Daniel L. Combs

Managers have assumed that migratory geese regularly interchange among wintering refuges, providing a potential to manage them as a complex. The primary purpose of our study was to determine population affiliation and magnitude of goose movements among 4 national wildlife refuges (NWR) in Tennessee and northern Alabama, thereby assessing the feasibility of this approach. Interchange and population affiliation were examined using neck collar observations from 1977-1998. Population affiliation varied among refuges, with Southern James Bay geese being most common at Wheeler NWR, and...

Habitat use of eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) broods (1993: N= 7; 1994: N = 9) in western Tennessee were monitored for up to 2 months following hatching to determine preferred habitats during this critical period. Based on availability within their home ranges, hens and their broods selected bottomland hardwoods over other habitat types during weeks 1-4 (P < 0.001). Older broods (4-6 weeks) selected upland hardwood, upland pine, bottomland hardwood, and open habitats in that order over other habitat types (P < 0.001). Intensive monitoring of 6 broods in 1995...

Visual observations of marked individuals in a resident flock of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) on the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge, AlabamaGeorgia, were conducted from July 1980 through May 1982. Associations among geese were examined during 2 periods (breeding, February-May; and nonbreeding, June-January). Social groupings were determined for 231 geese in 1980-81 and 240 in 1981-82 based on 4,577 observations during the breeding season and 666 observations during the nonbreeding season. Adult pairs that nested successfully remained with their young-of-the-year throughout the...

Productivity, nesting biology, and gosling survival of a resident flock of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) were studied in southeastern Alabama and southwestern Georgia from 1977 to 1982. A total of 323 nests contained 1,631 eggs. The nesting season usually began in late February and ended in early June. Yearly nest success varied from 27% to 64%. Flooding resulted in the destruction of 35% of total nests and was ranked as the major cause of nest failure. Nest success on artificial nest structures and beaver (Castor canadensis) lodges was higher than on islands and the shoreline. More...