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Abstract
Northern Bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) are an important gamebird across the United States and have been in decline for several decades. As a commonly hunted prey species, bobwhite provide an ideal study species to investigate the use of proactive and reactive anti-predator behaviors in response to hunting pressure. We designed an experiment to understand how late season hunting affects bobwhite demographics using fecal glucocorticoid (fGCM) concentrations, foraging and movement behaviors, survival, and breeding season metrics. Our results show that bobwhite responded to increased interactions with a shotgun through proactive responses. After one encounter with a discharged shotgun, bobwhite foraged further from supplemental feed where the risk of encountering a hunting party was the greatest. Bobwhite responded to increased hunting pressure, particularly late season hunting pressure, via reactive responses through increased fGCM concentrations, resulting in decreased fecundity. These results can help inform hunting season regulations and management decisions aiding in bobwhite recovery.