• 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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	C2a(ii)	A2cd+3cd+4cd; C2a(ii)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2021	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2016	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2013	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2012	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2008	Endangered	C2a(ii)
2006	Endangered
2004	Endangered
2000	Endangered
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	261,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1300-3300 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2002
Population trend	decreasing	medium	inferred	2012-2024
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Generation length	4 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: The population is estimated to number 2,000-5,000 individuals, roughly equating to 1,300-3,300 mature individuals (H. G. Young in litt. to Durrell Wildlife Madagascar Project 2002, via Wetlands International 2021).

Trend justification: While the population at the protected area of Lake Alaotra appears to be stable (Razafindrajao et al. 2017), the population overall is inferred to be declining owing to habitat loss and hunting. Kull (2012) estimated that between 1950-1994, 60% of wetlands were lost, roughly equating to a loss rate of 22% over 12 years (three generations [Bird et al. 2020]). As this species is also subject to intensive hunting, and is intolerant of human disturbance (H. G. Young in litt. 2012), the overall rate of decline is suspected to fall in the band 30-49%. As wetland habitats are lost to agriculture (Kull 2012), and both agricultural expansion and hunting pressure are linked to the expanding human population, these rates are suspected to continue into the future.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Madagascar	extant	native	yes
Mauritius	possibly extinct	introduced	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Madagascar	Andringitra National Park
Madagascar	Ankaizina wetlands
Madagascar	Bezavona Classified Forest
Madagascar	Didy and Ivondro wetlands
Madagascar	Kalambatritra Special Reserve
Madagascar	Lake Alaotra NPA
Madagascar	Lake Itasy
Madagascar	Lake Sahaka - Analabe NPA and extension
Madagascar	Mahavavy - Kinkony wetlands NPA
Madagascar	North Pangalane
Madagascar	Ranomafana National Park and extension
Madagascar	Sihanaka Forest
Madagascar	Torotorofotsy Wetlands
Madagascar	Vondrozo Classified Forest NPA
Mauritius	Relict Forests of the Central Plateau

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 2000 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Shifting agriculture	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Rapid Declines		High Impact: 8
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Anas platyrhynchos	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Hybridisation, Competition
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Channa striata	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Soil erosion, sedimentation	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Meller's Duck Anas melleri. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/mellers-duck-anas-melleri 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.