Lisa Dessborn

Effects of climate change on European ducks: what do we know and what do we need to know?

The consequences of climate change for bird populations have received much attention in recent decades, especially amongst cavity-nesting songbirds, yet little has been written on ducks (Anatidae) despite these being major elements of wetland diversity and important quarry species. This paper reviews the major known consequences of climate change for birds in general, and relates these to the limited information available specifically for ducks. Climate change can influence migration distance and phenology, potentially affecting patterns of mortality, as well as distribution and reproductive success in ducks. Studies addressing effects of climate change are, however, restricted to very few duck species, including mallard Anas platyrhynchos and common eider Somateria mollissima. Shifts in winter duck distributions have been observed, whereas the mismatch hypothesis (mistiming between the periods of peak energy requirements for young and the peak of seasonal food availability) has received limited support with regard to ducks. We propose a range of monitoring initiatives, including population surveys, breeding success monitoring schemes and individual duck marking, which should later be integrated through population modelling and adaptive management to fill these gaps.

Geographical and temporal patterns in the diet of pintail Anas acuta, wigeon Anas penelope, mallard Anas platyrhynchos and teal Anas crecca in the Western Palearctic

Dabbling ducks are important quarry species, and as a result, they are relatively well studied. Over the last century, considerable effort has been made to describe their diet and food requirements. In this review, we compile present knowledge about the diet of four widespread dabbling ducks (wigeon, pintail, mallard and teal) in the Western Palearctic. Previous diet research has a spatio-temporal bias towards autumn/winter and the western parts of Europe. The limited number of studies from the breeding season reveals an increase in invertebrates in the diet compared to other seasons, but with some differences between adults and ducklings. Adult ducks eat a larger proportion of benthic invertebrates, whereas ducklings feed relatively more on emerging invertebrates. The most important plant species (seeds) based on frequency occurrence was found to vary with a geographic gradient. Carex spp., Hordeum vulgare and Hippuris vulgaris are common in the diet of birds at northern latitudes, whereas taxa such as Oryza sativa, Potamogeton pectinatus and Scirpus spp. are common in the south. The reviewed studies are based on the contents of different parts of the digestive system and on a variety of methods to quantify food items. The variations in sampling techniques and shortage of articles from the breeding season and some geographic regions highlight the need for future studies. In the future, it is important to standardize sampling techniques to improve the possibility to compare studies and to obtain a more representative view of the diet of dabbling ducks in Europe.

Presence of fish affects lake use and breeding success in ducks

Several previous studies indicate that presence of fish has negative effects on waterbirds breeding on lakes, owing either to competition for common invertebrate prey or fish predation on ducklings/chicks. However, others have reported results to the contrary and it remains unresolved what factors trigger, inhibit, and modulate fish–waterbird interactions. The present study was designed to test the effect of fish presence per se, with a minimum of variation in possibly confounding environmental variables. Thus, after stratifying for area, depth, altitude, pH, and total phosphorus we compared 13 lakes with and 12 without fish (mainly pike Esox lucius and perch Perca fluviatilis) with respect to (i) general species richness of waterbirds, (ii) species-specific utilization and breeding success of two dabbling ducks (mallard Anas platyrhynchos and teal Anas crecca) and a diving duck (goldeneye Bucephala clangula). General species richness of waterbirds was higher on fishless lakes. Overall use (bird days) and brood number of teal and goldeneye were higher on fishless lakes. The latter also had more benthic and free-swimming prey invertebrates compared to lakes with fish. Mallard use, mallard brood number, and abundance of emerging insects did not differ between lake groups. Generalized linear models including fish presence as factor and considering seven environmental variables as covariates, confirmed that all waterbird variables except mallard days and broods were negatively correlated to fish presence. There was also a residual positive relationship of lake area on general species richness, teal days, and teal broods. Our data demonstrate a stronger effect of fish presence on diving ducks and small surface feeding ducks than on large surface-feeding ducks. We argue that observed patterns were caused by fish predation on ducks rather than by fish–duck competition for common prey.

Hatching in dabbling ducks and emergence in chironomids: a case of predator–prey synchrony?

It has been hypothesized that dabbling ducks (Anas spp.) time breeding to coincide with annual regional peaks in emerging dipterans, especially Chironomidae, which are important prey for newly hatched ducklings. However, this hypothesis has never been evaluated in a replicated lake-level study, including year effects in emergence patterns. We collected duck and invertebrate data from 12 lakes during the nesting seasons 1989–1994 in a watershed in southern Finland. The oligotrophic study lakes are typical of the boreal Holarctic, as are the three focal duck species: mallard Anasplatyrhynchos L., widgeon Anas penelope L and teal Anas crecca L. Hatching of ducklings showed a clear peak in relation to ambient phenology (annual ice-out date of lakes), whereas chironomid emergence was more erratic and showed no clear peak at the lake level, although total watershed-level emergence was somewhat higher before and long after the duck hatching peak. Thus, we find no evidence that ducklings hatch in synchrony with abundance peaks of emerging chironomids. There was large within-year temporal variation in chironomid emergence among lakes, but this was not correlated with ambient temperature. The rank of individual lakes with respect to the abundance of emerging chironomids was consistent among as well as within years, a predictability that ought to make adaptive lake choice by ducks possible. On the lake level, there was a positive correlation between the total amount of emerging chironomids and brood use. We argue that emergence patterns of chironomids on typical boreal lakes are neither compressed nor predictable enough to be a major selective force on the timing of egg-laying and hatching in dabbling ducks. Despite spatial (among-lake) patterns of abundance of emerging chironomids being predictable within and among years, the observed pattern of brood use suggests that other factors, e.g. habitat structure, also affect lake choice.

