Data from: More grazing, more damage? Assessed yield loss on agricultural grassland relates non-linearly to goose grazing pressure ...

• Main Authors: Buitendijk, Nelleke H., De Jager, Monique, Kruckenberg, Helmut, Kölzsch, Andrea, Moonen, Sander, Müskens, Gerhard J.D.M., Nolet, Bart A.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Movebank Data Repository 2023
• Subjects: Branta leucopsis; Anser albifrons; Anser anser; agriculture; animal movement; animal tracking; barnacle goose; GPS; greater white-fronted goose; greylag goose; wildlife management; Barnacle goose
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.fk899541; https://datarepository.movebank.org/handle/10255/move.241

1. In recent decades, conflict between geese and agriculture has increased. Management practices to limit this conflict include concentrating geese in protected areas, derogation shooting or population reduction. To justify such management, we need to understand their effects on goose-related damages, which requires an understanding of how yield loss is influenced by goose abundance and species interactions. 2. We combined data from monthly goose counts and GPS-tracked geese to estimate grazing pressures by barnacle, white-fronted and greylag geese on agricultural grassland in Fryslân, the Netherlands. Using linear mixed models, we related this to damages assessed by professional inspectors. 3. Our results show a positive nonlinear relationship between yield loss and barnacle goose grazing pressure, where assessed damage increases with a decelerating rate as grazing pressure increases. For white-fronted geese, we find a negative relationship, while for greylag geese both positive and negative relationships ...