Assessing geographic changes in hunting pressure on wildfowl through ring recovery locations
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Abstract
Management of exploited populations needs to account for hunting pressure, yet estimating this parameter remains challenging. The study presented here compares the geographic distribution of dead recovery sites between the mid-20th century (1953–1983) and early 21st century (2002–2025), for birds all ringed in the same initial area (the Camargue in southern France) and proposes that this approach be used as a method for evaluating changes in relative hunting pressure over time. Analysis of ring recovery data from Common Teal Anas crecca, used as an example, suggests that hunting pressure on these birds has become increasingly concentrated in France in the 21st century, highlighting the responsibility of the country for hunting management of this species.
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