Assemblages and movements of waterfowl at cattle feedlots across Gauteng, South Africa

Abstract

Assemblages of waterfowl (Anatidae) at two cattle feedlots 120 km apart in Gauteng province, South Africa are described. Yellow-billed, Fulvous and White-faced Ducks, Cape Shoveller, and Cape and Red-billed Teals benefited directly from the cattle feedlots. Food items, such as undigested maize seeds, were obtained from the pen floor and aquatic invertebrates were consumed from dams that were enriched with manure runoff. Comb Duck and Egyptian Goose also fed on maize seeds on the pen floor, while African Black Duck, although primarily river-bound, fed in manure runoff dams in summer. Conversely, Southern Pochard, Comb and Maccoa Ducks were not strongly associated with dams enriched by manure runoff. Long- and short-distance movements by waterfowl may be triggered not only by rainfall, but also by the productivity of water bodies.