A banded American Black Duck is released by a volunteer at the winter banding event. SUNY Oswego professor and adjunct ESF faculty Dr. Michael Schummer published an article in the recent issue of the New York State Conservationist magazine highlighting the state's annual duck banding open house. At this popular event, members of the public are invited to participate in the banding and release of waterfowl, and to learn about the conservation of American Black Ducks, which have declined sharply in the last half-century. Black Duck populations have faced many hypothesized threats during that time, including loss of forested breeding habitat, overharvest, and competition and hybridization with the closely-related Mallard. However, the exact causes of the decline remain unknown, and biologists have been using banding to better understand changes in survival and abundance across the range of the species. The article ends with a description of Dr. Schummer's newly-initiated Black Duck research project being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Cohen and two ESF Master's students, Adam Bleau and Justin Droke. The project will investigate interactions between American Black Ducks and Mallards during winter on the Finger Lakes. Check out the entire article here: http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/104245.html.
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