Nesting ecology of waterfowl in a western Great Basin ecosystem
We studied selection of nest locations by duck species in the western Great Basin in relation to several ecological variables, proximity to landscape features, grazing and management, and at a microhabitat and a patch habitat scale. We hypothesized that ducks would select habitats that provided grea...
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| Format: | Dissertation |
| Language: | English |
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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
01-01-2005
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| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | We studied selection of nest locations by duck species in the western Great Basin in relation to several ecological variables, proximity to landscape features, grazing and management, and at a microhabitat and a patch habitat scale. We hypothesized that ducks would select habitats that provided greater protection from predation via concealment and location. Overall, ducks showed strong preference for nesting in habitats in which nests were less accessible and less visible to predators. We also studied nest success of ducks in relation to several ecological variables, grazing and management, patch size, and distance to nearest water, roads and neighboring nests. We hypothesized that nest survival would be higher in preferred habitats than in unpreferred ones. Contrary to prediction, nests were increasingly more vulnerable in preferred habitat that provided substantial cover, suggesting a lack of adaptive choice by nesting ducks in this region over the two years of our study. |
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| ISBN: | 9780542575907 0542575906 |