data from 10,554 adult and juvenile green-winged teal of known sex and age banded and released at Kgun Lake, and 1,245 hunter recoveries. Estimates of annual survival probability for adult females and males ranged from 0.44 (95% CI = 0.29–0.54) to 0.49 (95% CI = 0.37–0.68) and 0.56 (95% CI = 0.50–0.61) to 0.58 (95% CI = 0.50–0.64), respectively, during our study period. Estimates of annual survival probability for juvenile females and males ranged from 0.36 (95% CI = 0.18–0.56) to 0.46 (95% CI = 0.31–0.71) and 0.51 (95% CI = 0.38–0.61) to 0.56 (95% CI = 0.44–0.71), respectively. Hunting mortality probability was greatest for juvenile males and least for adult females. Hunting mortality probability of juvenile males increased from 0.09 (95% CI = 0.05–0.13) in 1997 to 0.14 (95% CI = 0.11–0.18) in 2015. Nonhunting mortality probability was greater and more variable than hunting mortality probability for all age-sex classes, indicating nonhunting mortality contributed most to total mortality of green-winged teal banded at Kgun Lake during our study. Additionally, survival probability of female green-winged teal banded at Kgun Lake is less than published estimates for green-winged teal banded in the boreal forest of Alaska. We recommend continuing consistent banding operations for green-winged teal on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and other important breeding areas to further understand factors influencing nonhunting mortality and how they may vary seasonally and geographically. |
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| Keywords: | Alaska Anas crecca band recovery Bayesian green-winged teal mortality survival Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta |
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