Molly R. Kneece

Survival and Recovery of Mottled Ducks in Coastal South Carolina, 2008-2018

SEAFWA Journal Volume 7, March 2020

Mottled ducks are typically geographically separated into two sub-species: peninsular Florida (Anas fulvigula fulvigula) and the western Gulf Coastal (WGC) (A. f. maculosa). Between 1975 and 1983, >1,200 mottled ducks were introduced to coastal South Carolina primarily from the WGC range. A late summer banding program was initiated in 2008 within the Santee Delta and the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto Rivers Basin in South Carolina to estimate mottled duck survival and harvest probability. We acquired 3,594 banding and 525 recovery records of mottled ducks banded between 2008-2018. We...

Annual Habitat Selection by Mottled Ducks in Coastal South Carolina

SEAFWA Journal Volume 2, March 2015

Mottled ducks (Anas fulvigula) are endemic to Gulf Coastal United States, Florida, and Mexico. Birds from Florida, Louisiana, and Texas were released in coastal South Carolina from 1975 - 1983, and subsequent banding data suggest a dispersing and increasing population in the state. Because autecology of mottled ducks is little known in South Carolina, we radio-marked 116 females in August 2010 - 2011 in the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto Rivers Basin to assess habitat use throughout the annual cycle. We monitored habitat use by aircraft during fall-winter and via ground reconnaissance...