Anas crecca | UAE National Red List of Birds

Taxa
Anas crecca | Linnaeus, 1758
Publication
UAE National Red List of Birds
Location
Countries in Assessment
United Arab Emirates
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Off
Scope (Assessment)
National
Taxon
Taxonomic Group
Vertebrates
Taxonomic Group Level 2
Birds
Assessed taxon level
Species
Taxonomic Notes
Common Teal;A. crecca;(del Hoyo;et al.;2014) has been split into;Common Teal;A. crecca and Green-winged Teal;Anas carolinensis;(Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International 2020).;;This change follows a revision to the scoring of the;males' vertical white breast-side line, due to its role as a signal in display. As such the revised scoring is as follows:;male;A. carolinensis;differs from A. crecca;male in its vertical white breast-side line, replicated on rear flank (3),;lack of white horizontal scapular stripe (2), and lack of narrow buff supercilium (above broad green eyestripe) (1); various other very minor differences cannot be scored (plumage characters capped at three), differences in measurements do not exist, behavioural differences are matters of frequency rather than type, and genetic evidence, while suggesting paraphyly involving;A. flavirostris, indicates that hybridization is relatively widespread in Beringia (allow 1 for broad hybrid zone), indicating that;carolinensis;does warrant species status.;Aleutian race nimia remains treated as a synonym of a monotyic A. crecca.
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
This species is a common to very common passage migrant and winter visitor to the UAE (Pedersen et al. 2017). It occurs throughout the country between September and April, with numbers being highest from late October to mid-March (Richardson 1990).
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
No
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species occurs in wetlands, from salt marshes to fresh and brackish inland ponds, lakes, ditches and standing water (Richardson 1990, Aspinall and Porter 2011), including dams in the Hajar Mountains. It is rarely found on tidal creeks and lagoons (Richardson 1990). There is no information available about its diet in the UAE; elsewhere during winter, the species mainly takes the seeds of aquatic plants (e.g. emergent and submerged macrophytes), grasses, sedges and agricultural grains (del Hoyo et al. 1992, Kear 2005). The species is migratory; individuals winter in the UAE between September and April before returning to their breeding grounds in Eurasia, where they breed from May onwards in single pairs or loose groups (Madge and Burn 1988, Richardson 1990, del Hoyo et al. 1992). Outside of the breeding season, the species forms large concentrations, with large flocks of 30-40 and sometimes hundreds of individuals gathering at winter roosting sites (Brown et al. 1982, Madge and Burn 1988).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Least Concern
Assessment status abreviation
LC
Assessment rationale/justification
This species has a large and increasing non-breeding population in the UAE, which qualifies it for listing as Least Concern. The population is stable within the region. Conditions outside of the UAE are considered unlikely to deteriorate, so there is a potentially very high rescue effect from individuals outside of the region.
About the assessment
Assessment year
2019
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment
Government
IGO
Assessor affiliation specific
Government|IGO
Criteria system
Criteria system specifics
IUCN v3.1 + Regional Guidelines v4.0
Criteria system used
IUCN
Criteria Citation
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Endemism
Endemic to region
Not_assigned
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Conservation
Threats listed in assessment
The most relevant threats within UAE are changes in coastal land-use and the possibility of oil pollution, but the severity of these threats towards this species is unknown.Individuals of this species that visit UAE are also threatened by a range of threats that operate outside of the country: for instance, the species is threatened by lowland habitat loss and degradation (e.g. through wetland drainage) (Musil 2006) and by upland habitat loss due to afforestation and other land-use changes (Kear 2005). The species suffers mortality as a result of lead shot ingestion (Mondain-Monval et al. 2002), and is intensively hunted in its some areas (del Hoyo et al. 1992; e.g. Iran [Balmaki and Barati 2006]). The species is threatened by disturbance from human recreational activities (Pease et al. 2005),;and construction work (Burton et al. 2002). The species is susceptible to avian botulism (Rocke 2006) and avian influenza (Melville and Shortridge 2006, Gaidet et al. 2007) so may be threatened by future outbreaks of these diseases.
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Further information
History
The species would also have qualified as Least Concern in 1996.
Scientific Name Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Anas crecca Animalia Chordata Aves Anseriformes Anatidae Anas