Common Mallard

More info for the term: marsh

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

mallard

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].

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].

More info for the term: hardwood

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].

More info for the term: cover

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.

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

More info for the term: swamp

    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

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

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

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the terms: bog, forest

   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

More info for the terms: density, restoration, selection

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

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













MEXICO

Predators of mallard include humans, cats, dogs, raccoon, opossum;
skunks, weasels, martens; eagles, hawks; crows, ravens, magpies; and
turtles, snakes, and fish [13,15].

More info for the term: tree

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].

More info on this topic.

This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

    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

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].

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]

More info for the terms: cool-season, cover, fire regime, warm-season

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 less than 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".