Size matters: wintering ducks stay longer and use fewer habitats on largest Chinese lakes  

作　　者：Fanjuan Meng Hongbin Li Xin Wang Lei Fang Xianghuang Li Lei Cao Anthony David Fox 

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology,Research Center for Eco‑Environmental Sciences,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100085,China [2]University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China [3]School of Life Sciences,University of Science and Technology of China,Hefei 230026,China [4]Department of Bioscience,Aarhus University,Aarhus,Denmark

出　　处：《Avian Research》2019年第4期415-422,共8页鸟类学研究（英文版）

基　　金：supported by National Key Research and Development Program(2016YFC0500406);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.31661143027,31670424,31870369);the Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Strategic Program,Water Ecological Security Assessment,the Major Research Strategy for Middle and Lower Yangtze River(Grant No.ZDRW-ZS-2017-3-3);China Biodiversity Observation Networks(Sino BON)

摘　　要：Background:Evidence suggests that wintering waterbirds have become conspicuously more concentrated at two largest lakes of the Yangtze River Floodplain,East Dong Ting Lake(Hunan Province,29°20′N,113°E)and Poyang Lake(Jiangxi Province,29°N,116°20′E),relative to other lakes,despite the establishment of reserves elsewhere.While this relationship is likely due to greater extent of undisturbed habitats in larger lakes,we understand little of the drivers affecting individual behaviours behind this tendency.Methods:We tracked wintering movements of three duck species(Eurasian Wigeon Mareca penelope,Falcated Duck M.falcata and Northern Pintail Anas acuta)using GPS transmitters,examining differences between the two largest lakes and other smaller lakes in ducks’habitat use,duration of stay at each lake and the daily distances moved by the tagged birds while at these sites.Results:The Eurasian Wigeon and Falcated Duck stayed five times longer and almost exclusively used natural habitat types at the two large lakes(91‒95%of positions)compared to length of stay time at smaller lakes,where they spent 28‒33 days on average(excluding the capture site)and exploited many more different habitats(including c.50%outside lakes).Conclusions:Our study is the first to show that shorter length of stay and more varied habitat use by ducks at small lakes may contribute to explaining the apparent regional concentration of numbers present of these and other species at the largest lakes in recent years.This compares with their declining abundance at smaller lakes,where habitat loss and degradation has been more manifest than on the larger lakes.Background:Evidence suggests that wintering waterbirds have become conspicuously more concentrated at two largest lakes of the Yangtze River Floodplain,East Dong Ting Lake(Hunan Province,29°20’N,113°E) and Poyang Lake(Jiangxi Province,29°N,116°20’E),relative to other lakes,despite the establishment of reserves elsewhere.While this relationship is likely due to greater extent of undisturbed habitats in larger lakes,we understand little of the drivers affecting individual behaviours behind this tendency.Methods:We tracked wintering movements of three duck species(Eurasian Wigeon Mareca penelope,Falcated Duck M.falcata and Northern Pintail Anas acuta) using GPS transmitters,examining differences between the two largest lakes and other smaller lakes in ducks’ habitat use,duration of stay at each lake and the daily distances moved by the tagged birds while at these sites.Results:The Eurasian Wigeon and Falcated Duck stayed five times longer and almost exclusively used natural habitat types at the two large lakes(91-95% of positions) compared to length of stay time at smaller lakes,where they spent 28-33 days on average(excluding the capture site) and exploited many more different habitats(including c.50%outside lakes).Conclusions:Our study is the first to show that shorter length of stay and more varied habitat use by ducks at small lakes may contribute to explaining the apparent regional concentration of numbers present of these and other species at the largest lakes in recent years.This compares with their declining abundance at smaller lakes,where habitat loss and degradation has been more manifest than on the larger lakes.

关 键 词：Anas acuta GPS/GSM telemetry Mareca falcata Mareca penelope Winter residency time Yangtze River Floodplain 

分 类 号：F42[经济管理—产业经济]