General

Description Habitat

Occurrence

The Common Merganser is a fish-eater and winter guest that lives on large fresh and salt water.
In winter, it can be found on the IJsselmeer and the neighbouring Wadden Sea. The Common Merganser also lives in river basins, the Delta region, the Biesbosch and the Noordzee and in various inland fresh waters. During severe frost, it spreads more south, which enhances the importance of the river basins and the Delta region #2.

Food habitat and strategy

The Common Merganser feeds on fish, it prefers to forage in shallow water, diving to a depth of 4 metres #2,#1.

Breeding and migration

The Common Merganser mainly breeds in Fenno-Scandinavia. It does not breed in The Netherlands.

Dose-effect relations

See also general dose-effect relations for fish eating birds and breeding and resting habitat (in Dutch). The common Merganser only visits the Netherlands in winter, so just the winter values of the parameters are taken into account.

Transparency(m)	HSI
0 - 0.50	0.3
0.50 - 1.00	0.5
> 1.00	1

Reference: #3

Depth (m)	HSI
0 - 4	1
> 4	0.5

Reference: #3

Uncertainty and validation

These dose-effect relations have not been validated.

Area of application

Large fresh and salt waters

Exemplary project

Not available.

References

1 http://www.soortenbank.nl/
2 http://www.synbiosys.alterra.nl/natura2000/
3 Duel, H. en Specken, B.. Habitatmodel Grote Zaagbek: een model voor het bepalen van de kwaliteit van water- en moerasgebieden als overwinteringshabitat voor de Grote Zaagbek (Mergus merganser). TNO-BSA Werkdocument P 94-032. 1994