Waterfowl Populations and Limnologic Characteristics of Taiga Ponds

A study of duck habitat use patterns and limnology in eastern interior Alaska revealed that ponds hydrologically connected to a creek system had greater use by ducks and higher levels of most nutrients and ions than those hydrologically isolated from a system. Phosphate levels was the best limnologi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of wildlife management 1984-01, Vol.48 (4), p.1156-1163
Main Authors: Murphy, Stephen M., Kessel, Brina, Vining, Leonard J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatidae
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Aquatic habitats
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Censuses
Ducks
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hydrology
Limnology
Nitrites
Phosphates
Ponds
Vertebrata
Waterfowl
Wetlands
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Summary:A study of duck habitat use patterns and limnology in eastern interior Alaska revealed that ponds hydrologically connected to a creek system had greater use by ducks and higher levels of most nutrients and ions than those hydrologically isolated from a system. Phosphate levels was the best limnologic characteristic for discriminating between connected and isolated ponds. Levels of both phosphate and nitrite were highly correlated with levels of duck use, and both emerged in regression equations as predictors of duck species richness (R2=0.94) and duck density (R2=0.79). Hydrologic connection with a creek system appeared to be the key link in the nutrient dynamics of the system and was reflected in the patterns of habitat use by ducks.
ISSN:0022-541X
1937-2817
DOI:10.2307/3801776