Effects of Weather on Habitat Selection and Behavior of Mallards Wintering in Nebraska

Jorde, Dennis G.; Krapu, Gary L.; Crawford, Richard D.; Hay, Miriam A.

doi:10.2307/1366993

Cited by 92 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Wintering and migrating waterfowl departing roost sites tend to fly at low altitudes (Williams et al 1976, Randall et al 2011, and depending on species and locality, foraging flights may occur one or more times per day and may take place under a variety of light and weather conditions (Raveling et al 1972, Jorde et al 1984, Austin and Humburg 1992, Cox and Afton 1996, Randall et al 2011. Wind turbines, transmission lines, and other tall infrastructure placed within the foraging zone around roost sites may put waterfowl at risk of collision hazards or alter the energetic carrying capacity of the landscape because of displacement from feeding sites (Larsen and Madsen 2000, Drewitt and Langston 2006, Kuvlesky et al 2007, Rees 2012.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging flight distances of wintering ducks and geese: a review

Johnson¹,

Schmidt²,

Taylor³

2014

ACE

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ABSTRACT. The distance covered by foraging animals, especially those that radiate from a central area when foraging, may affect ecosystem, community, and population dynamics, and has conservation and landscape planning implications for multiple taxa, including migratory waterfowl. Migrating and wintering waterfowl make regular foraging flights between roosting and feeding areas that can greatly impact energetic resources within the foraging zone near roost sites. We reviewed published studies and gray literature for oneway foraging flight distances (FFDs) of migrating and wintering dabbling ducks and geese. Thirty reviewed studies reported FFDs and several reported values for multiple species or locations. We obtained FFD values for migration (n = 7) and winter (n = 70). We evaluated the effects of body mass, guild, i.e., dabbling duck or goose, and location, i.e., Nearctic or Palearctic, on FFDs. We used the second-order Akaike's Information Criterion for model selection. We found support for effects of location and guild on FFDs. FFDs of waterfowl wintering in the Nearctic (7.4 ± 6.7 km, mean ± SD; n = 39 values) were longer than in the Palearctic (4.2 ± 3.2 km; n = 31 values). The FFDs of geese (7.8 ± 7.2 km, mean ± SD; n = 24 values) were longer than FFDs of dabbling ducks (5.1 ± 4.4 km, mean ± SD; n = 46 values). We found mixed evidence that distance flown from the roost changed, i.e., increased or decreased, seasonally. Our results can be used to refine estimates of energetic carrying capacity around roosts and in biological and landscape planning efforts.Distances parcourues pour la recherche alimentaire par les oies et les canards hivernants : une synthèse.RÉSUMÉ. La distance parcourue par les animaux aux fins de recherche alimentaire, particulièrement chez ceux qui rayonnent à partir d'un point central, peut influencer l'écosystème, la biocénose, ainsi que les dynamiques de population. Pour beaucoup de taxons incluant les anatidés migrants, la distance parcourue a également des implications sur la conservation et la planification des paysages. Les vols réguliers des anatidés (migrants ou hivernants) entre l'espace de nourrissage et de repos, peuvent impacter lourdement les ressources énergétiques au sein de la zone de nourrissage proche des sites de repos. Nous avons examiné les études et la littérature grise concernant les distances des allés vers les sites de nourrissage (DASN) des barboteurs et des oies migrants et hivernants. Trente études examinées ont indiqué les DASN dont un certain nombre ont mentionné des valeurs pour plusieurs espèces ou lieux. Nous avons obtenu des valeurs de DASN pour la migration (n=7) et pour l'hiver (n=70). Nous avons évalué les effets de la masse corporelle, guilde, i.e., barboteur ou oie, et lieu, i.e., Néarctique ou Paléarctique, sur les DASN. Nous avons utilisé comme modèle de sélection le Critère d'Information d'Akaike de second ordre. Nous avons trouvé des effets de lieu et guilde sur les DASN. Les DASN des anatidés hivernant dans le Néarctique (7.4 ± 6.7km, moyenne...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging flight distances of wintering ducks and geese: a review

