FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Anas platyrynchos | Mallard 



DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS : 
Fire can and often does destroy mallard nests.  However, some females
seem devoted to hatching their clutch enough to return to nests to
hatch undamaged eggs [9,11].


HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS : 
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.


FIRE USE : 
Fires can be used to 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 (Chenopodeum 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 rejunvenating 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].

For more information on specific wetland species refer to the following
in this database:  Phragmites, Carex, Spartina, Scirpus, and Eleocharis.


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Anas platyrynchos | Mallard