Teal are small dabbling ducks that depend on shallow, flooded wetland margins for feeding on invertebrates and seeds. They are highly sensitive to water level management in lowland wetlands and winter flooding regimes.
Teal in degraded landscapes with insufficient shallow water feeding sites face food competition and nutritional stress during winter. Cold spells that freeze feeding areas can rapidly create energetic crises. The loss of winter flooding regimes that historically created extensive shallow wetland habitat has reduced feeding opportunity across millions of hectares in lowland England. Individual welfare is linked to broad landscape-scale water management decisions.