14/03/2006 - Right now thousands of pink footed geese begin their spring migration from the wintering areas in Europe to their breeding areas in Svalbard, Iceland and Greenland. But their breeding success is closely connected to their access to grazing areas during their migration. That is one of the results scientists from the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark have acomplished from of 12 years of data regarding pink footed geese. The results are relevant right now since farmers, especially in Norway, in recent years have scared off the geese to protect their crops against the geese.

The scientists have used dynamic programming to predict the reaction from the geese to disturbances during their migration. The results show that the fitness of the geese when they arrive at the breeding grounds is essential for their breeding success. Geese with good fitness at arrival time have much higher success in raising the chicks than geese with poor fitness. Hence, the access to grazing areas is essential to the pink footed geese during their spring migration.

Based on the results the scientists recommend an integrated management from the countries involved to ensure geese access to grazing areas along the spring flyway.

The results are presented in the scientific article "Modelling behavioural and fitness consequences of disturbance for geese along their spring flyway" just published in the Journal of Applied Ecology Vol. 43 page 90-100.

Press release from British Ecological Society