Habitat use and behaviour of Greater Snow Geese during movements from nesting to brood-rearing areas
Many precocial birds make long-distance movements with their young after hatch to reach the best foraging sites. On Bylot Island, Nunavut, a large number of Greater Snow Goose ( Chen caerulescens atlantica L., 1758) families move 30 km from the main nesting colony (MNC) to reach the main brood-reari...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z06-096 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/z06-096 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z06-096 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z06-096 2023-12-17T10:28:25+01:00 Habitat use and behaviour of Greater Snow Geese during movements from nesting to brood-rearing areas Mainguy, J. Gauthier, G. Giroux, J.-F. Duclos, I. 2006 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z06-096 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/z06-096 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z06-096 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 84, issue 8, page 1096-1103 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 2006 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z06-096 2023-11-19T13:38:27Z Many precocial birds make long-distance movements with their young after hatch to reach the best foraging sites. On Bylot Island, Nunavut, a large number of Greater Snow Goose ( Chen caerulescens atlantica L., 1758) families move 30 km from the main nesting colony (MNC) to reach the main brood-rearing area (MBR) soon after hatch. Geese moving from the MNC to the MBR generally rear lighter and smaller goslings than geese that avoid this movement by both nesting and rearing their brood at the MBR. In this study, we tested the hypotheses that use of low-quality habitats and an increase in the time spent walking at the expense of foraging during movements could explain the reduced growth of goslings in those families. We conducted visual observations to compare habitat use and selection as well as behaviour of geese during brood movements from the MNC to the MBR (i.e., at a transit area) with those of families that had already settled at the MBR. We also conducted aerial tracking to monitor habitat use of 16 radio-marked females during and after brood movements. Streams, wet polygons, and lakes, considered high-quality habitats in terms of feeding opportunities and predator refuges, were preferred, while upland, a low-quality habitat, was avoided at both the transit area and the MBR. However, broods were found in the upland habitat more often during movements than once settled on a rearing site. The behaviour of unmarked geese at the transit site did not differ from that of geese at the MBR. We suggest that reduced food intake in low-quality habitats during movements, but not the increase in time spent walking, may explain the reduction in growth observed at fledging in goslings moving from the MNC to the MBR. Article in Journal/Newspaper Bylot Island Nunavut Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Nunavut Bylot Island Canadian Journal of Zoology 84 8 1096 1103 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Mainguy, J. Gauthier, G. Giroux, J.-F. Duclos, I. Habitat use and behaviour of Greater Snow Geese during movements from nesting to brood-rearing areas |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Many precocial birds make long-distance movements with their young after hatch to reach the best foraging sites. On Bylot Island, Nunavut, a large number of Greater Snow Goose ( Chen caerulescens atlantica L., 1758) families move 30 km from the main nesting colony (MNC) to reach the main brood-rearing area (MBR) soon after hatch. Geese moving from the MNC to the MBR generally rear lighter and smaller goslings than geese that avoid this movement by both nesting and rearing their brood at the MBR. In this study, we tested the hypotheses that use of low-quality habitats and an increase in the time spent walking at the expense of foraging during movements could explain the reduced growth of goslings in those families. We conducted visual observations to compare habitat use and selection as well as behaviour of geese during brood movements from the MNC to the MBR (i.e., at a transit area) with those of families that had already settled at the MBR. We also conducted aerial tracking to monitor habitat use of 16 radio-marked females during and after brood movements. Streams, wet polygons, and lakes, considered high-quality habitats in terms of feeding opportunities and predator refuges, were preferred, while upland, a low-quality habitat, was avoided at both the transit area and the MBR. However, broods were found in the upland habitat more often during movements than once settled on a rearing site. The behaviour of unmarked geese at the transit site did not differ from that of geese at the MBR. We suggest that reduced food intake in low-quality habitats during movements, but not the increase in time spent walking, may explain the reduction in growth observed at fledging in goslings moving from the MNC to the MBR. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mainguy, J. Gauthier, G. Giroux, J.-F. Duclos, I. |
author_facet |
Mainguy, J. Gauthier, G. Giroux, J.-F. Duclos, I. |
author_sort |
Mainguy, J. |
title |
Habitat use and behaviour of Greater Snow Geese during movements from nesting to brood-rearing areas |
title_short |
Habitat use and behaviour of Greater Snow Geese during movements from nesting to brood-rearing areas |
title_full |
Habitat use and behaviour of Greater Snow Geese during movements from nesting to brood-rearing areas |
title_fullStr |
Habitat use and behaviour of Greater Snow Geese during movements from nesting to brood-rearing areas |
title_full_unstemmed |
Habitat use and behaviour of Greater Snow Geese during movements from nesting to brood-rearing areas |
title_sort |
habitat use and behaviour of greater snow geese during movements from nesting to brood-rearing areas |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z06-096 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/z06-096 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z06-096 |
geographic |
Nunavut Bylot Island |
geographic_facet |
Nunavut Bylot Island |
genre |
Bylot Island Nunavut |
genre_facet |
Bylot Island Nunavut |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 84, issue 8, page 1096-1103 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z06-096 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
84 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
1096 |
op_container_end_page |
1103 |
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1785580520691728384 |