Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Davis, J. Brain

Committee Member

Kaminski, Richard M.

Committee Member

Wiggers, Ernie P.

Date of Degree

12-13-2014

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Forest Resources

Department

Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Abstract

Mottled ducks (Anas fulvigula) are endemic to Gulf Coastal United States and Mexico. Birds from Florida, Louisiana, and Texas were released in coastal South Carolina from 1975-1983, and banding data suggest an expanding South Carolina population. We radio-marked 116 females in August 2010-2011 in the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto (ACE) Rivers Basin and used radio telemetry to study habitat selection, searched for nests of non-radiomarked females, and conducted indicated breeding pair surveys of mottled ducks at various wetlands. Overall, radiomarked mottled duck females selected managed wetland impoundments, wetlands containing planted corn, and brackish wetlands. Overall nest success of 42 nests of unmarked females was 19%. Modeling results indicated that the area of an island on which a nest was located was the only variable influencing nest success. Indicated breeding pair surveys revealed that the size of the wetland was the primary influence of breeding mottled duck immigration into a wetland.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/18976

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