Predation on waterfowl in arctic tundra and prairie breeding areas: a review

Predation is a natural component of waterfowl population biology but enviro nmental alterations have changed the magnitude and importance of predation on waterfowl breeding areas. We reviewed the status of waterfowl population s, adaptations of waterfowl that minimize impacts of predation, and the imp acts of predation on waterfowl populations in 2 major North American breedi ng areas, the Arctic and Prairie Regions. We identified the underlying fact ors contributing to most waterfowl predation problems to be changes in esse ntial breeding habitats and changes in predator community composition and a bundance. In the Arctic, high predation rates on waterfowl eggs and young a re usually associated with predators gaining access to populations that wer e previously isolated. In the prairie, predation problems are often related to large-scale habitat degradation coupled with changes in predator commun ities. Predation problems are often symptomatic of inadequate habitat manag ement, but we recognize that habitat management alone is not always suffici ent to effectively manage predation problems. Predation management efforts should be integrated with strategies of long-term management of habitats cr itical to breeding waterfowl, strategies embraced by the North American Wat erfowl Management Plan, Predation management must be tailored to different situations and include an element of flexibility that allows appropriate re sponse to the dynamic nature of factors influencing survival and recruitmen t.