Long‐Term Survival and Harvest of Resident Canada Geese in Virginia

Abstract

Resident populations of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) are of particular management interest throughout the eastern United States given increased human-wildlife conflicts due to regional increases in the Atlantic Flyway Resident Population. Within Virginia, USA, growth rates of resident goose populations have been reduced through extended harvest seasons and increased bag limits. Our objective was to investigate spatiotemporal patterns in survival rates and harvest rates of resident geese in Virginia over the past 25 years. We estimated annual survival, recovery, and harvest rates using markrecapture data from 1990-2015 for individuals that were banded as resident birds during summer throughout the state. We tested for differences in annual survival probability and harvest rates of resident geese banded and recovered in 3 distinct goose hunt zones: the Atlantic, Southern James Bay, and Western hunt zones, each of which had different hunting regulations. We also tested for differences in survival and harvest rates between individuals banded in rural or urban sampling locations, and between age classes (i.e., after hatch-year or hatch-year). In general, survival rates of resident geese over the past 25 years in Virginia are declining. Differences in survival among the 3 goose hunt zones also suggests that current harvest management strategies have reduced survival rates of resident geese. Upon closer examination, we found differences in survival among zones, with resident geese in the Atlantic and Southern James Bay hunt zones showing more negative declines compared to resident geese in the Western zone. Resident geese banded in rural areas had higher survival than urban-banded geese. We also investigated the effects of sampling effort on survival estimates and found no difference in survival estimates among groups when using 75%, 50%, 25%, or 5% of the data randomly sampled from the full data set, suggesting that banding efforts of resident geese could be reduced and continue to inform adaptive management strategies for these populations throughout Virginia.

Translocation, survival, and recovery of Kansas‐banded Canada geese

“…Translocated adult survival was also less than other mid‐latitude states’ survival estimates for temperate‐breeding Canada geese ( = 0.66–0.91, Virginia, Ladin et al. 2020; = 0.66, Ohio, rural, Shirkey et al. 2018; Table 4).…”

Canada Goose Survival and Recovery Rates in Urban and Rural Areas of Iowa, USA

“…Likewise, geese banded at urban sites in New Jersey, USA, tended to have higher survival than those banded in rural areas, although differences were less pronounced than those reported in Balkcom (2010) and adult survival estimates were similar between urban and rural areas, whereas juvenile survival was higher in urban areas (Beston et al 2014). Survival of urban and rural Canada geese was similar for adults and juveniles banded in Ohio, USA (Shirkey et al 2018); in contrast, Canada goose survival in rural areas was higher than urban areas in Virginia, USA (Ladin et al 2020). Our comparisons of Canada goose survival in urban and rural areas of Iowa suggest adult survival was similar, juvenile survival was lower, and subadult survival was higher for geese banded at urban sites compared to rural areas.…”

“…Hunting is also a primary cause of Canada goose mortality (Trost and Malecki 1985), but Canada geese that use urban areas may be less susceptible to harvest by hunters because of ordinances restricting hunting or firearm‐discharge within municipalities or other challenges associated with hunting in or near city limits. Researchers examining survival and recovery rates of Canada geese banded in urban and rural areas have reported mixed results based on geographic location, cohort, or specific cities within the same geographic region (Heller 2010, Beston et al 2014, Dorak et al 2017, Shirkey et al 2018, Ladin et al 2020). Furthermore, survival and harvest of Canada geese is likely influenced by winter weather (Conover et al 2015, Shirkey et al 2018).…”