Fire Effects Information System (FEIS)

FEIS Home Page

Introductory
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Snyder, S. A. 1993. Anas rubripes. 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/anru/all.html [].


ABBREVIATION : 
ANRU

COMMON NAMES : 
   American black duck
   black duck


TAXONOMY : 
The commonly accepted scientific name for the American black duck is
Anas rubripes Brewster [10,14].  There are no recognized subspecies.
The American black duck hybridizes with the mallard (Anas platyrynchos).


ORDER : 
Anseriformes

CLASS : 
Bird

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
See OTHER STATUS

OTHER STATUS : 
The black duck is on The Blue List of the Audobon Society [15].  It is
declining rapidly due to many factors.  There is no conclusive evidence
to determine the exact cause of the decline, although competition and
hybridization with the mallard as well as overhunting have been blamed
most frequently [3,10,13].

WILDLIFE DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Anas rubripes
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
The Americanw black duck inhabits primarily the eastern North American
seaboard but can be found inland as far as Texas in the south and
Saskatchewan in the north.  It ranges from the northern peninsula of
Quebec to southern Florida [10].  It breeds in northern Canada and the
United States, is a year-round resident in the central states, and
winters from southern Illinois south to Florida [13].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
FRES10 White-red-jack pine
FRES11 Spruce-fir
FRES14 Oak-pine<
FRES15 Oak-hickory
FRES16 Oak-gum-cypress<
FRES17 Elm-ash-cottonwood
FRES18 Maple-beech-birch
FRES19 Aspen-birch
FRES24 Hemlock-Sitka spruce
FRES39 Prairie
FRES41 Wet grasslands


STATES : 


    
AL
    
AR
    
CT
    
DE
    
FL
    
GA
	
IL


    
IN
    
IA
    
KS
    
KY
    
LA
    
ME
    
MD


    
MA
    
MI
    
MN
    
MS
    
MO
    
NH
    
NJ


    
NY
    
OH
    
OK
    
OR
    
PA
    
RI
    
SC


    
TN
    
TX
    
UT
    
VT
    
VA
    
WV
    
WI






    
NB
    
NF
    
NT
    
NS
    
ON
    
PE
    
PQ
	
SK




BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K073  Northern cordgrass prairie
   K078  Southern cordgrass prairie
   K090  Live oak - sea oats
   K091  Cypress savanna
   K093  Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
   K094  Conifer bog
   K095  Great Lakes pine forest
   K096  Northeastern spruce - fir forest
   K097  Southeastern spruce - fir forest
   K098  Northern floodplain forest
   K099  Maple - basswood forest
   K100  Oak - hickory forest
   K101  Elm - ash forest
   K103  Mixed mesophytic forest
   K106  Northern hardwoods
   K107  Northern hardwoods - fir forest
   K108  Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
   K111  Oak - hickory - pine forest
   K112  Southern mixed forest
   K113  Southern floodplain forest
   K114  Pocosin


SAF COVER TYPES : 
     1  Jack pine
     5  Balsam fir
    12  Black spruce
    13  Black spruce - tamarack
    16  Aspen
    17  Pin cherry
    18  Paper birch
    24  Hemlock - yellow birch
    38  Tamarack
    63  Cottonwood
    87  Sweet gum - yellow-poplar
    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
   100  Pondcypress
   101  Baldcypress
   102  Baldcypress - tupelo
   103  Water tupelo - swamp tupelo
   104  Sweetbay - swamp tupelo - redbay
   107  White spruce
   201  White spruce
   202  White spruce - paper birch
   203  Balsam poplar
   204  Black spruce
   251  White spruce - aspen
   252  Paper birch
   253  Black spruce - white spruce
   254  Black spruce -  paper birch


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY

BIOLOGICAL DATA AND HABITAT REQUIREMENTS
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Anas rubripes
TIMING OF MAJOR LIFE HISTORY EVENTS : 
Pair formation - mostly paired by autumn but can continue into winter.
Breeding/Nesting - March through June.
Incubation - 23 to 33 days.
Clutch - 7 to 12 eggs; birds may renest if first clutch is destroyed.
Fledge - 8 to 10 weeks.
Maturity - 1 year.
[10,13]


PREFERRED HABITAT : 
American black ducks prefer coastal brackish marshes and bays with
adjacent agricultural lands [9].  They also inhabit marshy inland lake
shores, sedge (Carex spp.) meadows, bogs, conifer uplands, wet hardwood
forests, and islands in large bodies of water [10,13].  American black
ducks seem to prefer more wooded habitat compared to the mallard [10].
They nest in tree cavities, old bird nests, on muskrat (Ondatra
zibethica) lodges, or on the ground either near water or as far as
one-half mile from the water's edge [10].


