Abstract
We examined protein and energy production of potential migratory bird foods produced in moist-soil managed versus unmanaged playa wetlands on the Southern High Plains of Texas (SHP) during fall and winter 1994–95 and 1995–96 to assess potential carrying capacity for wintering migratory birds. Total food (seeds and invertebrates) biomass, crude protein production, and gross energy production were greater in managed playas than unmanaged playas. There was no difference in food biomass or energy production between invertebrates and seeds when managed and unmanaged playas were combined, but protein production from invertebrates was greater than production from seeds. The estimated 160,000 ha of unmanaged playa wetland habitat in the SHP produces about 24.3 million kg of seeds and invertebrates, 9.2 million kg of protein, and 108.6 billion kcal of energy. When these playas have water, there are enough seeds and invertebrates to support 3 million ducks for 3 months. However, water is often limited, making much of this habitat unavailable to waterbirds in most years. Therefore, conservation of existing playas should be supplemented with intensive moist-soil management in some areas as the most economical strategy for providing proper nutrition to migratory birds and other wildlife in playas.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Anderson, J.T. 1997. Invertebrate communities in vegetated playa wetlands. Ph.D. Dissertation. Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA.
Anderson, J.T. and L.M. Smith. 1996. A comparison of methods for sampling epiphytic and nektonic aquatic invertebrates in playa wetlands. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 11:219–224.
Baldassarre, G.A. and E.G. Bolen. 1984. Field-feeding ecology of waterfowl wintering on the Southern High Plains of Texas. Journal of Wildlife Management 48:63–71.
Barnard, C.J. and D.B.A. Thompson. 1985. Gulls and plovers. Columbia University Press, New York, NY, USA.
Bell, G.P. 1990. Birds and mammals on an insect diet: a primer on diet composition analysis in relation to ecological energetics. Studies in Avian Biology 13:416–422.
Benke, A.C. 1984. Secondary production of aquatic insects. p. 289–322.In V.H. Resh and D.M. Rosenberg (eds.) The Ecology of Aquatic Insects. Praeger Publishing, New York, NY, USA.
Benke, A.C. 1998. Production dynamics of riverine chironomids: extremely high biomass turnover rates of primary consumers. Ecology 79:899–910.
Bergan, J.F. and L.M. Smith. 1993. Survival rates of female mallards wintering in the Playa Lakes Region. Journal of Wildlife Management 57:570–577.
Blem, C.R. 1976. Patterns of lipid storage and utilization in birds. American Zoologist 16:671–684.
Bolen, E.G., G.A. Baldassarre, and F.S. Guthery. 1989. Playa lakes. p. 341–365.In L.M. Smith, R.L. Pederson, and R.M. Kaminski (eds.) Habitat Management for Migrating and Wintering Waterfowl in North America. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, TX, USA.
Carmi, N., B. Pinshow, W.P. Porter, and J. Jaeger. 1992. Water and energy limitations on flight duration in small migrating birds. Auk 109:268–276.
Calvert, C.C., R.D. Martin, and N.O. Morgan. 1969. House fly pupae as food for poultry. Journal of Economical Entomology 62:938–939.
Cody, R.P. and J.K. Smith. 1991. Applied Statistics and the SAS Programming Language. Third edition. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Incorporated, New York, NY, USA.
Cohen, J. 1988. Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Second edition. Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, USA.
Conover, W.J. 1980. Practical Nonparametric Statistics. Second edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, USA.
Conover, W.J. and R.L. Iman. 1981. Rank transformations as a bridge between parametric and nonparametric statistics. American Statistician 35:124–129.
Cummins, K.W. and J.C. Wuycheck. 1971. Caloric equivalents for investigations in ecological energetics. International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology Communication Number 18.
Davis, C.A. 1996. Ecology of spring and fall migrant shorebirds in the playa lakes region of Texas. Ph.D. Dissertation, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA.
Davis, C.A. and L.M. Smith. 1998. Ecology and management of migrant shorebirds in the Playa Lakes Region of Texas. Wildlife Monographs 140.
