Browsing by Subject "Mallard"
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Item A time budget study of mallards on the Texas High Plains(Texas Tech University, 1985-08) Lee, Sang DonThe playas of the Southern High Plains (SHP) are important habitat for wintering waterfowl. In years of adequate rainfall, wintering waterfowl populations can exceed 1 million birds on the SHP. However, the recent trend toward playa modification for agricultural use is threatening waterfowl habitat in this region. Diurnal activity budgets of wintering mallards were conducted (1 October-31 March, 1983-1984;1984-85) to test differences among activity patterns at 3 habitat types; steep-sided pits, terraced pits, and open lakes. All seven activity patterns were different (P <0.05) among the 3 habitat types for wintering mallards on the SHP of Texas. Terraced pits had the greatest feeding activity (27.8%) and were higher (P <0.001) than steep-sided pits (11.2%) or open lakes (2.6%) even though the latter have an abundance of macroinvertebrates. Hens fed more than drakes (P <0.05). Locomotion (32.2%) and alert (2.8%) behavior across the 3 habitat types showed the highest level during the early morning. Paired mallards rested more (37.9%) than unpaired mallards (25.8%) (P <0.05). Agonistic activity was highest (2.4%) in terraced pits throughout the season. This study suggests that wintering mallards will feed in lakes if food is available, thus potentially balancing a high corn diet.Item From the countryside and city to the edges and interstices : places and spaces of the quotidien in contemporary French film and literature(2013-05) Jones, Claire Catherine; Wettlaufer, AlexandraThis dissertation examines the use of the quotidien (the everyday) in contemporary French film and literature to understand its relationship with notions of place and space. Defined as the paradoxical process of how one repeatedly constructs each day "anew" on a routine basis, the quotidien in the texts of my analysis is not static, but rather a means for articulating changes in French communities and ways of life, while further reflecting ongoing changes to attitudes, politics, and identity. I advance current readings of the quotidien by viewing it as both descriptive, a recurring manifestation of change, as well as transformative, able to effect change. I argue that, in these depictions, the quotidien effectively erodes traditional spatial categories to create and reveal new and less stable versions. Specifically, places lose their real and symbolic sway to indeterminate spaces in which meaning is uncertain, in flux, or non-existent. My dissertation is novel for its interest in tracing the quotidien across spatial categories, so that its chapters move from the more "stable" categories of the rural and the urban to those in more obvious flux, edges and interstices. Chapter 1 studies the depicted quotidiens of rural France in Agnès Varda's film, Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse (2000), and Raymond Depardon and Claudine Nougare's film series, Profils paysans (2000-2008). Chapter 2 investigates the quotidiens of urban centers in Cédric Klapisch's film, Chacun cherche son chat (1996), Patrick Modiano's novel, Dora Bruder (1997), and Laurent Cantet's film, Entre les murs (2008). Chapter 3 examines everyday France at the periphery of Paris in Gérard Gavarry's novel, Hop là! Un deux trois (2001). The Conclusion addresses the emergence of a new space, the interstitial, in which its dwellers float, move, or exist between places on a daily basis, such as a commute to work. I analyze Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas's short film, Loin du 16ème (2006), Abdellatif Kechiche's film, La Graine et le mulet (2007), and Alain-Paul Mallard's film, L'Origine de la tendresse (1999). These mini-ethnographies of French society reveal a France grappling with issues related to globalization, shifting populations, the relative newness of the European Union, and consequently, identity. Who is French, and where does "authentic France" lie?Item Genetic structure, heterozygosity, and energetic patterns in wintering mallard and American wigeon populations on the southern High Plains of Texas(Texas Tech University, 1991-08) Rhodes, Olin EugeneThe objectives of this study were (1) to estimate the relative Wahlund effect observed within and among groups of mallards during migration into the wintering grounds of the Southern High Plains (SHP), and evaluate the relative accumulation of genetic information in the wintering population of mallards that migrate onto the SHP; (2) to determine if lipid reserves or body masses of mallards are correlated to multilocus genetic variation; (3) to determine if carcass component reserves of wintering American wigeon (Anas americana) are affected by demographic or environmental variables; and (4) to determine if carcass component reserves of wintering American wigeon are correlated to multilocus genetic variation. Mallards (n=325) and American wigeon (n=643) were collected from the SHP of Texas from 15 October 1988 to 15 March 1989. Lipid and body masses were estimated for mallards. Body mass and masses of carcass components (lipid, protein, mineral, and water) were estimated for American wigeon. Mallards and American wigeon were surveyed electrophoretically for genetic variation at 30 and 25 loci, respectively. Mallards and American wigeon had high levels of genetic variation compared to estimates for waterfowl or avian species in general. The