Abstract
We examined annual and period survival for mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) in Missouri, USA, using birds captured and marked on public land intensively managed for dove hunting. During 2005–2008, we radiomarked and monitored 713 birds to estimate period survival and banded 826 to estimate annual survival. For all ages, sexes, and years combined, spring-summer survival prior to hunting season was 0.447 (95% CI = 0.378–0.517) and overall period survival during May–October, including hunting season, was 0.252 (95% CI = 0.200–0.303). Mean annual survival for after-hatch-year (AHY) doves was 0.214 (95% CI = 0.053–0.569) and 0.041 (95% CI = 0.002–0.506) for hatch-year (HY) doves; recovery rates were 0.165 (95% CI = 0.105–0.249) for AHY and 0.179 (95% CI = 0.121–0.256) for HY doves. Our longer monitoring period allowed for a more robust picture of survival showing relatively low annual survival with few doves living beyond one year and significant mortality occurring prior to and during the hunting season. Differences in period survival each year likely reflect local differences in habitat influenced by weather and associated farming and management on the study area to attract feeding doves. Our results suggest locally intensive harvest management practices may be negatively affecting local populations and warrant continued monitoring to ensure long-term population sustainability.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 249-255 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2017 |
Funding
We are grateful for reviews and suggestions on earlier drafts from D. Otis, S. Oldenburger, 2 anonymous reviewers, and the associate editor. We acknowledge the long-term support and cooperation from the staff of the James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area, especially R. Bredesen and J. Goin. Field technicians assisting with our project included J. Gile, K. McDonald, M. Carter, K. Bodine, D. Martin, J. Hamilton, R. Crowe, C. Blass, C. Owen, H. Bankie, M. Sailor, B. Masters, A. Bossert, J. Cochran, and J. Murray. We are grateful for the surgical expertise and support provided by J. Tomlinson. Telemetry antenna system development and testing were assisted with the help of C. Kochanny. We also acknowledge the long-term dove harvest monitoring database management by J. Fleming. Funding and support for this work were provided by the Missouri Department of Conservation–Resource Science Division, the University of Missouri–Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, and by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Game Bird Research Grant Program.
| Funders |
|---|
| Missouri Department of Conservation |
Keywords
- Missouri
- Zenaida macroura
- age-specific survival
- annual survival
- mourning dove
- period survival
- survival