Evaluation of Translocation Criteria for Trumpeter Swans Reintroduced to Northern Utah: Habitat Quality and Interactions with Tundra Swans
Fifty-seven Trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) were translocated to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the Bear River Club Company in northern Utah. The purpose of this effort was to encourage dispersal of the Rocky Mountain population of Trumpeter swans during the winter, and to reestablish...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Text |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
DigitalCommons@USU
1997
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4421 https://doi.org/10.26076/2048-b134 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/context/etd/article/5454/viewcontent/1997_Engelhardt_Katharina.pdf |
id |
ftutahsudc:oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-5454 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftutahsudc:oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-5454 2023-08-27T04:09:07+02:00 Evaluation of Translocation Criteria for Trumpeter Swans Reintroduced to Northern Utah: Habitat Quality and Interactions with Tundra Swans Engelhardt, Katharina A. M. 1997-05-01T07:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4421 https://doi.org/10.26076/2048-b134 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/context/etd/article/5454/viewcontent/1997_Engelhardt_Katharina.pdf unknown DigitalCommons@USU https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4421 doi:10.26076/2048-b134 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/context/etd/article/5454/viewcontent/1997_Engelhardt_Katharina.pdf Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact digitalcommons@usu.edu. All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Evaluation Translocation Criteria Trumpeter Swans Northern Utah Habitat Quality Interactions Tundra Swans Animal Sciences Aquaculture and Fisheries text 1997 ftutahsudc https://doi.org/10.26076/2048-b134 2023-08-10T17:36:52Z Fifty-seven Trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) were translocated to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the Bear River Club Company in northern Utah. The purpose of this effort was to encourage dispersal of the Rocky Mountain population of Trumpeter swans during the winter, and to reestablish a migratory route to southern wintering grounds. I assessed the success of the translocation by evaluating 13 translocation criteria proposed in the literature. In this study I addressed two of these criteria in detail by evaluating habitat quality at the translocation sites and by analyzing potential competitive interactions with Tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus). Habitat quality was determined by analyzing the spatial distribution of sago pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus) tubers in wetland sediments before the fall and after the spring migration of Tundra swans. Sixty-four transects were established within the study sites with 10 sediment cores per transect. Geostatistical procedures were employed to account for autocorrelation between samples. Tuber biomass was not randomly distributed within the studied wetlands. In fact, discrete areas of high values appeared to exist before and after swan foraging . It is not likely that sago pondweed tubers are limiting swan abundance in this system. Thus, the habitat quality of the study sites is sufficient for Trumpeter swan translocation. Potential competitive interactions with Tundra swans were evaluated by examining differences in resource utilization patterns of the two species. I measured body size differences, dietary overlap, resource availability, and the efficiency of extracting available resources. Trumpeter swans appear to benefit from a larger body size and a longer neck because they are more efficient in extracting tubers from the sediment, and are able to exploit tubers to a greater sediment depth than Tundra swans. However, Trumpeter swans incur higher traveling costs due to the larger body size. The trade-off between higher foraging efficiency of Trumpeter ... Text Cygnus columbianus Tundra Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU |
op_collection_id |
ftutahsudc |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Evaluation Translocation Criteria Trumpeter Swans Northern Utah Habitat Quality Interactions Tundra Swans Animal Sciences Aquaculture and Fisheries |
spellingShingle |
Evaluation Translocation Criteria Trumpeter Swans Northern Utah Habitat Quality Interactions Tundra Swans Animal Sciences Aquaculture and Fisheries Engelhardt, Katharina A. M. Evaluation of Translocation Criteria for Trumpeter Swans Reintroduced to Northern Utah: Habitat Quality and Interactions with Tundra Swans |
topic_facet |
Evaluation Translocation Criteria Trumpeter Swans Northern Utah Habitat Quality Interactions Tundra Swans Animal Sciences Aquaculture and Fisheries |
description |
Fifty-seven Trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) were translocated to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the Bear River Club Company in northern Utah. The purpose of this effort was to encourage dispersal of the Rocky Mountain population of Trumpeter swans during the winter, and to reestablish a migratory route to southern wintering grounds. I assessed the success of the translocation by evaluating 13 translocation criteria proposed in the literature. In this study I addressed two of these criteria in detail by evaluating habitat quality at the translocation sites and by analyzing potential competitive interactions with Tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus). Habitat quality was determined by analyzing the spatial distribution of sago pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus) tubers in wetland sediments before the fall and after the spring migration of Tundra swans. Sixty-four transects were established within the study sites with 10 sediment cores per transect. Geostatistical procedures were employed to account for autocorrelation between samples. Tuber biomass was not randomly distributed within the studied wetlands. In fact, discrete areas of high values appeared to exist before and after swan foraging . It is not likely that sago pondweed tubers are limiting swan abundance in this system. Thus, the habitat quality of the study sites is sufficient for Trumpeter swan translocation. Potential competitive interactions with Tundra swans were evaluated by examining differences in resource utilization patterns of the two species. I measured body size differences, dietary overlap, resource availability, and the efficiency of extracting available resources. Trumpeter swans appear to benefit from a larger body size and a longer neck because they are more efficient in extracting tubers from the sediment, and are able to exploit tubers to a greater sediment depth than Tundra swans. However, Trumpeter swans incur higher traveling costs due to the larger body size. The trade-off between higher foraging efficiency of Trumpeter ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Engelhardt, Katharina A. M. |
author_facet |
Engelhardt, Katharina A. M. |
author_sort |
Engelhardt, Katharina A. M. |
title |
Evaluation of Translocation Criteria for Trumpeter Swans Reintroduced to Northern Utah: Habitat Quality and Interactions with Tundra Swans |
title_short |
Evaluation of Translocation Criteria for Trumpeter Swans Reintroduced to Northern Utah: Habitat Quality and Interactions with Tundra Swans |
title_full |
Evaluation of Translocation Criteria for Trumpeter Swans Reintroduced to Northern Utah: Habitat Quality and Interactions with Tundra Swans |
title_fullStr |
Evaluation of Translocation Criteria for Trumpeter Swans Reintroduced to Northern Utah: Habitat Quality and Interactions with Tundra Swans |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evaluation of Translocation Criteria for Trumpeter Swans Reintroduced to Northern Utah: Habitat Quality and Interactions with Tundra Swans |
title_sort |
evaluation of translocation criteria for trumpeter swans reintroduced to northern utah: habitat quality and interactions with tundra swans |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@USU |
publishDate |
1997 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4421 https://doi.org/10.26076/2048-b134 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/context/etd/article/5454/viewcontent/1997_Engelhardt_Katharina.pdf |
genre |
Cygnus columbianus Tundra |
genre_facet |
Cygnus columbianus Tundra |
op_source |
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4421 doi:10.26076/2048-b134 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/context/etd/article/5454/viewcontent/1997_Engelhardt_Katharina.pdf |
op_rights |
Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact digitalcommons@usu.edu. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.26076/2048-b134 |
_version_ |
1775350223734833152 |