Plasticity in moult speed and timing in an arctic-nesting goose species

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 650-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Marmillot ◽  
Gilles Gauthier ◽  
Marie-Christine Cadieux ◽  
Pierre Legagneux
Keyword(s):  
2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 201-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meg C. Gravley ◽  
George K. Sage ◽  
Joel A. Schmutz ◽  
Sandra L. Talbot

The Alaskan population of Emperor Geese ( Chen canagica) nests on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska. Numbers of Emperor Geese in Alaska declined from the 1960s to the mid-1980s and since then, their numbers have slowly increased. Low statistical power of microsatellite loci developed in other waterfowl species and used in previous studies of Emperor Geese are unable to confidently assign individual identity. Microsatellite loci for Emperor Goose were therefore developed using shotgun amplification and next-generation sequencing technology. Forty-one microsatellite loci were screened and 14 were found to be polymorphic in Emperor Geese. Only six markers – a combination of four novel loci and two loci developed in other waterfowl species – are needed to identify an individual from among the Alaskan Emperor Goose population. Genetic markers for identifying sex in Emperor Geese were also developed. The 14 novel variable loci and 15 monomorphic loci were screened for polymorphism in four other Arctic-nesting goose species, Black Brant ( Branta bernicla nigricans), Greater White-fronted ( Anser albifrons), Canada ( B. canadensis) and Cackling ( B. hutchinsii) Goose. Emperor Goose exhibited the smallest average number of alleles (3.3) and the lowest expected heterozygosity (0.467). Greater White-fronted Geese exhibited the highest average number of alleles (4.7) and Cackling Geese the highest expected heterozygosity (0.599). Six of the monomorphic loci were variable and able to be characterised in the other goose species assayed, a predicted outcome of reverse ascertainment bias. These findings fail to support the hypothesis of ascertainment bias due to selection of microsatellite markers.


Waterbirds ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Zhang ◽  
Herbert H. T. Prins ◽  
Lei Cao ◽  
Meijuan Zhao ◽  
Willem F. de Boer
Keyword(s):  

1972 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon F. Bennett ◽  
Charles D. MacInnes

Of 736 blue, snow, and Canada geese from the McConnell River, N.W.T. which were examined for blood parasites only 21 birds (2.9%) were found to be infected. Of these, 15 infections were with Leucocytozoon simondi (2.0%) and 2 each with Parahaemoproteus nettionis, Plasmodium species, and microfilaria. Both adults and young of the year were infected. We suggest that the low incidence is an indirect result of adaptations of the simuliid vectors to tundra conditions. It is possible that increased incidence of L. simondi in the boreal forest is a factor contributing to the restriction of five of the six North American goose species to the tundra nesting habit.


The Auk ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 594-605
Author(s):  
Craig R. Ely ◽  
Karen S. Bollinger ◽  
Roseann V. Densmore ◽  
Thomas C. Rothe ◽  
Michael J. Petrula ◽  
...  

Abstract Migration and reproductive strategies in waterbirds are tightly linked, with timing of arrival and onset of nesting having important consequences for reproductive success. Whether migratory waterbirds are capital or income breeders is predicated by their spring migration schedule, how long they are on breeding areas before nesting, and how adapted they are to exploiting early spring foods at northern breeding areas. However, for most species, we know little about individual migration schedules, arrival times, and duration of residence on breeding areas before nesting. To document these relationships in a northern nesting goose, we radiotracked winter-marked Tule Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons elgasi; hereafter “Tule Geese”; n = 116) from the time of their arrival in Alaska through nesting. Tule Geese arrived on coastal feeding areas in mid-April and moved to nesting locations a week later. They initiated nests 15 days (range: 6–24 days) after arrival, a period roughly equivalent to the duration of rapid follicle growth. Tule Geese that arrived the earliest were more likely to nest than geese that arrived later; early arrivals also spent more time on the breeding grounds and nested earlier than geese that arrived later. The length of the prenesting period was comparable to that of other populations of this species, but longer than for goose species that initiate rapid follicle growth before arrival on the breeding grounds. We suggest that Tule Geese nesting in more temperate climates are more likely to delay breeding to exploit local food resources than Arctic-nesting species that may be constrained by short growing seasons. Estrategias Reproductivas de los Gansos del Norte: ¿Por Qué Esperar?


