Flightless Giant Canada Goose Depredation Abatement and Disgestibility of Selected Crops in South Dakota
Crop depredation by flightless giant Canada geese (Branta Canadensis maxima) has become a common occurrence across the upper Midwest. Due to numerous landowner complaints, South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks (SDGFP) is evaluating several methods to solve this problem. One method is the u...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange
1999
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| Online Access: | https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/357 https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/context/etd/article/1357/viewcontent/FlannChristopher1999.pdf |
| Summary: | Crop depredation by flightless giant Canada geese (Branta Canadensis maxima) has become a common occurrence across the upper Midwest. Due to numerous landowner complaints, South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks (SDGFP) is evaluating several methods to solve this problem. One method is the use of vegetation visual barriers in conjunction with a food plot. A study site was chosen along an open shoreline on the Whitewood Slough Game Production Area, Kingsbury County, South Dakota. The existing alfalfa field was manipulated to form an alfalfa barrier and adjacent food plot. The objectives in 1997 were to determine the minimum width of barrier required to deter geese from breaking through and to determine a preference for either barley or a barley and clover mix as a food plot forage. A supplemental food plot was also established to evaluate the response of the food plot forages to the stress of goose grazing. Food plot forage preference was determined by the cage comparison technique. The alfalfa visual barrier was evaluated by establishing a height-density index and comparing breakthrough points to the barrier as a whole. Observation was also used to evaluate alfalfa visual barrier effectiveness. Activity budgets and feeding rates for goose family groups were also recorded opportunistically. In 1998, a larger barley food plot was established on the same site and the alfalfa visual barrier eliminated to determine if this would deter geese from feeding in a soybean field immediately upland from it. Separately, feeding trials were conducted on 9 captive giant Canada goose goslings to determine the nutritional and digestible qualities of 4 possible food plot forages. Carrying capacity for goose food plots was determined. Alfalfa visual barrier breakthrough sites had significantly lesser height-density characteristics than the barrier as a whole with both Robel pole (P=O.0001) and coverboard (P=O.0009) data. Mean width of the alfalfa visual barrier at breakthrough sites was 5.8 m (SE=O.6959), with a maximum ... |
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