Overview & Background: In the peer-reviewed journal article Urban waterfowl population: Ecological evaluation of management and planning (Greer, 1982), we see urban ducks observed and studied in order to determine early morning congregation habits and location. This study followed these populations, which consisted primarily of mallards, in Puyallup, WA. As we see more and more urban development in areas with adjacent rural habitats, waterfowl and other vertebrates are forced to adapt to stricter conditions. In these areas, waterfowl struggle with several habitat-related issues, such as habitat size and nesting condition/success. Many factors play into these aspects of survival in urban environments. Without proper habitat size or conditions that resemble the complexity of more rural areas, we see less species diversity.
Methods: The researchers took vegetation surveys and waterfowl counts in four locations in the Washington area. The four locations were: Dairy Stream, Pumphouse, Dairy Lagoons, and DeCoursey Pond. The vegetation surveys showed an abundance of reed canarygrass, turf grass, and pasture grass. Cover, frequency, and dominance were values that Greer calculated from these surveys. Along with the vegetation sampling, there were waterfowl head counts and monitored nesting success observations. Over the course of 14 months, Greer counted and collected data on the number of waterfowl found in these four locations at predictable times in the morning. The Shannon Index was used to determine the species diversity in these areas. For statistical analysis, ANOVA, Duncan’s multiple range test, and discriminant and cluster analysis were utilized.
Results: Over the course of the survey, Greer observed 13 different species of waterfowl, with mallards being the most abundant. They were also found to be the only species nesting locally. Other species, such as American wigeon, bufflehead, scaup, and gadwall, were present seasonally but did not nest in the study area.

The Dairy Stream location was somewhat supportive of several species such as mallards, wigeons, and buffleheads. However, the most supportive location was DeCoursey Pond. It had the highest species diversity and supported both dabbling and diving ducks due to the pond’s size and complexity compared to the others. The Dairy Lagoons primarily housed mallards, with low diversity for other species, though diversity improved slightly when mallard numbers were less dominant. Finally, the Pumphouse had the lowest species richness and was mostly dominated by mallards when feeding occurred. There was very little nesting success overall, and nesting was only attempted by mallards. This was due to low nesting cover, disturbance, and intraspecific aggression from other mallards. In all, DeCoursey Pond was the most complex and deep site, resembling rural environments that waterfowl were more adapted to, which provided a greater opportunity for them to thrive. By contrast, the lower diversity areas such as the Pumphouse were more frequently disturbed by humans and interfered with the natural behavior of more sensitive species.

Reflection/ Critique: After reading over the study and its findings, I have a few comments and possible improvements. I thought the vegetation sampling was conducted well and helped contextualize the environments these waterfowl were around and what they were interacting with. This gives clues to how and why species diversity might be so different in one area compared to the next. However, one area I thought was understudied was the possible predator or human interaction with the waterfowl. Predators, especially urban wildlife predators, could be a significant factor influencing lower species diversity in some locations. If predators were observed, one could determine if this was a factor in the counts of waterfowl in these areas. Artificial feeding also seemed to alter species composition at the Pumphouse, and this might have been worth more systematic study. For the most part, I thought it was a great survey that was done several decades ago but still represents a classic observation-based study that gives insightful data for those looking at how waterfowl might use urban corridors to live in.
Citation:
Greer, D. M. (1982). Urban waterfowl population: Ecological evaluation of management and planning. Environmental Management, 6, 217–229. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01866885