megan1421
Mallard Duck and her Three Babies
Another organism that I found in my capstone area for this project was the Mallard. The Mallard can be found throughout Europe and North America where their specific location can be centered on ponds, marshes, and lakes. This organism is also known to have a G5 global scale where it too is widespread, abundant and secure, like the White-Tailed Rabbit. Reproduction wise Mallards are known to reproduce sexually and will have eight to fourteen eggs in just one season (www.blankparkzoo.com/en/explore_the_zoo/meet_the_animals_...). Mallard offspring’s, when hatched, are not like the White-Tailed Rabbit where they are not fully developed; instead their offspring hatches and are “ready-to-go” and follow their mothers around almost instantly until they can fly, which is around sixty days after they are hatched. Adaptations are also very important so these species can avoid predators the best they can. Camouflage, also used by the rabbit, is a way that have adapted to their environments to avoid predators. Another way Mallards have adapted is through their eggs, which are known as amniotic eggs. These types of eggs are very important to these species survival because they provide the embryo with food, water, nutrients and the eggs also removes any kind of waste material. These eggs can also survive in several types of habitats and not affect the embryo from drying out (bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2009/esse_jaso/Adaptations.htm). Another adaptation Mallards have to fit in their environment is their webbed feet, which give them the ability to swim fast through the water so they can catch their prey.
While observing these organisms in my area I have noticed that they have multiple populations. As previously mentioned the offspring in these species tend to stay around their mom until they can take flight. However they do not rely on their moms the same way as rabbits do because they are developed after they are born allowing them to find their own food but, they still follow mom until they can fly. From these facts I would also have to say that the population I am observing is a sink for these species. These species do not stay in this place all year round like the rabbits do. Instead they have the opportunity to fly to other parts of the world where they can flourish in different areas. With this in mind, the Mallard will usually choose their mate in the fall before they fly off to a different region of the world where it is warmer. Their mates can be found in my area along as the surrounding areas. These species “breeding” grounds can typically be found where these species primarily can find food and shelter. Therefore all along the river that flows through my capstone area, Mallards can find their partners. From the background information it stated that these species are widespread throughout the United States and throughout Europe; leading me to believe that this type of distribution is uniform throughout these countries and my overall capstone area. And because these Mallards are widespread I would have to assume that immigrants that come to my capstone area can come from any part of the country because they do migrate seasonally.
After observing my capstone area, I would assume that there are a total of ten individuals in my capstone area (not including the surrounding area). To know what the population size will be after five cycles I would take the following equation, assuming that their number at some initial time was 3.5: Nt=N0 (Nt+1/Nt)^t; Nt=3.5 (35/10)^5 Nt=1838.27 for 20 cycles I would use the same equation to get the final answer of 266,335,423. I do not think that my population is experiencing this growth. This equation is not accounting for deaths by disease, predation, or any type of environmental disaster. If this type of population was occurring in these Mallards then our world would be filled with ducks and the habitats they would go to seasonally would eventually die off because there are too many species; meaning it would exceed the carrying capacity.
One model that we have studied in class that applies to my organism/site is the Constant Rates of Survival, which is also known as the Type II Survivorship Curve. A study was performed by Deevey (1947) where he asked what kind of survivorship was being displayed by birds. He concluded that there was a constant rate of survival, unlike the rabbit population, throughout its whole life expectancy; this type of graph is displayed as a straight line. Another study was performed by Baker, Mewaldt, and Stewart (1981) where they wanted to see if any other type of species, beside bird species, displayed this same type of survivorship curve. They found that the mud turtle also displayed a linear, constant rate of survival like the birds but the big difference was that they had a high mortality rate until the age of five. I believe that both of these studies pertain to my species. Another model I believe represents my species is the exponential population growth. Mallards have been known to display a constant rate of survival due to the fact that these individuals can die at the same rate as surviving throughout their life (Molles, 2008).
Mallard Duck and her Three Babies
Another organism that I found in my capstone area for this project was the Mallard. The Mallard can be found throughout Europe and North America where their specific location can be centered on ponds, marshes, and lakes. This organism is also known to have a G5 global scale where it too is widespread, abundant and secure, like the White-Tailed Rabbit. Reproduction wise Mallards are known to reproduce sexually and will have eight to fourteen eggs in just one season (www.blankparkzoo.com/en/explore_the_zoo/meet_the_animals_...). Mallard offspring’s, when hatched, are not like the White-Tailed Rabbit where they are not fully developed; instead their offspring hatches and are “ready-to-go” and follow their mothers around almost instantly until they can fly, which is around sixty days after they are hatched. Adaptations are also very important so these species can avoid predators the best they can. Camouflage, also used by the rabbit, is a way that have adapted to their environments to avoid predators. Another way Mallards have adapted is through their eggs, which are known as amniotic eggs. These types of eggs are very important to these species survival because they provide the embryo with food, water, nutrients and the eggs also removes any kind of waste material. These eggs can also survive in several types of habitats and not affect the embryo from drying out (bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2009/esse_jaso/Adaptations.htm). Another adaptation Mallards have to fit in their environment is their webbed feet, which give them the ability to swim fast through the water so they can catch their prey.
While observing these organisms in my area I have noticed that they have multiple populations. As previously mentioned the offspring in these species tend to stay around their mom until they can take flight. However they do not rely on their moms the same way as rabbits do because they are developed after they are born allowing them to find their own food but, they still follow mom until they can fly. From these facts I would also have to say that the population I am observing is a sink for these species. These species do not stay in this place all year round like the rabbits do. Instead they have the opportunity to fly to other parts of the world where they can flourish in different areas. With this in mind, the Mallard will usually choose their mate in the fall before they fly off to a different region of the world where it is warmer. Their mates can be found in my area along as the surrounding areas. These species “breeding” grounds can typically be found where these species primarily can find food and shelter. Therefore all along the river that flows through my capstone area, Mallards can find their partners. From the background information it stated that these species are widespread throughout the United States and throughout Europe; leading me to believe that this type of distribution is uniform throughout these countries and my overall capstone area. And because these Mallards are widespread I would have to assume that immigrants that come to my capstone area can come from any part of the country because they do migrate seasonally.
After observing my capstone area, I would assume that there are a total of ten individuals in my capstone area (not including the surrounding area). To know what the population size will be after five cycles I would take the following equation, assuming that their number at some initial time was 3.5: Nt=N0 (Nt+1/Nt)^t; Nt=3.5 (35/10)^5 Nt=1838.27 for 20 cycles I would use the same equation to get the final answer of 266,335,423. I do not think that my population is experiencing this growth. This equation is not accounting for deaths by disease, predation, or any type of environmental disaster. If this type of population was occurring in these Mallards then our world would be filled with ducks and the habitats they would go to seasonally would eventually die off because there are too many species; meaning it would exceed the carrying capacity.
One model that we have studied in class that applies to my organism/site is the Constant Rates of Survival, which is also known as the Type II Survivorship Curve. A study was performed by Deevey (1947) where he asked what kind of survivorship was being displayed by birds. He concluded that there was a constant rate of survival, unlike the rabbit population, throughout its whole life expectancy; this type of graph is displayed as a straight line. Another study was performed by Baker, Mewaldt, and Stewart (1981) where they wanted to see if any other type of species, beside bird species, displayed this same type of survivorship curve. They found that the mud turtle also displayed a linear, constant rate of survival like the birds but the big difference was that they had a high mortality rate until the age of five. I believe that both of these studies pertain to my species. Another model I believe represents my species is the exponential population growth. Mallards have been known to display a constant rate of survival due to the fact that these individuals can die at the same rate as surviving throughout their life (Molles, 2008).