Hello Waterfowl Hunters!
My name is Faye and I am a MSc student at UBC Okanagan. I started my program in Biology this September and I'm investigating the potential for waterbirds to disperse freshwater diatoms, a major group of algae. These algae contribute an incredible amount of the oxygen we breathe, and help to form the base of food webs in aquatic ecosystems. Learning more about freshwater diatoms will allow us to better understand and manage freshwater ecosystems, which is vital to recreational waterfowl hunting.
I reached out to Craig McLean, a wildlife biologist and waterfowl hunter in Penticton, for help acquiring waterbird feather patches for my experiments. He helped me to disseminate my request to some local hunters but also encouraged me to put my information on this forum, as this method of reaching out to local hunters has been a successful avenue for past researchers.
I would be greatly appreciative of anyone willing to contribute feather patches from their Mallard and/or Canada goose hunts. My research project could have implications for freshwater ecosystems management, but it will not be possible without help from the local recreational waterfowl hunting community.
Desired attributes of samples:
- Breast/abdomen feather patch including skin (the feathers and skin that sit in water on the underside of the bird) (peel off skin with feathers attached)
- 1 individual bird = 1 feather patch
- Bigger the patch the better (entire breast/abdomen area that sits in water is ideal)
- Mallards or Canada geese
- When sampled, seal in a plastic bag (Ziploc is ideal)
- Mark with collection date, site, and hunting method (e.g. overwater, field) and store in freezer until pick up
- Suggested method for removing patch = using a knife, gently slice skin of breast area and remove skin with feathers from breast as a single piece
- I can drive to pick up feather patches (I am located in Kelowna but nearby cities and the lower mainland are fine – please communicate with me if you are located further away so that I can coordinate road trips, especially if you have limited freezer space)
- Anyone located in Penticton and willing to drop off samples please coordinate with Craig McLean at Craig.A.McLean@gov.bc.ca
- Minimum sample size for my experiment is 45 birds/feather patches of a single species (so the more feather patches I can collect, the better!)
- My experiments will be run this spring so I am happy to receive feather patches up until March 10, 2018
- See attached example photos of front and back of Mallard and Canada Goose, as well as example of sample bag (please note that these samples were in the freezer and the skin has shrunk and curled into itself a bit)
- (PENDING) See attached example video of sampling procedure at https://drive.google.com/open?id=1bt...P77wn9m768HkMh
Any waterfowl hunters willing to contribute these samples from their hunted birds please send me a message!
Thank you and happy hunting!!
Faye
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