Digestive organ morphology, diet, and guild structure of North American Anatidae

Abstract

Discriminant function, cluster, and covariate analyses of gizzard, small intestine, and ceca weights were used to quantify the structure of feeding guilds and the effects of diet on gut morphology for 18 species of North American anatids. Guild structure based on gut measurements closely approximated that identified by generalized feeding habits. Herbivorous species such as Brant (Branta bernicla), Gadwall (Anas strepera), Redheads (Aythya americana), Canada Geese (Branta canadensis), and Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) consistently had heavier gizzards and ceca than carnivorous species such as Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola), Oldsquaw (Clangula hyemalis), and Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser). Omnivorous species such as Lesser Scaup (Aythya afftnis), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), and American Black Ducks (Anas rubripes) were characterized by heavy gizzards, intermediate ceca, and heavy intestines. The results provide further evidence that intestine size is primarily influenced by overall diet diversity and suggest that gut size may be used to indicate general food habits. The ability of waterfowl to adjust gut sizes and accommodate dietary changes is restricted to ranges dictated by the most frequently eaten foods. Thus, predictions of general food habits can be made without knowledge of the foods being consumed at a particular time and location.