Abstract
Most important day-roosts for wintering ducks are protected, but the useof such sites as foraging habitats by Anatidae has received little attention. Westudied the foraging activity of wintering mallard (Anasplatyrhynchos) and teal (A. crecca) at fourprotected areas of the Marshes of Rochefort, western France. These species aregenerally nocturnal feeders, but they may expand their foraging time into thedaylight hours if they have high energy requirements. Our goal was to identifythe factors that lead dabbling ducks to increase their daily foraging time, sothat the management of protected sites used by ducks diurnally could be adjustedaccordingly. We demonstrate for the first time that, at the holarctic scale,granivorous ducks in colder habitats have longer diurnal foraging times. Inwestern France, foraging represented 37–60% of ducks' daily time-budget:16% of daylight hours and 85% of the night were spent foraging on average. Teal(350 g) fed longer per day than mallard (1100 g), andthis seemed to result from different migration strategies rather thandifferences in body mass. This study suggests that management of protected areasshould be adjusted to the climatic conditions of a wintering quarter and to themigration status of species in the duck community, so that adequate foragingsites are available for energetically stressed individuals to fulfil their dailyrequirements.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altmann J. 1974. Observational study of behaviour: sampling methods. Behaviour 49: 227–267.
Bruinzeel L.W., van Eerden M.R., Drent R.H. and Vulink J.T. 1997. Scaling metabolisable energy intake and daily energy expenditure in relation to the size of herbivorous wildfowl: limits set by available foraging time and digestive performance. In: van Eerden M.R. (ed.), Patchwork. Patch use, Habitat Exploitation and Carrying Capacity for Water Birds in Dutch Freshwater Wetlands. Ph.D. Thesis. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands, pp. 111–132.
Cox R.R. Jr and Afton A.D. 1998. Use of mini-refuges by female northern pintails wintering in southwestern Louisiana. Wildlife Society Bulletin 26: 130–137.
Cox R.R. Jr and Afton A.D. 1999. Do mini-refuges supply wintering northern pintails with important diurnal roost sites? Response to rave. Wildlife Society Bulletin 27: 901–903.
Fritz H., Guillemain M. and Guérin S. 2000. Changes in the frequency of prospecting fly-overs by Marsh harriers Circus aeruginosus in relation to short-term fluctuation in dabbling duck abundance. Ardea 88: 9–16.
Gibbons D.W., Hill D. and Sutherland W.J. 1996. Birds. In: Sutherland W.J. (ed.), Ecological Census Techniques. A Handbook. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 227–259.
Guillemain M., Fritz H. and Blais S. 2000a. Foraging methods can affect patch choice: an experimental study in Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). Behavioural Processes 50: 123–129.
Guillemain M., Fritz H. and Guillon N. 2000a. The use of an artificial wetland by Shovelers Anasclypeata in western France: the role of their food resources. Revue d'Ecologie (Terre et Vie) 55: 263–274.
Guillemain M., Houte S. and Fritz H. 2000c. Activities and food resources of wintering teal (Anascrecca )in a diurnal feeding site: a case study in western France. Revue d'Ecologie(Terre et Vie) 55: 171–181.
Guillemain M., Duncan P. and Fritz H. 2001. Switching to a feeding method that obstructs vision increases head-up vigilance in dabbling ducks. Journal of Avian Biology 32: 345–350.
Guillemain M., Fritz H. and Duncan P. 2002. The importance of protected areas as nocturnal feeding grounds for dabbling ducks wintering in western France. Biological Conservation 103: 183–198.
Jorde D.G., Krapu G.L. and Crawford R.D. 1983. Feeding ecology of Mallards wintering in Nebraska. Journal of Wildlife Management 47: 1044–1053.
Mayhew P.W. 1988. The daily energy intake of European Wigeon in winter. Ornis Scandinavica 19: 217–233.
McNeil R., Drapeau P. and Goss-Custard J.D. 1992. The occurrence and adaptative significance of nocturnal habits in waterfowl. Biological Reviews 67: 381–419.
Miller M.R. 1985. Time budgets of northern Pintails wintering in the Sacramento Valley, California. Wildfowl 36: 53–64.
Monval J.Y. and Pirot J.Y. 1989. Results of the IWRB International Waterfowl Census 1967–1986. IWRB Special Publication 8. IWRB, Slimbridge, UK.
Owen M 1991. Nocturnal feeding in waterfowl. Acta XX Congressus Internationalis Ornithologici. pp. 1105–1112.
Paulus S.L. 1988. Time–activity budgets of nonbreeding Anatidae: a review. In: Weller M.W. (ed.), Waterfowl in Winter. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota, pp. 135-152.
Quinlan E.E. and Baldassarre G.A. 1984. Activity budgets of nonbreeding Green-winged Teal on Playa lakes in Texas. Journal of Wildlife Management 48: 838–845.
Roux F., Mahéo R. and Tamisier A. 1978. L'exploitation de la basse vallée du Sénégal (quartier d'hiver tropical) par trois espéces de canards paléarctiques et éthiopien. Revue d'Ecologie (Terre et Vie) 32: 387–416.
Rüger A., Prentice C. and Owen M. 1987. Results of the IWRB International Waterfowl Census 1967–1983. IWRB Special Publication 6. IWRB, Slimbridge, UK.
SAS Institute 1990. SAS/STAT User's Guide. Version 6. 4th edn. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North Carolina.
Scott D.A. 1980. A preliminary inventory of wetlands of international importance for waterfowl in West Europe and Northwest Africa. IWRB Special Publication 2. IWRB, Slimbridge, UK.
Scott D.A. and Rose P.M. 1996. Atlas of Anatidae populations in Africa and Western Eurasia.Wetlands International Publication 41. Wetlands International, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Sokal R.R. and Rohlf F.J. 1995. Biometry. 3rd edn. W.H. Freeman & Co., New York.
Tamisier A. 1972a. Rythmes nycthéméraux des sarcelles d'hiver pendant leur hivernage en Camargue. Alauda 40: 107–135 and 235–256.
Tamisier A. 1972b. Etho-ecologié des sarcelles d'hiver Anas c. crecca L. pendant leur hivernage en Camargue, Ph.D. Thesis, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
Tamisier A. 1976. Diurnal activities of Green-winged Teal and Pintail wintering in Louisiana. Wildfowl 27: 19–32.
Tamisier A. 1978. The functional units of wintering ducks: a spatial integration of their comfort and feeding requirements. Verhandlungen der Ornithologischen Gesellschaft in Bayern 23: 229-238.
Tamisier A., Allouche L., Aubry F. and Dehorter O. 1995. Wintering strategies and breeding success: hypothesis for a trade-off in some waterfowl species. Wildfowl 46: 76–88.
Tamisier A. and Dehorter O. 1999. Camargue, canards et foulques: fonctionnement et devenir d'un prestigieux quartier d'hivernage. Centre ornithologique du Gard, Nîmes, France.
Thomas G.J. 1982. Autumn and winter feeding ecology of waterfowl at the Ouse Washes, England. Journal of Zoology (London) 197: 131–172.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guillemain, M., Fritz, H. & Duncan, P. Foraging strategies of granivorous dabbling ducks wintering in protected areas of the French Atlantic coast. Biodiversity and Conservation 11, 1721–1732 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020322032114
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020322032114