Index of Species Information
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Anas platyrhynchos
Introductory
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Snyder, S. A. 1993. Anas platyrhynchos. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer).
Available: www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/animals/bird/anpl/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
ANPL
COMMON NAMES :
mallard
TAXONOMY :
The scientific name for the mallard is Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus
[12,19]. The species was formerly called A. boschas [15]. The mallard
hybridizes with the American black duck (Anas rubripes) and the Pacific
black duck (A. superciliosa). There are two recognized subspecies of
mallard: A. platyrhynchos ssp. platyrhynchos and A. platyrhynchos ssp.
diazi Ridgway (Mexican duck). Anas platyrhynchos ssp. oustaleti
(Mariana mallard) is thought to be extinct [12].
ORDER :
Anseriformes
CLASS :
Bird
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
WILDLIFE DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Anas platyrhynchos
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
The mallard has a circumpolar distribution. It occurs throughout North
America from northern Canada and Alaska south into Mexico and from coast
to coast [12]. It is usually a year-round resident in the central
United States and along the West Coast from Baja to southern Alaska.
The mallard's breeding range is usually in the more northerly parts of
its distribution; it winters in the southern United States and Mexico
[15].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES15 Oak-hickory
FRES16 Oak-gum-cypress
FRES17 Elm-ash-cottonwood
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
FRES41 Wet grasslands
FRES42 Annual grasslands
STATES :
| AL |
AK |
AZ |
AR |
CA |
CO |
CT |
DE |
FL |
GA |
| HI |
ID |
IL |
IN |
IA |
KS |
KY |
LA |
ME |
MD |
| MA |
MI |
MN |
MS |
MO |
MT |
NE |
NV |
NH |
NJ |
| NM |
NY |
NC |
ND |
OH |
OK |
OR |
PA |
RI |
SC |
| SD |
TN |
TX |
UT |
VT |
VA |
WA |
WV |
WI |
WY |
| AB |
BC |
MB |
NB |
NF |
NT |
NS |
ON |
PE |
PQ |
| SK |
YT |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K047 Fescue - oatgrass
K048 California steppe
K050 Fescue - wheatgrass
K051 Wheatgrass - bluegrass
K053 Grama - galleta steppe
K054 Grama - tobosa prairie
K056 Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
K063 Foothills prairie
K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
K065 Grama - buffalograss
K066 Wheatgrass - needlegrass
K067 Wheatgrass - bluestem - needlegrass
K068 Wheatgrass - grama - buffalograss
K069 Bluestem - grama prairie
K070 Sandsage - bluestem prairie
K071 Shinnery
K072 Sea oats prairie
K073 Northern cordgrass prairie
K074 Bluestem prairie
K075 Nebraska Sandhills prairie
K076 Blackland prairie
K077 Bluestem - sacahuista prairie
K078 Southern cordgrass prairie
K079 Palmetto prairie
K080 Marl - everglades
K081 Oak savanna
K082 Mosaic of K074 and K100
K083 Cedar glades
K084 Cross Timbers
K085 Mesquite - buffalograss
K086 Juniper - oak savanna
K087 Mesquite - oak savanna
K088 Fayette prairie
K089 Black Belt
K090 Live oak - sea oats
K091 Cypress savanna
K092 Everglades
K094 Conifer bog
K100 Oak - hickory forest
K104 Appalachian oak forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
16 Aspen
17 Pin cherry
18 Paper birch
63 Cottonwood
65 Pin oak - sweetgum
88 Willow oak - water oak - diamondleaf oak
89 Live oak
91 Swamp chestnut oak - cherrybark oak
92 Sweetgum - willow oak
93 Sugarberry - American elm - green ash
94 Sycamore - sweetgum - American elm
95 Black willow
96 Overcup oak - water hickory
101 Baldcypress
102 Baldcypress - tupelo
103 Water tupelo - swamp tupelo
104 Sweetbay - swamp tupelo - redbay
217 Aspen
235 Cottonwood - willow
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Mallards mostly inhabit wetland plant communities composed of marsh
species such as cattail (Typha spp.), bulrush (Scirpus spp.), smartweed
(Polygonum spp.), sedge (Carex spp.), and (Phragmites spp.). They also
inhabit brome (Bromus spp.)-wheatgrass (Agropyron spp.) communities
[12]. Mallards may use upland meadows for nesting; plants in these
meadows may include aster (Aster spp.), sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis),
and white-top grass (Scholochloa festucacea) [17].
REFERENCES :
NO-ENTRY
BIOLOGICAL DATA AND HABITAT REQUIREMENTS
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Anas platyrhynchos
TIMING OF MAJOR LIFE HISTORY EVENTS :
Pair formation- mostly complete by autumn but can continue into winter;
typically monogamous.
