Open Access
How to translate text using browser tools
13 November 2019 Waterfowl Wintering in Moscow (1985–1999): Dependence on Air Temperatures and the Prosperity of the Human Population
Ksenia V. Avilova, Grigoriy S. Eremkin
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Over fifteen years (1985–1999) waterfowl were counted during one day in January on 33 permanent routes with a total length of c. 310 km along the banks of all rivers and ponds throughout the city. 23 species (apart from gulls) were recorded. The number of species varied from 3 to 10 in different years and increased significantly during the study period. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos was the most numerous species (98–99% of individuals). The proportion of male Mallards varied from year to year within the range 54–63%. The number of Mallards gradually increased from c. 17 300 in the winter of 1984–1985 to c. 28 000 in the winter of 1989-90 but then declined to c. 7500 in the winter of 1997–1998. These changes appear to depend on both air temperatures during the winter and the prosperity of the city's inhabitants, who feed ducks with bread and scraps of food. It is highly probable that the change in the socio-economic situation has been the main cause of the decline in waterfowl observed during the 1990s.

REFERENCES

1.

Abakumova G. M., Isayev A. A., Lokoschenko M. A., Sherstyukov B. G. 1998. [Climatic trends of Moscow changes during the end of XX century]. In: Rysin L. P. (ed.). [Nature of Moscow]. Moskva, pp. 39–49. Google Scholar

2.

Avilova K. V. 1993. Annual waterfowl counting in Moscow. Urban Wildlife News 10: 11. Google Scholar

3.

Avilova K. V. 1994. [Waterfowl wintering in the city]. In: [Urban population of waterfowl (Anas platyrhynchos) in Moscow]. Moskva, pp. 10–27. Google Scholar

4.

Bentz P.–G. 1985. Studies on some urban Mallard Anas platyrhynchos populations in Scandinavia. P. 2. Origin and dispersal in Malmo, Oslo and Trondheim Mallards. Fauna Norv., Ser. C, 8: 65–76. Google Scholar

5.

Caletskiy A. A. 1960. [Wildfowl keeping at Moscow water bodies]. Ornitologiya 3: 420–424. Google Scholar

6.

Choudhury S., Black J. M. 1991. Testing the behavioural dominance and dispersal hypothesis in Pochard. Ornis Scand. 22: 155–159. Google Scholar

7.

Clutton-Brock T. H. 1985. Sex ratio variation in birds. Ibis 128: 317–329. Google Scholar

8.

Jessen R. L. 1970. Mallard population trend and hunting bosses in Minnesota. J. Wildl. Manage. 34: 93–105. Google Scholar

9.

Kontorschikov V. V. 1990. [On the biology of Mallard in Moscow]. Reports of Moscow Society of Nature Research. Zoology and Botany, pp. 22–24. Google Scholar

10.

Likhacheva E. A., Smirnova E. B. 1994. [Ecological problems of Moscow over 150 years]. Moskva. Google Scholar

11.

Pattenden R. K., Boag D. A. 1989. Skewed sex ratio in a northern wintering population of mallards. Can. J. Zool. 87: 84–87. Google Scholar

12.

Payevskiy V. A. 1993. [The sex structure of bird populations and its variations]. Zool. Zhurnal 72: 85–97. Google Scholar

13.

Sokolova N. Yu., Sakharova M. I., L'vova A. A., Palii A. V. 1997. [Zooplankton and benthos of the Moscow-river within the city boundaries]. In: Rysin L. P. (ed.). [Nature of Moscow]. Moskva, pp. 191–199. Google Scholar
Ksenia V. Avilova and Grigoriy S. Eremkin "Waterfowl Wintering in Moscow (1985–1999): Dependence on Air Temperatures and the Prosperity of the Human Population," Acta Ornithologica 36(1), 65-71, (13 November 2019). https://doi.org/10.3161/068.036.0101
Received: 1 September 1999; Accepted: 1 October 2000; Published: 13 November 2019
KEYWORDS
air temperatures
Anas platyrhynchos
economic prosperity
mallards
population dynamics
sex ratio
urbanization
Back to Top