mottled duck research

For immediate release:  February 5, 2009 Photos: Go to MyFWC.com and click on "Newsroom." FWC biologists tracking Florida mottled ducks Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) will be conducting research on Florida mottled ducks in suburban West Palm Beach this weekend. In the early morning hours, biologists will capture the mottled ducks by setting traps near ponds.  Biologists will take captured ducks to a lab, where they will be implanted with radio-markers.  The implanted mottled ducks will then be returned to the site where they were obtained. The Florida mottled duck spends its entire life in the state and has inhabited Florida for thousands of years.  Florida mottled ducks are threatened by habitat loss and crossbreeding with feral, domesticated mallards.  For more information, go to www.MyFWC.com/duck/mottled . The radio-markers will help FWRI biologists collect data on the species, including habitat use, movements and survival.  This information will be part of an ongoing conservation plan for the species. (NOTE: Media interested in covering the field work must contact FWC public information coordinator Gabriella B. Ferraro by Friday, Feb. 6.  Space is limited.) ###