The autumn migration routes of bar-headed geese captured before the 2008 breeding season at Qinghai Lake, China, were documented using satellite tracking data. To assess how the migration strategies of bar-headed geese are influenced by environmental conditions, the relationship between migratory routes, temperatures, and vegetation coverage at stopovers sites estimated with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were analyzed. Our results showed that there were four typical migration routes in autumn with variation in timing among individuals in start and end times and in total migration and stopover duration. The observed variation may be related to habitat type and other environmental conditions along the routes. On average, these birds traveled about 1300 to 1500 km, refueled at three to six stopover sites and migrated for 73 to 83 days. The majority of the habitat types at stopover sites were lake, marsh, and shoal wetlands, with use of some mountainous regions, and farmland areas.
Bar-headed geese (Anser indicus) is animportant migratory goose species group in the Qinghai lake region. Population dynamics of the group provides the foundation data of decision-making in Bar-headed geese protection in Qinghai lake National Nature Reserve. A bar-headed goose population dynamics model was constructed in Qinghai lake region regarding the dynamics with STELLA graphical modeling software. Parameters included in the model described mating, egg deposition, hatching, brood-rearing, immigration, emigration and mortality based on long term observation data. In running simulation models, we use one year as unit and 1/7 as a time step in accordance of the periodic time bar-headed geese stay in Qinghai lake. The next 25 years simulated population change results showed that the trend of the maximum bar-headed goose population will vary around 20 thousand in Qinghai lake region. Meanwhile, the population was simulated assuming calamity strikes in 2010. The model and simulated results of the bar-headed goose population are reliable according to calibrated results using observed data from 2006 to 2008, and the method of modeling bar-headed goose population provides some reference to further research on other birds in Qinghai lake region. Finally, suggestions of protection for the bar-headed goose have been proposed based on above results.
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