Canvasback Food Density in the Mississippi River Delta, Louisiana: Habitat and Temporal Differences
Wildlife managers have been creating deltaic splays in the Mississippi River Delta to promote marsh regeneration, but little is known of the quality of splays as waterfowl foraging habitat. Consequently, we compared densities of important canvasback (Aythya valisineria) foods in splays and open-water ponds during winter 1990- 91. Biomass (g/m2) of grassy arrowhead (Sagittaria graminea) tubers differed between splay mudflats and ponds, but the difference was not consistent between months. In November 1990, splay mudflats (mean ± SE = 123.7 ± 2.9) supported a greater biomass of tubers than...
