Large numbers of waterfowl found in the southeast also winter in areas 

 south of the U.S. border. Johnsgard (1975) pointed out that more than half of 

 the total wintering populations of Northern Shovelers and Blue-winged and Cin- 

 namon Teals winter in Mexican waters and indicated that important concentra- 

 tions of the Brant, White-fronted Goose, Redhead, and Ruddy Duck were also found 

 there. Winter surveys of wintering waterfowl south of the United States are 

 often very incomplete and in some wintering grounds "have been surveyed either 

 not at all or only once in a 25-year period." As stated previously (Clapp et 

 al. 1982), international boundaries are biologically imaginary lines that tend 

 to distort our knowledge of the distribution of birds. This is particularly 

 true for the species covered in Volumes I and III of this report, but also ap- 

 plies to many of the anatids covered in this report. Consequently, we feel 

 that more effort should be expended in determining the status of waterfowl in 

 Mexico and countries to the south so that managers may better evaluate the sig- 

 nificance of events that occur while the waterfowl are off our shores. Cooper- 

 ative international surveys of waterfowl wintering south of the United States 

 could be combined with those documenting the status of other marine birds occur- 

 ring in the area. Such surveys would supply a much better understanding of the 

 overall status of the species involved and would permit far better insight into 

 the consequences of local managerial decisions on a species throughout its range. 

 Previous efforts along these lines, particularly with respect to Canada and 

 waterfowl, have been highly effective in producing the information needed to 

 manage anatid populations. Similar efforts with regard to other areas might 

 also prove fruitful. 



RESEARCH NEEDED ON EFFECTS OF OIL ON SOUTHEASTERN MARINE BIRDS 



It is our firm opinion that attempted rehabilitation of oiled birds follow- 

 ing a major pollution incident is largely a waste of time, money, and other re- 

 sources. As Stanton (1977) of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center put it, "The 

 time has come for the public to realize that cleaning, rehabilitating, and re- 

 turning oil-covered birds to the wild is often not the wisest investment of 

 their tax dollar." The group working on ecological research on seabirds in 

 Europe is evidently of the same opinion, stating that "since the results of at- 

 tempts to rehabilitate oiled birds are so poor, it may be more profitable to 

 expend efforts at preventing birds from becoming polluted" (National Environ- 

 mental Research Council 1977). 



On the other hand, we consider it desirable to salvage these birds to find 

 out precisely what birds were oiled and to obtain information that will allow 

 for more prudent responses to future spills. Although there have been many 

 major efforts to "save" oiled birds, these resulted in little information that 

 would aid in planning responses to subsequent incidents. However, there have 

 been exceedingly few instances in which any systematic attempt has been made to 

 determine the full effects of a spill on local populations of marine birds. As 

 Nelson (1977) stated, "documentation of the effects of the spill is a vital 

 postspill responsibility"; consequently, we recommend that every attempt be made 

 to determine what species were affected and how many of each species died. 



Obtaining this information is not easy. Even if some notion is obtained 

 regarding which species were oiled by a given spill, counts of dead or contam- 



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