Long-term averages - Duck Count vs. Available Habitat/Rainfa
Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2002 11:14 pm
Regarding Webfoot's post on the rainfall data and duck counts:
I would think that as population density increase (ducks/acre of nesting habitat) that the loss of ducks to predation and disease would also increase.
Is anyone familiar with research specific to this topic? With nesting habitat already a scarce resource due to agriculture and the development of wetlands, I would reason that we need to maintain water levels well above the long-term average to provide for an average duck population. My logic could be flawed, because I'm making the assumption that although habitat acreage has increased somewhat over the past couple of decades, we're not anywhere near the long-term average as far as total desireable habitat acreage goes.
Numbers are wonderful, but we can always make statistics say what we want them to say. Please post if you have any relevant data. I'd like to put my theory to the test.
Micah
I would think that as population density increase (ducks/acre of nesting habitat) that the loss of ducks to predation and disease would also increase.
Is anyone familiar with research specific to this topic? With nesting habitat already a scarce resource due to agriculture and the development of wetlands, I would reason that we need to maintain water levels well above the long-term average to provide for an average duck population. My logic could be flawed, because I'm making the assumption that although habitat acreage has increased somewhat over the past couple of decades, we're not anywhere near the long-term average as far as total desireable habitat acreage goes.
Numbers are wonderful, but we can always make statistics say what we want them to say. Please post if you have any relevant data. I'd like to put my theory to the test.
Micah