Abstract
The Prairie Pothole Region of the northern GreatPlains is an important region for waterfowl production becauseof the abundance of shallow wetlands. The ecologicalsignificance of the region and impacts from intensiveagriculture prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to select it as one ofthe first areas for developing and evaluating ecologicalindicators of wetland condition. We examined hypothesizedrelations between indicators of landscape and wetlandconditions and waterfowl abundance on 45 40 km2 study sites in North Dakota for1995–1996. Landscape condition was defined a priori as the ratio of cropland area to total upland area surroundingwetlands. Measures of waterfowl abundance included estimatednumbers of breeding pairs (by species and total numbers) and γ, a species-specific correction factor which effectively adjusts breedingpair estimates for annual or area-related differences in pondsize. Landscape indicators and waterfowl measures varied among regions. Results indicated that most areas in the Coteau region are ofmuch higher quality for ducks than those in the Drift Plain,and areas in the Red River Valley are of the poorest qualityfor ducks. Regression models demonstrated the impact ofagricultural development on breeding duck populations in the PrairiePothole Region. The most consistent landscape indicators ofwaterfowl abundance were percent of cropland and grassland. Models were inconsistent among years and species. Thepotential biotic indicators of landscape and wetland condition examined here wouldbe appropriate for temporal trend analyses, but because ofinherent geographic variability would not be appropriate forsingle-year geographic trend analyses without more extensiveevaluations to improve explanatory models.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, M. G., Emery, R. B. and Arnold, T. W.: 1997, ‘Reproductive success and female survival affect local population density of canvasbacks’, Journal of Wildlife Management 61, 1174–1191.
Batt, B. D. J., Anderson, M. G., Anderson, C. D. and Caswell, F. D.: 1989, ‘The Use of Prairie Potholes by North American Ducks’, in A. van der Valk (ed.), Northern Prairie Wetlands, Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA, pp. 204–227.
Bethke, R. W. and Nudds, T. D.: 1995, ‘Effects of climate change and land use on duck abundance in the Canadian prairie-parklands’, Ecological Applications 5, 588–600.
Cowardin, L.M.: 1997, ‘Design Methods’, in S. A. Peterson, L. Carpenter, G. R. Guntenspergen and L.M. Cowardin (eds), Pilot Test of Wetland Condition Indicators in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development EPA/620/R-97/002, pp. 11–19.
Cowardin, L. M., Carter, V. M., Golet, F. C. and LaRoe, E. T.: 1979, ‘Classification of wetlandsa and deepwater habitats of the United States’, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Services Program FWS/OBS-79/31, 103 pp.
Cowardin, L. M., Johnson, D. H., Frank, A. M. and Klett, A. T.: 1988a, ‘Simulating results of management actions on mallard production’, Trans. North American Wildlife and Natural Resource Conference 48, 257–272.
Cowardin, L. M., Johnson, D. H., Shaffer, T. L. and Sparling, D. W.: 1988b, ‘Applications of a simulation model to decisions in mallard management’, U.S. Fish andWildlife Service Technical Report 17, 28 pp.
Cowardin, L. M. and Peterson, S. A.: 1997. ‘Introduction’, in S. A. Peterson, L. Carpenter, G. R. Guntenspergen and L. M. Cowardin (eds), Pilot Test of the Wetland Condition Indicators in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development EPA/620/R-97/002, pp. 1–9.
Cowardin, L. M., Shaffer, T. L. and Arnold, P. M.: 1995, ‘Evaluations of duck habitat and estimation of duck population sizes with a remote-sensing-based system’. National Biological Service, Biological Science Report 2, 26 pp.
Cowardin, L. M. and Sklebar, H. T.: 1997, ‘Tests of Selected Landscape Indicators of Wetland Condition’, in S. A. Peterson, L. Carpenter, G. R. Guntenspergen and L. M. Cowardin (eds), Pilot Test of Wetland Condition Indicators in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development EPA/620/R-97/002, pp. 23–57.
Greenwood, R. J., Sargeant, A. B., Johnson, D. H., Cowardin, L. M. and Shaffer, T. L.: 1995, ‘Factors associated with duck nest success in the prairie pothole region of Canada’, Wildlife Monographs 128, 57 pp.
Johnson, D. H.: 1996, ‘Waterfowl Communities in the Northern Great Plains’, in M. L. Cody and J. A. Smallwood (eds), Long-Term Studies of Vertebrate Communities, Academic Press, San Diego, CA, pp. 391–418.
Johnson, D. H., Sparling, D. W. and Cowardin, L. M.: 1987, ‘A model of the productivity of the mallard duck’, Ecological Modeling 38, 257–275.
Kantrud, H. A., Krapu, G. L. and Swanson, G. L.: 1989, ‘Prairie basin wetlands of the Dakotas: A community profile’, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report 85(7.28), 111 pp.
Klett, A. T., Shaffer, T. L. and Johnson, D. H.: 1988, ‘Duck nest success in the Prairie Pothole Region’, Journal of Wildlife Management 52, 431–440.
Milliken, G. A. and Johnson, D. E.: 1992, Analysis of Messy Data. Volume 1: Designed Experiments, Chapman and Hall, New York, NY.
Myers, R. H.: 1990, Classical and modern regression with applications, PWS-Kent Publishing Co., Boston, MA.
National Climate Data Center: 1998, ‘Climate Division Precipitation, Temperature and Drought Data’, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, National Climate Data Center, http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/onlineprod/drought/main.html.
Naugle, D. E., Higgins, K. F., Nusser, S. M. and Johnson, W. C.: 1999, ‘Scale-dependent habitat use in three species of prairie wetland birds’, Landscape Ecology 14, 267–276.
Neter, J., Wasserman, W. and Kutner, M. H.: 1990, Applied linear statistical models. Regression, analysis of variance, and experimental designs, 3rd edition, Irwin, Homewood, IL.
Peterson, S. A.: 1994, ‘The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP): Its Objectives, Approach and Status Relative to Wetlands’, in G. Aubrect, G. Dick and C. Prentice (eds), Monitoring of Ecological Change in Wetlands of Middle Europe, Proceedings of an international workshop, Linz, Austria, Staphia 31, Linz Austria, and IWRB Special Publication 30, Slimbridge, U.K.
Peterson, S. A., Carpenter, L., Guntenspergen, G. R. and Cowardin L. M. (eds): 1997, ‘Pilot test of the wetland condition indicators in the prairie pothole region of the United States’, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research Development EPA/620/R-97/002.
SAS Institute, Inc.: 1997, SAS user's guide, Version 6, 5th edition, SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC.
Serie, J. R., Trauger, D. L. and Austin, J. E.: 1992, ‘Influence of age and selected environmental factors on reproductive performance of canvasbacks’, Journal of Wildlife Management 56, 546–556.
Sorenson, M. D.: 1991, ‘The functional significance of parasitic egg laying and typical nesting in redhead ducks: An analysis of individual behavior’, Animal Behaviour 42, 771–796.
Stewart, R. E. and Kantrud, H. A.: 1971, ‘Classification of natural ponds and lakes in the glaciated prairie region’, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Resource Publication 92, 57 pp.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: 1997, ‘Status of waterfowl and fall flight forecast’, U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Austin, J.E., Buhl, T.K., Guntenspergen, G.R. et al. Duck Populations as Indicators of Landscape Condition in the Prairie Pothole Region. Environ Monit Assess 69, 29–48 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010748527667
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010748527667