Skip to main content
Log in

Responses of wetland invertebrates and plants important in waterfowl diets to burning and mowing of emergent vegetation

  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We examined the responses of invertebrates and plants important in waterfowl diets to two management methods (prescribed burning and mowing) commonly used in seasonal wetlands. Experimental plots were constructed in summer 1992 in stands of saltgrass (Distichlis spicata); 50% of the vegetation was removed in treatment areas (10 m × 10 m) by either burning or mowing. After the plots were flooded, we sampled aquatic invertebrates monthly from November 1992 through February 1993. In August 1993, we sampled plants that grew in areas that had been burned or mowed. Burning and mowing treatments had very different results. Many numerically dominant macroinvertebrates and microinvertebrates had higher densities in burned treatment areas than in unmanipulated control areas, but densities of most taxa were not different in mowed treatment areas and control areas. Copepod densities were lower in burned treatment areas and oligochaete densities were lower in mowed treatment areas than in control areas. Midge (Diptera: Chironomidae) biomass was higher in burned and mowed treatment areas than in control areas. Plant species richness and percent cover of some plant taxa were higher in burned areas than in control areas. Many of the invertebrates and plants we sampled are important in waterfowl diets, and our results indicate that these methods can enhance waterfowl food resources.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature cited

  • Allison, S.K. 1995. Recovery from small-scale anthropogenic disturbances by northern California salt marsh plant assemblages. Ecological Applications 5:693–702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batzer, D.P. and V.H. Resh. 1992a. Wetland management strategies that enhance waterfowl habitats can also control mosquitoes. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 8:117–125.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Batzer, D.P. and V.H. Resh. 1992b. Macroinvertebrates of a California seasonal wetland and responses to experimental habitat manipulation. Wetlands 12:1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batzer, D.P., M. McGee, V.H. Resh, and R.R. Smith. 1993. Characteristics of invertebrates consumed by mallards and prey response to wetland flooding schedules. Wetlands 13:41–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bookhout, T.A., K.E. Bednarik, and R.W. Kroll. 1989. The Great Lakes marshes. p. 131–156.In L.N. Smith, R.L. Pederson, and R.M. Kaminski (eds.) Habitat Management for Migrating and Wintering Waterfowl in North America. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, TX, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connelly, D.P., and D.L. Chesemore. 1980. Food habits of pintails,Anas acuta, wintering on seasonally flooded wetlands in the northern San Joaquin Valley, California. California Fish and Game 66:233–237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daubenmire, R. 1968. Plant Communities: A Textbook of Plant Synecology. Harper and Row, Publishers, New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Szalay, F.A., D.P. Batzer, E.B. Schlossberg, and V.H. Resh. 1995. A comparison of small and large scale experiments examining the effects of wetland management practices on mosquito densities. Proceedings California Mosquito and Vector Control Association 63:86–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Szalay, F.A., D.P. Batzer, and V.H. Resh. 1996. Mesocosm and macrocosm experiments to examine effects of mowing emergent vegetation on wetland invertebrates. Environmental Entomology 25:303–309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diiro, B.W. 1982. Effects of burning and mowing on seasonal whitetop ponds in southern Manitoba M.S. Thesis. Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Euliss, N.H. and G. Grodhaus. 1987. Management of midges and other invertebrates for waterfowl wintering in California. California Fish and Game 73:238–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Euliss, N.H. and S.W. Harris. 1987. Feeding ecology of northern pintails, and green-winged teal wintering in California. Journal of Wildlife Management 51:724–732.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Euliss, N.H., R.L. Jarvis, and D.S. Gilmer. 1991. Feeding ecology of waterfowl wintering on evaporation ponds in California. Condor 93:582–590.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hackney, C.T. and A.A. de la Cruz. 1981. Effects of fire on brackish marsh communities: management implications. Wetlands 1:75–86..

