Habitat use by male mink in relation to wetland characteristics and avian prey abundances

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 2205-2208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd W. Arnold ◽  
Erik K. Fritzell
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Prey Selection ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Dabbling Ducks ◽  
Diving Ducks ◽  
Habitat Overlap ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Habitat Variables ◽  
Wetland Use

We documented use of wetland habitats by five radio-marked male mink (Mustela vison) in the aspen parklands of southwestern Manitoba during May–July of 1984 and 1985. Mink activity was most frequent on large, well-flooded, semipermanent and permanent wetlands with irregular shorelines and large areas of open water. These variables were also positively correlated with abundances of waterfowl and other birds. Habitat variables explained 26% of the variation in wetland use by male mink. Grebes, coots, and diving ducks had high habitat overlap with mink, whereas dabbling ducks and blackbirds overlapped little with mink. Bird abundances explained nearly as much variation in habitat use by mink as did physical habitat variables (R2 = 0.24), but some of this association may have been due to selection for (or avoidance of) similar habitats. Combined analysis with habitat and avifaunal variables explained 31% of the variation in wetland use by male mink. Patterns of habitat use by mink and avian prey may help explain previously documented trends of prey selection among prairie mink.

scholarly journals Diurnal behaviour and habitat use of nonbreeding Marbled Teal, Marmaronetta angustirostris

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (12) ◽  
pp. 2112-2118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy J Green ◽  
Mustapha El Hamzaoui
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Steady Increase ◽  
Dabbling Ducks ◽  
Courtship Activity ◽  
Behaviour Type ◽  
Primitive Member ◽  
Diurnal Behaviour ◽  
Selection Of

The diurnal behaviour and habitat use of the globally threatened Marbled Teal, Marmaronetta angustirostris, were studied in Morocco and Spain from October to March. This is the first study of nonbreeding Marbled Teal, the most primitive member of the pochards (tribe Aythyini). Like other Aythyini, Marbled Teal pair relatively late: only 35% of individuals were paired by mid-March. Feeding was mainly nocturnal, and less than 2% of daytime was spent feeding from November to March. Feeding behaviour was similar to that of dabbling ducks (tribe Anatini). A steady increase in swimming activity from October to March was related to increased courtship activity and raptor-avoidance behaviour. Teal selected areas close to the shoreline and avoided open water. Selection of shoreline habitats and distance to shoreline covaried with month and behaviour type. The Marbled Teal is an aberrant pochard with a stronger ecological affinity with the Anatini.

Activity Patterns, Habitat Use, and Prey Selection by Some African Insectivorous Bats

Biotropica ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. Fenton ◽  
N. G. H. Boyle ◽  
T. M. Harrison ◽  
D. J. Oxley
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Prey Selection ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Insectivorous Bats

Body and organ mass dynamics during remigial moult in a wing–foot-propelled diving sea duck: the Common Eider (Atlantic) (Somateria mollissima dresseri)

2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (10) ◽  
pp. 755-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Viain ◽  
M. Guillemette ◽  
J.-P.L. Savard
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Flight Muscle ◽  
Somateria Mollissima ◽  
Dabbling Ducks ◽  
Diving Ducks ◽  
Common Eiders ◽  
Sea Duck ◽  
Remigial Moult ◽  
Atrophy Of The Heart

Body and organ dynamics, during remigial moult, have been mainly explored on geese, dabbling ducks, and foot-propelled diving ducks, but weakly on sea ducks. This study investigated the internal changes in a wing–foot-propelled sea duck to determine the adaptive strategies implemented. Forty-five male Common Eiders (Atlantic) (Somateria mollissima dresseri Sharpe, 1871), collected in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, were dissected; their body mass, muscle mass, and organ sizes were measured. We tested three hypotheses: (1) S. m. dresseri use a strategic reduction of body mass to reduce the flightlessness duration; (2) organs will exhibit changes consistent with a trade-off between function and maintenance to save and reallocate energy and proteins to feather growth; (3) S. m. dresseri would show lower flight muscle reduction than foot-propelled diving ducks. Somateria mollissima dresseri did not lose body mass, which does not support the first hypothesis. Atrophy of the heart followed by hypertrophy and opposite changes in leg muscle mass and gizzard mass are consistent with the second hypothesis. Flight muscle mass showed lower variations than in other ducks, validating the third hypothesis. We also suggest that the lipid depletion observed early in the moult could be a strategy to reduce foraging effort and minimize the risk of damaging the growing feathers.

Summer stream habitat preferences of Nunavik anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) fry and parr

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Dubos ◽  
André St-Hilaire ◽  
Normand E Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Salvelinus Alpinus ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Arctic Char ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Stream Habitat ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
High Plasticity ◽  
Slow Velocity

Arctic char is a fish species known to occupy diverse habitats within the Arctic region. However, summer habitat use during the juvenile stage of the anadromous form is largely unknown. The present study aims to characterize fry and parr summer habitat preferences. Surveys were conducted by electrofishing, associated with physical habitat characterization on several rivers of the Ungava Bay, Nunavik, Canada. At the microhabitat and station scales, fry showed significant habitat preferences for shallow water and slow velocity. At the mesohabitat scale, fry showed a significant habitat selectivity for riffles. This habitat selectivity implies that habitat models can be built to evaluate the potential of habitat suitability for Arctic char fry. However, no significant habitat selectivity was found for parr. Parr size was nonetheless positively correlated with velocity, which was found to be a limitative factor for juvenile habitat use. This first attempt at modeling juvenile anadromous Arctic char habitat in rivers emphasizes the importance of selecting an appropriate spatial scale and reiterates the fact that parr showed relatively high plasticity in stream habitat selection.

