Although the mallard is the most heavily hunted duck in North America, its populations are considered stable. For over 20 years, duck seasons in each flyway have been based on the status of the mallard population most abundant in each flyway. The 1775–82 North American smallpox epidemic and the 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic brought devastation and drastic population depletion among the Plains Indians. North American mallard populations have been surveyed each spring since 1955 using internationally coordinated aerial surveys, but population size can also be estimated with Lincoln's method using banding and harvest data. The North American duck breeding population is estimated at 48.6 million, up from 45.6 million last year and 43 percent above the long-term average, according to … Biologists monitor mallards when establishing hunting regulations for most species of ducks in North America. This bird is very accustomed to people and will nest in city parks, lakes or steams, making it one of the most popular ducks seen in North America. The Mallard is the most visible waterfowl seen in North America. The Mallard is the most abundant, widespread, and familiar duck in North America. [101] [102] In 1832 the federal government of the United States established a smallpox vaccination program for Native Americans ( The Indian Vaccination Act of 1832 ). Along with Northern Pintail, Mallards are the first migrants to journey north, often beating spring itself to their breeding grounds. The mallard’s population status is often an indicator of the health of all waterfowl.

This is the seventh in a series of comprehensive reports on population ecology of the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) in North America. Mallards have been used since they are the most common species with the most monitoring information. The breeding range extends across most of Canada and the northern half of the United States, and it spends the winter where it finds open water in the lower 48 states. The familiar dichromatic Mallard developed in the other group, and subsequently colonized North America, where it was able to hybridize with the existing monochromatic mallard-type ducks. Avise et al (1990) discovered two haplotypes (sets of DNA variations that tend to be inherited together) in North American Mallards. Mallard winter range extends through most of southern Canada and the U.S., though wintering populations have been recorded as far north as the Nunavut, Yukon and Northwest Territories. human activities. These estimates play an important role in …

Today, it is also one of the most domesticated ducks and is seen in many different plumages and looks brought about by cross-breeding.

Breeding population estimates are calculated for the 10 most common North American ducks: mallard, gadwall, American wigeon, green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, northern shoveler, northern pintail, redhead, canvasback, and scaup.