Causes and Spatial Patterns of Predation on Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Nests Along Hudson Bay
During the summer of 2014, I monitored a common eider duck (Somateria mollissima) colony nesting in La Perouse Bay, which is located on the southwestern shores of Hudson Bay, Canada. The colony consisted of 169 nests and predators ate every egg before a single duckling hatched. Employing visual obse...
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ftunivmontana:oai:scholarworks.umt.edu:utpp-1123 2023-07-16T03:56:56+02:00 Causes and Spatial Patterns of Predation on Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Nests Along Hudson Bay Moore, Neil 2016-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholarworks.umt.edu/utpp/116 https://scholarworks.umt.edu/context/utpp/article/1123/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf unknown ScholarWorks at University of Montana https://scholarworks.umt.edu/utpp/116 https://scholarworks.umt.edu/context/utpp/article/1123/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts Canada predation duck nesting Other Animal Sciences text 2016 ftunivmontana 2023-06-27T22:59:46Z During the summer of 2014, I monitored a common eider duck (Somateria mollissima) colony nesting in La Perouse Bay, which is located on the southwestern shores of Hudson Bay, Canada. The colony consisted of 169 nests and predators ate every egg before a single duckling hatched. Employing visual observation and motion-activated game cameras, I monitored when and how nests failed. Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) preyed upon 65% of the nests, making them the main predator for the eider ducks. Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) were the second most common predator, while herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and polar bears (Ursus maritimus) preyed upon fewer. Each predator species attacked nests across the colony rather than specializing in a specific area or density of nests. These patterns of predation and how they change across years can help scientists predict the future vulnerabilities of eider duck colonies in Hudson Bay. The goals of this study were to build on a 43-year long dataset of common eider nest success at La Perouse Bay as well as add detail as to what predators preyed upon nests and where. Text Arctic Common Eider Hudson Bay Somateria mollissima Ursus maritimus Vulpes lagopus University of Montana: ScholarWorks Arctic Canada Hudson Hudson Bay |
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University of Montana: ScholarWorks |
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Canada predation duck nesting Other Animal Sciences |
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Canada predation duck nesting Other Animal Sciences Moore, Neil Causes and Spatial Patterns of Predation on Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Nests Along Hudson Bay |
topic_facet |
Canada predation duck nesting Other Animal Sciences |
description |
During the summer of 2014, I monitored a common eider duck (Somateria mollissima) colony nesting in La Perouse Bay, which is located on the southwestern shores of Hudson Bay, Canada. The colony consisted of 169 nests and predators ate every egg before a single duckling hatched. Employing visual observation and motion-activated game cameras, I monitored when and how nests failed. Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) preyed upon 65% of the nests, making them the main predator for the eider ducks. Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) were the second most common predator, while herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and polar bears (Ursus maritimus) preyed upon fewer. Each predator species attacked nests across the colony rather than specializing in a specific area or density of nests. These patterns of predation and how they change across years can help scientists predict the future vulnerabilities of eider duck colonies in Hudson Bay. The goals of this study were to build on a 43-year long dataset of common eider nest success at La Perouse Bay as well as add detail as to what predators preyed upon nests and where. |
format |
Text |
author |
Moore, Neil |
author_facet |
Moore, Neil |
author_sort |
Moore, Neil |
title |
Causes and Spatial Patterns of Predation on Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Nests Along Hudson Bay |
title_short |
Causes and Spatial Patterns of Predation on Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Nests Along Hudson Bay |
title_full |
Causes and Spatial Patterns of Predation on Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Nests Along Hudson Bay |
title_fullStr |
Causes and Spatial Patterns of Predation on Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Nests Along Hudson Bay |
title_full_unstemmed |
Causes and Spatial Patterns of Predation on Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Nests Along Hudson Bay |
title_sort |
causes and spatial patterns of predation on common eider (somateria mollissima) nests along hudson bay |
publisher |
ScholarWorks at University of Montana |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/utpp/116 https://scholarworks.umt.edu/context/utpp/article/1123/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Hudson Hudson Bay |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Hudson Hudson Bay |
genre |
Arctic Common Eider Hudson Bay Somateria mollissima Ursus maritimus Vulpes lagopus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Common Eider Hudson Bay Somateria mollissima Ursus maritimus Vulpes lagopus |
op_source |
Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts |
op_relation |
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/utpp/116 https://scholarworks.umt.edu/context/utpp/article/1123/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf |
_version_ |
1771543461099470848 |