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Appendix D 
Glossary 
The following definitions reflect usage of terms for 
mourning dove banding and recovery data in this analysis. 
adult A dove known to have hatched at least one year before 
the calendar year of banding. 
age (or year) class The approximate age of a dove at the 
time of banding. 
banding periods Times of year when doves were banded. 
bands Serially numbered aluminum rings placed on legs of 
birds for identification. 
bird banding laboratory (BBL) The BBL is the official re- 
pository for banding and recovery data of migratory birds 
in the United States and Canada. The BBL is located at 
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland. 
cohort A group of doves sharing common characteristics 
as defined (i.e., age, sex, or origin). 
comparative recovery factors (CRE’s) Computed values that 
reflect the relative probabilities of doves from several 
banding areas being recovered in a specified harvest loca- 
tion. CRF’s are computed by dividing the smallest recovery 
rate index into each index of a series being compared. 
coordinates Coordinates identify the 10-min block of north 
latitude and west longitude (grid) in which a banding or 
recovery occurred. 
crippling rate (loss) The proportion of hunter-downed doves 
that is not retrieved because the birds were wounded and 
lost. 
derivation of the harvest The relative importance (%) of 
breeding or natal areas of origin for specific harvest areas. 
direct recovery A banded dove killed or found dead dur- 
ing the first hunting season after being banded. 
distribution of recoveries The relative importance (%) of 
harvest areas for specific breeding or natal areas. 
distribution of the harvest The relative importance (%) of 
specific geographical areas within a general harvest area. 
This measurement can be expressed as percentages of total 
harvest or as harvests per land unit. 
encounter An observation of a previously banded dove. 
Encounters may be obtained through hunting or finding 
birds dead, trapping, or sightings by observers. 
goodness of fit A chi-square test of how well the hypothesis 
being tested fits the observed data. 
harvest A general term for the number of doves killed in 
a particular area during the legal hunting season. 
harvest areas Areas where doves are harvested. Areas in the 
United States conform to State boundaries, except for Texas 
which was divided into two zones. Latin America was 
divided into 12 regions, 
harvest rate The hunter-related recovery rate adjusted to 
reflect the proportion of bands encountered but not re- 
ported. Recovery Rate + Reporting Rate = Harvest Rate. 
hunting season The period of time during each year when 
a legal dove hunting season was allowed. Hunting seasons 
in the United States extended from 1 September to 31 Janu- 
ary; in Mexico and Central America, the hunting seasons 
encompassed 1 August through 31 May. 
immature A young dove capable of sustained flight known 
to have hatched during the same calendar year in which 
it was banded. 
indirect recovery A banded dove killed or found dead dur- 
ing any hunting season subsequent to the first hunting sea- 
son after being banded. 
kill The numbers of doves shot by hunters or found dead 
during the hunting season. Throughout the text, “kill” is 
used synonymously with “harvest.” However, when com- 
bined with “rate,” its meaning is different. 
kill rate The proportion of a population dying as a result 
of hunting. Harvest Rate + 1- Crippling Rate = Kill Rate. 
life equations Mathematical models relating mortality rates 
to recruitment rates. 
management units Three administrative units in the United 
States (Eastern, Central, and Western) were defined by 
migratory differences of their respective dove populations. 
The CMU is composed of Montana, North Dakota, Minne- 
sota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, 
Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and 
Texas. The EMU and WMU are composed of the States east 
and west of the CMU, respectively. 
maximum likelihood An approach to estimation of param- 
eters from animal marking experiments. For a given model, 
no other method will produce consistent estimators with 
a smaller sampling variance. 
mortality Mourning doves are continuously exposed to 
death from many causes such as starvation, inclement 
weather, disease, predation, and hunting. Banding data are 
utilized to estimate the proportion of mortality from all 
sources that occurs during a specific time period, usually 
one year. 
mortality rate The probability (%) that a bird alive when 
a given cohort is banded will not survive one calendar year 
to the time of next banding. 1 - Survival Rate = Mortality 
Rate. 
nestling A young dove still in the nest and incapable of 
sustained flight. Nestling banding data were omitted from 
this analysis. 
normal wild-banded bird A wild bird, apparently in good 
health, which has been captured, marked with a standard 
leg band, and immediately released at the location where 
banded. 
option 1 Test of the null hypothesis in Program BROWNIE 
that two adult data sets have similar survival and recovery 
rates. Banding and recovery periods must be identical. 