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heitmeyer, M.E. and L.H. Fredrickson. 1981. Do wetland conditions in the Mississippi Delta hardwoods influence mallard recruitment? p. 44–57.In K. Sabol (ed.) Transactions of the Forty-Sixth North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference. Wildlife Management Institute, Washington, DC, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heitmeyer, M.E., D.P. Connelly, and R.L. Pederson. 1989. The Central, Imperial, and Coachella Valleys of California. p. 475–505.In L.M. Smith, R.L. Pederson, and R.M. Kaminski (eds.) Habitat Management for Migratory and Wintering Waterfowl in North America. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, TX, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herndon, A., L. Gunderson, and J. Stenberg. 1991. Sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) survival in a regime of fire and flooding. Wetlands 11:17–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hindman, L.J. and V.D. Stotts. 1989. Chesapeak Bay and North Carolina Sounds. p. 27–55.In L.N. Smith, R.L. Pederson, and R.M. Kaminski (eds.) Habitat Management for Migrating and Wintering Waterfowl in North America. Texas Techn University Press, Lubbock, TX, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joyner, D.E. 1980. Influence of invertebrates on pond selection by ducks in Ontario. Journal of Wildlife Management 44:700–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaminski, R.M. and H.H. Prince. 1981. Dabbling duck and aquatic macroinvertebrate responses to manipulated wetland habitat. Journal Wildlife Management 45:1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krapu, G.L. 1974. Foods of breeding pintails in North Dakota. Journal of Wildlife Management 38:408–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krapu, G.L. 1981. The role of nutrient reserves in mallard reproduction. Auk 98:29–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laubhan, M.K. 1995. Effects of prescribed fire on moist-soil vegetation and soil macronutrients. Wetlands 15:159–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mall, R.E. 1969. Soil-water-salt relationships of waterfowl food plants in the Suisum Marsh of California, California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA, USA. Wildlife Bulletin No 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, M.R. 1987. Fall and winter foods of northern pintails in the Sacramento Valley, California. Journal of Wildlife Management 51:405–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murkin, H.R. and J.A. Kadlec. 1986. Relationships between waterfowl and macroinvertebrate densities in a northern prairie marsh. Journal of Wildlife Management 50:212–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murkin, H.R., R.M. Kaminski, and R.D. Titman. 1982. Reponses by dabbling ducks and aquatic invertebrates to an experimentally manipulated cattail marsh. Canadian Journal of Zoology 60:2324–2332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nudds, T.D. and J.N. Bowlby. 1984. Predator-prey size relationships in North American dabbling ducks. Canadian Journal of Zoology 62:2002–2008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owen, M. 1971. The selection of feeding site by white-fronted geese in winter. Journal of Applied Ecology 8:905–917.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owen, M. 1975. Cutting and fertilizing grassland for winter goose management. Journal of Wildlife Management 39:163–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pederson, R.L., D.G. Jorde, and S.G. Simpson. 1989. Northern Great Plains. p. 281–310.In L.N. Smith, R.L. Pederson, and R.M. Kaminski (eds.) Habitat Management for Migrating and Wintering Waterfowl in North America. Texas Tech University Press. Lubbock, TX, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rollins, G.L. 1981. A guide to waterfowl habitat management in Suisun Marsh. California Department of Fish and Game Publication. Sacramento, CA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L.M. and J.A. Kadlec. 1985. Comparison of prescribed burning and cutting of Utah marsh plants. Great Basin Naturalist 45:463–466.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swanson, G.A. 1988. Aquatic habitats of breeding waterfowl. p. 195–203.In D.L. Hook (ed.) The Ecology and Management of Wetlands. Croom Helm Ltd., Kent, England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swiderek, P.K., A.S. Johnson, P.E. Hale, and R.L. Joyner. 1988. Production, management, and waterfowl use of sea purslane, gulf coast muskgrass, and widgeongrass in brackish impoundments. p. 441–457.In M.W. Weller (ed.) Waterfowl in Winter. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Valk, A.G. 1986. The impact of litter and annual plants on recruitment from the seed bank of a lacustrine wetland. Aquatic Botany 24:13–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, F.L., M.A. Tidwell, D.C. Williams, and K.A. Jackson, 1990. Effects of controlled burning onAedes taeniorhynchus eggs in an abandoned rice impoundment in South Carolina. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 6:528–529.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, P. 1968. Fire in relation to waterfowl habitat of the Delta Marshes. Proceedings Annual Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference 8:254–267.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weller, M.W. and C.E. Spatcher. 1965. Role of habitat in the distribution and abundance of marsh birds. Iowa Agricultural and Home Economics Experimental Station, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA. Special Report No. 43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whittle, R.K., K.J. Linthicum, P.C. Thande, J.N. Wagati, C.M. Kamau, and C.R. Roberts. 1993. Effect of controlled burning on survival of floodwaterAedes eggs in Kenya. Journal American Mosquito Control Association 9:72–77.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wiggins, G.B., R.J. Mackay, and I.M. Smith. 1980. Evolution and ecological strategies of animals in annual temporary pools. Archives für Hydrobiologie/Supplement 58:97–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zar, J.H. 1984. Biostatistical Analysis. Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

de Szalay, F.A., Resh, V.H. Responses of wetland invertebrates and plants important in waterfowl diets to burning and mowing of emergent vegetation. Wetlands 17, 149–156 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03160726

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03160726

Key Words

Navigation