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Wintering French Mallard and Teal Are Heavier and in Better Body Condition than 30 Years Ago: Effects of a Changing Environment?

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Abstract

Animal populations are exposed to large-scale anthropogenic impact from e.g. climate change, habitat alteration and supplemental stocking. All of these may affect body condition in wintering dabbling ducks, which in turn may affect an individual’s survival and reproductive success. The aim of this study was to assess whether there have been morphometric changes in Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Teal (Anas crecca) over the last 30 years at a major wintering site. Body mass and condition increased from the 1950s–1960s to the 2000s in both species. The increase in body mass amounted to as much as 11.7%, with no corresponding change in body size. Improved body condition was maintained from early to mid-winter, but then converged with historical values for late winter. Our interpretation is that increasingly benign ambient winter conditions permit ducks to maintain better energetic “safety margins” throughout winter, and that converging spring departure values may be related to evolutionary flight energetic optima. The observed changes are consistent with large-scale climate amelioration and local/regional habitat improvement (both anthropogenic).

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Raphaël Mathevet and Jean-Baptiste Mouronval for useful advice concerning habitat use and management practices in the Camargue. We are most grateful to Luc Hoffmann, Hubert Kowalski, Heinz Hafner, Alan Johnson, and the other people who ringed Teal at Tour du Valat for over 25 years. We would especially like to thank Marc Lutz, Paul Isenmann, and the Centre de Recherche sur la Biologie des Populations d’Oiseaux (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris) for their help while computerizing the French Teal database. Grant V-162-05 from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency supported the study. Jocelyn Champagnon was supported by a Doctoral Grant from ONCFS and further support from CNRS and Tour du Valat.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, CNERA Avifaune Migratrice, La Tour du Valat, Le Sambuc, 13200, Arles, France

    Matthieu Guillemain & Jocelyn Champagnon

  2. Aquatic Biology and Chemistry Group, Kristianstad University, 291 88, Kristianstad, Sweden

    Johan Elmberg

  3. Centre de Recherche de la Tour du Valat, Le Sambuc, 13200, Arles, France

    Michel Gauthier-Clerc, Jocelyn Champagnon & Géraldine Simon

  4. Les Marais du Vigueirat, Mas Thibert, 13200, Arles, France

    Grégoire Massez

  5. Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucester, GL2 7BT, UK

    Richard Hearn

  6. Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1919 Route de Mende, 34 293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Jocelyn Champagnon

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  1. Matthieu Guillemain
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  2. Johan Elmberg
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  7. Géraldine Simon
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Correspondence to Matthieu Guillemain.

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Guillemain, M., Elmberg, J., Gauthier-Clerc, M. et al. Wintering French Mallard and Teal Are Heavier and in Better Body Condition than 30 Years Ago: Effects of a Changing Environment?. AMBIO 39, 170–180 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-010-0020-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-010-0020-9

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