Brent Geese Research Articles

Study of the breeding ecology and behaviour of the Svalbard population of light-bellied brent goose Branta bernicla hrota

Nesting ecology and behaviour of the Light-bellied Brent Goose was studied on Lurøya and adjacent islands in the Tusenoyane group, SE Svalbard, from 13 June to 30 July 1987. On Lurøya 38 pairs attempted to nest, and in the whole study area 98 pairs. Estimated median data of laying of first egg was 10 June, and median hatching date 7 July. Mean clutch size in the middle of the incubation period was 4.0 eggs. On Lurtfya nesting success was 25.7%, hatching success 28.6%, and hatching success for the whole study area was c. 24%. Most losses were attributed to predation (62% of all eggs), polar bears being the most severe predators. Until mid July the islands were surrounded by drift ice, and bears occurred regularly. Bears not only damaged nests but also created disturbance in the nesting colony, offering Arctic Skuas opportunity to take eggs from deserted nests. Other losses were due to female nest desertion during late incubation. Post-hatching losses were negligible. 17 pairs of Barnacle Geese nested on an island adjacent to Lurøya, and pairs were nest prospecting on Lurøya, but were effectively expelled by territorial Brent males. During nesting, territorial Brent males spent most of the time in vigilance, followed by grazing and resting. Intruding avian predators and other geese were vigorously chased out of the territories. On average females were attentive to their nests 91% of the time. The rest of the time was spent foraging and preening in the territory. During nesting, time off the nest increased. Food resources on the islands were poor. Moss constituted the staple part of the diet during nesting and post-hatching, but the geese selected Cochlearia and Saxifraga. In wet moss carpets where most foraging took place, Cochlearia was almost completely depleted. The high predation pressure observed may be the prime factor responsible for the general low reproductive output of the population, as observed in the Danish wintering quarters. It seems that the Barnacle Goose population on Tusenøyane is expanding, and interspecific competition for nest sites and food may arise.

Factors related to breeding production of Brent GeeseBranta b. berniclaand waders (Charadrii) on the Taimyr Peninsula

There are large cyclic variations in the breeding success of Brent Geese; we have examined 3 hypotheses in an attempt to explain these. Spring feeding conditions play no more than a minor role in causing variations: 3 species of wader, arriving on the Taimyr Peninsula by different routes and having different diets from the geese, have similar and correlated variations in breeding success to the geese. With respect to weather on the breeding grounds, goose production was not correlated with precipitation but it was correlated with March and June temperatures. The strongest correlations of goose breeding success were with lemming abundance, either within a given year or when a lag effect was introduced. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that predators, 'uch as Arctic Foxes, which usually eat lemmings when they are available, switch to birds in years when lemming numbers are low.

Do June temperatures affect the breeding success of Dark-bellied Brent GeeseBranta b. bernicla?

In the 1950s and early 1960s there was a clear association between low June temperature along the coast of the Taimyr Peninsula and poor breeding success by Dark-breasted Brent Geese. More recently, as mean June temperatures have both fallen and become less variable, the association has weakened. A strong association remains between June temperatures in the Taimyr and changes in population size from one winter to the next. The great increase in numbers of Dark-breasted Brent Geese over the last 30 years, and especially during the 1970s, has been the result of lower mortality rates, rather than proportionate increases in the output of young. In years when few young have been produced adult survival has been high.

Brent geese Branta bernicla bernicla and their food in the solent, Southern England

The Solent, a large estuarine system on the central south coast of England, is an important wintering ground for the dark-bellied brent goose Branta bernicla bernicla: peak winter counts there rose from 300 in 1951–1952 to 23 000 in 1979–1980. Until 1973–1974 the geese remained in the intertidal zone, where they fed on eelgrass Zostera and green algae Enteromorpha and Ulva lactuca. The increase in goose number coincided with the spread of these plants in parts of the Solent. The spread of algae has been linked with increased discharges of sewage. However, only part of the annual production of Zostera and algae is available to geese because of autumn and winter die-back, storm damage and other factors. From 1973 to 1974 geese fed on permanent pasture, playing fields and autumnsown cereals, the last being especially important in 1978–1979 and 1979–1980. The evidence suggests that in some estuaries terrestrial feeding is increasingly attractive even though the intertidal zone could still sustain most of the goose-days spent in the area. The habit appears to be stimulated by large numbers of first winter birds in the population. The geese have evoked great public interest and generated concern for estuarine conservation. However, terrestrial feeding conflicts with farming. Nature conservation organisations have encouraged a policy of scaring from valuable crops by proven methods, whilst seeking to provide alternative terrestrial refuges.

