Hello all, I am conducting the first field season of my Ph.D. this May and will be surveying Harlequin Duck densities on breeding streams with and without fish in British Columbia and Alberta (see below for a brief project description).
I am looking for any tips for potential field sites. I am particularly interested in tips regarding possible locations of fishless Harlequin Duck breeding streams, since we suspect that these will be more difficult to find. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for potential field sites, or ideas of people I should contact. Much thanks, Emily PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Harlequin duck populations have experienced a slow decline for decades, particularly in Eastern Canada. Population surveys show that recruitment is too low to offset mortality. The widespread introduction of fish to historically fishless breeding streams may be responsible. The presence of fish lowers the availability of aquatic invertebrates by altering anti-predator behaviours including downstream drift, daytime hiding, and nocturnal activity. Lower availability of this key resource may lead to higher female mortality during incubation, or lower productivity or juvenile survival. Both Harlequins and fish are found in higher densities in regions with high invertebrate abundance, but their presences are negatively correlated. As such, breeding streams containing fish may be of lower quality and able to support fewer nesting females than fishless streams. I will determine whether fish lower the quality of breeding streams by quantifying invertebrate abundance, female conditio! n, clutch size, hatching success, fledging success and mean productivity of Harlequins nesting on paired streams with and without fish. Emily M. Whattam Ph.D. Student Centre for Wildlife Ecology, TASC 2 8540 Simon Fraser University Department of Biological Sciences 8888 University Drive Burnaby BC Canada V5C 1S6 (778) 926-5440
