Why are we doing this study?

This project addresses the low population status of pintails by responding to high priority research needs set by the U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, specifically "Understanding relationships among regional waterfowl habitats and continental population demographics." This migration project was ranked number 2 at the Waterfowl Research Needs Workshop held at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in February 1996. A summary of research needs identified from a pre-symposium questionnaire issued to participants at the first North American Duck Conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in February 1997, listed the following as the #1 research priority: "Identify and quantify factors limiting northern pintail populations." After the conference, participants listed, "Identify cross-seasonal effects of winter habitat conditions on recruitment," and "Determine fidelity to staging areas" as the #2 and #3 ranked priorities in the Ecology and Management of Northern Pintails section. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ranked as their #2 and #3 priorities at the conference, "Determine limiting factors for northern pintails, scaup, scoters, and black ducks," and "Determine the cross-seasonal effects of habitat management, particularly for mallards and northern pintails." Ducks Unlimited ranked "Determine sources of variation in distribution, productivity, and survival of northern pintails" as #5 of 20 items, and "Determine the factors, seasons, and geographic areas that are limiting to duck populations" as #1. Ducks Unlimited also ranked, "Determine cross-seasonal influences on recruitment and survival of ducks," as #3 of 20. Conference participants, in the summary of research needs listed at Baton Rouge, ranked, "Conduct research that focuses on population dynamics, especially for pintails, sea ducks, and black ducks" as #1 of 16 items, and "Determine habitat selection by ducks at the landscape level" as #2. Certain aspects of all of these issues and the theme of cross-seasonal effects are addressed by our project.