Grazing of the seagrass Zostera noltii by birds at terschelling (Dutch Wadden Sea)

On the tidal flats south of the island of Terschelling in the Dutch Wadden Sea a seagrass bed is situated, which covered an area of 107 ha in 1974. The dominant species in this bed was Zostera noltii Hornem., but scattered single shoots of Zostera marina L. also occurred. Maximum standing stock estimations for the whole bed amounted to 2778 kg dry wt. in 1974. The island of Terschelling is an important roostin place for wildfowl in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Four species, viz. the brent goose ( Branta bernicla (L.)), the pintail ( Anas acuta L.), the wigeon ( Anas penelope L.) and the mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos L.) use th intertidal Zostera noltii as a food source. Censuses taken during the autumn of 1974 showed that an average of 710 birds remained on the seagrass vegetation each day. From 10 September to 8 December these birds consumed 1426 kg dry wt. of seagrass, Anas acuta and Anas penelope taking the greatest share of 66%. Since the winter standing stock was very low, ca. 1300 kg dry wt., i.e., approximately 50% of the total amount must have been lost due to dying off, consumption by invertebrates and breaking off by wave action. This figure agreed with estimates of the biomass decrease in two enclosures. A detailed study of the effect of grazing on the seagrass vegetation showed that the initial cover of the seagrass determined the whole grazing process, the birds prefering to feed in the most dense and homogeneous beds. Intensive grazing initially caused an increase of the heterogeneity but ultimately resulted in a homogeneous vegetation with a very low percentage cover, that is to say an almost total disapperance of the above-ground parts of the plant.

Feeding of brent geese on cereal fields in Essex and observations on the subsequent loss of yield

Observations on Foulness Island in Essex in 1974 showed that brent geese were grazing on winter-sown barley and wheat fields. Marked plots were established on a grazed wheat field in April and the plants were examined at approximately monthly intervals from this date. As scaring would be consuming in time and manpower, such a loss may have to be accepted, unless alternative crops can be grown where a potential for such grazing occurs.

Studies on the Behavior of Wintering Geese

(1) The authors studied the population size and change of wild geese wintering and roosting at Lake Izunuma (Fig.1), Miyagi Pref., northern Honshu, for seven years from 1971 to 1977.Monthly counts of bird number were made at daybreak when flocks of geese fly out of Lake Izunuma to feeding places. In addition, the numbers of geese roosting at the lake or feeding at paddy fields were counted during the daytime 3 to 4 times a month.(2) The wintering geese at Lake Izunuma consist chiefly of the White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) and the Bean Goose (A. fabalis). The Lesser White-fronted Goose (A. erythropus), Lesser Snow Goose (A. caerulescens), Aleutian Canada Goose (Branta canadensis leucopareia) and Brent Goose (Branta bernicla) are rare or accidental visitors. In 1972 there were about 3, 000 White-fronted Geese and 200 Bean Geese. In spite of deterioration of the natural environment surrounding Lake Izunuma, they increased to 5, 600 and 1, 400 respectively in the following five years (Fig.4). The reason for the increase of the population of geese may be attributed to the prohibition of hunting of wild geese in Japan in 1971. (3) Seasonal changes of numbers of the wild geese wintering at Lake Izunuma were shown in Figs.3, 5 and 8. In these monthly-peak-number graphs, there are 'cap' and 'two-peak' types (Fig.3). The graph of cap type shows an ordinary pattern of population change of wild geese at Lake Izunuma during one wintering period, i.e., wintering geese arrive in a small number in late September, increase to a large number in October, reach to a peak number in November or December, begin to decrease in late January, and then depart in February or March. The graph of two-peak type indicates that wintering geese take a temporary refuge in the south when paddy fields are covered with thick snow for a period of 30 days or more. They returned to roost at Lake Izunuma when the snow in paddy fields melted.(4) The monthly-peak-number graphs of the White-fronted Goose resemble that of total wintering geese, because the number of White-fronted Geese is 60-80 % of the total goose number.On the contrary, the numbers of Bean Geese increases to a peak in October and then reaches at maximum in December. Against snow, Bean Geese also take refuge in the south but they seem to be more resistant to snow and the extent of movements during the snowy periods is smaller.(5) The wintering geese depart from Lake Izunuma in February or March regularly.In the year when there is not much snow, they usually leave in February and the monthly-peak-number graph becomes a cap type. When there is much snow, they leave in March and the monthly-peak-number graph resulted in a two-peak curve.

The grazing of Zostera by wildfowl in Britain

In Britain there are four main species of wildfowl which use Zostera as a food source. The relative importance of Zostera in the diets of wigeon, brent geese, mute and whooper swans in discussed with reference to the published information.

