Abstract

Foraging by hyperabundant Arctic-nesting geese has significant impacts on vegetation of Arctic and subarctic coastal lowlands, but long-term data sets documenting these changes are rare. We undertook intensive surveys of plant communities at East Bay and South Bay, Southampton Island, Nunavut, Canada, in July 2010. Lesser Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, Cackling Geese, and Brant nest and rear young at these sites; the first three have experienced up to 10-fold increases since the 1970s. At East Bay, we found significant declines in graminoids over the 31-year span, as well as significant declines in lichen and willow cover, and significant increases in rock cover. Transect data indicated graminoids were present at only 15%–36% of points at East Bay, whereas at South Bay, graminoids were present at 28%–90% of points. Moss was more prominent in transects at South Bay than at East Bay (40%–85% vs. 19%–42%), but quadrat data indicated much more of the moss cover at South Bay apparently was dead than at East Bay. Puccinellia phryganodes (Trin.) Scribn. & Merr. exceeded 1% in only two transects. Our data demonstrate a striking decline of preferred forage species and increases in non-forage cover, consistent with the hypothesis that changes resulted from persistent long-term foraging by the four species of breeding geese between spring arrival and late summer departure.

Highlights

  • The Arctic Goose Joint Venture (AGJV) is one of the original joint ventures, initiated by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) Committee at their inaugural meeting held in August, 1986

  • Most monitoring of goose populations in North America originally was based on surveys and banding conducted on migration and wintering areas

  • Some examples of populations that have been recently re-defined include: (1) Eastern and western portions of the midcontinent white-fronted goose population were amalgamated by the AGJV because banding data showed substantial overlap of birds in winter from across the Arctic nesting range

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Summary

Introduction

The Arctic Goose Joint Venture (AGJV) is one of the original joint ventures, initiated by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) Committee at their inaugural meeting held in August, 1986. The continent’s geese include individuals from two genera (Anser and Branta), and seven species (greater white-fronted, emperor, snow, Ross’s, brant, cackling, and Canada geese) that have been divided into at least 28 northern and temperate-nesting populations (24 of which are included in the AGJV). These populations constitute a natural resource of enormous social, economic, cultural, and recreational value.

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