Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mallard Duckling Growth And Survival In Relation To Aquatic Invertebrates, Robert R. Cox, Mark A. Hanson, Christianne C. Roy, Ned H. Euliss Jr., Douglas H. Johnson, Malcolm G. Butler

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Identification and assessment of the relative importance of factors affecting duckling growth and survival are essential for effective management of mallards on breeding areas. For each of 3 years (1993-95), we placed Fl-generation wild mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) females on experimental wetlands and allowed them to mate, nest, and rear broods for 17 days. We manipulated invertebrate densities by introducing fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) at high densities in half of the wetlands on which broods were confined. Day- 17 body mass of surviving ducklings (n = 183) was greater for ducklings that were heavier at hatch; the …