Dietary and microtopographical selectivity of Greenland white‐fronted geese feeding on Icelandic hayfields

• Published in: Ecography
• Main Authors: Kristiansen, J. N., Fox, A. D., Stroud, D. A., Boyd, H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1998
• Subjects: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Greenland; Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.1998.tb00439.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1600-0587.1998.tb00439.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1600-0587.1998.tb00439.x

The feeding ecology of Greenland white‐fronted geese Anser albifrons flavirostris was studied during .spring staging in Iceland 1997. Geese feeding on Poa pratense dominated hayfields (> 80% cover) were highly selective, selecting for Deschampsia caespitosa which comprised only 10% of the sward. Geese fed most on the south‐facing fringes of Deschampsia tussocks. Subsequent analysis showed that the southern fringes of Deschampsia tussocks supported significantly greater biomass (27% greater mass of green material) and that leaves growing on the southern faces had significantly higher protein content than those on the northern faces (33.9% vs 30.5%) ‐ It appears that the geese maximise their nutritional intake in spring by selecting the grass species of highest quality and taking the most nutritious parts of the plants.