COVER REQUIREMENTS : 
During the nesting season American black ducks use wooded areas more
than other dabbling ducks do.  However, because they seem to use a wide
variety of habitats, it is difficult to determine specific requirements
on a broad scale [13].  For brood rearing, American black ducks use
emergent wetlands, marshes, flooded hardwood areas, sloughs, creeks, or
ponds [6].  During winter they usually gather on large bodies of water
or on coastlines where there is abundant plant food [13].

American black ducks use coastal areas or ice-free areas on winter range
for feeding.  They need protection from winter storms; this can be
provided by open water or high banks along open water or large
esturaries [9].  A mix of marine and estuarine habitats offers the
greatest variety of food and cover, although specific data is
unavailable.  For detailed information on habitat suitablity index
models for winter American black ducks refer to Lewis and Garrison [9].
Others have detailed information on determining suitable nesting and
brood-rearing habitat [6].


FOOD HABITS : 
Aquatic invertebrates are the major food for nesting females and young
American black ducks [13].  Other foods include upland grasses, crops
such as blueberries (Vaccinium spp.), oats, buckwheat, corn, and
potatoes.  They also eat clams, mussels, some fish, eelgrass (Aostera
marina), wigeongrass (Ruppia maritima), cordgrass (Spartina spp.),
wildrice (Zizania aquatica), pondweed (Potamogeton spp.), arrowhead
(Sagittaria spp.), burreed (Sparganium spp.), bulrush (Scirpus spp.),
sedge (Carex spp.), and the seeds of oaks (Quercus spp.), baldcypress
(Taxodium distichum), tupelo (Nyssa spp.), and buttonbush (Cephalanthus
spp.)  [9,13].


PREDATORS : 
Humans are the most significant predator of the American black duck
[13].  Other predators include cats (Felidae) and dogs (Canidae); skunks
and weasels (Mustelidae); ravens and crows (Corvidae); opossum
(Didelphis virginiana), raccoon (Procyon lotor), snakes, turtles, and
fish [6].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
The American black duck is being replaced by the mallard as the most
important nesting species along the East Coast of North America [4].
Because they use a variety of habitats, it may be best to determine what
areas are used locally and then protect and enhance those areas [6].
Some techniques for improving and creating brood-rearing habitat include
establishing stands of known foods, flooding wetland areas 2 to 24
inches (5-61 cm) deep, and creating visual isolation between feeding
areas to protect against predators [6].  To create nesting habitat
construct level ditches, pits, small dams for runoff ponds, or blast
potholes.  For more detailed information refer to Kirby [6].

FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Anas rubripes



DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS : 
American black ducks may return to nests following fires that destroy
their clutches [8].


HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS : 
No information is available on the specific effects of fire on American
black ducks nor on their behavior following fire.  However, specific
information regarding important plant species in American black duck
habitat is available through this database.  Refer to species such as
Phragmites, Carex, Scirpus, Eleocharis, and Spartina.


FIRE USE : 
Early spring burning of coastal marshes can be used to force nesting
American black ducks out of those areas where nests are likely to be
destroyed by flooding [6].

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
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Anas rubripes


 .  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]

 .  Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
       Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p.  [905]

 .  Feierabend, J. Scott. 1984. The black duck:  an international resource
       on trial in the United States. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 12(2):
       128-134.  [21631]

 .  Figley, William K.; VanDruff, Larry W. 1982. The ecology of urban
       mallards. Wildlife Monographs No. 81. Washington, DC: The Wildlife
       Society. 40 p.  [2041]

 .  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]

 .  Kirby, Ronald E. 1988. American black duck breeding enhancement in the
       northeastern United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Fish and Wildlife
       Service. 50 p.  [21632]

 .  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]

 .  Leedy, Daniel L. 1950. Ducks continue to nest after brush fire at
       Castalia, Ohio. Auk. 67: 234.  [14637]

 .  Lewis, James C.; Garrison, Russell L. 1984. Habitat suitability index
       models:  American black duck (wintering). Washington, DC: U.S. Fish &
       Wildlife Service. 16 p.  [21633]

.  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]

.  Nichols, James D. 1991. Science, population ecology, and the management
       of the American black duck. Journal of Wildlife Management. 55(4):
       790-799.  [19285]

.  Phillips, John C. 1986. A natural history of the ducks. Vols. 1-2. New
       York: Dover Publications, Inc.  409 p.  [21634]

.  Spencer, Howard E. 1986. Black duck. In: Di Silvestro, Roger L., ed.
       Audubon Wildlife Report. New York: The National Audubon Society:
       855-869.  [21635]

.  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]

.  Tate, James, Jr. 1986. The Blue List for 1986. American Birds. 40(2):
       227-235.  [24324]