Breeding/Nesting- March through June.
Clutch- 5 to 14 eggs; young birds lay smaller clutches; may renest if
original clutch is destroyed.
Incubation- 26 days.
Fledge- 8 weeks.
Maturity- 1 year.
[2,12,15]
PREFERRED HABITAT :
Mallards prefer lowland habitat such as marshes, ponds, small lakes,
sheltered coastal bays and estuaries, shallow pools, tidal flats, and
protected coves [12,15]. They also graze in stubble fields and inhabit
low-elevation mountain lakes and streams. Mallards primarily nest in
grasslands away from the water's edge but have been known to use old
bird nests, tree cavities, rights-of-way, and meadows with woody
vegetation [2].
COVER REQUIREMENTS :
Mallards are very adaptable and appear to have only a few specific
requirements. They need enough dry ground away from the water's edge
for nesting yet plenty of pond area for feeding [2,17]. Also, mallards
need the previous year's dead vegetation for nests [15].
FOOD HABITS :
Mallards eat a variety of aquatic plants and invertebrates as well as
crops. Foods include duckweeds (Lemna spp, Spirodela spp.), smartweeds
(Polygonum spp.), grasses (Poaceae), sedges (Carex spp.), pondweeds
(Potamogeton spp.), rice-cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides), arrowhead
(Sagittaria latifolia), wild millet (Echinochloa spp.), crustaceans,
worms, snails, spiders, corn, and soybeans [7,12,15]. Acorns in
bottomland hardwood types are also important food [14].
PREDATORS :
Predators of mallard include humans, cats, dogs, raccoon, opossum;
skunks, weasels, martens; eagles, hawks; crows, ravens, magpies; and
turtles, snakes, and fish [13,15].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Recruitment of mallards in the prairie pothole region of North America
is low even during years of high rainfall and runoff. Wetland density
may be a limiting factor in nesting success, although evidence is
inconclusive [16]. The creation and restoration of wetlands can
increase wetland densities where low.
Setting numerical goals for local populations may be futile due to
regional and continental population shifts from habitat changes.
Instead, measurement of recruitment parameters at the local level can be
used with population models to predict population changes independent of
breeding size population [2].
Mallards are susceptible to diseases in urban settings. Food poisoning
is especially common in stagnant park ponds where bacteria builds up
from heat and where bread is fed to ducks by people [4].
Bottomland oak forests serve as important feeding and wintering areas
for ducks. Creating uneven-aged canopies by selection cuts and small
clearcuts (0.5 ha or larger) is adequate for maintaining and
regenerating oak stands [14]. Reservoirs in these areas should be
flooded beginning in mid-September and continued through October.
Drawdown should begin in mid-February. Following years of good acorn
production, wetland flooding should be withheld for 2 to 3 years so the
understory can establish [14].
REFERENCES :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Anas platyrhynchos
DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS :
Fire can and often does destroy mallard nests. However, some females
seem devoted to hatching their clutch enough to return to nests to
hatch undamaged eggs [9,11].
HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS :
Burning in late May in Manitoba's pothole region showed a drastic
decline in mallard nests initiated immediately following burning. Nest
initiations rose again in late June [5]. Mallards are early nesters and
are adversely affected by spring burns. Also they prefer nesting in
dense cover, which is susceptible to heavy burning [5]. Fires before
May 10 in Manitoba negatively affect nesting success, and fires after
May 10 affect nesting success of later-nesting species [17]. Also,
large scale autumn burns may remove vegetation that is important for
capturing snow, which in turn recharges marshes during spring.
Spring burning to remove grass cover showed a slight decrease in mallard
nesting on a North Dakota wildlife refuge. On average there were 13
percent fewer of all nesting ducks, including mallard, on plots that
were mowed and burned compared to undisturbed plots [13]. Fires on
another North Dakota refuge conducted over a 4-year period showed a
greater number of nest successes on plots burned in August and September
compared to June fires [8]. By the fourth growing season nest success
was still greater on the burned plots later, although there was no
significant difference between the number of nests on the plots burned
in August and September, and the plots burned in June.
FIRE USE :
Fires can reduce predator activity through elimination of
hiding cover [5]. Rotating spring fires have proved effective for
enhancing waterfowl habitat in Manitoba. To ensure the maximum area is
available for nesting, burning should be done in small parcels [17].
Fire can be used to establish red goosefoot (Chenopodium rubrum), an
important duck food, by reducing impenetrable reed (Phragmites spp.)
thickets and breaking solid stands of meadow grass. To avoid harmful
effects on ducks burning should be done at times other than during the
primary nesting season or shortly before [8]. Any burning can reduce
nesting cover, however. Autumn fires could potentially destroy rank
grasses needed for cover the following nesting season, so some cover
should be left at all times. In northern prairies burning should not be
conducted any more frequently than every two to three years [8].
