pact that a relatively small number of wetlands
can have on bird populations. If these habitats
dwindle further, Vrtiska cautioned, large numbers
of ducks will compete for limited foraging opportunities, possibly reducing breeding success and
increasing the potential for disease outbreaks.
Day 6. Waking up in the lush valley of Nebraska’s
Niobrara River, students caught a glimpse of
trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinators), an early
May frost, and steam gleaming in the morning
sun as it rose above the river and through the
canyon. Later that day, the class arrived at the
vast Missouri Coteau in central South Dakota,
home to some of the most critical duck nesting
grasslands and wetlands in North America. Amid
grasslands owned by Ducks Unlimited (DU),
Randy Meidinger, DU’s manager of conservation programs for the Great Plains Regional
Office, and waterfowl ecologist Bobby Cox taught
students to search for duck nests by pulling a
100-foot chain between two ATVs—a technique
called “nest dragging.” When the chain passes
over a hen on a nest, she flushes unharmed, revealing a nest location.
Meidinger also demonstrated “candling,” used
to determine an egg’s incubation stage. He held
an egg to one end of a short length of radiator
hose and placed the other end to his eye. Sunlight diffusing through the translucent egg shell
allowed him to observe the embryo inside the egg
and compare it to photos derived from earlier
published research to estimate the embryo’s age.
The students used these techniques to discover
nests and collect data on species, number and
incubation stage of eggs, and evidence of any
nest parasitism whereby birds lay eggs in other
birds’ nests.
Day 8. After a sleepover at a duck-hunting
lodge owned by Scott Stephens, an MSU alumnus and director of conservation at DU’s Great
Plains Regional Office, Team Duck got another
chance to nest drag at North Dakota’s Robert E.
Stewart Waterfowl Production Area. Scientists
have studied waterfowl nesting in this region
since the 1950s. The class’s “chain gang” discovered a dozen duck nests, mostly mallard (Anas
platyrhynchos), northern pintail (Anas acuta),
and blue-winged teal (Anas discors). After the
successful outing, Stephens took time to explain DU’s science and conservation missions
in the Missouri Coteau: “Today, it is extremely
important to understand policy and effective
communication strategies to conserve habitat in
the prairie pothole region and across the United
States and Canada.” Biologists Aaron Pearse with
the U.S. Geological Survey and Jennifer Kross
with DU—both MSU alumni—joined the trip that
day. They echoed Stephens’ emphasis on communication and policy for advancing conservation of
waterfowl, wetlands, and all natural resources.
Day 9. Coming full circle, the class arrived
safe and sound on the university campus after
midnight on May 13. “Our experiences during
this class exposed us to a perfect mix of wildlife
policy, habitat management, and waterfowl and
wetland ecology, all while being in the field away
from the classroom,” said Justyn Foth, a master’s
student from St. Louis, Missouri. A record of the
bird species seen during the migration numbered
more than 150, including 20 waterfowl species.
Though “migrating” nearly 4,000 miles in nine
days left them in need of a nap, the students
returned to MSU armed with hands-on management experience and enriched by having seen and
touched an array of different wetland ecosystems
and their wildlife inhabitants.
