Transient animals in a resident population of snow geese: Local emigration or heterogeneity?

Abstract

The estimation of survival rates from analysis of recapture of individually marked animals assumes that all individuals are equally likely to be re-encountered. This assumption is frequently violated in natural populations due to movements to and from the sampling area. We evaluated potential sources of heterogeneity using data from recaptures of 36000 individually marked female lesser snow geese, Anser c. caerulescens , from an expanding population in northern Manitoba, Canada. By stratifying individuals according to marking age and origin (hatched at the colony or not), we assessed the degree to which variation in apparent survival reflected permanent or temporary differences in emigration and effects of handling. In general, for birds ringed as adults, estimated apparent survival rates were significantly lower during the first year after ringing than in subsequent years. By comparing birds ringed as adults (classified by origin) with those ringed as goslings, we were able to demonstrate that these differences are not due to permanent emigration from the colony by transient individuals or heterogeneity of individual capture probability, but more likely reflect differences among individuals in their response to initial marking. Approximately 25% of birds permanently emigrate from the sampling area following marking.