Herbivory on Shoalgrass by Wintering Redheads in Texas
| Autor: | Christine A. Mitchell, Phillip J. Zwank, Thomas W. Custer |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1994 |
| Předmět: |
Herbivore
Aythya Biomass (ecology) Ecology biology Halodule wrightii Growing season biology.organism_classification Anatidae Agronomy Dry weight General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Overwintering Nature and Landscape Conservation General Environmental Science |
| Zdroj: | The Journal of Wildlife Management. 58:131 |
| ISSN: | 0022-541X |
| DOI: | 10.2307/3809559 |
| Popis: | An estimated 80% of redheads (Aythya americana) winter on the Laguna Madre of south Texas and Mexico and feed almost exclusively on shoalgrass (Halodule wrightii) rhizomes. Shoalgrass abundance has decreased by 60% over the past 30 years, and because the effects of shoalgrass loss on wintering redheads are unknown, we initiated a study to define habitat selection criteria and document the effect of wintering redheads on shoalgrass in the lower Laguna Madre, Texas. Redheads consumed an average of 75% of shoalgrass rhizome biomass at collection sites each winter. When rhizome biomass was grazed to a mean biomass of ≤0.18 g dry mass/core (approximately 10 g dry mass/m 2 ), shoalgrass did not recover to its previous level the following growing season |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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