Predators have become a colossal problem lowering duck populations and overall nest success and recruitment. With the decline of apex predators such as wolves and coyotes predators such as Red Fox, raccoons and skunks have been able to run rampant and destroy duck populations altogether. The use of predator corridors or the congregation of predators in areas with large duck numbers began to become more prevalent. Nests need to have at least 15% nest success to maintain a minimum number of ducks within the population. That number is hard to maintain when Red Fox are annually killing 900,000 adult ducks within that of the breeding grounds. With that being said only one nest in ten actually produce a single healthy duckling. Predators can not …show more content…
By the end of the millennial the population had doubled in size. Conservation groups such as Delta Waterfowl and the 1985 Conservation Reserve Program have made efforts in predatory control and by introducing more wetlands within a given area. In some cases waterfowl nest success was as low as 11%, far below the minimum number to maintain the current population. Conservation efforts have seen triumphal outcomes nearly doubling nest success seeing numbers as high as 22.9%. With constant implications of spring predator management and with new habitat being established, waterfowl numbers can continue to see an increase. These numbers though great compared to years of the past, the population could be experiencing larger gains. 75% of the Prairie Pothole Region resides across the border in Canada and they have been bringing habitat loss to a new extreme. There are no current conservation efforts within Canada preserving that of wetlands or helping duck population numbers. Agriculture has run rampant and it has affected the population quite dramatically. Though the United States has shown a valiant effort in preserving and regenerating overall duck populations producing gains, more could be done to increase the number of theses wondrous creatures of the