genetic information obtained for wintering mallards exhibited a deficiency of heterozygotes (11.7%), which is indicative of the presence of a mixture of genetically heterogeneous populations in the wintering sample. Mallards carrying significant amounts of new genetic information arrived into the wintering area until at least the middle of December. Mallard populations may be structured genetically over their breeding range to a greater extent than has been previously thought. Multilocus genetic variation was correlated negatively with body mass and carcass component reserves in mallards and American wigeon of different sex and age groups. This may indicate that birds with different genetic characteristics have different metabolic efficiencies or growth potentials. The relationships detected between genetic and functional characteristics in these wintering mallards and American wigeon are the first documented for any waterfowl species. Carcass components of American wigeon varied significantly over the wintering period, and overwinter changes in carcass component reserves were different among birds of various sex and age groups. American wigeon of different sexes and ages maintain fat and protein reserves of proportionally different sizes, and use those reserves at different rates.Item Predictive modeling of migratory waterfowl(2011-08) Kreakie, Betty Jane; Keitt, Timothy H.; Gilbert, Lawrence; Meyers, Lauren; Singer, Michael; Yang, Zong-LiangSeveral factors have contributed to impeding the progress of migratory waterfowl spatial modeling, such as (1) waterfowl’s reliance on wetlands, (2) lack of understanding about shifts in distributions through time, and (3) large-scale seasonal migration. This doctoral dissertation provides an array of tools to address each of these concerns in order to better understand and conserve this group of species. The second chapter of this dissertation addresses issues of modeling species dependent on wetlands, a dynamic and often ephemeral habitat type. Correlation models of the relationships between climatic variables and species occurrence will not capture the full habitat constraints of waterfowl. This study introduces a novel data source that explicitly models the depth to water table, which is a simulated long-term measure of the point where climate and geological/topographic water fluxes balance. The inclusion of the depth to water table data contributes significantly to the ability to predict species probability of occurrence. Furthermore, this data source provides advantages over traditional proxies for wetland habitat, because it is not a static measure of wetland location, and is not biased by sampling method. Utilizing the long-term banding bird data again, the third chapter examines the behavior of waterfowl niche selection through time. By using the methods developed in chapter two, probability of occurrence models for the 1950s and the 1990s were developed. It was then possible to detect movements in geographic and environmental space, and how movements in these two spaces are related. This type of analysis provides insight into how different bird species might respond to environment changes and potentially improve climate change forecasts. The final chapter presents a new method for predicting the migratory movement of waterfowl. The method incorporates not only the environmental constraints of stopover habitat, but also includes likely distance and bearing traveled from a source point. This approach uses the USGS’ banding bird database; more specifically, it relies on banding locations, which have multiple recoveries within short time periods. Models made from these banding locations create a framework of migration movement, and allow for predictions to be made from locations where no banding/recovery data are available.Item Winter condition of mallards on the Southern High Plains of Texas(Texas Tech University, 1983-08) Whyte, Richard JohnMallards arriving on the Southern High Plains of Texas in the fall are in poorer condition, with less lipid and protein and lover body weights, than birds during the winter. Adults gained lipids and some protein and were heaviest in early and mid-winter, but juveniles did not show the same degree of gain. Whereas lipid gains were substantial, protein remained stable after the initial increase. Adult hens showed relatively greater lipid gains, and wintered in better condition than other mallards. Cold fronts and thermal stress in November did not affect lipid and body weight gains of adults. During late winter, mallards, except for juvenile drakes, depleted lipids for thermogenesis and lost weight when thermal stress was greatest. Cold fronts in January and February added to this effect. Estimates of mallard survival potential decreased by 1 day with each 10 degree Celsius drop in ambient temperature. Mortality of mallards on the Southern High Plains of Texas related to condition-stress was considered to be a minor factor in overall winter mortality. Mallards departed in the spring with high lipid reserves and heavy body weights Overall, mallards wintering in the region were in excellent condition between October and March, after the initial gains from their poor condition in the fall. Abundant waste-corn and intermittent cold fronts rather than prolonged cold spells allowed mallards to maintain this status. Condition indices were formulated for use in body condition assessment of mallards. Wet-skin weight was found to be the best predictor of mallard lipid reserves.