Wetlands are essential for many animal and plant species. However, many of these ecosystems are being degraded. Wetland degradation affects the habitat of certain groups of species such as waterfowl, which use these environments at different stages of their life cycle. In this study, we assessed the quality of man-made wetlands, i.e., mine tailing ponds, in comparison to beaver ponds, which are natural wetlands used by waterfowl. We conducted repeated surveys of breeding waterfowl species present on 12 mining ponds and 38 beaver ponds in boreal western Quebec, Canada. We also conducted brood surveys and considered environmental variables at the sites that could affect their occupancy. Conditions at the mining ponds appear to be as favorable for the establishment of breeding waterfowl as those observed in beaver ponds. Using site occupancy models, we found that five out of the six species studied were as likely to occupy and breed in mining ponds as in beaver ponds: Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), American Wigeon (Mareca americana), Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca), and Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus). Both adults and broods of Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) were more likely to use mining ponds than beaver ponds, but we did not find a direct relationship between goldeneye occupancy and environmental variables at our sites. Overall, the results of our study suggest that mining ponds have the potential to be managed for waterfowl and used by this group during the breeding season. However, further studies are required to assess the long-term effects of mining ponds on wildlife, particularly regarding contaminants such as heavy metals likely present at such sites.

中文翻译：

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与加拿大北方东部的海狸池相比，矿山尾矿池的水禽使用

湿地对许多动植物物种来说都是必不可少的。然而，其中许多生态系统正在退化。湿地退化影响某些物种的栖息地，例如水禽，它们在生命周期的不同阶段使用这些环境。在这项研究中，我们评估了人造湿地（即矿山尾矿池）的质量，并与海狸池（水禽使用的天然湿地）进行了比较。我们对加拿大魁北克西部北部 12 个矿池和 38 个海狸池中存在的繁殖水禽物种进行了反复调查。我们还进行了育雏调查，并考虑了可能影响其入住率的地点的环境变量。采矿池的条件似乎与在海狸池中观察到的条件一样有利于繁殖水禽。使用场地占用模型，我们发现所研究的六种物种中有五种在矿池和海狸池中占据和繁殖的可能性与在海狸池中一样：野鸭（Anas platyrhynchos）、环颈鸭（Aythyacollis）、美洲野鸭（Mareca americana）、绿翅鸭蓝绿色 (Anas crecca) 和连帽秋沙鸭 (Lophodytes cucullatus)。与海狸池塘相比，Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) 的成虫和幼虫更可能使用采矿池塘，但我们没有发现在我们的站点上黄金眼的占有率与环境变量之间存在直接关系。总体而言，我们的研究结果表明，采矿池塘有可能为水禽进行管理，并在繁殖季节供该群体使用。然而，还需要进一步的研究来评估采矿池塘对野生动物的长期影响，