Podiceps grisegena

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PODICIPEDIFORMES	PODICIPEDIDAE

Scientific Name:

Podiceps grisegena

Species Authority:

(Boddaert, 1783)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Red-necked Grebe

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2009

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species can be found in western Canada, north-west USA, eastern Russia, north-east China and northern Japan, wintering from Japan and Korea through the Aleutian Islands to California (both USA), and off eastern the USA south to Florida. It can also be found in eastern Europe, west and west-central Asia wintering from the North Sea, Black Sea and Caspian Sea¹.
Countries:	Native: Afghanistan; Albania; Armenia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Canada; China; Croatia; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; France; Georgia; Germany; Greece; Hungary; India; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Kazakhstan; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Kyrgyzstan; Latvia; Lithuania; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Moldova; Montenegro; Netherlands; Norway; Pakistan; Poland; Romania; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan, Province of China; Tajikistan; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United States; Uzbekistan Vagrant: Algeria; Bahamas; Bermuda; Cyprus; Egypt; Faroe Islands; Greenland; Iceland; Israel; Lebanon; Luxembourg; Portugal; Saudi Arabia; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; Syrian Arab Republic; Tunisia
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour This species is fully migratory and breeds from April or May to June or August¹ in isolated solitary pairs², sometimes also nesting in loose colonies¹ of up to c.20 pairs⁵. Post-breeding adults undergo a flightless wing-moulting period² after which they migrate south either singly or in small loose flocks¹ with concentrations of over 2,000 individuals occurring at favoured staging sites¹. During the winter the species typically feeds singly and rarely aggregates into flocks². Habitat Breeding The species breeds on small (less than 3 ha), shallow (less than 2 m deep) inland waters with abundant emergent vegetation¹ (e.g. reedbeds)² and stretches of open water¹, showing a preference for waters in forested areas or in shrub tundra further to the north¹. Suitable habitats include small pools and lakes, backwaters of large rivers, pools cut off from the sea in estuaries¹ and coastal lagoons². In coastal locations the species often makes foraging flights to inland lakes or offshore areas², and if foraging at sea it shows a preference for sub-tidal locations down to a depth of 15 m with sand or gravel substrates, scattered rocks and patches of seaweed². Non-breeding When moulting, on passage or during the winter the species frequents large inland lakes^{1, 2} or shallow coastal areas² with abundant fish stocks¹, often considerable distances from the shore, amongst islands in archipelagos or over drop-off zones². When foraging at sea the species shows a preference for sub-tidal locations down to a depth of 15 m with sand or gravel substrates, scattered rocks and patches of seaweed². Diet Its diet consists predominantly of invertebrates⁵ such as adult and larval aquatic insects (e.g. water beetles, water bugs and dragonfly larvae), crayfish and molluscs³, although fish are also be important locally or seasonally¹. Breeding site The nest is a floating platform of plant matter anchored to submerged or emergent vegetation¹. The species typically breeds in isolated pairs with more than 50 m between neighbouring nests², although in some cases (e.g. on predator-free islands of floating vegetation attached to emergent vegetation beds) semi-colonial nesting may occur².
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour This species is fully migratory and breeds from April or May to June or August¹ in isolated solitary pairs², sometimes also nesting in loose colonies¹ of up to c.20 pairs⁵. Post-breeding adults undergo a flightless wing-moulting period² after which they migrate south either singly or in small loose flocks¹ with concentrations of over 2,000 individuals occurring at favoured staging sites¹. During the winter the species typically feeds singly and rarely aggregates into flocks². Habitat Breeding The species breeds on small (less than 3 ha), shallow (less than 2 m deep) inland waters with abundant emergent vegetation¹ (e.g. reedbeds)² and stretches of open water¹, showing a preference for waters in forested areas or in shrub tundra further to the north¹. Suitable habitats include small pools and lakes, backwaters of large rivers, pools cut off from the sea in estuaries¹ and coastal lagoons². In coastal locations the species often makes foraging flights to inland lakes or offshore areas², and if foraging at sea it shows a preference for sub-tidal locations down to a depth of 15 m with sand or gravel substrates, scattered rocks and patches of seaweed². Non-breeding When moulting, on passage or during the winter the species frequents large inland lakes^{1, 2} or shallow coastal areas² with abundant fish stocks¹, often considerable distances from the shore, amongst islands in archipelagos or over drop-off zones². When foraging at sea the species shows a preference for sub-tidal locations down to a depth of 15 m with sand or gravel substrates, scattered rocks and patches of seaweed². Diet Its diet consists predominantly of invertebrates⁵ such as adult and larval aquatic insects (e.g. water beetles, water bugs and dragonfly larvae), crayfish and molluscs³, although fish are also be important locally or seasonally¹. Breeding site The nest is a floating platform of plant matter anchored to submerged or emergent vegetation¹. The species typically breeds in isolated pairs with more than 50 m between neighbouring nests², although in some cases (e.g. on predator-free islands of floating vegetation attached to emergent vegetation beds) semi-colonial nesting may occur².

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	In North America the species is threatened by pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other pesticides¹ (e.g. DDT)⁴ which cause reduced reproductive success due to egg sterility and eggshell thinning^{1, 4}. The species is also threatened by the modification and degradation of lakes and by human disturbance from water-based recreational activities¹. It may also be threatened by future oil spills at sea during the winter (although during this season the species is widely scattered along coasts, so the effects of oil spills are likely to be small)¹.

Major Threat(s):

In North America the species is threatened by pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other pesticides¹ (e.g. DDT)⁴ which cause reduced reproductive success due to egg sterility and eggshell thinning^{1, 4}. The species is also threatened by the modification and degradation of lakes and by human disturbance from water-based recreational activities¹. It may also be threatened by future oil spills at sea during the winter (although during this season the species is widely scattered along coasts, so the effects of oil spills are likely to be small)¹.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Podiceps grisegena. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2012.
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