On Some Eighteenth Century Animal Portraits of Interest for Systematic Zoology

The English zoologist Thomas Pennant (1726—1798) visited The Hague in 1765. There he met another zoologist, Dr. Peter Simon Pallas (1741—1811). On July 30th they visited together the Dutch painter Aart Schouman (1710—1792). Pennant’s diary records: “Accompanied Doctor Pallas a very ingenious young man from Berlin, to Mr. Schouman’s, an exellent painter of beasts and birds in oil and water colours. Took a list of several which I want.—Great Owl. Sort of Nightingale. Young Cuckoo. Ruffe and Reeve. Kol eend a Duck, male and female. Teal. Hook Bill Duck. Een Zee coot. My new Guillemot. Wild Goose. Brent Goose Bernacle. Three small Divers. Ermine. Tragulus. Little Goat. Grey Squirrel. Two black Monkeys. Paca. Mungos Civet Cat. Little Antelope at the Menagery. Boar at ditto.” From Pennant’s autobiography (1793) we know that the idea of a Synopsis of Quadrupeds was then in his mind. The first edition of this book appeared at Chester, 1771, with 31 plates. We could, however, not trace any work by Schouman in it, nor in the second edition which appeared in London 1781, entitled: “History of Quadrupeds”, now with 52 plates. In 1766 and following years A. Vosmaer edited descriptions of animals kept in the Menagery of Prince William V of Orange-Nassau near The Hague. These descriptions were illustrated with plates engraved mostly by Simon Fokke after watercolours by Schouman and others. In some copies of these descriptions the plates are hand-coloured. Pennant’s new edition of the History of Quadrupeds, London 1793, contains several engravings, signed: P. Mazell Sculp (sit), which are easily recognizable as reversed copies of Fokke’s engravings after Schouman.

British Museum (Natural History): Acquisitions

THE most important recent zoological accession to the Zoological Department of the British Museum (Natural History) is perhaps a collection of mammals and birds made by Messrs. Charles and Edward G. Bird in the Mygybukta region of North East Greenland. The collection is of special interest since it contains examples in breeding plumage and chicks of birds well known in the British Isles in winter, such as the knot, sanderling, turnstone and brent goose. There are also specimens of the ptarmigan in breeding plumage, as well as young birds and small ducklings of the king eider—a rare visitor to Britain. Among the mammals are specimens of the lemming, skulls and skeletons of arctic foxes, and various seals. Another important acquisition to the Department is the mounted head of a chobe situtunga (Limnotragus spekei selousi) presented by Major Henry Abel Smith. This rare antelope is known only from about a dozen specimens and enjoys a distribution to the south of the Zambesi between the Chobe Swamps and Lake Ngami in Bechuanaland. Among the accessions to the Department of Entomology is the very valuable collection of butterflies formed by Major P. P. Graves in the Near East, particularly in Palestine, Asia Minor, Syria, the southern Balkans and Greece. This collection is made up of more than 9,000 specimens, and is particularly rich in material from historic localities which were extensively worked by German and Austrian collectors in the middle of the last century.

The Forms of the Brent Goose (Branta bernicla L.)

IbisVolume 78, Issue 3 p. 605-608 The Forms of the Brent Goose (Branta bernicla L.) , Search for more papers by this authorE. G. Bird., E. G. Bird.Search for more papers by this author , Search for more papers by this authorE. G. Bird., E. G. Bird.Search for more papers by this author First published: July 1936 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1936.tb03412.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume78, Issue3July 1936Pages 605-608 RelatedInformation

Light as a Factor in Sexual Periodicity

IN the discussion which followed the papers by Dr. J. R. Baker and Mr. R. M. Ranson and Prof. T. H. Bissonette, read before the Royal Society on Feb. 4, I suggested that their conclusions concerning light as a factor in sexual periodicity involved a principle of wide application. Dr. Baker had referred in his paper to the practical application of this principle by the poultry industry, and I remarked that Mr. Hammond had pointed out to me that it was possible to construct graphs for the principal countries of the world showing a well-marked correlation throughout the year between egg production and the incidence of daylight. I stated further that the effects of artificial illumination were known also to breeders of canaries and other cage-birds, and that within my own experience the collared turtle-dove which has been kept under conditions of domestication for many generations will breed freely under ordinary room conditions in mid-winter under the added stimulus of artificial light in the evenings. I might have added that in tropical countries where environmental conditions are similar throughout the year, such as the Cameroons, the native birds have no restricted breeding season but breed at any time. Moreover, in the case of the Brent goose and various other species of geese, although pinioned birds may be kept for years in a state of perfect health in semi-captivity, they never or very rarely breed, and I suggested that such birds require the stimulus of prolonged daylight, which they obtain in their normal breeding habitat within the arctic circle, in order to excite the activity of the reproductive organs.

The Brent Goose of Spitzbergen and Greenland

The Brent Goose of Spitzbergen and Greenland

The Borders and Beyond: Arctic, Cheviot, Tropic

THIS book is a fine record of personal observation of wild life at home and abroad, and sets forth the opinions arrived at by the author as the result of many years of practical experience of his subjects. He opens by discussing many points of interest in the life of the red grouse and other game birds. Faced with such questions as “Do grouse drink?” Mr. Chapman does riot need to weigh the pros and cons or to meet opposing arguments: he simply knows, and has known from boyhood, that grouse do drink, and he can tell us how, and when, and where, with a wealth of circumstantial detail. Not least interesting are the chapters on what Mr. Chapman calls the “globe spanners,” those species of waders, particularly, which breed only on the Arctic tundras but migrate so far as South Africa, Patagonia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. He knows some of them in their northern homes and on their migrations in Spain and in Africa, but especially he knows them on passage on the Northumbrian coast. Various aspects of wild-fowling are also dealt with, and it is only a wild-fowler who readily becomes familiar with such birds as the brent goose. Further chapters are devoted to “salmonology,” and finally the author sums up his far from complimentary views about modern zoology and bird protection laws respectively.