By Dr. Sarah A. Orlofske, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s October, 2022 Newsletter edition.
Hello Waterfowl Hunters!
If you recall from the September newsletter article, we are recruiting waterfowl hunters from Mead Wildlife Area to partner with us on a new research project. We are investigating the parasites infecting waterfowl, including new species and potentially pathogenic species to the birds, and examining whether parasites can be useful biological indicators of aquatic ecosystem health.
During the northern zone opening weekend, myself, Dr. Robert Jadin, and seven students from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point had several great interactions with hunters at Mead. In conjunction with our research, we conducted outreach about aquatic invasive species with Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council. After providing some information about aquatic invasive species, we asked hunters directly for donations of breasted out carcasses or gastrointestinal tracts of harvested waterfowl for our parasite investigation.
Hunters met students who would be conducting the research and learn more about our projects. The response was extremely positive, and several hunters stepped up to donate in the field, while others received a kit, including bags and datasheets for future donations.
We appreciate the support and participation of the waterfowl community during opening weekend. However, we are still looking for more samples as the waterfowl season continues. This allows the students to track changes in the parasite community along with the season and migration of the birds.
Your support is essential! Your leftover carcasses are a resource for scientific discoveries. If you are willing fill out a very brief data sheet with info on date, location, and species we would love to hear from you! The students are already working hard in the laboratory and excited to be starting their projects! Please consider helping our future waterfowl ecologists!
We look forward to new partnerships with hunters and the waterfowl community and hope to share our research findings with public presentations, newsletter articles, and individual hunters interested in our results.
For more information about the research or if you have any questions please contact: Dr. Sarah Orlofske (sorlofsk@uwsp.edu) Dept. of Biology, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point (715-346-2159)