Species of the Month
Mottled Duck
Anas fulvigula
Family Anatidae
Description 21" (53 cm). Mottled dark brown and sandy. Similar to a female Mallard, but bill clear yellow or orange-yellow, throat plain tawny, and tail dark rather than whitish.
Habitat Coastal marshes and lagoons.
Nesting 9-13 pale greenish eggs in a down-lined nest of grass concealed in vegetation near a shore.
Range Resident in southern Florida and along Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas.
Voice A loud quack, like that of a Mallard.
Discussion This southern duck is a very close relative of the widespread Mallard. Until recently, no other duck of the genus Anas nested in these coastal marshes, and so the distinctive male plumage, which among these birds enables females to identify mates of their own species, was gradually lost. After thousands of years of evolutionary change, the two sexes are colored alike.
Info from enature.com
2010 Fall Symposium
The 2010 Fall Symposium was held on August 19th and 20th at the Estuarine Habitats and Coastal Fisheries Center in Lafayette. Scientists, managers, educators and students met to discuss some of the leading topics in the world of natural resource management, renewed old friendships and professional acquaintances and made new ones.
Focus Session Speakers
Andy Nyman, LSU
A REVIEW OF THE EFFECTS OF CRUIDE OIL ON MARSH VEGETATION AND A PEEK AT SOME EFFECTS OF THE CURRENT SPILL.
Paul Klerks, ULL
EFFECTS OF OIL SPILL CHEMICAL ADDITIVES ON TOXICITY AND BIODEGRADATION OF OIL IN FRESHWATER MICROCOSMS.
Michael Seymour, LDWF
EFFECTS OF A RECENT OIL SPILL ON LOUISIANA COASTAL BIRDS: THE BALANCING ACT BETWEEN COLONY DISTURBANCE AND THE CAPTURE OF OIL-IMPACTED BIRDS.
Harry Blanchet, LDWF
EVOLUTION OF RESPONSE BY FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AGENCIES FOLLOWING THE DEEPWATER HORIZON DISASTER.