Abstract

Relationships between off-bottom bivalve aquaculture and the Magellanic steamer duck Tachyeres pteneres in southern Chile

Highlights

  • Shellfish aquaculture in Chile, as in other regions of the world, occurs in the intertidal-subtidal shallow nearshore waters, which tend to harbour the highest densities and diversity of marine birds (Connolly & Colwell 2005, Dionne et al 2006, Žydelis et al 2009)

  • Sea ducks are a group of birds that are likely to interact with shellfish aquaculture, as they are inherently linked to the same areas where most shellfish aquaculture occurs

  • Several studies have shown that bivalve aquaculture structures provide good conditions for recruiting and growing mussels, offering refuge to invertebrate predators, which, in turn, provide higher densities of betterquality prey for sea ducks than otherwise available in intertidal areas (Dionne et al 2006, Žydelis et al 2009, Cursach et al 2011, Varennes et al 2013)

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Summary

Introduction

Shellfish aquaculture in Chile, as in other regions of the world, occurs in the intertidal-subtidal shallow nearshore waters, which tend to harbour the highest densities and diversity of marine birds (Connolly & Colwell 2005, Dionne et al 2006, Žydelis et al 2009). In southern Chile, the largest Tacherys species is the Magellanic flightless steamer duck T. pteneres, Förster 1844. This marine bird is distributed from Valdivia (40° S) to Cape Horn (55° S) and is linked to nearshore intertidal and shallow subtidal habitats (Martínez Piña & González Cifuentes 2004). The aim of this study was to: (1) assess the importance of the Chilean blue mussel in the diet of the Magellanic steamer duck, providing information about population dynamics, and (2) estimate the magnitude of aquaculture losses due to duck predation

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