Is it worthwhile scaring geese to alleviate damage to crops? – An experimental study
Summary Increasing population sizes of geese are the cause of numerous agricultural conflicts in many regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Scaring is often used as a tool to chase geese away from fields, either as a means to protect vulnerable crops or as part of goose management schemes to drive gee...
Published in: | Journal of Applied Ecology |
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crwiley:10.1111/1365-2664.12604 2024-06-02T08:13:18+00:00 Is it worthwhile scaring geese to alleviate damage to crops? – An experimental study Simonsen, Caroline Ernberg Madsen, Jesper Tombre, Ingunn M Nabe‐Nielsen, Jacob Thompson, Des Norges Forskningsråd Aarhus Universitet 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12604 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2F1365-2664.12604 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2664.12604 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Journal of Applied Ecology volume 53, issue 3, page 916-924 ISSN 0021-8901 1365-2664 journal-article 2016 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12604 2024-05-03T11:25:31Z Summary Increasing population sizes of geese are the cause of numerous agricultural conflicts in many regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Scaring is often used as a tool to chase geese away from fields, either as a means to protect vulnerable crops or as part of goose management schemes to drive geese to accommodation areas. Geese are quick to habituate to stationary scaring devices; hence, active scaring by humans is often employed. However, it remains undocumented how much effort is required for active scaring to be effective. We explored the relationship between intensity of active human scaring on field use and behaviour by geese. Using an experimental framework, we applied four different scaring doses per day (geese were scared either 2, 5, 7 or 10 times per day), to random pastures in a pink‐footed goose spring staging area in mid‐Norway, and recorded goose flock sizes, fleeing response distances, and average weekly goose densities assessed by dropping densities. In addition, we counted droppings in fields without scaring. We used mixed models to test for changes in the effects of different scaring doses over time and compared observed with predicted dropping levels. Cumulative dropping densities increased at different rates depending on the scaring dose. Scaring dosage did not affect flock size and fleeing response distance during the study period, but both flock sizes and fleeing response distances changed with time. Scaring dose 2 did not show any decrease in relative goose use compared to the fields without scaring, whereas doses 5, 7 and 10 all showed 74–78% fewer droppings by the end of the spring staging period, indicating a possible threshold between dose 2 and 5. The largest effect of scaring appeared during the first week of scaring. Synthesis and applications . This study is the first to show a dose–response relationship between active scaring and field use of flocking geese. For individual farmers, the study provides guidance on the level of scaring effort needed to be cost‐effective. If ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Pink-footed Goose Wiley Online Library Norway Journal of Applied Ecology 53 3 916 924 |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Summary Increasing population sizes of geese are the cause of numerous agricultural conflicts in many regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Scaring is often used as a tool to chase geese away from fields, either as a means to protect vulnerable crops or as part of goose management schemes to drive geese to accommodation areas. Geese are quick to habituate to stationary scaring devices; hence, active scaring by humans is often employed. However, it remains undocumented how much effort is required for active scaring to be effective. We explored the relationship between intensity of active human scaring on field use and behaviour by geese. Using an experimental framework, we applied four different scaring doses per day (geese were scared either 2, 5, 7 or 10 times per day), to random pastures in a pink‐footed goose spring staging area in mid‐Norway, and recorded goose flock sizes, fleeing response distances, and average weekly goose densities assessed by dropping densities. In addition, we counted droppings in fields without scaring. We used mixed models to test for changes in the effects of different scaring doses over time and compared observed with predicted dropping levels. Cumulative dropping densities increased at different rates depending on the scaring dose. Scaring dosage did not affect flock size and fleeing response distance during the study period, but both flock sizes and fleeing response distances changed with time. Scaring dose 2 did not show any decrease in relative goose use compared to the fields without scaring, whereas doses 5, 7 and 10 all showed 74–78% fewer droppings by the end of the spring staging period, indicating a possible threshold between dose 2 and 5. The largest effect of scaring appeared during the first week of scaring. Synthesis and applications . This study is the first to show a dose–response relationship between active scaring and field use of flocking geese. For individual farmers, the study provides guidance on the level of scaring effort needed to be cost‐effective. If ... |
author2 |
Thompson, Des Norges Forskningsråd Aarhus Universitet |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Simonsen, Caroline Ernberg Madsen, Jesper Tombre, Ingunn M Nabe‐Nielsen, Jacob |
spellingShingle |
Simonsen, Caroline Ernberg Madsen, Jesper Tombre, Ingunn M Nabe‐Nielsen, Jacob Is it worthwhile scaring geese to alleviate damage to crops? – An experimental study |
author_facet |
Simonsen, Caroline Ernberg Madsen, Jesper Tombre, Ingunn M Nabe‐Nielsen, Jacob |
author_sort |
Simonsen, Caroline Ernberg |
title |
Is it worthwhile scaring geese to alleviate damage to crops? – An experimental study |
title_short |
Is it worthwhile scaring geese to alleviate damage to crops? – An experimental study |
title_full |
Is it worthwhile scaring geese to alleviate damage to crops? – An experimental study |
title_fullStr |
Is it worthwhile scaring geese to alleviate damage to crops? – An experimental study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Is it worthwhile scaring geese to alleviate damage to crops? – An experimental study |
title_sort |
is it worthwhile scaring geese to alleviate damage to crops? – an experimental study |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12604 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2F1365-2664.12604 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2664.12604 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Pink-footed Goose |
genre_facet |
Pink-footed Goose |
op_source |
Journal of Applied Ecology volume 53, issue 3, page 916-924 ISSN 0021-8901 1365-2664 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12604 |
container_title |
Journal of Applied Ecology |
container_volume |
53 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
916 |
op_container_end_page |
924 |
_version_ |
1800736758429646848 |