Graduation Year

2026

Graduation Month

December

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

School or Department

Forestry and Conservation

Major

Wildlife Biology – Terrestrial

Faculty Mentor Department

University of Montana Spatial Analysis Lab

Faculty Mentor

Rebekah Fields

Keywords

geospatial mapping, migratory patterns, wetland, waterfowl, banding

Subject Categories

Population Biology

Abstract

Utah is a valuable breeding and nesting ground for a number of waterfowl species, largely because of the Great Salt Lake, which supports over 400,000 acres of wetland habitat (Ducks Unlimited, n.d.). The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources manages 24 wildlife management areas (WMAs) with the purpose of creating high quality waterfowl habitat in these wetlands that can be enjoyed by hunters, recreators, and birds alike (Wildlife/Waterfowl Management Areas (WMAs), 2025). Effective management is supported with an understanding of the movement and demographic patterns of the waterfowl species the WMAs are designed to support. Bird banding is one tool managers use to collect some of this information. Once birds are banded, or later encountered, that data gets compiled in a database like the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab where it can be used for future research. Cinnamon teal (Spatula cyanoptera) are regularly banded in Utah but remain understudied. This project used long term banding and encounter data of the cinnamon teal banded in Utah (1960-2025) to better understand their demographic and movement patterns. RStudio was used to create proportional summaries of banded and encountered cinnamon teal characteristics, analyze the number and sex of banded and encountered cinnamon teal over time, and visualize seasonal patterns and recovery intervals of encountered cinnamon teal. ArcGIS Pro was used to map encounter locations, visualizing movement patterns. Ultimately, this project provides Utah with species specific knowledge that can be used as a baseline for future monitoring efforts.

Honors College Research Project

1

GLI Capstone Project

no

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© Copyright 2026 Gracie A. Henrie