Third North American SeaDuck Conference 2008
Seventy Abstracts of the Third North American Sea Duck Conference,
presented10-14 November 2008 Quebec City, Monteal, Canada
Seventy Abstracts of the Third North American Sea Duck Conference,
presented10-14 November 2008 Quebec City, Monteal, Canada
One hundred and five Abstracts of the Second North American Sea Duck Conference presented
in Annapolis Maryland 7-11 November, 2005
One hundred and eighteen Abstracts of the First North American Sea Duck Workshop and Conference
presented in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 6-10 November, 2002
Condo (2007) Volume: 109, Issue: 1, Pages: 216-222
Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation 150 pages
Abstract or Introduction
Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park,
Abstract
Diving ducks wintering in Chesapeake Bay during the last 50 years have accounted for 23% of Atlantic Flyway and 9% of North American populations based on aerial surveys. Continental and local factors have affected these population changes. Loss of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) due to degradation of water quality, has been a contributing factor, although, many other factors related to human population increases have been implicated in the changes in the distribution and abundance of diving ducks.
Introduction: Historically, the Chesapeake Bay has been a major wintering area for seaducks. Based on aerial surveys, three species of seaducks, surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata), black scoters (Melanitta nigra), and long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis), have shown major declines in recent years. One possible explanation for this decline is a reduction of available food items.Data indicates that surf and black scoters likely feed at depths ranging from 10 to 30 feet in the mesohaline region of the Chesapeake Bay.
Numbers of scoters (black, surf, and white-winged) and long-tailed ducks wintering in the Maritime provinces of Canada and the Chesapeake Bay (MD and VA, USA) have noticeably declined in recent years. Common goldeneye populations have also declined, but bufflehead populations have increased in numbers.
Behavioral Responses to Decreasing Day Length in Wintering Sea Ducks
Geir H. Systad, Jan O. Bustnes and Kjell E. Erikstad
The Auk
Vol. 117, No. 1 (Jan., 2000), pp. 33-40
(article consists of 8 pages)
Abstract