Duebbert and others [18] recommend fire for rejuvenating prairie
pothole regions of cool- and warm-season grasses. Cool-season native
grasses should be burned from late March through mid-May or mid-August
through mid-September. Warm-season native grasses should be burned
between mid-May and mid-June [18].
Fire has been used to provide openings in cattail (Typha spp.) marshes
for mallard foraging. In the St Clair Wildlife Refuge, Ontario, mallards
used openings that were created by winter burning followed by spring
flooding. Mallard foraging effort was positively correlated with invertebrate
biomass and opening size (P<0.001). Burning produced less cattail mortality
than winter mowing followed by spring flooding [20]. The
Research Project
Summary of Ball's [20] study provides details.
For more information on specific wetland species refer to the following
in this database: Phragmites, Carex, Spartina, Scirpus, and Eleocharis.
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
REFERENCES :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Anas platyrhynchos
REFERENCES :
1. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
2. Cowardin, Lewis M.; Gilmer, David S.; Shaiffer, Charles W. 1985. Mallard
recruitment in the agricultural environment of North Dakota. Wildlife
Monographs No. 92. Washington, DC: The Wildlife Society. 37 p. [18150]
3. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
4. Figley, William K.; VanDruff, Larry W. 1982. The ecology of urban
mallards. Wildlife Monographs No. 81. Washington, DC: The Wildlife
Society. 40 p. [2041]
5. Fritzell, Erik K. 1975. Effects of agricultural burning on nesting
waterfowl. Canadian Field-Naturalist. 89: 21-27. [14635]
6. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
7. Gruenhagen, Ned M.; Fredrickson, Leigh H. 1990. Food use by migratory
female mallards in northwest Missouri. Journal of Wildlife Management.
54(4): 622-626. [17427]
8. Higgins, Kenneth F. 1986. A comparison of burn season effects on nesting
birds in North Dakota mixed-grass prairie. Prairie Naturalist. 18(4):
219-228. [1149]
9. Hodson, N. L. 1965. Mallard's devotion to nest in face of fire. British
Birds. 58: 97. [16011]
10. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. United States [Potential natural vegetation of the
conterminous United States]. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 1:3,168,000; colored. [3455]
11. Leedy, Daniel L. 1950. Ducks continue to nest after brush fire at
Castalia, Ohio. Auk. 67: 234. [14637]
12. Madge, Steve; Burn, Hilary. 1988. Waterfowl: An indentification guide to
the ducks, geese and swans of the world. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin
Company. 298 p. [20029]
13. Martz, Gerald F. 1967. Effects of nesting cover removal on breeding
puddle ducks. Journal of Wildlife Management. 31(2): 236-247. [16284]
14. Moorhead, David J.; Hodges, John D.; Reinecke, Kenneth J. 1991.
Silvicultural options for waterfowl management in bottomland hardwood
stands and greentree reservoirs. In: Coleman, Sandra S.; Neary, Daniel
G., compilers. Proceedings, 6th biennial southern silvicultural research
conference: Volume 2; 1990 October 30 - November 1; Memphis, TN. Gen.
Tech. Rep. SE-70. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station: 710-721. [17507]
15. Phillips, John C. 1986. A natural history of the ducks. Vols. 1-2. New
York: Dover Publications, Inc. 409 p. [21634]
16. Rotella, Jay J.; Ratti, John T. 1992. Mallard brood survival and wetland
habitat conditions in southwestern Manitoba. Journal of Wildlife
Management. 56(3): 499-507. [19286]
17. Ward, P. 1968. Fire in relation to waterfowl habitat of the delta
marshes. In: Proceedings, annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference;
1968 March 14-15; Tallahassee, FL. No. 8. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers
Research Station: 255-267. [18932]
18. Duebbert, Harold F.; Jacobson, Erling T.; Higgins, Kenneth F.; Podoll,
Erling B. 1981. Establishment of seeded grasslands for wildlife habitat
in the praire pothole region. Special Scientific Report-Wildlife No.
234. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife
Service. 21 p. [5740]
19. Donohoe, Robert W. 1974. American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana Walt.
In: Gill, John D.; Healy, William M., eds. Shrubs and vines for
northeastern wildlife. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-9. Upper Darby, PA: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest
Experiment Station: 86-88. [13714]
20. Ball, J. P. 1984. Habitat selection and optimal foraging by
mallards: a field experiment. Guelph, ON: University of Guelph. 44 p.
Thesis. [18071]
FEIS Home Page
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