Abstract
SUMMARY1. The diets of pochard (Aythya ferina), scaup (A. marila) and goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) overwintering on Lough Neagh are dominated by chironomid larvae, while molluscs are more important in that of tufted duck (A. fuligula).2. Inshore areas of Lough Neagh offer poor feeding conditions for these diving ducks because chironomid larvae and molluscs are of small individual body size or low abundance. These factors lead to all four ducks foraging at least in part at depths greater than those usually exploited.3. Due to their common consumption of molluscs, the diet of tufted duck shows a higher overlap with that of an introduced roach (Rutilus rutilus) population than with any other duck or fish species.4. The feeding ecology of tufted duck and roach in Lough Neagh may form an example of distant competition and be at least partly responsible for recent fluctuations in the numbers of tufted duck.
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