Population Ecology Band Reporting Probabilities of Mallards, American Black Ducks, and Wood Ducks in Eastern North America PAMELA R. GARRETTSON, 1 Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 11510 American Holly Drive, Laurel, MD 20708, USA ROBERT V. RAFTOVICH, Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 10815 Loblolly Pine Drive, Laurel, MD 20708, USA JAMES E. HINES, U. S. Geological Survey Biological Resource Division, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD 20708, USA GUTHRIE S. ZIMMERMAN, Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 3020 State University Drive East, Modoc Hall, Suite 2007, Sacramento, CA 95819, USA ABSTRACT Estimates of band reporting probabilities are used for managing North American waterfowl to convert band recovery probabilities into harvest probabilities, which are used to set harvest regulations. Band reporting probability is the probability that someone who has shot and retrieved a banded bird will report the band. This probability can vary relative to a number of factors, particularly the inscription on the band and the ease with which it can be reported. Other factors, such as geographic reporting region, and species and sex of the bird may also play a role. We tested whether reporting probabilities of wood ducks (Aix sponsa) and American black ducks (black ducks; Anas rubripes) differed from those of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and whether band reporting varied geographically or by the sex of the banded bird. In the analysis of spatially comparable wood duck and mallard data, a band reporting probability of 0.73 (95% CI ¼ 0.67–0.78) was appropriate for use across species, sex, and reporting region within the United States. In the black duck– mallard comparison, the band reporting probability of black ducks in Eastern Canada (0.50, 95% CI ¼ 0.44– 0.57) was lower than in the Eastern United States (0.73, 95% CI ¼ 0.62–0.83). These estimates reflected an increase in overall band reporting probability following the addition of a toll-free telephone number to band inscriptions. Lower reporting in Eastern Canada may be because of cultural, linguistic, or logistical barriers. Ó 2013 The Wildlife Society. KEY WORDS Aix sponsa, Anas platyrhynchos, Anas rubripes, band reporting probability, black duck, harvest rate, mallard, reward banding, wood duck. Annual waterfowl harvest probabilities are used in the management of North American waterfowl, including wood ducks, black ducks, and mallards, to estimate the effects of hunting regulations on harvest. The ultimate goal is to ensure that harvest remains within sustainable limits. Harvest probability (h) is an estimate of the proportion of birds alive at the beginning of the hunting season that are shot and retrieved by hunters (Nichols et al. 1995). It is typically estimated from banding and recovery data, under the assumption that the sample of banded birds is representative of the population of interest. Band recovery probability (f) is an estimate of the proportion of birds alive at the beginning of the hunting season that are shot and retrieved by hunters and reported to the U.S. Geological Survey Bird Banding Lab (BBL). If all hunters who shot and retrieved a banded bird reported it to the BBL, the band reporting probability (l) would equal 1.0, and the band recovery probability and harvest probability would be equivalent. However, band reporting probabilities are typically <1.0 and must be estimated to determine the absolute effects of hunting on a population. Reward bands can be used to estimate band reporting probabilities, especially if the value of the reward is sufficient to ensure nearly 100% reporting of birds that carry a reward band in addition to a standard band (Nichols et al. 1991, Royle and Garrettson 2005). Band reporting probability is then estimated as the ratio of the recovery probabilities of birds with standard (control) bands to that of birds also banded with reward bands. These reporting probabilities can be used to adjust the recovery probabilities for samples of birds banded with only standard bands. This adjustment produces harvest probability estimates in the absence of Received: 22 February 2012; Accepted: 28 September 2013 Published: 5 December 2013 1 E-mail: pam_garrettson@fws.gov The Journal of Wildlife Management 78(1):50–57; 2014; DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.647 50 The Journal of Wildlife Management  78(1)