Morphometrics and Lipid Values from Four Diving Duck Species in San Francisco Bay

Winter body condition is an important driver of survival, reproductive output, and overall population health in waterfowl. Diving duck species utilize distinct habitats, exploit unique resources, and can collectively provide an integrated index of winter habitat quality. The San Francisco Bay (SFB) is the largest estuary on the west coast of North America, serving as critical wintering habitat for diving ducks in the Pacific Flyway. To evaluate diving duck response to SFB habitat quality, we compared annual and decadal structurally corrected measurements of total carcass lipid among canvasback, (Aythya valisineria), greater scaup, (Aythya marila), lesser scaup, (Aythya affinis), and ruddy duck, (Oxyura jamaicensis). Our findings help inform tidal restoration efforts in SFB.