Food Availability and Selective Utilization by Juvenile Mallards (Anas Platyrhynchos Platyrhynchos L.) on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah

• Main Author: Chura, Nicholas J.
• Format: Others
• Published: DigitalCommons@USU 1962
• Subjects: Biology
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/326; https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1334&context=etd

This investigation was devoted to a study of food availability and the selective utilization by juvenile mallards (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos L.) from hatching through the flight stage. Such information furnishes basic knowledge which may be used for determining the effects of chemical poisons on these organisms, how breeding ground habitats could be manipulated for their most efficient use by duckling species, what nutrients occur in natural duckling foods, and the digestibility of these items. The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah, was used as the study area during the waterfowl breeding seasons of 1959, 1960, and 1961. Mallard ducklings of all ages were collected on various parts of the refuge, mainly along the dikes where broods were most accessible.