Johnson¹,

Schmidt²,

Taylor³

2014

ACE

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“…However, despite long-term radio-tracking records, basic home-range information (both size and spatial characteristics) is still lacking for the most common waterfowl species, especially during the nonbreeding season. Although several studies have provided information on habitat use and movements for Nearctic populations (e.g., Jorde et al 1984;Frazer et al 1990;Cox and Afton 1996;Cox et al 1998;Fleskes et al 2002) and Palearctic populations (Tamisier and Tamisier 1981;Guillemain et al 2002), none have estimated home-range size, inter-individual variation or studied the effects of environmental factors on home-range characteristics of wintering duck species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in home-range size and movements of wintering dabbling ducks

et al. 2008

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International audienceDespite a long historical record of radio-tracking analyses, basic home-range information is still lacking for most common waterfowl species, especially during the winter. We investigated how dabbling duck home ranges and daily foraging movements are influenced by extrinsic (site, temperature, date) and intrinsic factors (species, sex, age). We radio-tagged and monitored 125 individuals of three duck species (mallard Anas platyrhynchos, Eurasian teal A. crecca crecca and northern pintail A. acuta) in three French wetlands over four winters. Home-range sizes for a given species varied greatly among our study sites. Moreover, species differed according to home-range structure and distance traveled to reach their foraging grounds (teal had a more patchy home range and traveled farther distances than mallards). Foraging distances increased with temperature and time (over the winter season), but this effect differed among species, suggesting that they behave differently in response to food depletion and/or cold weather. The commuting behavior (i.e., the decision to leave the roost at night for foraging) differed among species and season. Teals were more risk-prone because they were more likely to leave the roost at night. In our study, ducks foraged at distances of 1–2 km from roosts, whereas distances of 2–48 km have been recorded in North America. We suggest that food supply, hunting pressure or population density may account for these inter-continental differences

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“…Feeding of waterfowl in winter is affected by ambient weather conditions (Jorde et al, 1984;Hepp, 1985;Miller, 1985;Morton et al, 1989;Michot et al, 2005). Redheads increase foraging activity in response to increased thermoregulatory demands Michot et al, 1994), as do many other species of waterfowl (Tamisier, 1974;Jorde et al, 1983;Paulus, 1988b;Bergan et al, 1989).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging behavior of redheads (Aythya americana) wintering in Texas and Louisiana

Woodin

Michot

2006

Hydrobiologia

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Redheads, Aythya americana, concentrate in large numbers annually in traditional wintering areas along the western and northern rim of the Gulf of Mexico. Two of these areas are the Laguna Madre of Texas and Chandeleur Sound of Louisiana. We collected data on 54,340 activities from 103 redhead flocks in Texas and 51,650 activities from 57 redhead flocks in Louisiana. Males and females fed similarly, differing neither in levels of feeding (percent of all birds in flock that were feeding) (p>0.90) nor in percentages of birds feeding by diving, tipping, dipping, or gleaning from the surface (p>0.10). The foraging level of redheads in the upper Laguna Madre region was relatively constant throughout two winters. Foraging of redheads in early winter in Louisiana was significantly greater than redhead foraging in the upper Laguna Madre, but by late winter, foraging by redheads in Louisiana had declined to the same level as that shown by redheads foraging in the upper Laguna Madre. The overall foraging level of redheads from Chandeleur Sound was greater (41%) than that of redheads in the upper Laguna Madre (26%), yet it was quite similar to the 46% foraging level reported for redheads from the lower Laguna Madre. Redheads in the upper Laguna Madre region of Texas fed more by diving than did those in the Chandeleur Sound and the lower Laguna Madre. Diving increased in frequency in late winter. Greater reliance by redheads on diving in January and February indicates that the birds altered their foraging to feed in deeper water, suggesting that the large concentrations of redheads staging at this time for spring migration may have displaced some birds to alternative foraging sites. Our results imply that the most likely period for food resources to become limiting for wintering redheads is when they are staging in late winter.

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Effects of Weather on Habitat Selection and Behavior of Mallards Wintering in Nebraska

Cited by 92 publications

References 18 publications

Foraging flight distances of wintering ducks and geese: a review

Foraging flight distances of wintering ducks and geese: a review

Variation in home-range size and movements of wintering dabbling ducks

Foraging behavior of redheads (Aythya americana) wintering in Texas and Louisiana

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