• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
Livezey, B. C. 1995. Phylogeny and evolutionary ecology of modern seaducks (Anatidae: Mergini). Condor 97(1): 233-255.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Near Threatened	A2bce+3bce+4bce
2018	Near Threatened	A2bce+3bce+4bce
2016	Near Threatened	A2bce+3bce+4bce
2013	Near Threatened	A2bce+3bce+4bce
2012	Near Threatened	A2bce+3bce+4bce
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	17,700,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	46,900,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	350000-560000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2006
Population trend	decreasing	-	inferred	2014-2030
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Generation length	5.3 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The total population is estimated to number c.530,000-830,000 individuals (Delany and Scott 2006), probably including c.350,000-560,000 mature individuals, on the basis that they account for around 2/3 of the population. Partners in Flight (2019) estimate the population at ~500,000, within the range stipulated above.

Trend justification: This species is thought to be declining in western Alaska and to be stable on the Arctic coastal plain (per Sea Duck Joint Venture 2003). Numbers also appear to be declining in the Atlantic flyway, whereas no statistically significant population trend is apparent in the results of a fixed-wing aerial survey covering the Atlantic coast for the period 1991-1999 (Sea Duck Joint Venture 2003). Data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Canadian Wildlife Service breeding waterfowl survey indicate that the combined population of all three scoter species along survey transects in the western boreal forest may have declined by as much as 75% since the 1950s (Sea Duck Joint Venture 2003). Estimates from a more recent survey indicate that the breeding population in western Alaska is currently c.160,000 birds and appears to have increased slightly since the survey was initiated in 2004 (R. Stehn per T. Bowman in litt. 2012). Mid-winter inventory data do not indicate any trends on the Pacific coast and only show a weak decline on the Atlantic coast although dramatic local increases are noted in the Lower New York Bay (Ramírez-Garofalo 2020). However, these surveys are said to track scoter populations poorly and all three species are combined in one count (Sea Duck Joint Venture 2003). Trends are apparently uncertain in far north-east Asia (see Delany and Scott 2006); thus more research is required. Limited data and anecdotal evidence from South Korea suggests that the species has declined substantially as a wintering species since the 1960s and 1970s (N. Moores in litt. 2012). Rosenberg et al. (2019) suggest a decline in mature individuals of 400,731 between 1970 and 2017, a decline of ~56% across the period and ~24% across three generation lengths (~16 years) (Partners in Flight 2019). As a result of this estimate and the mixed evidence presented above, the population is suspected to be undergoing a moderately rapid decline (i.e. 20-29% over three generations).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Canada	extant	native		yes	yes	yes
China (mainland)	extant	native			yes
Japan	extant	native			yes
Mexico	extant	native			yes
North Korea	extant	native			yes
Russia	extant	native		yes	yes	yes
Russia (Asian)	extant	native		yes
South Korea	extant	native			yes
St Pierre and Miquelon (to France)	extant	native			yes	yes
USA	extant	native		yes	yes	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Canada	Albany River Estuary and Assoc. Coastline
Canada	Ekwan to Lakitusaki Shores
Canada	Longridge Point and Associated Coastline
Canada	Nicolet et Baie-du-Fèbvre
Canada	Northeast James Bay Coast
Canada	Pen Islands
Canada	Point Lepreau/Maces Bay
Canada	Restigouche River Estuary
Canada	Shagamu River and Area
Russia (Asian)	Bol'shaya River Estuary
Russia (Asian)	Karaginskiy Island
Russia (Asian)	Lebediny refuge (Markovo depression)
Russia (Asian)	Lesser Kuril Ridge and Kunashir Island
Russia (Asian)	Nevskoye Lake
Russia (Asian)	North-east Sakhalin lagoons
USA	Central Yukon - Kuskokwim
USA	Kachemak Bay
USA	Kuskokwim Bay, marine
USA	Kuskokwim River Delta
USA	Kvichak Bay
USA	Marmot Bay
USA	Nelson Lagoon-Mud Bay
USA	Nushagak Bay
USA	Nushagak Bay, marine
USA	Port Heiden
USA	Port Moller-Herendeen Bay
USA	Prince William Sound

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	non-breeding
Shrubland	Boreal	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Tundra Wetlands (incl. pools and temporary waters from snowmelt)	major	breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Other impacts	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Energy production & mining	Oil & gas drilling	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Viral/prion-induced diseases - Avian Influenza Virus (H5N1 subtype)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Nutrient loads	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Oil spills	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Transportation & service corridors	Shipping lanes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international
Sport hunting/specimen collecting	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Black Scoter Melanitta americana. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/black-scoter-melanitta-americana on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.