DeCoster, W. and G. Persoone. 1970. Ecological study of gastropoda in a swamp in the neighbourhood of Ghent (Belgium). Hydrobiologia 36:65–80.
Driver, E.A., 1981. Calorific values of pond invertebrates eaten by ducks. Freshwater Biology 11:579–581.
Driver, E.A., L.G. Sugden, and R.J. Kovach. 1974. Calorific, chemical and physical values of potential duck foods. Freshwater Biology 4:281–292.
Fredrickson, L.H. and F.A. Reid. 1988. Nutritional values of waterfowl foods. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA. Waterfowl Management Handbook Leaflet 13.1.1.
Haukos, D.A. and L.M. Smith. 1992. Ecology of playa lakes. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA. Waterfowl Management Handbook Leaflet 13.3.7.
Haukos, D.A. and L.M. Smith. 1993. Moist-soil management of playa lakes for migrating and wintering ducks. Wildlife Society Bulletin 21:288–298.
Haukos, D.A. and L.M. Smith. 1995. Chemical composition of seeds from plants in playa wetlands. Wildlife Society Bulletin 23:514–519.
Haukos, D.A. and L.M. Smith. 1997. Common Flora of the Playa Lakes. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, Texas, USA.
Hoffman, R.D. and T.A. Bookhout. 1985. Metabolizable energy of seeds consumed by ducks in Lake Erie Marshes. Transactions of the North American. Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference 50:557–565.
Junca, H.A., E.A. Epps, and L.L. Glasgow. 1962. A quantitative study of the nutrient content of food removed from the crops of wild mallards in Louisiana. Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference 27:114–121.
Kendeigh, S.C. and G.C. West. 1965. Caloric values of plant seeds eaten by birds. Ecology 46:553–555.
Kunz, T.H. 1988. Methods of assessing the availability of prey to insectivorous bats. p. 191–210.In T. H. Kunz (ed.) Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats. Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington DC, USA.
Lipsey, M.W. 1990. Design Sensitivity: Statistical Power for Experimental Research. Sage Publishers, Newbury Park, CA, USA.
Luo, H., L.M. Smith, B.L. Allen, and D.A. Haukos. 1997. Effects of sedimentation on playa wetland volume. Ecological Applications 7:247–252.
Maron, J.L. and J.P. Myers. 1985. Seasonal changes in feeding success, activity patterns, and weights of nonbreeding sanderlings (Calidris alba). Auk 102:580–586.
McCauley, V.J.E. and K. Tsumura. 1974. Calorific values of Chironomidae (Diptera). Canadian Journal of Zoology 52:581–586.
Merritt, R.W. and K.W. Cummins (eds.). 1984. An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America. Second edition. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, IA, USA.
Millar, J.B. 1973. Estimation of area and circumference of small wetlands. Journal of Wildlife Management 37:30–38.
Miller, M.R. 1987. Fall and winter foods of northern pintails in the Sacramento Valley. California. Journal of Wildlife Management 51:405–414.
Miller, M.R. and K.J. Reinecke. 1984. Proper expression of metabolizable energy in avian energetics. Condor 86:396–400.
Milliken, G.A. and D.E. Johnson. 1992. Analysis of Messy Data Volume 1: Designed Experiments. Chapman and Hall, New York, NY, USA.
Morrison, M.L., C.J. Ralph, J. Verner, and J.R. Jehl, Jr. (eds.). 1990. Avian Foraging: Theory, Methodology, and Applications. Studies in Avian Biology 13. Allen Press, Incorporated, Lawrence, KS, USA.
Murkin, H.R. and J.A. Kadlec. 1986. Responses by benthic macroinvertebrates to prolonged flooding of marsh habitat. Canadian Journal of Zoology 64:65–72.
Myers, J.P., P.G. Connors, and F.A. Pitelka. 1979. Territory size in wintering sanderlings: The effects of prey abundance and intruder density. Auk 96:551–561.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1994. Climatological data, Texas. Volume 99. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, USA.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1995. Climatological data, Texas. Volume 100. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, USA.
