Table of Contents
Overview
Distribution
Geographic Range
Anas rubripes breeds from Manitoba southeast to Minnesota, east through Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, and in the forested portions of eastern Canada to nortern Quebec and northern Labrador. The black duck winters in the southern parts of its breeding range and south to the Gulf Coast, Florida, and Bermuda (Mcauley, et al 1998).
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
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National Distribution
Canada
Origin: Native
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
United States
Origin: Native
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
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Global Range: (>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)) BREEDING: northern Saskatchewan to Labrador and Newfoundland, south to northern South Dakota, southern Wisconsin, central Indiana, central West Virginia, and North Carolina on Atlantic coast. NON-BREEDING: southeastern Minnesota to southern Ontario and Nova Scotia, south to Texas, Gulf Coast, and Florida. The highest winter densities occur along the Maumee River in Ohio, along the Kankakee River in Illinois, along the Mississippi River bordering Tennessee and extending along the Ohio River to southwestern Indiana, in southwestern Tennessee and northern Alabama, and along the U.S. Atlantic coast from eastern North Carolina to Maine (Root 1988).
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Physical Description
Morphology
Physical Description
Males in breeding plumage have a buffy head that is heavily streaked with black, especially through the eye and on the tip of the head. The upperparts, including the tail and wing are blackish brown. The underparts feathers are dark sooty brown, with pale reddish and buff margins. The secondaries are iridescent blueish purple, with a black subterminal border and a narrow white tip, sometimes not present. The tertials are glossy black next to the speculum, but otherwise are gray to blackish brown, and the underwing surface is silvery white. The iris is brown, the bill is greenish yellow to bright yellow, with a black nail, and the feet and legs are orange red. Females also have a greenish to olive-colored bill, with small black spotting, and dusky to olive-colored legs and feet. Juveniles resemble adults, but are more heavily streaked on the breast and underparts, since these feathers have broader buff margins but darker tips. In the field the Black Duck has a body shaped like a Mallard. In flight, Black Ducks appear to be nearly black, with an underwing coloration that is in contrast with the rest of their plumage (Johngard, 1978).
Range mass: 1160 to 1330 g.
Average basal metabolic rate: 3.6076 W.
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Size
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Ecology
Habitat
Habitat and Ecology
- Terrestrial
- Freshwater
- Marine
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Habitat
The Black Duck during the breeding season prefers a variety of fresh and brackish waters in a forest environment. These include: alkaline marshes, acid bogs and muskegs, lakes, ponds, and stream margins, as well as tidewater habitats such as bays and estuaries. The most favored areas are brackish estuarine bays with extensive adjacent agricultural lands. Outside of the breeding season the duck lives on large, open lagoons and on the coast, even in rough sea waters (Merendino and Ankney, 1994).
The northernmost breeders descend to lower latitudes to winter on the Atlantic seaboard of North America, usually as far south as Texas. Some reports have been made of observation of Black Ducks in Korea, Puerto Rico, and Western Europe, where some have stayed for an extended period of time (Hoyo, et al 1992).
Habitat Regions: temperate ; freshwater
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams; coastal
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Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 7 samples.
Environmental ranges
Depth range (m): 0 - 0
Temperature range (°C): 3.407 - 12.690
Nitrate (umol/L): 1.832 - 3.634
Salinity (PPS): 31.213 - 33.969
Oxygen (ml/l): 6.278 - 7.540
Phosphate (umol/l): 0.417 - 0.683
Silicate (umol/l): 2.096 - 4.608
Graphical representation
Temperature range (°C): 3.407 - 12.690
Nitrate (umol/L): 1.832 - 3.634
Salinity (PPS): 31.213 - 33.969
Oxygen (ml/l): 6.278 - 7.540
Phosphate (umol/l): 0.417 - 0.683
Silicate (umol/l): 2.096 - 4.608
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.
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Comments: Shallow margins of lakes, streams, bays mud flats, and open waters. Nests in both dry and wet woodlands. Wide variety of wetland habitats in both freshwater and marine situations, in and around marshes, swamps, ponds, lakes, bays, estuaries, and tidal flats. As a result of a study of postfledging habitat use, Frazer et al. (1990) recommended maintaining large (30-50 ha) marshes containing dense emergent vegetation near a complex of diverse wetland types. BREEDING: Breeding habitat and nest sites very diverse; favors wooded swamps and marshes, brackish or freshwater. In central Ontario, preferred small fertile wetlands with a moderate amount of open water and an irregular shoreline (Merendino and Ankney 1994). Usually nests on ground in concealing vegetation, rarely in abandoned tree nest of other bird species. Significant numbers may return to the natal home range to breed.
