Foraging behavior of Red-necked (Phalaropus lobatus) and Wilson's (P. tricolor) phalaropes on Great Salt Lake, Utah

Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Phalaropes (Phalaropus spp.) and Adult Brine Flies (Ephydra spp.) are Linked on Great Salt Lake, Utah

“…Phalaropes in Carrington and Gilbert bays spent most of their foraging time engaged in surface pecking, with only 3% of their time spent pecking at insects flying through the air (Frank and Conover 2019, 2022). The infrequency of air pecking probably reflects the fact that most adult brine flies are resting on the water surface rather than flying and that flying prey are harder to capture than prey resting on the water surface.…”

“…We found that adult brine flies were over 13 times more abundant in Gilbert Bay and over 23 times more abundant in Carrington Bay than in low-salinity Farmington Bay. The low abundance of brine flies in Farmington Bay explains the observation by Frank and Conover (2022) that the most common foraging methods phalaropes use in Farmington Bay are head dunking and spinning, as both of these behaviors occur when birds forage on submergent prey. Farmington Bay supports chironomids, corixids, and daphnia due to its low salinity.…”

Developmental and reproductive costs of osmoregulation to an aquatic insect that is a key food resource to shorebirds at salt lakes threatened by rising salinity and desiccation

“…Adult brine flies congregate along shorelines of saline lakes in super-abundance (tens of thousands per square meter), while larvae and pupae stages are aggregated in shallow water where they often secure themselves on rocky substrata or feed on mats of algae (Herbst, 1988;Herbst and Bradley, 1993). Their contagious distribution thus allows easy foraging on all life stages by shorebirds in particular (Elphick and Rubega, 1995;Strauss et al, 2002;Senner et al, 2018;Frank and Conover, 2021). Along with the abstraction of stream inflows, and exacerbated by ongoing drought related to climate change (Seager et al, 2007), these rapidly desiccating habitats are in critical need of clear criteria for multiple-use management of salinity levels to maintain productivity and Herbst 10.…”

Salt load transfer and changing salinities across a new causeway breach in Great Salt Lake: Implications for adaptive management

“…The Great Salt Lake (GSL) of Utah, USA, is a large hypersaline terminal lake of hemispheric importance that has maintained ecological integrity in the face of anthropogenic pressures on its water supply and declining lake volumes. GSL is a composite of habitats ranging from freshwater and brackish wetlands that support millions of resident and migrating waterfowl (Caudell & Conover, 2006; Frank & Conover, 2021; Roberts, 2013; Sorenson et al, 2020; Vest & Conover, 2011) to salt‐saturated embayments in which diverse halotolerant microbial assemblages thrive (Meuser et al, 2013; Post, 1977), although metazoans are largely absent in them.…”

“…of resident and migrating waterfowl (Caudell & Conover, 2006;Frank & Conover, 2021;Roberts, 2013;Sorenson et al, 2020;Vest & Conover, 2011) to salt-saturated embayments in which diverse halotolerant microbial assemblages thrive (Meuser et al, 2013;Post, 1977), although metazoans are largely absent in them.…”