Duck hunting season begins Saturday but climate change could be causing problems for future hunting seasons.

Dr. Jim Bednarz studied two sets of data from 1955 through 2004.  He says higher average temperatures and less precipitation is affecting the number of ducks in the state and the southern part of the Mississippi Flyway.  Bednarz says more ducks are staying up north and as a result, fewer are migrating south for the winter.

The flyway is the area where ducks migrate and the southern portion consists of Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.  However, Arkansas and Louisiana have the bulk of the ducks.

"We have lost 25 percent of our ducks.  That's over 100 million ducks," Bednarz said.

Over the next 50 years, that could mean an economic loss of anywhere between $31 million and more than $125 million.

Bednarz shared his findings with a small crowd in Stuttgart Thursday, the duck capital of the world.  When examining the data, he says they considered other possible factors, like crop production, the estimated breeding population and the duck harvest.  He said all were statistically insignificant, meaning climate change was the only possible reason for the changes.

Bednarz says the number of hunting days could drop by ten to 50 percent in the future, as a result.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a strategy on how to reduce the effects of climate change.  They are also seeking public comment.  To learn more about their strategy or to provide comment, click here .