A gloomy future for light-bellied brent geese in Tusenoyane, Svalbard, under a changing predator regime
The endangered population of light-bellied brent geese (Branta bernicla hrota) breeding in Svalbard and north-east Greenland used to have its core breeding area in the archipelago of Tusenoyane in south-east Svalbard. Studies carried out during 1987-1991 showed that the Tusenoyane population was sub...
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2019
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Online Access: | https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/88a2b1bd-48ff-4f30-9f0f-dcc767d7a5be https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3393 https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/files/186962246/document_3_.pdf |
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ftdtupubl:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/88a2b1bd-48ff-4f30-9f0f-dcc767d7a5be 2024-04-28T08:11:26+00:00 A gloomy future for light-bellied brent geese in Tusenoyane, Svalbard, under a changing predator regime Madsen, Jesper Jaspers, Cornelia Frikke, John Gundersen, Ove M. Nolet, Bart A. Nolet, Koen Schreven, Kees H. T. Sonne, Christian de Vries, Peter P. 2019 application/pdf https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/88a2b1bd-48ff-4f30-9f0f-dcc767d7a5be https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3393 https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/files/186962246/document_3_.pdf eng eng https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/88a2b1bd-48ff-4f30-9f0f-dcc767d7a5be info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Madsen , J , Jaspers , C , Frikke , J , Gundersen , O M , Nolet , B A , Nolet , K , Schreven , K H T , Sonne , C & de Vries , P P 2019 , ' A gloomy future for light-bellied brent geese in Tusenoyane, Svalbard, under a changing predator regime ' , Polar Research , vol. 38 , 3393 . https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3393 Branta bernicla hrota Cochlearia officinalis great skua polar bear predation SUCCESS SNOW Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences article 2019 ftdtupubl https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3393 2024-04-03T15:40:44Z The endangered population of light-bellied brent geese (Branta bernicla hrota) breeding in Svalbard and north-east Greenland used to have its core breeding area in the archipelago of Tusenoyane in south-east Svalbard. Studies carried out during 1987-1991 showed that the Tusenoyane population was subject to heavy egg predation by polar bears and, in one year, Arctic foxes. Revisiting some key nesting islands in August 2018, we found few nests used by brent geese and no families. The high density of common scurvygrass (Cochlearia officinalis), a food favoured by brent geese and therefore formerly depleted by them, indicates that the geese have been absent for some time. Among other bird species, such as barnacle goose and common eider, very few young were observed as well. As potential predators, polar bears, or signs of their recent presence, were observed on most islands, and great skuas occurred on almost all islands, with 60 individuals on Luroya, formerly an important island for geese. In contrast, only a single pair of great skuas was observed 30 years ago. The observations suggest that recent expansion of great skuas in the North Atlantic, including Svalbard, has led to a novel extreme predation pressure, additional to that caused by mammalian predators. Despite the loss of Tusenoyane as a breeding ground, the population of brent geese has increased in recent decades; so we can infer that the population now recruits from remote but mainly unknown breeding grounds. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Barnacle goose Branta bernicla brent geese Common Eider East Greenland Great skua Greenland North Atlantic Polar Research Svalbard Technical University of Denmark: DTU Orbit Polar Research 38 0 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Technical University of Denmark: DTU Orbit |
op_collection_id |
ftdtupubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Branta bernicla hrota Cochlearia officinalis great skua polar bear predation SUCCESS SNOW Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Branta bernicla hrota Cochlearia officinalis great skua polar bear predation SUCCESS SNOW Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Madsen, Jesper Jaspers, Cornelia Frikke, John Gundersen, Ove M. Nolet, Bart A. Nolet, Koen Schreven, Kees H. T. Sonne, Christian de Vries, Peter P. A gloomy future for light-bellied brent geese in Tusenoyane, Svalbard, under a changing predator regime |
topic_facet |
Branta bernicla hrota Cochlearia officinalis great skua polar bear predation SUCCESS SNOW Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences |
description |
The endangered population of light-bellied brent geese (Branta bernicla hrota) breeding in Svalbard and north-east Greenland used to have its core breeding area in the archipelago of Tusenoyane in south-east Svalbard. Studies carried out during 1987-1991 showed that the Tusenoyane population was subject to heavy egg predation by polar bears and, in one year, Arctic foxes. Revisiting some key nesting islands in August 2018, we found few nests used by brent geese and no families. The high density of common scurvygrass (Cochlearia officinalis), a food favoured by brent geese and therefore formerly depleted by them, indicates that the geese have been absent for some time. Among other bird species, such as barnacle goose and common eider, very few young were observed as well. As potential predators, polar bears, or signs of their recent presence, were observed on most islands, and great skuas occurred on almost all islands, with 60 individuals on Luroya, formerly an important island for geese. In contrast, only a single pair of great skuas was observed 30 years ago. The observations suggest that recent expansion of great skuas in the North Atlantic, including Svalbard, has led to a novel extreme predation pressure, additional to that caused by mammalian predators. Despite the loss of Tusenoyane as a breeding ground, the population of brent geese has increased in recent decades; so we can infer that the population now recruits from remote but mainly unknown breeding grounds. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Madsen, Jesper Jaspers, Cornelia Frikke, John Gundersen, Ove M. Nolet, Bart A. Nolet, Koen Schreven, Kees H. T. Sonne, Christian de Vries, Peter P. |
author_facet |
Madsen, Jesper Jaspers, Cornelia Frikke, John Gundersen, Ove M. Nolet, Bart A. Nolet, Koen Schreven, Kees H. T. Sonne, Christian de Vries, Peter P. |
author_sort |
Madsen, Jesper |
title |
A gloomy future for light-bellied brent geese in Tusenoyane, Svalbard, under a changing predator regime |
title_short |
A gloomy future for light-bellied brent geese in Tusenoyane, Svalbard, under a changing predator regime |
title_full |
A gloomy future for light-bellied brent geese in Tusenoyane, Svalbard, under a changing predator regime |
title_fullStr |
A gloomy future for light-bellied brent geese in Tusenoyane, Svalbard, under a changing predator regime |
title_full_unstemmed |
A gloomy future for light-bellied brent geese in Tusenoyane, Svalbard, under a changing predator regime |
title_sort |
gloomy future for light-bellied brent geese in tusenoyane, svalbard, under a changing predator regime |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/88a2b1bd-48ff-4f30-9f0f-dcc767d7a5be https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3393 https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/files/186962246/document_3_.pdf |
genre |
Arctic Barnacle goose Branta bernicla brent geese Common Eider East Greenland Great skua Greenland North Atlantic Polar Research Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Barnacle goose Branta bernicla brent geese Common Eider East Greenland Great skua Greenland North Atlantic Polar Research Svalbard |
op_source |
Madsen , J , Jaspers , C , Frikke , J , Gundersen , O M , Nolet , B A , Nolet , K , Schreven , K H T , Sonne , C & de Vries , P P 2019 , ' A gloomy future for light-bellied brent geese in Tusenoyane, Svalbard, under a changing predator regime ' , Polar Research , vol. 38 , 3393 . https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3393 |
op_relation |
https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/88a2b1bd-48ff-4f30-9f0f-dcc767d7a5be |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3393 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
38 |
container_issue |
0 |
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1797578859388862464 |