Speculations about southern mergansers (Mergus spp.): life history and ecological characteristics inferred from kindred species

Life history and ecological characteristics of extant mergansers (Tribe Mergini) are summarised and used to infer those likely displayed by the extinct merganser from “mainland” New Zealand (Mergus sp. indeterm.). I speculate this was a river-dwelling species, plausibly a year-round territorial occupant of mid-lower reaches of rivers, whose subadults and non-breeders may have aggregated seasonally on broad lower reaches, including estuaries. Of extant mergansers, its ecology was probably most similar to that of Brazilian merganser (Mergus octosetaceus). Holocene sea-level rise and loss of habitat may have induced changes in social structure of Chatham Island merganser. A plausible life history and ecological template, however speculative, can aid evaluations arising from other sources of evidence e.g. locations of fossils and bone stable isotope chemistry.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Notornis

• Publication date

  2025-11-10

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.63172/898538pjeojs
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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