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Migration
Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.
Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).
Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.
Reaches northern breeding areas by May, departs September- October; migrations strongly correlated with availability of food and open water. Southern and coastal populations more sedentary. Exhibits stronger fidelity to coastal wintering sites than to inland sites (Diefenbach et al. 1988). Migrates at night in groups of about 12-20.
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Trophic Strategy
Food Habits
The American Black Duck eats seeds and vegetative parts of aquatic plants and crop plants. They also consume a rather high proportion of invertebrates (insects, molluscs, crustaceans) in spring and summer. They feed by grazing, probing, dabbling or upending in shallow water. They occasionally dive (Hoyo, et al 1992).
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Comments: Eats mainly plant material and small aquatic animals (insects, amphibians, etc.) in freshwater habitats, mostly mollusks and crustaceans in maritime habitat; usually feeds in shallow water where it can reach bottom by tipping up.
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Population Biology
Number of Occurrences
Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.
Estimated Number of Occurrences: 81 to >300
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Global Abundance
>1,000,000 individuals
Comments: 3 million in 1985.
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General Ecology
In fall in eastern Maine and southwestern New Brunswick, maximum distance moved from roost to marsh averaged 10 km (range 1-43 km) (Frazer et al. 1990).
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Life History and Behavior
Cyclicity
Comments: May feed at night in salt marshes in winter (Terres 1980).
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Life Expectancy
Lifespan/Longevity
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 317 months.
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Lifespan, longevity, and ageing
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Reproduction
Reproduction
Breeding starts in March and April. Nearly all first-year females attempt to nest and older females usually return to their nesting areas of previous years and very frequently use an old nest site, or at least nest within 100 yards of an old nest site. The nest consists of a scrape on the ground, concealed among vegetation, sometimes in tree-cavities or crotches and lined with plant matter and down. Eggs are deposited in the nest at the approximate rate of one per day, and clutch sizes generally average between 9 and 10 eggs, with smaller clutches typical of first-year females. The time at which pair bonds are broken varies somewhat, with males typically remaining with their females about two weeks into the incubation period. Male participation in the brood rearing has not been reported. The incubation period is about 27 days. A fairly high rate of nest destruction is done by crows and racoons (Norman and Winston 1996). The first broods hatch in early May and peak hatch is in early June (Longcore, et al 1998). Young are mobile 1-3 hours after hatching. The female-brood pair bond lasts 6-7 weeks (Ehrlich, et al 1988).
Average eggs per season: 9.5.
Average time to hatching: 27 days.
Average time to hatching: 28 days.
Average eggs per season: 9.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male: 365 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 365 days.
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Clutch size 5-17 (usually 9-10). Incubation 23-33 days, by female. Young tended by female, first fly at about 60 days. Can breed as yearling but many males not mated until about 2 or more years old.
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Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Barcode data: Anas rubripes
There are 8 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank. Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species. See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
-- end --
Download FASTA File
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Statistics of barcoding coverage: Anas rubripes
Public Records: 8
Species: 8
Species With Barcodes: 1
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Conservation
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
Red List Criteria
Version
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Contributor/s
Justification
History
- 2008Least Concern
- 2004Least Concern
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National NatureServe Conservation Status
Canada
Rounded National Status Rank: N5B,N5N : N5B: Secure - Breeding, N5N: Secure - Nonbreeding
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: N5B,N5N : N5B: Secure - Breeding, N5N: Secure - Nonbreeding
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NatureServe Conservation Status
Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure
Reasons: High population numbers, but declining due to overhunting and increasing hybridization.
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Conservation Status
Not globally threatened.
The population of the Black Duck in the 1950's was around 2 million and since then has been on a steady decrease. Today the population has been calculated to be around 50,000. Causes of decline are unknown, but probably related to habitat loss, deterioration of water and food supplies, intense hunting pressure, and competition and hybridization with Mallards (Hoyo, et al 1992).