Ecography ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Fox ◽  
Hugh Boyd ◽  
Stephanie M. Warren
Keyword(s):  

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
QIANG JIA ◽  
KAZUO KOYAMA ◽  
CHANG-YONG CHOI ◽  
HWA-JUNG KIM ◽  
LEI CAO ◽  
...  

SummaryFor the first time, we estimated the population sizes of two swan species and four goose species from observations during the non-breeding period in East Asia. Based on combined counts from South Korea, Japan and China, we estimated the total abundance of these species as follows: 42,000–47,000 Whooper SwansCygnus cygnus; 99,000–141,000 Tundra SwansC. columbianus bewickii; 56,000–98,000 Swan GeeseAnser cygnoides; 157,000–194,000 Bean GeeseA. fabalis; 231,000–283,000 Greater White-fronted GeeseA. albifrons; and 14,000–19,000 Lesser White-fronted GeeseA. erythropus.While the count data from Korea and Japan provide a good reflection of numbers present, there remain gaps in the coverage in China, which particularly affect the precision of the estimates for Bean, Greater and Lesser White-fronted Geese as well as Tundra Swans. Lack of subspecies distinction of Bean Geese in China until recently also limits our ability to determine the true status ofA. f. middendorffiithere, but all indications suggest this population numbers around 18,000 individuals and is in need of urgent attention. The small, highly concentrated and declining numbers of Lesser White-fronted Geese give concern for this species, as do the major declines in Greater White-fronted Geese in China (in contrast to numbers in Japan and Korea, considered to be a separate flyway). In the absence of any demographic data, it is impossible to interpret the causes of these changes in abundance. Improved monitoring, including demographic and tracking studies are required to provide the necessary information to retain populations in favourable conservation status.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Díez-del-Molino ◽  
Johanna von Seth ◽  
Niclas Gyllenstrand ◽  
Fredrik Widemo ◽  
Niklas Liljebäck ◽  
...  

Abstract Interspecific introgression is considered a potential threat to endangered taxa. One example where this has had a major impact on conservation policy is the lesser white-fronted goose (LWfG). After a dramatic decline in Sweden, captive breeding birds were released between 1981–1999 with the aim to reinforce the population. However, the detection of greater white-fronted goose (GWfG) mitochondrial DNA in the LWfG breeding stock led to the release program being dismantled, even though the presence of GWfG introgression in the actual wild Swedish LWfG population was never documented. To examine this, we sequenced the complete genomes of 21 LWfG birds from the Swedish, Russian and Norwegian populations, and compared these with genomes from other goose species, including the GWfG. We found no evidence of interspecific introgression into the wild Swedish LWfG population in either nuclear genomic or mitochondrial data. Moreover, Swedish LWfG birds are genetically distinct from the Russian and Norwegian populations and display comparatively low genomic diversity and high levels of inbreeding. Our findings highlight the utility of genomic approaches in providing scientific evidence that can help improve conservation management as well as policies for breeding and reinforcement programmes.


Ornis Svecica ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Hakon Kampe-Persson ◽  
Dmitrijs Boiko

Spectacular increases in range and numbers of some swan and goose species around the Baltic Sea have resulted in more contacts between species and facilitated mixed breeding. Records of mixed breeding and observations during the non-breeding season of mixed families, mixed pairs and hybrids in which at least one of the parent species was a swan were compiled for Sweden, Finland, Leningrad and Kaliningrad Regions of Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Denmark. There were twelve records of mixed breeding, nine of Mute Swan × Whooper Swan and one each of Mute Swan × Greylag Goose, Mute Swan × Greater Canada Goose and Whooper Swan × Bewick’s Swan. Excluding the two cases involving a goose and two cases involving swans with captive background, there were eight breeding records in the wild. Seven of these can be explained by range expansions. The exception was a case where the identification of the male was unsure.


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