Mallard response to experimental human disturbance on sanctuary areas is mediated by hunting
Data files
Dec 12, 2024 version files 7.47 MB
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mdat_diel.csv
1.92 MB
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mdat_hr.csv
5.55 MB
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README.md
5.29 KB
Abstract
Wildlife managers often provide spatial sanctuaries for wildlife to escape both lethal (e.g., hunting) and non-lethal (e.g., non-consumptive recreation) human disturbance. However, as societal interest in outdoor recreation continues to climb, many areas face added pressure to allow recreation, yet studies increasingly demonstrate negative effects of outdoor recreation on wildlife. As such, an understanding of how wildlife respond to human activities is essential to develop sustainable outdoor recreation guidelines to preserve multiple benefits for humans, while simultaneously protecting wildlife populations and fitness. We examined GPS-marked mallard responses to three experimental disturbances meant to mimic recreation that could theoretically occur on waterfowl sanctuaries during 1 November–28 February 2019–2022. We evaluated effects on movement, space use, and site fidelity and expected that repeated disturbance would result in habituation. We further evaluated predictions of the risk-disturbance hypothesis, whereby we predicted greater behavioral responses during the hunting period and to more intense stimuli. We conducted 140 covered vehicle (e.g., truck), 40 pedestrian, and 43 uncovered vehicle (e.g., ATV) disturbances across 10 sanctuaries, exposing 195 mallards to ≥1 disturbance (median=2, range=1–12). Diurnal sanctuary use exceeded 83% of proportional use regardless of period; however, mallards only decreased sanctuary use when disturbed before the hunting period with an uncovered vehicle. Besides immediate increases in hourly movements on mornings mallards received pedestrian and uncovered vehicle disturbances, disturbed mallards displayed minimal changes in hourly movements. At the diel-scale, pedestrians elicited the greatest responses; space use doubled for disturbed birds during pre-hunt and early-hunt periods. In contrast, vehicle disturbances decreased movement but only outside the hunting period. Repeated disturbance caused gradual declines in space use: mallards used 12% less space with each additional disturbance during hunting. Constrained behavioral responses and unchanged sanctuary fidelity after disturbance during hunting season suggests the limited availability of alternative safe areas constrained mallard responses to disturbances.
README: Data for: Mallard response to experimental human disturbance on sanctuary areas is mediated by hunting.
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Title of Dataset: Data for: Mallard response to experimental human disturbance on sanctuary areas is mediated by hunting
- Author Information:
Abigail G. Blake-Bradshaw, School of Environmental Studies, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN 38505, USA
Nicholas M. Masto, School of Environmental Studies, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN 38505, USA
Cory J. Highway, Department of Biology, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN 38505, USA
Allison C. Keever, Department of Biology, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN 38505, USA
Jamie C. Feddersen, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Nashville, TN 37211, USA
Heath M. Hagy, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bismarck, ND 58501, USA
Bradley S. Cohen, Department of Biology, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN 38505, USA
3. Date of Collection 2019-2022
4. Geographic Location of data collection: Tennessee, USA
5. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data:
This project was funded by Wildlife Restoration Grants administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program: Partnering to fund conservation and connect people with nature and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System, Southeast Region.
DATA & FILE OVERVIEW
1. Description of dataset:
These data were collected from GPS marked mallards to examine individual responses to experimental disturbance on sanctuary areas including hourly and diel movements, diel space use, and hourly and diel sanctuary site fidelity.
2. File List:
mdat_hr.csv: Hourly movements of individual GPS marked mallards with variables used in analysis associated with each hourly data point.
mdat_diel.csv: diel (day/night) movements, space use, and proportion of locations on sanctuary and variables used in analysis.
METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION
We captured male and female mallards from November through January 2019–2022 at state and federal waterfowl refuges. We placed individually marked United States Geological Survey aluminum leg bands on all captured waterfowl. We also affixed solar rechargeable and remotely programmable, OrniTrack-20 Global Positioning System-Global System for Mobile (GPS-GSM) transmitters (Ornitela, UAB Švitrigailos, Vilnius, Lithuania) on mallards of all age and sex classes.
We took GPS locations at 1- to 2-hour intervals depending on transmitter battery level. We censored the first 4 days of GPS fixes to allow ducks to recover from capture and handling. We monitored ducks from first capture until transmitters failed to report GPS fixes (i.e., battery malfunction), ducks were harvested by hunters, or GPS fixes and tri-axial accelerometry sensors indicated mortality.
DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: mdat_hr.csv
- Number of Variables: 6
- Variable List:
- trackId: individual mallard identification
- refuge: what sanctuary a mallard was located on (including "none"): BB = Black Bayou Refuge, BS = Bean Switch Refuge, CNWR = Chickasaw National Wildlife Refuge, HB = Horns Bluff, HI = Hop-in Refuge, LL = Lake Lauderdale Refuge, LINWR = Lake Isom National Wildlife Refuge, M = Manness Swamp Refuge, RLNWR = Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge, WL = White Lake Refuge
- hour: hour of day 0600 - 1500
- hunt_seas: hunting period representing ~month periods (pre-hunt, early-hunt, late-hunt, post-hunt)
- sl_km: step lengths in km
- on_ref: binary variable whether an individual mallard was located on a sanctuary (1) or not located on a sanctuary (0) at that location
DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: mdat_diel.csv
- Number of Variables: 11
- Variable List:
- trackId: individual mallard identification
- date_adj: date of record
- hunt_seas2: hunting period representing ~month periods (pre-hunt, early-hunt, late-hunt, post-hunt)
- dist_type_day: disturbance type (none, covered vehicle, pedestrian, uncovered vehicle)
- pref: proportion locations on sanctuary area during the diel date combination
- num_locs: number of locations for diel period date combination on sanctuary
- total_locs: total number of locations for diel period date combination on or off sanctuary
- daily_dist_km: diel distance moved calculated by summing hourly or bi-hourly step lengths (km)
- UD_50: 50% utilization distribution from dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Models representing diel core area used
- tod: time of day (day or night)
- refuge: what sanctuary a mallard was located on (including "none"): BB = Black Bayou Refuge, BS = Bean Switch Refuge, CNWR = Chickasaw National Wildlife Refuge, HB = Horns Bluff, HI = Hop-in Refuge, LL = Lake Lauderdale Refuge, LINWR = Lake Isom National Wildlife Refuge, M = Manness Swamp Refuge, RLNWR = Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge, WL = White Lake Refuge
- hour: hour of day 0600 - 1500
- hunt_seas: hunting period representing ~month periods (pre-hunt, early-hunt, late-hunt, post-hunt)
- sl_km: step lengths in km
- on_ref: binary variable whether an individual mallard was located on a sanctuary that location