Submerged aquatic vegetation, water quality (pH, salinity, and turbidity) and waterfowl abundance data from 1991-2017 in Back Bay, Virginia

Back Bay, Virginia, has been documented as an important foraging area for waterfowl since at least the mid-1800s. Expansive submerged plant beds historically supported diverse assemblages of non-breeding waterfowl, however coastal development and other anthropogenic influences have since led to fluctuations in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and an associated decline in waterfowl abundance in the bay. To gain insight into the effects of environmental drivers on waterfowl foraging guilds, our study explores the effects of SAV frequency and water quality on the abundance of dabbling ducks, diving ducks, and swans and geese in Back Bay. We use 8 years of SAV, water quality, and waterfowl monitoring data collected by state and federal agencies to model the effects of salinity, turbidity, pH, and percent frequency of SAV on the relative abundance of waterfowl by foraging guild in Back Bay. The appropriateness of the data and reasonability of the preliminary results were then evaluated thr...