Late summer habitat selection by breeding waterfowl in northern Scotland

Abstract

iiiiiiiliiltlllllll'The majority o f lochs and water courses were visited in an area o f northern Scotland during July 1988.The breeding waterfowl o f these waters were recorded along with details o f environm ental parameters at each site, including water quality.In a correspondance analysis, three axes accounted fo r 72% o f the variance, with conductivity, p H and other measures o f habitat type all highly represented.Site analysis show ed that different species had distinct habitat preferences.W aterfowl o f m ost restricted distribution on the peatlands (nam ely Black-throated Diver and C om m on Scoter) showed strong preferences fo r lochs with islands and with high p H 1conductivity, Red-throated Divers tended to occur on m id range water quality lochs.Teal selected acidic, base-poor waters and Mallard show ed little selectivity in their use o f peatland waters.Som e implications o f peatland afforestation are discussed with respect to breeding waterfowl communities.