Identifying Effects of Weather and Land Use on Autumn and Winter Waterfowl Distribution Dynamics in the 21st Century

Waterfowl are of substantial economic and cultural importance, with over 1 million hunters contributing approximately $700 million in total expenditures to local and regional economies annually. However, shifts or expansions in waterfowl distribution driven by the interacting effects of a warming climate, changes in habitat resources, and altered anthropogenic pressures will present challenges to effective management and conservation. Understanding historical changes in waterfowl distributions and the associated drivers of these changes would improve the ability of natural resource managers to anticipate future changes and develop more adaptive conservation and management approaches for potential shifts in waterfowl distribution. [...]