Survival estimates, mortality patterns, and population growth of Fennoscandian mallards Anas platyrhynchos

Long-term mallard capture—recapture data from Sweden and Finland were analyzed to describe temporal mortality patterns and reasons. We used program MARK and Seber models to estimate annual survival (S) and recovery (r) rates. Survival rates were used in a Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate the correspondence between observed and predicted annual population sizes of a Finnish sub-population. About 90% of recovered birds died from hunting. Most recoveries were from the hunting season, and more males than females were shot. Predation was the most common cause of natural mortality. Finnish capture—recapture data fitted best the global model in which survival and recovery vary with age and sex. Annual survival and recovery rates for adult and juvenile males and females were overlapping, ranging from 0.46 to 0.90 (survival) and 0.07 to 0.17 (recovery), whereas pulli had lower survival rates (0.21–0.42). Pulli that were successfully sexed at the time of ringing had higher recovery rates (female pulli: 0.23; male pulli: 0.32) than juveniles and adults. Density-dependent fledgling production was detected in the Finnish sub-population and was accounted for in the Monte Carlo simulation, which estimated predicted breeding population size quite well, although one of the observed annual values (2003) fell outside the 95% confidence limits.

Habitat use in ducks breeding in boreal freshwater wetlands: a review

Breeding habitats strongly influence duck reproduction and survival. The boreal biome harbours a large share of the world’s wetlands, which are important breeding sites for several duck species. Based on 98 studies in the peer-reviewed literature, we here synthesize and evaluate which habitat characteristics affect habitat use and reproduction of ducks breeding in boreal freshwater wetlands with respect to (1) species and guild (dabbling, diving and piscivorous ducks) and (2) breeding cycle stage (settling by pairs, nesting and brood rearing). We consider the following aspects related to habitat: wetland morphology and spatial aggregation, water characteristics, habitat structure and vegetation, and biotic interactions. Most of the peer-reviewed studies of duck habitat use in boreal wetlands are from North America and Fennoscandia, while nearly half of the boreal area lacks such studies. Few species dominate research thus far while several others have not been studied at all. Nest site use and success are mainly related to predator avoidance. Food resources and habitat structure are the key characteristics affecting habitat use by duck pairs and broods as well as breeding success, although there are differences between duck guilds. Among the commonly studied variables, there is little evidence that water characteristics affect duck habitat use or survival. The most notable knowledge gaps are found in the effects of anthropogenic activities on habitat use and breeding success of ducks. Because boreal breeding environments are increasingly affected by human activities, we underline the need for future studies combining climate variation with natural and anthropogenic disturbances.

Geese as vectors of nitrogen and phosphorus to freshwater systems

Abstract Many goose populations have increased dramatically over the past decades, which may influence inland waters used as roost sites. We reviewed the role of geese in the influx of nitrogen and phosphorus to freshwater systems. Several methods have been used to estimate guanotrophication impacts of geese. Water and sediment analysis have been conducted in areas of high and low geese presence; however, productive wetlands tend to attract more birds, and the causality is therefore ambiguous. Faecal addition experiments have attempted to estimate the impacts of droppings on water chemistry, sediments, algal growth, or invertebrate densities. The most common method of estimating goose guanotrophication is by extrapolation, usually based on multiplication of faecal production and its nutrient content. Based on such studies and those including information about daily migration patterns, we developed an approach to improve estimates of the nutrient contribution of geese. The relative role of geese in wetland eutrophication is also affected by the influx from alternative sources. The greatest guanotrophication impacts are likely found in areas with few alternative nutrient sources and with large goose flocks. Limited inflow and outflow of a freshwater system or a scarcity of wetland roosts may also increase problems at a local scale. Although several studies have looked at the impacts of geese on, for example, water chemistry or soil sediments, the effects are often smaller than expected, in part because no study to date has assessed the ecosystem response by including impacts on all levels, including water nutrient levels, nutrient sedimentation, chlorophyll content, and zooplankton response.

Innate responses of mallard ducklings towards aerial, aquatic and terrestrial predators

Reproductive success in ducks is strongly influenced by predation on the breeding grounds. Ducklings are targeted by a range of terrestrial, aerial and aquatic predators, giving a strong selective ...