Diurnal time budget of Gadwall Anas strepera in Guerbes-Sanhadja wetlands (Skikda, northeast Algeria)

Merzoug, Abdelghani; Bara, Mouslim; Houhamdi, Moussa

Diurnal time budget of Gadwall Anas strepera in Guerbes-Sanhadja wetlands (Skikda, northeast Algeria)

2015

Merzoug, Abdelghani | Bara, Mouslim | Houhamdi, Moussa

In this study, we investigated the wintering strategy of the Gadwall Anas strepera (Anatidae) that had never been studied in the northeast of Algeria. Observations were performed during two wintering seasons (2007/2008 and 2008/2009) in order to determinate the phenology and diurnal behavior of the Gadwall in Garaet Hadj Tahar, Garaet El Haoues, and Garaet Beni M’hamed (Guerbes-Sanhadja wetlands). The peak number of individuals was recorded during January in all three study sites of the Guerbes-Sanhadja wetlands: 1710 individuals in Garaet Hadj Tahar, 89 in Garaet Beni M’hamed, and 15 in Garaet El Haoues. The dominant diurnal activity recorded was swimming (32.6%), which was followed by sleeping (24.7%), feeding (19.9%), preening (13.6%), flying (6.7%), and antagonistic activity (2.2%).

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