Causes and Effects of Biases on Waterfowl Harvest Estimates

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Abstract
Hunters at 2 Iowa [USA] Public Hunting Areas were required to bring their waterfowl through check stations and later were mailed a questionnaire asking how many ducks and geese they bagged on these areas. The estimate of the total harvest as extrapolated was about twice the value recorded at the check station. The number of trips was overestimated by about 35%. For most estimates, less than 10% of the bias could be attributed to the tendency for unsuccessful hunters to be less likely to return the questionnaire. Most of the bias was caused by inaccurate reporting from hunters who returned the questionnaires. One source of response bias was rounding upward of the seasonal bag which increased the harvest estimate by about 5%. Another source, caused when some person other than the addressee returned the questionnaire, could have inflated the estimate up to 10%. About 75% of the detected bias must be attributed to other factors. Probably much is due to hunters including friends'' data when reporting their seasonal bag. Some method of estimating its effects on regular surveys is needed.

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