Shoreline development and boating on lakes of the northern Great Plains of North America have increased due
to recent economic prosperity. Few studies have examined the general characteristics of habitats used by foraging waterbirds
and boats to determine levels of overlap. To address this issue, we conducted point count surveys of American
White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) and boats on two important recreational lakes in southern Saskatchewan,
Canada. The majority of pelicans and boats detected used near-shore areas of the lakes, identifying the importance of shallow
water habitats and providing evidence of significant overlap. The location of pelicans relative to the shore did not
change in the presence of boats, and there was no significant relationship between boat numbers and pelican numbers.
These analyses suggest that pelicans did not make major changes to their habitat use on the lakes as a result of boating activity.
When pelicans and boats were present simultaneously at point count locations, pelicans appeared to avoid boats on
one lake, but showed no detectable avoidance behavior on the other lake. The importance of interactions between recreational
boating and foraging pelicans is currently unclear. Set-back distances to protect foraging pelicans from boating activity
do not appear necessary based on our analyses.
White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) in Georgia