Abstract
We used time-activity budget techniques to measure foraging behavior of green-winged teal (Anas crecca carolinensis) and mallards (A. platyrhynchos). Observations were made on tidal mudflats in the Atchafalaya River Delta, Louisiana, USA, in the winter of 1994–1995. Green-winged teal spent more diurnal time than mallards foraging (68% vs. 35%). Time spent in different foraging postures also differed between species. Green-winged teal foraged by dabbling 70% of the time and by head-dipping only 28%, of the time. Mallards foraged by dabbling 47% of the time and by head-dipping 47% of the time. Foraging by tipping-up was rare in both species. Mean water depths used by both species when foraging were <5 cm. Most foraging took place near the mud-water interface during ebb and flow tides.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Altmann, J. 1974. Observational study of behaviour: sampling methods. Behaviour 49:227–267.
Chabreck, R. H. 1988. Coastal Marshes. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Chabreck, R. H., B. K. Pilcher, and A. B. Ensiminger. 1983. Growth, production, and wildlife use of delta duckpotatoes in Louisiana. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 30:422–436.
Fredrickson, L. H. and R. D. Drobney. 1979. Habitat utilization by postbreeding waterfowl. p. 119–131. In T. A. Bookhout (ed.) Waterfowl and Wetlands—an Integrated Review. La Crosse Printing Company, La Crosse, WI, USA.
Freund, R. J. and W. J. Wilson. 1993. Statistical Methods. Academic Press, Inc., Boston, MA, USA.
Fuller, D. A., C. E. Sasser, W. B. Johnson, and J. G. Gosselink 1985. The effects of herbivory on vegetation on islands in Atchafalaya Bay. Wetlands 4:105–114.
Gaston, G. R.. 1992. Green-winged teal ingest epibenthic meiofauna. Estuaries 15:227–229.
Goudie, R. I. and C. D. Ankney. 1986. Body size, activity budgets, and diets of sea ducks wintering in Newfoundland. Ecology 67: 1475–1482.
Johnson, W. P. and F. C. Rohwer. 1996. Disturbance of wintering green-winged teal and mallards by raptors. Southwestern Naturalist 41:331–334.
Jorde, D. G., G. L. Krapu, and R. D. Crawford. 1983. Feeding ecology of mallards wintering in Nebraska. Journal of Wildlife Management 47:1044–1053.
Jorde, D. G., G. L. Krapu, R. D. Crawford, and M. A. Hay. 1984. Effects of weather on habitat selection and behavior of mallards wintering in Nebraska. Condor 86:258–265.
Jorde, D. G. and R. B. Owen, Jr. 1988. The need for nocturnal activity and energy budgets of waterfowl. p.169–1180. In M. W. Weller (ed.) Waterfowl in Winter. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Michot, T. C. 1996. Marsh loss in coastal Louisiana: implications for management of North American Anatidae. Gibier Faune Sauvage, Game and Wildlife 13:941–957.
Miller, M. R. 1987. Fall and winter foods of northern pintails in the Sacramento Valley, California. Journal of Wildlife Management 51:405–414.
Morton, J. M., A. C. Fowler, and R. L. Kirkpatrick. 1989. Time and energy budgets of American black ducks in winter. Journal of Wildlife Management 53:401–410.
Nudds, T. D. and J. N. Bowlby. 1984. Predator—prey size relationships in North American dabbling ducks. Canadian Journal of Zoology 62:2002–2008.
Nudds, T. D. and R. M. Kaminski. 1984. Sexual size dimorphism in relation to resource partitioning in North American dabbling ducks. Canadian Journal of Zoology 62:2009–2012.
Paulus, S. A. 1982. Feeding ecology of gadwalls in Louisiana in winter. Journal of Wildlife Management 46:71–79.
Paulus, S. A. 1984a. Activity budgets of nonbreeding gadwalls in Louisiana. Journal of Wildlife Management 48:371–380.
Paulus, S. A. 1984b. Behavioral ecology of mottled ducks in Louisiana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
Pöysä, H. 1983. Morphology-mediated niche organization in a guild of dabbling ducks. Ornis Scandinavica 14:317–326.
Pöysä, H. 1987. Feeding-vigilance trade-off in the teal (Anas crecca): effects of feeding method and predation risk. Behaviour 103: 108–122.
Rave, D. P. and G. A. Baldassarre. 1989. Activity budgets of green-winged teal wintering in coastal wetlands of Louisiana. Journal of Wildlife Management 53:753–759.
Roberts, H. H. and I. Ll. van Heerden. 1982. Reversal of coastal erosion by rapid sedimentation: the Atchafalaya Delta (South-Central Louisiana). p. 214–231. In D. F. Boesch (ed.) Proceedings of the conference on coastal erosion and wetland modification in Louisiana: causes, consequences, and options. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Services Program, Washington, DC, USA, FWS/OBS-82/59.
SAS Institute, Inc. 1990a. SAS/STAT user’s guide, version 6, fourth edition, volume 2. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.
SAS Institute, Inc. 1990b. SAS procedures guide, version 6, third edition. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.
Tamisier, A. 1976. Diurnal activities of green-winged teal and pintail wintering in Louisiana Wildfowl 27:19–32.
Thompson, J. D. and G. A. Baldassarre. 1991. Activity patterns of Nearctic dabbling ducks wintering in Yucatan, Mexico. Auk 108: 934–941.
Zwarts, L. 1976. Density-related processes in feeding dispersion and feeding activity of teal (Anas crecca). Ardea 64: 192–209.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Johnson, W.P., Rohwer, F.C. Foraging behavior of green-winged teal and mallards on tidal mudflats in Louisiana. Wetlands 20, 184–188 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2000)020[0184:FBOGWT]2.0.CO;2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2000)020[0184:FBOGWT]2.0.CO;2