scholarly journals Green Sturgeon Physical Habitat Use in the Coastal Pacific Ocean

PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. e25156 ◽  
Author(s):  
David D. Huff ◽  
Steven T. Lindley ◽  
Polly S. Rankin ◽  
Ethan A. Mora
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Green Sturgeon

scholarly journals Edge-habitat Use by Northwestern Gartersnakes (Thamnophis ordinoides) in Saanich, British Columbia

2017 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
Graham P. Dixon-MacCallum ◽  
Katie A.H. Bell ◽  
Patrick T. Gregory
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Habitat Requirements ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Edge Habitat ◽  
Initial Assumption ◽  
Important Habitat ◽  
Habitat Variables

Understanding habitat requirements of species is fundamental for their conservation and urban parks can provide key habitat for species in otherwise disturbed settings. Northwestern Gartersnakes (Thamnophis ordinoides) are common in parks in Saanich, British Columbia, but their specific habitat requirements are poorly understood. Based on previous studies and thermoregulatory needs of snakes, we predicted that edges, particularly field margins, would be heavily used by active snakes. We therefore used surveys that focused on edges to find snakes and measured edge-habitat use by comparing habitat variables at locations where snakes were found to the same variables at nearby random locations. Habitat variables included composition and structure of vegetation, substrate temperature, aspect, and slope. Overall, litter depth, canopy cover, a lack of bare ground and woody vegetation were the most important habitat variables for determining where snakes were found. our results provide a preliminary assessment to improve our understanding of habitat use for this species. The abundance of snakes found while surveying edges supports our initial assumption that edges are important habitat features but more work is required using multiple survey methods to further test this hypothesis.

Comparative migration, growth and development of Typhlocoelum cucumerinum sisowi in dabbling ducks and Typhlocoelum cucumerinum cucumerinum in diving ducks

Parasitology ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn E. Scott ◽  
M. E. Rau ◽  
J. D. McLaughlin
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life Span ◽  
Definitive Host ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Abdominal Cavity ◽  
Dabbling Ducks ◽  
Diving Ducks ◽  
Air Sacs ◽  
Aythya Valisineria

SUMMARYExperimental infections of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos L.) with Typhlocoelum cucumerinum sisowi (Skrjabin, 1913) and of canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria (Wilson)) with Typhlocoelum cucumerinum cucumerinum (Rudolphi, 1809) revealed significant differences in various parameters of the life-cycle in the definitive host. Both T. c. sisowi and T. c. cucumerinum migrate to the trachea via the abdominal cavity, air sacs and lungs, although T. c. cucumerinum migrate more quickly and more synchronously than T. c. sisowi. Typhlocoelum c. sisowi has a shorter expected life-span than T. c. cucumerinum but grows and reaches maturity more quickly than T. c. cucumerinum. Evidence suggests that T. c. cucumerinum has a higher fecundity than T. c. sisowi. These differences in the patterns of migration, growth and development are related not only to differences between the two host species but also to differences intrinsic to the parasites, and serve to provide biological support for considering them as separate sub-species.

Scale-dependent habitat selection in three didelphid marsupials using the spool-and-line technique in the Atlantic forest of Brazil

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maíra C. Moura ◽  
Alice C. Caparelli ◽  
Simone R. Freitas ◽  
Marcus V. Vieira
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Direction Change ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Habitat Scale ◽  
Didelphis Aurita ◽  
Metachirus Nudicaudatus ◽  
Habitat Variables

Habitat selection can be detected at different scales. For small mammals, habitat studies normally evaluate micro- or meso-habitat selection, but rarely are multiple scales analysed simultaneously. These studies use quantitative data of structural characteristics around the trap stations to evaluate selection. We test an alternative method to evaluate habitat selection in three didelphid marsupials (Didelphis aurita, Philander frenatus and Metachirus nudicaudatus), using a spool-and-line device, and measure habitat selection at two spatial scales. Habitat was characterized by seven habitat variables measured at ten points of direction change along the path traversed by each individual, and at 25 trap stations distributed in a 1-ha area. Micro-habitat selection was estimated at each point by comparing habitat measures between the direction selected against other directions. Meso-habitat selection was estimated by comparing habitat measurements on the whole path of an individual against habitat measures on the 25 trap stations. Patterns of selection for each species could only be detected at the meso-habitat scale, although a few individuals in each species were selective at the micro-habitat scale. Studies of habitat selection need to address the scale of study quantitatively, if possible comparing two or more scales to determine the scale of selection.

Habitat Use by Sminthopsis-Crassicaudata, Planigale-Gilesi and Planigale-Tenuirostris (Marsupialia, Dasyuridae) in Semiarid New-South-Wales

1987 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 385 ◽  
Author(s):  
DG Read
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Sminthopsis Crassicaudata ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Soil Cracks ◽  
Habitat Variables

Habitat use by Sminthopsis crassicaudata, Planigale gilesi and P. tenuirostris was investigated in the arid zone of New South Wales. All species showed considerable flexibility in habitat use at all times, and abundance was poorly predicted from easily measured parameters of the habitat. However, evidence was found for separation of microhabitat among these sympatric species. Multiple regression analysis indicated that abundance of S. crassicaudata was negatively associated with height of vegetation and the depth and density of soil cracks, and that of P. gilesi was positively associated with these habitat variables. Plant height was positively associated with abundance of P. tenuirostris and it was the only important predictor for this species. These results are discussed in conjunction with trapping records from other habitats.

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