Abstract
Neck collars have been used widely for studies of goose population biology. Despite concerus abon their negative impacts, few studies have employed designs capable of clearly demonstraling these effects. During a 1993-98 study of emperor geese (Cheu canagica), we contrasted survival and reproduction of gees clarked with tarsal bands to those marked with either small neck collars, large neck collars, or small neck collars with attached radiotransmitters. Ammal survival of adult females marked with tarsal bands varied among years and averaged 0.807 ± 0.140 (x ± SE. Survival of geese with other types of markers also varied among years but was lower (0.610 ± 0.198). Collars with radiotransmitters lowered breeding propensity, as indexed by resighting rates. Although elutch sizes of tarsal banded birds were similar to those for unmarked birds, other markers reduced elutch sizes by about 1 egg. Egg mass and hatch date were not affected by marker type Future studies of goose demographics should scriously consider use of alternative markers.
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