DOI: 10.5061/dryad.mgqnk995r
title: Raw GPS data of wild and farmed mallards in southern Sweden

description: Releasing farmed mallards into the wild is a common practice in wildlife
 management worldwide, involving millions of birds annually, and is mainly
 carried out to increase hunting opportunities. Ringing and previous
 research show that released mallards have low survival also outside the
 hunting season, and that survivors may compromise migration habits,
 morphology, and adaptations of the wild population. Detailed local
 movements of released mallards have not been studied before, despite the
 importance of spatiotemporal patterns for understanding the impact of
 releases and their utility for hunting. We studied local movements in
 August-October of 11 wild and 44 released mallards caught in the same
 wetland in southern Sweden and provided with GPS tags. Wild mallards moved
 longer distances than farmed, over the whole diel cycle as well as during
 three out of four separate periods of the day (dawn, day, and dusk).
 Mallards of both origins moved the longest distances during dusk and dawn,
 and the shortest during night. Males and females did not differ
 significantly in distance moved, regardless of origin (wild versus
 farmed). Our study demonstrates large differences in spatiotemporal
 movement patterns between wild and farmed mallards. The typical day of
 wild mallards included movements between wetlands in the landscape, likely
 to foraging sites known from previous experience. However, wild mallards
 frequently returned to the study wetland, probably attracted by
 supplementary bait. On the other hand, farmed mallards seldom left the
 study wetland, despite the possibility of accompanying wild birds to other
 sites. The sedentary behavior of farmed mallards and the fact that wild
 birds come to join them are both beneficial for hunting purposes. Limited
 movements of farmed mallards together with their low survival could also
 be positive as they limit hybridization between wild and farmed mallards,
 as well as dispersal of nutrients.
description: The dataset includes movement data from mallards fitted with a
 GPS-logger (CatTraQ, Catnip Technologies, Ltd) in southern Sweden. Data
 were collected from 44 farmed and released mallards, and 12 wild
 mallards. The dataset have been cleaned from data when
 mallards were caught in the trap. Only local movement data (less than 50km
 from the release site) is included in the dataset.
description: # Raw GPS data Wild and farmed mallards
 The dataset includes
 movement data from mallards fitted with a GPS-logger (CatTraQ, Catnip
 Technologies, Ltd) in southern Sweden. Data were collected from 44 farmed
 and released mallards, and 12 wild mallards. The dataset consists of 18865
 positions. The dataset have been cleaned from data when mallards were
 caught in the trap. Only local movement data (less than 50km from the
 release site) is included in the dataset. Analyzed data showed a
 significant difference in movement patterns between wild and farmed
 mallards. Both wild and farmed mallards move significantly more during
 dusk and dawn compared to day and night. ## Description of the data and
 file structure Dataset consists of 18865 positions (rows). Columns give
 information about individual ring numbers for identification of
 individuals (ID). One individual may have data from several GPS-loggers
 (Tag). For each individual information on type (farmed=0, wild=1), sex
 (0=female, 1=male), and weight (grams) is given. For each position
 information about date, time, latitude and longitude, altitude (meters),
 course (flight direction in degrees; 0=North, 180=South), distance from
 previous position (in meters), and time of day (0=night, 1=dusk, 2=day,
 3=dawn). ## Sharing/Access information N/A ## Code/Software N/A