Common Scoter

Melanitta nigra (Linnaeus 1758)

Jeroen Reneerkens ([email protected]) cc-by-nc

Melanitta nigra (Common Scoter) is a species of birds in the family Anatidae. They are associated with freshwater habitat. They are native to the Palearctic. They are diurnal carnivores. Individuals can grow to 90 cm. They have parental care (female provides care). They rely on swimming, flight, and drag powered swimming to move around.

URI: https://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_00000873
Definition: A biome that applies to the freshwater realm.

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URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q106447
Definition: largest of the eight ecozones constituting the Earth's surface
Attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palearctic.png

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URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q81875
Definition: organism that eats mostly or exclusively animal tissue
Attribution: Crustacean body sizes

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URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q906470
Definition: animal behavior characterized by activity during the day, with a period of inactivity at night.

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URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/parentalCareFemale
Definition: the female feeds and nurtures offspring
Attribution: Richard M. Sibly, Christopher C. Witt, Natalie A. Wright, Chris Venditti, Walter Jetz, and James H. Brown. 2012. Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds. PNAS 109(27):10937-10941, doi:10.1073/pnas.1206512109

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URI: https://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0036268
Definition: Self-propelled movement of an organism from one location to another through water, often by means of active fin movement.

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URI: https://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/NBO_0000367
Definition: self-propelled movement of an organism from one location to another through the air, usually by means of active wing movement

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URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/drag_based_swimming
Definition: Drag swimmers use a cyclic motion where they push water back in a power stroke, and return their limb forward in the return or recovery stroke. When they push water directly backwards, this moves their body forward, but as they return their limbs to the starting position, they push water forward, which will thus pull them back to some degree, and so opposes the direction that the body is heading. This opposing force is called drag. The return-stroke drag causes drag swimmers to employ different strategies than lift swimmers. Reducing drag on the return stroke is essential for optimizing efficiency.

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EOL has data for 56 attributes, including:

Body symmetry
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/body_symmetry
- Definition: overall repetitive or reflective pattern in the body of one individual of this taxon. eg: bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry, radial symmetry
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: https://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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body shape
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/BodyShape
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: https://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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diet includes
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/Diet
- Definition: Information about the items eaten by this organism.
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worms
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q47253
- Definition: animals that typically have a long tube-like body
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foraging habitat
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/ForagingHabitat
- Definition: Primary habitat where the species forages during the breeding season.
- Attribution: Richard M. Sibly, Christopher C. Witt, Natalie A. Wright, Chris Venditti, Walter Jetz, and James H. Brown. 2012. Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds. PNAS 109(27):10937-10941, doi:10.1073/pnas.1206512109
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freshwater
- URI: https://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_00000873
- Definition: A biome that applies to the freshwater realm.
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geographic distribution includes
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/Present
- Definition: This organism is known to be present in this location or region. Not exclusive; other regions may also be reported.
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France
- URI: https://www.geonames.org/3017382
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litters per year
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/LittersPerYear
- Definition: Number of litters per female per year
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1 /year
mating system
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/MatingSystem
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monogamous
- URI: https://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ECOCORE_00000063
- Definition: One male and one female have an exclusive mating relationship
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native range includes
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/NativeRange
- Definition: Lists jurisdictions in which a given organism is a member of the undisturbed fauna or flora.
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the Palearctic
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q106447
- Definition: largest of the eight ecozones constituting the Earth's surface
- Attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palearctic.png
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prenatal development duration
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/PrenatalDevelopmentDuration
- Definition: The duration of the development from fertilized, deposited or implanted egg to hatching/birth. Corresponds to egg incubation duration in oviparous animals and to gestation period duration in viviparous animals.
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29 days
social system
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/SocialSystem
- Definition: Description of the relationships among individuals within a population of organisms, including reproductive relationships (mating system), relationships within each sex, adult – young interactions, helpers and cooperation (group living).
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group living
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/socialGroupLiving
- Definition: where individuals of the same species (conspecifics), maintain spatial proximity with one another over time with mechanisms of social attraction
- Attribution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_living
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trophic guild
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/TrophicGuild
- Definition: A group of species that exploit the same food resources, and/or use the same feeding or foraging methods. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_(ecology)
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invertivore
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/invertivore
- Definition: An organism that feed on invertebrate animals (insects, crustaceans, molluscs, worms, etc.)
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type specimen repository
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/TypeSpecimenRepository
- Definition: The institution that holds a type specimen for a given species. The recommended best practice is to use the identifier in a collections registry such as the Biodiversity Collections Index (https://www.biodiversitycollectionsindex.org/).
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NHMUK

Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of Common Scoter. View this species on GBIF

Jeroen Reneerkens ([email protected]) cc-by-nc