US Migratory Bird Act: protected
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
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Trends
Global Short Term Trend: Decline of 10-30%
Comments: Has declined steadily over the past few decades (Ankney et al. 1987).
Global Long Term Trend: Decline of 50-70%
Comments: Greatly reduced due to drain and fill projects. Declined from 7 million in 1955 to 3 million in 1985.
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Threats
Degree of Threat: B : Moderately threatened throughout its range, communities provide natural resources that when exploited alter the composition and structure of the community over the long-term, but are apparently recoverable
Comments: Recent decline attributed to habitat change and loss, hybridization and/or competition with Mallard (Ankney et al. 1987; see also Conroy et al. 1989, Ankney et al. 1989, and Merendino and Ankney 1994), and possibly over-hunting (Krementz et al. 1988), and the effects of acid precipitation and aerial spraying for spruce budworm (Ehrlich et al. 1992). Rusch et al. (1990) reviewed status and concluded that hunting and loss of breeding habitat apparently are not major factors in the decline; loss of winter habitat in some areas was noted. Chesapeake Bay breeding populations have declined since the 1950s; the decline is not related to changes in laying date, clutch size, or nest success (Krementz et al. 1991).
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Management
Preserve Selection and Design Considerations: As a result of a study of postfledging habitat use, Frazer et al. (1990) recommended maintaining large (30-50 ha) marshes containing dense emergent vegetation near a complex of diverse wetland types.
Biological Research Needs: Research the effects of acid precipitation on its food sources.
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Global Protection: Few (1-3) occurrences appropriately protected and managed
Comments: Some breeding areas protected within the national park system.
Needs: Moratorium on hunting. Increase management practices that create suitable habitat.
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Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems
Benefits
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
The Black Duck is an important waterfowl of North American hunters and has been for many years.
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Wikipedia
American Black Duck
The American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) is a large dabbling duck. American Black Ducks are similar to Mallards in size, and resemble the female Mallard in coloration, although the Black Duck's plumage is darker. It is native to eastern North America and has shown reduction in numbers and increasing hybridization with the more common Mallard as that species has spread with man-made habitat changes.
Contents |
Description
American Black Ducks weigh 720–1,640 g (1.6–3.6 lb), measure 48–63 cm (19–25 in) in length and 88–96 cm (35–38 in) across the wings.[2][3] They are similar to Mallards in size, and resemble the female Mallard in coloration, although the Black Duck's plumage is darker. The male and female Black Duck are generally similar in appearance, but the male's bill is yellow while the female's is a dull green. The head is slightly lighter brown than the dark brown body, and the speculum are iridescent violet-blue with predominantly black margins. The Black Duck has orange legs and dark eyes. In flight, the white underwings can be seen in contrast to the dark brown body. The behaviour and voice are the same as for the Mallard drake.[4]
Breeding
Their breeding habitat is alkaline marshes, acid bogs, lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, brackish marshes, and the margins of estuaries and other aquatic environments in northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba, across Ontario and Quebec as well as the Atlantic Canadian Provinces, including the Great Lakes, and the Adirondacks in the United States. Female Black Ducks lay an average of 9 eggs.[4]
Black Ducks interbreed regularly and extensively with Mallard ducks,[5] to which they are closely related. Some authorities even consider the Black Duck to be a subspecies of the Mallard, not a separate species at all; this is in error as the extent of hybridization alone is not a valid means to delimitate Anas species.[6]
It has been proposed that in the past, Black Ducks and Mallards were formerly separated by habitat preference, with the dark-plumage Black Ducks having a selective advantage in shaded forest pools in eastern North America, and the lighter plumage Mallards in the brighter, more open prairie and plains lakes. In recent times, according to this view, deforestation in the east, and tree planting on the plains, has broken down this habitat separation, leading to the high levels of hybridization now observed.[7] However, rates of past hybridization are unknown in this and most other avian hybrid zones, and it is merely presumed in the case of the American Black Duck that past rates were lower than those seen today. It should also be pointed out that many avian hybrid zones are known to be stable and longstanding despite the occurrence of extensive interbreeding.[5] At any rate, American Black Ducks and local Mallards are now very hard to distinguish by means of microsatellite comparisons, even if many specimens are sampled [8] Contrary to this study's claims, the question whether the American haplotypes are an original Mallard lineage is far from resolved. Their statement, "[N]orthern black ducks are now no more distinct from mallards than their southern conspecifics" of course only holds true in regard to the molecular markers tested. As birds indistinguishable according to the set of microsatellite markers still can look different, there are other genetic differences that were simply not tested in the study.[6]
The hybrids cannot be readily distinguished in the field and consequently, much of the species' hybridization dynamics remains unknown. It has been revealed in captivity studies, however, that the hybrids follow Haldane's Rule, with hybrid females often dying before they reach sexual maturity [5][9] this underscores the case for the American Black Duck being a distinct species.
