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Sea Ducks (sea + duck)
Selected AbstractsMovements and foraging effort of Steller's Eiders and Harlequin Ducks wintering near Dutch Harbor, AlaskaJOURNAL OF FIELD ORNITHOLOGY, Issue 2 2007John A. Reed ABSTRACT We studied the movements and foraging effort of radio-marked Steller's Eiders (Polysticta stelleri) and Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) to evaluate habitat quality in an area impacted by industrial activity near Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Foraging effort was relatively low, with Steller's Eiders foraging only 2.7 ± 0.6 (SE) hours per day and Harlequin Ducks 4.1 ± 0.5 hours per day. Low-foraging effort during periods of high-energetic demand generally suggests high food availability, and high food availability frequently corresponds with reductions in home range size. However, the winter ranges of Harlequin Ducks did not appear to be smaller than usual, with the mean range size in our study (5.5 ± 1.1 km2) similar to that reported by previous investigators. The mean size of the winter ranges of Steller's Eiders was similar (5.1 ± 1.3 km2), but no comparable estimates are available. Eutrophication of the waters near Dutch Harbor caused by seafood processing and municipal sewage effluent may have increased populations of the invertebrate prey of these sea ducks and contributed to their low-foraging effort. The threat of predation by Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) that winter near Dutch Harbor may cause Steller's Eiders and Harlequin Ducks to move further offshore when not foraging, contributing to an increase in range sizes. Thus, the movement patterns and foraging behavior of these ducks likely represent a balance between the cost and benefits of wintering in a human-influenced environment. SINOPSIS Estudiamos los movimientos y esfuerzo de forrajeo de individuos de eidero (Polusticta stelleri) y el pato arlequín (Histrionicus histrionicus)(ambos con radiotransmisores) para evaluar la calidad del habitat en un área impactada por actividad industrial localizada en Dutch Harbor, Alaska. El esfuerzo de forrajeo (en horas/dia) fue bajo en el eidero con 2.7 ± 0.6 y en el arlequín 4.1 ± 0.5. Un bajo esfuerzo de forrajeo durante periodos de alta demanda energética por lo general sugieren una buena cantidad y calidad de alimentos. Alimentos en abundancia por lo general dan origen a una reducción en el ambiente ocupado (home range). Sin embargo, el ambiente ocupado del arlequín fue de 5.5 ± 1.1 km cuadrados, similar al informado en otros estudios, por lo que no parece haberse reducido. En el eidero el tamaño del área ocupada fue de 5.1 ± 1.3 km cuadrados y no hay otros estudios que nos permitieran hacer comparaciones. La eutroficación de las aguas en los alrededores de Dutch Harbor, causado por el procesamiento de pescado y las aguas usadas municipales, pueden haber incrementado los invertebrados de los cuales se alimentan ambas especies de aves estudiadas, y haber contrubuido al bajo esfuerzo de forrajeo observado en estas. El peligro de ser depredados por individuos de Haliaeetus leucocephalus, que pasan el invierno en el área de la bahía, puede haber sido el responsable del movimiento de las aves tierra adentro, cuando no se estaban alimentando, contribuyendo al tamaño del área ocupada por ambas especies. Por ende los movimientos y patrones de forrajeo de ambas especies probablemente no representa un balance entre el costo y los beneficios de pasar el invierno en un ambiente influenciado por la presencia de humanos. [source] INDIVIDUAL-BASED MODELS AND THE MANAGEMENT OF SHOREBIRD POPULATIONSNATURAL RESOURCE MODELING, Issue 1 2008JOHN D. GOSS-CUSTARD Abstract Individual-based models (IBMs) predict how animal populations will be affected by changes in their environment by modeling the responses of fitness-maximizing individuals to environmental change and by calculating how their aggregate responses change the average fitness of individuals and thus the demographic rates, and therefore size of the population. This paper describes how the need to develop a new approach to make such predictions was identified in the mid-1970s following work done to predict the effect of building a freshwater reservoir on part of the intertidal feeding areas of the shorebirds Charadrii that overwinter on the Wash, a large embayment on the east coast of England. The paper describes how the approach was developed and tested over 20 years (1976,1995) on a population of European oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus eating mussels Mytilus edulis on the Exe estuary in Devon, England. The paper goes on to describe how individual-based modeling has been applied over the last 10 years to a wide range of environmental issues and to many species of shorebirds and wildfowl in a number of European countries. Although it took 20 years to develop the approach for 1 bird species on 1 estuary, ways have been found by which it can now be applied quite rapidly to a wide range of species, at spatial scales ranging from 1 estuary to the whole continent of Europe. This can now be done within the time period typically allotted to environmental impact assessments involving coastal bird populations in Europe. The models are being used routinely to predict the impact on the fitness of coastal shorebirds and wildfowl of habitat loss from (i) development, such as building a port over intertidal flats; (ii) disturbance from people, raptors, and aircraft; (iii) harvesting shellfish; and (iv) climate change and any associated rise in sea level. The model has also been used to evaluate the probable effectiveness of mitigation measures aimed at ameliorating the impact of such environmental changes on the birds. The first steps are now being taken to extend the approach to diving sea ducks and farmland birds during the nonbreeding season. The models have been successful in predicting the observed behavior and mortality rates in winter of shorebirds on a number of European estuaries, and some of the most important of these tests are described. These successful tests of model predictions raise confidence that the model can be used to advise policy makers concerned with the management of the coast and its important bird populations. [source] Effects of off-bottom shellfish aquaculture on winter habitat use by molluscivorous sea ducksAQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 1 2009ydelis Abstract 1.Shellfish farming is an expanding segment of marine aquaculture, but environmental effects of this industry are only beginning to be considered. 2.The interaction between off-bottom, suspended oyster farming and wintering sea ducks in coastal British Columbia was studied. Specifically, the habitat use of surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata) and Barrow's goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica), the most abundant sea duck species in the study area, was evaluated in relation to natural environmental attributes and shellfish aquaculture. 3.The extent of shellfish farming was the best-supported habitat variable explaining variation in surf scoter densities, and the only habitat attribute from the considered set that was a strong predictor of Barrow's goldeneye densities. In both cases, the findings indicated strong positive relationships between densities of sea ducks and shellfish aquaculture operations. These relationships are presumably the result of large numbers of wild mussels (Mytilus trossulus) that settle and grow on aquaculture structures and are preferred prey of these sea ducks. 4.Previous work has shown that aquaculture structures provide good conditions for recruiting and growing mussels, including refuge from invertebrate predators, which in turn provides higher densities of higher quality prey for sea ducks than available in intertidal areas. This offers a rare example in which introduction of an industry leads to positive effects on wildlife populations, which is particularly important given persistent declines in numbers of many sea ducks. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||