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Abstract
Understanding drivers behind behavior is essential for species management, for game species, this entails understanding the non-consumptive effects of hunting pressure. The Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) despite declining populations is intensively managed for in the Southeastern US. I conducted a study to investigate how bobwhites mitigate risk of hunters through direct behavioral mechanismsevasive tactics, and an indirect mechanism foraging behavior. Through a combination of behavioral observation, vegetation sampling, and intensive movement monitoring, I analyzed fine-scale behavior bobwhites on a private plantation in Georgetown County, South Carolina. I found that bobwhites altered their foraging strategy in response to hunters and that they used several factors when gauging risk during hunter encounters. With a better understanding of behavioral mechanisms we can better understand the complex hunter-covey interface and improve hunter satisfaction.