HOME | DD

Description
A round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) on the rocky seabed, one of many in this stretch of the Baltic Sea off Lithuania, gets surprised when a diving long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis) suddenly drops next to it and pulls a ragworm (Hediste diversicolor) out of the sediment, and could also target the goby next. Whilst the ducks generally would eat mostly mussels, those have become rare ever since the gobies devoured most of them.

Last-minute drawing for an Animal of the Month event from the Wildlife--Awareness group. The long-tailed duck is the only living species in the genus Clangula, and breeds in northern tundra areas in the Arctic circle. A migratory species, it spends the winter in areas a bit more south like northern Europe, and its plumage changes seasonally. This duck is a marine bird which forages in oceans and seas, and is notably the only extant duck to propel itself underwater with wings rather than feet, allowing it to dive deeper for food (bro thinks he's an auk).

These ducks feed on marine invertebrates and other small animals, and are noted to prefer mussels as food. However in some areas like the Baltic Sea, an invasive fish called the round goby has been introduced and drastically reduced mussel populations by fucking eating them all. This paper from 2018 has found that areas were mussels are decimated by the goby become less desirable as wintering grounds for the duck. And it has also been found in this later study that in response to this, the ducks have begun shifting their diets. With mussels becoming rare, they have turned towards eating barnacles, ragworms and fish mainly, so it seems they have found a way to adapt to the changes caused by the introduced fish. Despite this, the long-tailed duck is a threatened species whose population is declining. Because they are diving ducks they often end up as bycatch in fishing nets, and are also threatened by pollution, hunting and habitat loss (as usual for threatened species).

Description
A round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) on the rocky seabed, one of many in this stretch of the Baltic Sea off Lithuania, gets surprised when a diving long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis) suddenly drops next to it and pulls a ragworm (Hediste diversicolor) out of the sediment, and could also target the goby next. Whilst the ducks generally would eat mostly mussels, those have become rare ever since the gobies devoured most of them.

Last-minute drawing for an Animal of the Month event from the Wildlife--Awareness group. The long-tailed duck is the only living species in the genus Clangula, and breeds in northern tundra areas in the Arctic circle. A migratory species, it spends the winter in areas a bit more south like northern Europe, and its plumage changes seasonally. This duck is a marine bird which forages in oceans and seas, and is notably the only extant duck to propel itself underwater with wings rather than feet, allowing it to dive deeper for food (bro thinks he's an auk).

These ducks feed on marine invertebrates and other small animals, and are noted to prefer mussels as food. However in some areas like the Baltic Sea, an invasive fish called the round goby has been introduced and drastically reduced mussel populations by fucking eating them all. This paper from 2018 has found that areas were mussels are decimated by the goby become less desirable as wintering grounds for the duck. And it has also been found in this later study that in response to this, the ducks have begun shifting their diets. With mussels becoming rare, they have turned towards eating barnacles, ragworms and fish mainly, so it seems they have found a way to adapt to the changes caused by the introduced fish. Despite this, the long-tailed duck is a threatened species whose population is declining. Because they are diving ducks they often end up as bycatch in fishing nets, and are also threatened by pollution, hunting and habitat loss (as usual for threatened species).