Population development and changes in winter site use by the Svalbard light-bellied brent goose, Branta bernicla hrota 1980–1994

The Svalbard breeding population of light-bellied brent goose Branta bernicla hrota, wintering in 4–5 sites in Denmark and at Lindisfarne in north-east England, increased from c. 3500–4000 in the early 1980s to 4000–5800 in the early 1990s. The increase was mainly due to years with good breeding suc...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological conservation 1998-05, Vol.84 (2), p.157-165
Main Authors: Clausen, Preben, Madsen, Jesper, Percival, Steve M., O'Connor, David, Anderson, Guy Q.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Aves
Biological and medical sciences
Brackish
Branta bernicla
Branta bernicla hrota
brent goose
Demecology
distribution
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
phenology
population
survival
Vertebrata
Zostera
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Svalbard breeding population of light-bellied brent goose Branta bernicla hrota, wintering in 4–5 sites in Denmark and at Lindisfarne in north-east England, increased from c. 3500–4000 in the early 1980s to 4000–5800 in the early 1990s. The increase was mainly due to years with good breeding success, but probably also to improved survival in mild winters. Thus, in cold winters it was observed that mortality, of at least first-winter birds, increased. Major changes in winter site use were observed during the 1980s; the use of the Danish Wadden Sea decreased, and in consequence, the brent geese arrived earlier at Lindisfarne and at the main winter site, Mariager-Randers Fjords. In the course of winter the population now disperses to more sites and new wintering sites have been established; in spring the majority of the population is concentrated in two sites in north-west Jutland in Denmark. The changed pattern of movement reflects decreases in distribution of Zostera food resources and depletion of the remaining resources due to waterfowl grazing, which may negatively affect condition of the geese in winter and ultimately survival. On the other hand, the population is now more dispersed during winter and hence less vulnerable to local environmental pertubations. The wider dispersal and changed phenology have several implications for management of the population which are discussed.
ISSN:0006-3207
1873-2917
DOI:10.1016/S0006-3207(97)00097-9