Abstract
We estimated the size of 30 defined populations of geese wintering in the Western Palearctic (including five released or reintroduced populations of three species). Fourteen populations were accurately estimated from almost full count coverage or robust sampling and ten were well estimated based on more than 50% of their total being counted. An estimated 5.03 million geese wintered in January 2009, up on 3.10 million in January 1993. Only two populations numbered less than 10,000 birds (Scandinavian Lesser White-fronted Goose and Svalbard/Greenland Light-bellied Brent Goose, the former being critically small within restricted range). Eighteen populations numbered 10,000–100,000, eight 100,000–1,000,000 and the largest 1.2 million individuals. Of 21 populations with known longer term trends, 16 are showing significant exponential increases, 4 are stable and one declining. Amongst these same populations, five are declining since the 1990s. Long term declines in productivity were found in 7 out of 15 populations. Amongst most of the 11 populations for which data exist, there were no significant long-term trends in annual adult survival. Improved monitoring, including demographic, is required to retain populations in favorable conservation status.
Highlights
There are 15 recognised species of geese, ascribed to two genera (Anser and Branta) in the world, of which 8 are considered to occur naturally in the Western Palearctic region
The African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) requires that “Parties shall ensure that any use of migratory waterbirds is based on an assessment of the best available knowledge of their ecology and is sustainable for the species as well as for the ecological systems that support them”
The goose populations that nest in the arctic from north-eastern Canada across to northern Siberia and throughout Europe as far south as Turkey all gather to winter in the Western Palearctic region
Summary
There are 15 recognised species of geese, ascribed to two genera (Anser and Branta) in the world, of which 8 are considered to occur naturally in the Western Palearctic region. Geese have long had a particular association with people which means that we have more information relating to their abundance over long time scales than for many other avian species. We exploit this association and knowledge to update our estimates of the population size and trends of Western Palearctic geese from those of Delany & Scott (2006), highlighting the gaps in our current knowledge and areas in need of particular improvement
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