Factors Influencing Habitat Use By Breeding Waterfowl in South Dakota

Wetland characteristics, adjacent upland conditions, and corresponding waterfowl populations were surveyed on 500 quarter sections in 125 clusters proportionally stratified within eight physiographic strata in South Dakota. Two survey were conducted, one in May and a second in June, each year during 1973 and 1974. Habitat variables of each wetland and of each quarter section, respectively, were analyzed for each species of waterfowl through multiple regression analysis. Multiple regression equations had highest coefficients of determination for mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), pintails (Anas acuta), blue-winged teal (Anas discors), and gadwall (Anas strepera). Coefficient of determination for these species were greatest in the central Coteau des Prairies, the James River Valley, and the Coteau du Missouri. Hectares of surface water and hectares of open water per pond were most closely associated with numbers of breeding waterfowl per pond. Shoreline distance, height of emergent vegetation, and hectares of game management cover were usually positive in association with numbers of breeding waterfowl per pond. Hectares of class IV wetlands per quarter section exhibited the most positive associations with numbers of waterfowl in the Coteau des Prairies and the James River Valley. Hectares of class II and class III wetlands were positively associated with breeding waterfowl numbers per quarter section in the James River Valley. Shoreline distance and hectares of class III wetlands per quarter section exhibited greater positive associations with numbers of breeding waterfowl in the Coteau du Missouri than in other strata