Does snowmelt constrain spring migration progression in sympatric wintering Arctic‐nesting geese? Results from a Far East Asia telemetry study

Abstract

Telemetry data from sympatric Eastern Tundra Bean Geese Anser serrirostris captured on their winter quarters in the Yangtze River Floodplain, China, tracked to two discrete breeding areas (the Anadyr Region (AR) at 65°N and Central Russian Arctic (CRA) at 75°N) showed that, despite longer migration distance (6300 vs. 5300 km), AR geese reached their destination 23 days earlier than CRA geese as a result of increasingly delayed date of 50% snow cover along the route of CRA geese (based on satellite imagery data). Both groups arrived at breeding areas 8–9 days prior to the local date of 50% snow cover thaw, suggesting optimal timing of arrival for subsequent reproduction. Despite small sample sizes from one season of tracking, these intra‐specific data are the first to suggest that, in time‐limited Arctic‐nesting geese, snowmelt conditions regulated the individual progress and duration of spring migration along the flyway to coincide with arrival at optimal spring conditions on breeding areas.

Migratory herbivorous waterfowl track multiple resource waves during spring migration

“…The three smaller-bodied species arrive at the arctic later, after vegetation has newly emerged, and close to the end of snowmelt. This is in line with a previous study reporting that East Asian geese follow the retreating snow northwards and arrive at their arctic breeding sites prior to the end of snowmelt (39). We find geese couple the use of seeds and newly emerged vegetation as they move north to enable accumulating sufficient fuel during migration, and avoiding to arrive so early that they deplete their body stores prior to the local thaw, therewith ensuring that their goslings benefit from abundant food resources later in the season (3,5,39).…”

Migratory vertebrates shift migration timing and distributions in a warming Arctic

“…Given long migration distances, many bird species require stopover sites to gain energy stores between leaps of migration [48]. During spring migration, at least some species of waterfowl appear to track peaks in food quality and availability [49][50][51] and the onset of ice break-up and snowmelt at staging sites [52,53]. This, however, does not appear to be the case for all species of waterfowl [51] nor for shorebirds [54].…”

“…Advancements are observed both over long time spans (several decades) and in association with changing environmental conditions, such as increasing temperatures and earlier snowmelt and ice break-up. This suggests that animals adjust their migration timing to locally changing conditions, either as they aim to match reproduction timing with local food abundance, or simply because warmer conditions allow [52,53], or even force, earlier migrations [78]. In comparison to most bird species, polar bears show especially rapid trends in migration timing, matching arrival and departure from pack ice with timing of ice freeze-up and break-up [78].…”

Using Tracking Data to Identify Gaps in Knowledge and Conservation of the Critically Endangered Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus)

“…The birds completed an approximately 11,000 km-long circuit during which they only landed in several regions and large river basins: Syagannakh, Russia; Petopavlovka in the Heilongjiang (Amur) river basin; Tumuji, Zhalong, and Momoge National Nature Reserves and the Yueliangpao reservoir in the Nen and Songhua river basin; Wolong Lake and Huanzidong wetland park in the Liao river basin; the Yellow River delta in Shandong province; and the Pi river in the Yangtze river basin (Figures 2 and 4). The Siberian crane does not comply with the principle that the timing of this mid-season migration move should depend on the snowy conditions at the breeding grounds and staging sites [21]. The ground survey shows that thousands of Siberian cranes were still living at their staging sites after a big cold wave with heavy snow in Northeast China in November 2021.…”