Norberg, R.A. 1978. Energy content of some spiders and insects on branches of spruce (Picea abies) in winter; prey of certain passerine birds. Oikos 31:222–229.
Osterkamp, W.R. and W.W. Wood. 1987. Playa-lake basins on the Southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico: Part I. Hydrologic, geomorphic, and geologic evidence for their development. Geological Society of America Bulletin 99:215–223.
Pennak, R.W. 1989. Fresh-water Invertebrates of the United States. Protozoa to Mollusca. Third edition. John Wiley & Sons. New York, NY, USA.
Petrie, M.J., R.D. Drobney, and D.A. Graber. 1997. Evaluation of true metabolizable energy for waterfowl. Journal of Wildlife Management 61:420–425.
Playa Lakes Joint Venture Management Board. 1994. Playa Lakes Joint Venture, Final Implementation Plan. Albuquerque, NM. USA.
Prince, H.H. 1979. Bioenergetics of postbreeding dabbling ducks. p. 103–117.In T. A. Bookhout (ed.) Waterfowl and Wetlands—an Integrated Review. North Central Section of The Wildlife Society. Madison, WI, USA.
Redford, K.H. and J.G. Dorea. 1984. The nutritional value of invertebrates with emphasis on ants and termites as food for mammals. Journal of Zoology 203:385–395.
Reinecke, K.J., R.M. Kaminski, D.J. Moorhead, J.D. Hodges, and J.R. Nassar. 1989. Mississippi Alluvial Valley. p. 203–247.In L.M. Smith, R.L. Pederson, and R.M. Kaminski (eds.) Habitat Management for Migrating and Wintering Waterfowl in North America. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, TX, USA.
Reinecke, K.J., T.L. Stone, and R.B. Owen, Jr. 1982. Seasonal carcass composition and energy balance of female black ducks in Maine. Condor 84:420–426.
Robbins, C.T. 1981. Estimation of the relative protein cost of reproduction in birds. Condor 83:177–179.
Robbins, C.T. 1983. Wildlife Feeding and Nutrition. Academic Press, Incorporated, New York, NY, USA.
Robel, R.J., B.M. Press, B.L. Henning, K.W. Johnson, H.D. Blocker, and K.E. Kemp. 1995. Nutrient and energetic characteristics of sweepnet-collected invertebrates. Journal of Field Ornithology 66:44–53.
Rodgers, D.W. and S.U. Qadri. 1977. Seasonal variation in calorific values of some littoral benthic invertebrates of the Ottawa River, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Zoology 55:881–884.
Sheeley, D.G. and L.M. Smith. 1989. Tests of diet and condition bias in hunter-killed northern pintails. Journal of Wildlife Management 53:765–769.
Smith, L.M. and D.G. Sheeley. 1993a. Factors affecting condition of northern pintails wintering in the Southern High Plains. Journal of Wildlife Management 57:62–71.
Smith, L.M. and D.G. Sheeley. 1993b. Molt patterns of wintering northern pintails in the Southern High Plains. Journal of Wildlife Management 57:229–238.
Swanson, G.A. 1978. A water column sampler for invertebrates in shallow wetlands. Journal of Wildlife Management 42:670–672.
Swanson, G.A. 1983. Benthic sampling for waterfowl foods in emergent vegetation. Journal of Wildlife Management 47:821–823.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1995. Analyses of selected midwinter waterfowl survey data (1955–1995) Region 2 (Central Flyway Portion). Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Wiens, J.A. and A.H. Farmer. 1996. Population and community energetics. p. 497–526.In C. Carey (ed.) Avian Energetics and Nutritional Ecology. Chapman & Hall. New York, NY, USA.
Wissing, T.E. and A.D. Hasler. 1971. Intraseasonal change in caloric content of some freshwater invertebrates. Ecology 52:371–373.
Wrubleski, D.A. and D.M. Rosenberg. 1990. The chironomidae (diptera) of Bone Pile Pond, Delta marsh, Manitoba, Canada. Wetlands 10:243–275.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Anderson, J.T., Smith, L.M. Protein and energy production in playas: Implications for migratory bird management. Wetlands 18, 437–446 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03161536
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03161536