40

D2 Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus - Fennoscandian population

CAVEAT: Norway

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.

Breeding area

Wintering area

Flyway population estimate

Flyway trend

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and those declines continued to the brink of extinction through the 1990s. The statistically negative trend of -4.6% decline per annum continued through the 1990s up to 2008 (Figure D2.2). By 2009, the Fennoscandian breeding population was estimated at less than 20 breeding pairs with only 11-12 pairs recorded at the Valdak Marshes during spring staging. However, after culling of red foxes was implemented in 2007, with effective culling from 2008, the decline seems to have ceased, and annual spring monitoring of Lesser White-fronted Geese spring staging prior to arrival at breeding sites using the Valdak marshes in Norway reveal an average annual increase of +15% (Figure D2.2). The purpose of the culling was to delay the clutch loss to avoid the birds undertaking the long moult migration to Russia where they are exposed to a heavy hunting pressure during the summer, but especially during the autumn migration through Russian, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

Trends in reproduction and survivalSince the autumn monitoring of annual production started in 1994 at the Valdak Marshes, Norway, the average brood size has been 3.0 goslings. After fox culling was implemented, the

average brood size has increased by 11% to 3.4 goslings. The proportion of successful breeders varies substantially between years, but shows no significant changes in the long term trend around the average of 46% (Aarvak and Øien unpublished data).

No new recent adult survival rate estimates have been calculated. With such a very small sample size (the effect of small population size), it is not possible to estimate inter-annual mortality rate. During the period 1993-2006, adult mortality rate was estimated at 28.6% annually (Øien and Aarvak 2008). During the recent period culling Red Foxes Vulpes vulpes (2008-2016), the annual adult mortality rate has likely decreased, although no recent estimates have been calculated. Juvenile survival has been estimated by comparing annual numbers of juveniles produced with the number of second calendar year birds observed in the following spring at the same staging site (Valdak Marshes). The juvenile survival rate for the Fennoscandian Lesser White-fronted Goose population has been as low as 30.5%, although this estimate is also derived from pre-culling years.

» Figure D2.1. Map showing the breeding and wintering distribution and migration routes of Lesser White-fronted Geese from the Fennoscandian and Main Western populations. Areas shaded yellow indicate known breeding areas, areas shaded brown indicate moulting sites, while areas shaded red indicate known staging and wintering sites. Green and light green migration routes indicate relationships established by satellite transmitter tracking. Dark blue arrows indicate the main migration routes by the breeding Fennoscandian population, Purple arrows indicate moult-migration and main migration routes used by non-breeders and failed breeders from the Fennoscandian population. Whitish arrows indicate main migration routes for the Main Western population breeding in Russia.

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» Figure D2.2. Annual spring counts of Lesser White-fronted Geese at the Valdak Marshes, Finnmark, north Norway, 1990-2016, showing the increase in numbers in very recent years after prolonged periods of decline. Green bars show years with effective Red Fox culling programme in the core breeding area from 2008.

A Global Audit of the Status And Trends of Arctic and Northern Hemisphere Goose Populations (Component 2: Population accounts)

ARCTIC COUNCIL

CAFF Designated Agencies:• Norwegian Environment Agency, Trondheim, Norway• Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Canada• Faroese Museum of Natural History, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands (Kingdom of Denmark)• Finnish Ministry of the Environment, Helsinki, Finland• Icelandic Institute of Natural History, Reykjavik, Iceland• The Ministry of Nature and Environment, Greenland• Russian Federation Ministry of Natural Resources, Moscow, Russia• Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm, Sweden• United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska

CAFF Permanent Participant Organizations:• Aleut International Association (AIA) • Arctic Athabaskan Council (AAC)• Gwich’in Council International (GCI)• Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) – Greenland, Alaska, Canada and Russia • Russian Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON) • Saami Council

This report and associated materials can be downloaded for free at: http://www.caff.is/goose

This publication should be cited as Fox, A.D. & Leafloor, J.O. (eds.) 2018. A Global Audit of the Status and Trends of Arctic and Northern Hemisphere Goose Populations (Component 2: Population accounts). Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna International Secretariat: Akureyri, Iceland. ISBN 978-9935-431-74-5

or

CAFF. 2018. A Global Audit of the Status and Trends of Arctic and Northern Hemisphere Goose Populations (Component 2: Population accounts). Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna International Secretariat, Akureyri, Iceland. ISBN 978-9935-431-74-5

Editors: Anthony D. Fox & James O. LeafloorProject Steering Committee: Anthony D. Fox, Tom Barry, Tom Christenssen & James O. LeafloorData: Jana Kotzerka & Hólmgrímur HelgasonCover photo: Black brant at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, USA. Photo by Jason Otto.Layout and Graphics: Kári Fannar Lárusson and Hólmgrímur HelgasonFunding and Support: CAFF would like to acknowledge the support from the Nordic Council of Miniters Terrestrial Ecosystem Group (TEG) and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.

Acknowledgements

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/. All photographs are subject to a separate restricted copyright and may not be reproduced without explicit consent, which should be sought directly from the copyright holder.

Note: The views expressed in this peer reviewed report are the responsibility of the authors of the report and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arctic Council, its members or its observers, contributing institutions or funding institutions..

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