A comment on “temporal variation in survival and recovery rates of lesser scaup”

Concerns about declines in the abundance of lesser scaup ( Aythya affinis ) have promoted a number of analyses to understand reasons for this decline. Unfortunately, most of these analyses, including that of Arnold et al. (2016 Journal of Wildlife Management 80: 850–861), are based on observational studies leading to weak inference. Although we commend the efforts of Arnold et al. (2016 Journal of Wildlife Management 80: 850–861), we think their...