Data from: All-season space use by non-native resident Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) in northeastern Germany

Data from article "All-season space use by non-native resident Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) in northeastern Germany", accepted for publication in Journal of Ornithology in 2021.

Article abstract:

Patterns of space use are often subject to large temporal and individual-level variation, due to seasonality in behaviour and environmental conditions as well as age- or sex-specific needs. Especially in temperate regions, seasonality likely influences space use even in non-migratory birds. In waterfowl of the family Anatidae, however, few studies have analyzed space use of the same individuals across the full annual cycle. We used a resident population of Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) in northeast Germany to study their year-round space use in relation to season, sex, and age. We marked 172 birds with colour rings and surveyed relevant water bodies for re-encounters for several years. As space-use patterns we derived home ranges from minimum convex polygons and the number of water bodies used by individual birds. Our analysis revealed that individuals shifted their space use between seasons, in particular extending their home ranges during the non-breeding season. Between years, in contrast, birds tended to show season-specific site fidelity. Sex differences were apparent during both breeding and non-breeding season, male consistently having larger home ranges and using slightly more water bodies. No difference was found between first-year and adult birds. Our study demonstrates that mark-resighting can provide valuable information about space use in species with suitable behaviour and readily accessible habitat. In such cases, it may be a valid alternative to more expensive GPS-tracking or short-term manual radio telemetry, particularly within citizen-science projects.

Data description:

Mark-resight data on Mandarin ducks in the Potsdam/Berlin region, Germany. Each sighting (including capture and ringing event) contains information about:

- individual with sex and age specification 

- date, season, sub-season as defined in article

- coordinates of sighting location: Gauss-Krüger coordinate system with right (R; Rechtswert) and high (H; Hochwert) value. For distinction between "fine" and "coarse" coordinates, see article. Water body names refer to the "coarse" site specification.