BRANTA — Kees H.T. Schreven
Geese colonising New Land: Causes and mechanisms of range expansion in an Arctic-breeding migrant
Institution: University of Amsterdam (UvA) & Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), The Netherlands
Supervisors: prof. dr. B.A. Nolet (UvA & NIOO-KNAW) & prof. dr. J. Madsen (Aarhus University, Denmark)
Details: PhD, 2023
Address:
Dept. Ecology, Radboud University, The Netherlands
Email
Subject Keywords:Migration, climate change, timing, breeding success, GPS, tracking
Species Keywords: Pink-footed goose, Anser brachyrhynchus
Abstract
The world is changing rapidly. Understanding how animals are dealing with this is important for sustainability. The Arctic sees the fastest climate change, and spring advances rapidly. In order to cope, migratory arctic birds may arrive earlier, or move to colder areas. Recently, Pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus), originally breeding on Svalbard, have colonised Novaya Zemlya via a new migration route. We study both routes and track geese with GPS-transmitters, by which we can detect nesting attempts reliably. In Svalbard, spring advanced rapidly but timing of goose migration and breeding did not keep up. Novaya Zemlya was colder and its spring later, and although egg-laying was later than in Svalbard, hatching was better matched with local food abundance. Novaya Zemlya geese had larger heads, longer pre-laying intervals, and better body condition in spring than Svalbard geese. In both areas, early springs led to more (successful) breeding, but geese in Novaya Zemlya performed better at a given spring onset. Still, reproductive output was similar in both areas. Pink-footed geese may have discovered Novaya Zemlya by vagrancy due to strong winds during sea crossings, or may have followed Taiga Bean Geese that fly to Novaya Zemlya to moult. Pink-footed geese of old and new breeding areas did not differ in personality, but Svalbard geese using the new route were less dominant than other geese. These possibly explored the new route, avoiding competition on the old route. Genetically, geese of Svalbard and Novaya Zemlya were not (yet) differentiated. Concluding, Pink-footed geese seem to cope with change at least in part by range expansion, which likely resulted from an interplay of drivers and facilitators.
Published Papers
Schreven K.H.T., Versluijs T.S.L., Boom M.P., Cottaar F., Kuijken E., Pessa J., Tombre I.M., Verscheure C., Madsen J. & Nolet B.A. 2025. Arctic geese in newly colonised, colder breeding areas have higher spring body mass and breed earlier relative to the onset of spring. Journal of Animal Ecology 95: 97-114. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.70172
Schreven K.H.T., Madsen J. & Nolet B.A. 2024. Effects of capture and GPS-tagging in spring on migration timing and reproduction in Pink-footed geese Anser brachyrhynchus. Animal Biotelemetry 12: 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-024-00365-2
Madsen J., Schreven K.H.T., Jensen G.H., Johnson F.A., Nilsson L., Nolet B.A. & Pessa J. 2023. Rapid formation of new migration route and breeding area by Arctic geese. Current Biology 33(6): 1162-1170, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.065
Geisler J., Madsen J., Nolet B.A. & Schreven K.H.T. 2022. Sea crossings of migratory pink-footed geese: seasonal effects of winds on flying and stopping behaviour. Journal of Avian Biology, 07-09-2022 https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.02985
Schreven K.H.T., Stolz C., Madsen J. & Nolet B.A. 2021. Nesting attempts and success of Arctic-breeding geese can be derived with high precision from accelerometry and GPS-tracking. Animal Biotelemetry 9: 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-021-00249-9
Nolet B.A., Schreven K.H.T., Boom M.P. & Lameris, T.K. 2020. Contrasting effects of the onset of spring on reproductive success of Arctic-nesting geese. Auk 137(1,2): ukz063. https://doi.org/10.1093/auk/ukz063
Clausen K.K., Schreven K.H.T. & Madsen J. 2020. Effects of capture and marking on the behaviour of moulting Pink-footed Geese Anser brachyrhynchus on Svalbard. Wildfowl 70(1): 13-29. https://wildfowl.wwt.org.uk/index.php/wildfowl/article/view/2717