Abstract: The cornerstone of Ducks Unlimited's conservation program is objective scientific information on the ecology and status of North American waterfowl populations. Because efforts to conserve migratory waterfowl populations on their breeding grounds must be accompanied by conservation efforts in staging and wintering grounds in order to ensure that their annual cycle needs are met, Ducks Unlimited established the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) program to develop projects in these critical areas. In the recent past, the breeding grounds have been the focus of most conservation efforts, but it is realized now that this effort must be accompanied by efforts in staging and wintering grounds to ensure the annual life cycle of migratory species. Recent research has indicated that the Caribbean and Central and northern South America provide the necessary habitats for those phases in the life cycle of North American migratory waterfowl.
Purpose: Ducks Unlimited, Inc., in collaboration with more than 100 colleagues from 13 countries in the Caribbean and Central and northern South America, is gathering valuable data on distribution and numbers of North American and Neotropical waterfowl. The information gained from these surveys will provide a valuable resource in and of itself, and help determine which wetlands are the most important for waterfowl. Once important target areas are realized, their protection, enhancement, restoration, and management can begin in earnest. This will include designation of protected areas and inclusion of new sites in the Ramsar Convention list of Wetlands of International Importance. Plans to expand the LAC waterfowl surveys database to include waterbirds are underway and expected to be implemented in 2007.
Supplemental Information: DU's Waterfowl Surveys Initiative was been motivated by interest in learning more about where all North American migratory waterfowl occur during the northern winter and where wetland landscape conservation programs should be directed, together with the interest that exists in the LAC countries to designate new wetlands of international importance (Ramsar sites), establish protected areas and identify habitat management needs. When DU's Waterfowl Surveys Initiative started in 2000 there were six countries involved. Adding more countries and encouraging more people was a challenge. But after only three years the program had grown to include 13 countries and almost 100 highly motivated "duck counters". The Initiative is still very young, but progress made to date is a clear sign of the value of working on regional efforts and sharing all information. We have also encountered difficulties, including high prices for aircraft rental, lack of sufficient personnel and the need for much training, among others. It is still also imperative that we continue to improve methodologies, standardize information gathering and reporting forms, and synchronize dates throughout the region. The information gathered for just a few years is already resulting in important management and conservation decisions at several sites, and is beginning to shed some light about wetlands previously not considered important for waterfowl. These are ultimate goals of the surveys. Government authorities and site managers now count with a quantitative tool for protection, enhancement, restoration, and management of these wetlands, as well as data to help them regulate hunting. Designation of protected areas, inclusion of new sites in the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands List and Important Bird Areas are some other possible use of this information for wetland and waterfowl management and conservation. While some countries are able to survey all their wetlands, e.g. El Salvador and Jamaica, most countries have concentrated in a few areas for these first 3-4 years and are slowly adding new areas as time and money become available. Others, such as the Dominican Republic and Suriname, have flown over several wetlands for three consecutive years and found them of little relevance to waterfowl so have shifted their efforts to exploring new sites or have expanded the number of surveys at those with considerable consistent numbers. Some of the areas eliminated may be of importance on an occasional basis (e.g. after hurricanes, in severe drought periods), and should funding in the future allow, ideally, all wetlands should be surveyed. So far 11 countries have been involved in the surveys on a regular basis: Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Suriname, and Venezuela. Coordination meetings and workshops have been held on a regular basis, aimed at synchronizing and standardizing methods. Regular internet communication and the discussion list server AnseriformesNeotropicales have also been used as coordinating tools. The "official" dates for surveys chosen for the regional surveys are: - 2nd w-e in October -to identify important migratory wetlands on the southbound migration of North American breeding species - 4th w-e in January -to identify "wintering" sites for North American breeding species - 4th w-e in March -to identify important migratory wetlands on the northbound migration of North American breeding species in the southern most countries - 4th w-e in April -to identify important migratory wetlands on the northbound migration of North American breeding species in the northern most countries Synchronization of survey dates has almost completely been accomplished. However, because counts are done on a voluntary basis, it is sometimes difficult for our colleagues to go to the field on the "official" date. At other times aircraft are not available, or weather conditions do not allow for the surveys to be carried out. Because of these different circumstances it will take a few more years to reach homogeneity throughout the region. All land, boat and aircraft are used, and after the first five years, most countries are now using always the same method within the country. Colleagues carry out exploratory surveys, point counts or transects depending on the habitat and transportation available, but always used the same type on each site. For the first few years, field data was entered on "field sheets" and then entered on an Excel spreadsheet. For two years now, colleagues have been able to use an Access database that helped with the entering and analysis of the data. DU programmers have been working with the USFWS/USGS to develop a database in Oracle that will hold all the information now contained in the Access format. This database is accessible on the NBII and DU servers, and will eventually be linked to a Wetlands Inventory database also being developed by DU. The database was developed using Oracle 9i Enterprise Edition. An ESRI Internet Mapping Site containing the waterfowl survey data and Directory of Neotropical Wetlands is available at http://gis.ducks.org/website/LACHTML/Viewer.htm (previous geoform was 'vector digital data')

Progress: Complete
Update Frequency: Annually

Theme Keywords: None, Ducks, Waterfowl, Anhima cornuta, Chauna torquata, Chauna chavaria, Dendrocygna bicolor, Dendrocygna viduata, Dendrocygna arborea, Dendrocygna autumnalis, Dendrocygna spp., Cygnus melancoryphus, Cygnus columbianus, Coscoroba coscoroba, Anser albifrons, Anser rossii, Chen caerulescens, Branta canadensis, Branta bernicla, Chloephaga melanoptera, Chloephaga picta, Chloephaga hybrida, Chloephaga poliocephala, Chloephaga rubidiceps, Neochen jubata, Tachyeres patachonicus, Tachyeres pteneres, Tachyeres brachypterus, Tachyeres leucocephalus, Tachyeres spp., Cairina moschata, Sarkidiornis melanotos, Callonetta leucophrys, Amazonetta brasiliensis, Merganetta armata, Anas americana, Anas penelope, Anas sibilatrix, Anas flavirostris, Anas crecca, Anas strepera, Anas andium, Anas platyrhynchos, Anas (platyrhynchos) wyvilliana, Anas (platyrhynchos) fulvigula, Anas (platyrhynchos) diazi, Anas acuta, Anas georgica, Anas bahamensis, Anas discors, Anas cyanoptera, Anas clypeata, Aix sponsa, Netta erythrophthalma, Aythya marila, Aythya collaris, Aythya affinis, Oxyura dominica, Oxyura jamaicensis, Lophonetta specularioides, Nomonyx dominica, Anas ribripes, Anas specularis, Anas versicolor, Anas puna, Anas querquedula, Anas platalea, Netta peposaca, Aythya americana, Aythya valisineria, Clangula hyemalis, Melanitta nigra, Melanitta perspicillata, Melanita (fusca) deglandi, Bucephala albeola, Bucephala clangula, Mergus cucullatus, Mergus octosetaceus, Mergus serrator, Mergus merganser, Oxyura ferruginea, Heteronetta atricapilla, Waterbirds, Surveys
Place Keywords: Latin America, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Honduras, Colombia, Belize, Venezuela, Haiti, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Cuba, El Salvador, Suriname, Caribbean, Central America, South America

Access Constraints: Access with permission of Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
Usage Constraints: Use with permission of Ducks Unlimited, Inc.