The Western Gulf Coast (WGC) provides valuable habitat for migratory and resident waterfowl. The mottled duck (Anas fulvigula), a resident species, is highly associated with coastal marsh habitats and relies on these areas for all of its life cycle needs. Habitat loss and degradation due to urban expansion and other human activities have raised concerns for the WGC mottled duck population. Although other threats such as sport harvest (Raftovich 2011), lead poisoning (Sanderson and Bellrose 1986), hybridization (McCracken et al. 2001), and predation (Stutzenbaker 1988, Moorman and Gray 1994, Durham and Afton 2003) may be additional factors in the overall decline of the population, the disappearance of suitable nesting and brood-rearing habitat is believed to be the predominant force associated with declines of the mottled duck (Wilson 2007). Therefore, a priority for increasing WGC mottled duck populations is to increase nest success and brood survival by preserving or creating landscapes with suitable nesting and brood-rearing habitat in appropriate spatial configurations.