This species is partially migratory and many winter in the east-central United States, especially coastal areas; some remain year-round in the Great Lakes region. These birds feed by dabbling in shallow water, and grazing on land. They mainly eat plants, but also some molluscs and aquatic insects. The eggs are a greenish buff color. They lay from 6–14 eggs, and hatch in an average of 30 days.
This duck is a rare vagrant to Great Britain, where, over the years, several birds have settled in and bred with the local Mallards. The resulting hybrids can present considerable identification difficulties.
Status
The Black Duck has long been valued as a game bird, being extremely wary and fast on the wing. Although this is a species of least concern, it is slowly declining due to habitat destruction. Some conservationists consider the hybridization and competition with the Mallard an additional source of concern, should this decline continue.[10][11] The hybridization itself is not the major problem; natural selection will see to that the best-adapted individuals still have the most offspring. But the reduced viability of female hybrids will cause many broods to fail in the long run as the offspring die before reproducing themselves. While this is not a problem in the plentiful mallard, it will place an additional strain on the American Black Duck's population.
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2004). "Anas rubripes". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2006. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/47186. Retrieved 11 May 2006.
- ^ [1] (2011).
- ^ CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.
- ^ a b "American Black Duck Facts and Figure". Ducks Unlimited. http://www.ducks.org/hunting/waterfowlGallery/1/index.html.
- ^ a b c McCarthy, Eugene M. (2006). Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World. Oxford University Press.
- ^ a b Mank, Judith E.; Carlson, John E.; Brittingham, Margaret C. (2004). "A century of hybridization: Decreasing genetic distance between American black ducks and mallards.". Conservation Genetics 5 (3): 395–403. doi:10.1023/B:COGE.0000031139.55389.b1.
- ^ Johnsgard, Paul A. (1967). "Sympatry Changes and Hybridization Incidence in Mallards and Black Ducks". American Midland Naturalist 77 (1): 51–63. doi:10.2307/2423425.
- ^ Avise, John C.; Ankney, C. Davison; Nelson, William S. (1990). "Mitochondrial Gene Trees and the Evolutionary Relationship of Mallard and Black Ducks". Evolution 44 (4): 1109–1119. doi:10.2307/2409570.
- ^ Kirby, Ronald E.; Sargeant, Glen A.; Shutler, Dave (2004). "Haldane's rule and American black duck × mallard hybridization". Canadian Journal of Zoology 82 (11): 1827–1831. doi:10.1139/z04-169.
- ^ Rhymer, Judith M. (2006). "Extinction by hybridization and introgression in anatine ducks" (PDF). Acta Zoologica Sinica 52 (Supplement): 583–585. http://www.actazool.org/downloadpdf.asp?id=5145.
- ^ Rhymer, Judith M.; Simberloff, Daniel (1996). "Extinction by hybridization and introgression". Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 27: 83–109. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.27.1.83.
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Unreviewed
Names and Taxonomy
Taxonomy
Comments: Appears to constitute a superspecies with A. PLATYRHYNCHOS and A FULVIGULA (AOU 1998). Commonly interbreeds with and sometimes considered conspecific with A. PLATYRHYNCHOS and/or other species (AOU 1983). Some authors suggest that it might be taxonomically appropriate to recognize the black duck as a dark morph (not subspecies) of the mallard, based on genetic and behavioral similarity and frequent hybridization (Ankney et al. 1986) in this species (AOU 1983). Mitochondrial DNA data indicate an extremely close evolutionary relationship between mallards and black ducks, and, in conjunction with geographic distribnutions, suggest that the black duck is a recent evolutionary derivative of a more broadly distributed mallard-black duck ancestor (Avise et al. 1991). See Livezey (1991) for a phylogenetic analysis and classification (supergenera, subgenera, infragenera, etc.) of dabbling ducks based on comparative morphology.
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