Site fidelity and range size of wintering Barnacle Geese<i>Branta leucopsis</i>

Phillips, Richard A.; Cope, David; Rees, Eileen C.; O’Connell, Mark

doi:10.1080/00063650309461308

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Masses recorded were 2099±55·g and 2219±44·g for 1993 and 1994, respectively (N=13 and 11, respectively), and these are heavier than masses taken from the captive geese in the present study at around the same time (e.g. 1827±37·g, 5th (Phillips et al, 2003), which is similar to the winter masses in the captive geese during the second year of the present study (e.g. 2105±53·g, 12th December 2005).…”

Section: Rate Of Mass Loss and Body Sizesupporting

confidence: 68%

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Annual changes in body mass and resting metabolism in captive barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis): the importance of wing moult

Portugal

Green

Butler

2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

134

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SUMMARY Many different physiological changes have been observed in wild waterfowl during the flightless stage of wing moult, including a loss of body mass. We aimed to determine whether captive barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis)would show the characteristic decrease in body mass during their wing moult,even though they had unlimited and unrestricted access to food. Fourteen captive geese were weighed at 1–2-week intervals for two complete years. During the flightless period of the moult, body mass decreased by approximately 25% from the pre-moult value. To understand the basis of this change, the rate of oxygen consumption was measured during daytime and nighttime at six points in the second year, and at three points (before,during and after wing moult) behavioural observations were made. Measurements of the rate of oxygen consumption showed an 80% increase above that of the nonmoulting periods of the year. We propose that metabolism was increased during moult because of the cost of feather synthesis. Although food was available, the captive birds chose not to forage and instead increased the proportion of time spent resting. It is likely that this behaviour in response to wing moult is a strategy to avoid predation in the wild. Thus, the innate nature of this behaviour has potential survival value for wild birds of this species. We conclude that the increase in metabolism led to the use of endogenous energy reserves because the birds reduced rather than increased their food intake rates, and as a result, the barnacle geese lost body mass during wing moult.

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Section: Rate Of Mass Loss and Body Sizesupporting

confidence: 68%

“…No published study has previously recorded the year-round mass of barnacle geese, wild or captive, although other studies have weighed wild barnacle geese at various times of the year (Owen and Ogilvie, 1979;Tombre et al, 1996;Phillips et al, 2003).…”

Section: Rate Of Mass Loss and Body Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

Annual changes in body mass and resting metabolism in captive barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis): the importance of wing moult

Portugal

Green

Butler

2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

134

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“…Similarly, radio transmitters were glued and bound to the tail feathers of Mallard, Eurasian Teal and Northern Pintail in France by Legagneux et al [50], but no details are provided about whether or not this affected the birds. Seven out of 20 tail-mounted transmitters of 17 g in Barnacle Geese were lost prematurely in a study by Phillips et al [64], but no transmitter effects on the birds were reported. Reynolds [69] cut a small patch of feathers on the lower back of Laysan Teal Anas laysanensis to glue radio transmitters directly onto the skin and adhered them to uncut feathers with strips of tape.…”

Section: Other Attachment Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduction in adverse effects of tracking devices on waterfowl requires better measuring and reporting

Lameris

Kleyheeg

2017

Anim Biotelemetry

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Since the first studies in the mid-twentieth century, lightweight electronic tracking devices have been increasingly used to study waterfowl movements. With half a century of experience and growing sample sizes, it has become clear that the attachment of a tracking device can affect a bird's behaviour and fitness. This becomes problematic when it introduces uncertainty about whether the recorded data represent natural behaviour. Waterfowl may be particularly prone to tag effects, since many species are migratory and tracking devices can disrupt their waterproof plumage. The primary aim of this paper is to identify how tracking devices may affect waterfowl survival, migration and reproduction, and how better measuring and reporting of such effects can improve our understanding of the risks, providing a first step towards reducing their impact in future studies. We reviewed literature on electronic tracking of waterfowl to create an overview of currently recognized effects of harness-attached backpacks, implants, subcutaneous attachments and neck collars. Additionally, we analysed developments in the use of attachment methods, the weight of tracking devices relative to bird body mass, and the reporting rate of effects of tracking devices in 202 original tracking studies. We found that although the number of waterfowl tracking studies described in peer-reviewed literature has steeply increased over the past decades, reporting rates of potential effects have decreased from 65.0 to 26.5%. Meanwhile, the mean weight of the tracking devices relative to the bird's body mass remained stable around 2.0%. Major negative effects were reported in 17% of all studies and were found for all attachment methods. Overall, large differences exist in the occurrence and type of negative effects between species and studies, even if the same tracking methods were used. Inconsistent reporting of effects, lack of control groups to measure effects and incomplete descriptions of the methodology hamper the identification of factors contributing to these effects. To accomplish a reduction in adverse effects of tracking, it is necessary to improve the measuring and reporting of effects. We propose a framework for standardized reporting of methods in primary tracking studies and standardized protocols to measure effects of tracking devices on waterfowl.

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“…Here, to study the influence of multiple interacting lunar cycles on the physiology of diurnally active animals, we use migratory barnacle geese ( Branta leucopsis ) as an exemplar species. Barnacle geese are visual‐feeding herbivorous terrestrial grazers, exhibiting a strict diurnal behavioral pattern during the winter months when in Scotland of feeding on salt marsh and farmland during the day, and roosting on water at night (Phillips et al, ). Our study, which uses biologging technology to study body temperature and heart rate, asks whether there is evidence for a physiological response to natural cycles in lunar brightness, particularly “supermoon” phenomena, in wild birds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of “supermoon” events on the physiology of a wild bird

Portugal

White

Frappell

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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The position of the Moon in relation to the Earth and the Sun gives rise to several predictable cycles, and natural changes in nighttime light intensity are known to cause alterations to physiological processes and behaviors in many animals. The limited research undertaken to date on the physiological responses of animals to the lunar illumination has exclusively focused on the synodic lunar cycle (full moon to full moon, or moon phase) but the moon's orbit—its distance from the Earth—may also be relevant. Every month, the moon moves from apogee , its most distant point from Earth—and then to perigee, its closest point to Earth. Here, we studied wild barnacle geese ( Branta leucopsis ) to investigate the influence of multiple interacting lunar cycles on the physiology of diurnally active animals. Our study, which uses biologging technology to continually monitor body temperature and heart rate for an entire annual cycle, asks whether there is evidence for a physiological response to natural cycles in lunar brightness in wild birds, particularly “supermoon” phenomena, where perigee coincides with a full moon. There was a three‐way interaction between lunar phase, lunar distance, and cloud cover as predictors of nighttime mean body temperature, such that body temperature was highest on clear nights when the full moon coincided with perigee moon. Our study is the first to report the physiological responses of wild birds to “supermoon” events; the wild geese responded to the combination of two independent lunar cycles, by significantly increasing their body temperature at night. That wild birds respond to natural fluctuations in nighttime ambient light levels support the documented responses of many species to anthropogenic sources of artificial light, that birds seem unable to override. As most biological systems are arguably organized foremost by light, this suggests that any interactions between lunar cycles and local weather conditions could have significant impacts on the energy budgets of birds.

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Site fidelity and range size of wintering Barnacle GeeseBranta leucopsis

Cited by 11 publications

References 11 publications

Annual changes in body mass and resting metabolism in captive barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis): the importance of wing moult

Annual changes in body mass and resting metabolism in captive barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis): the importance of wing moult

Reduction in adverse effects of tracking devices on waterfowl requires better measuring and reporting

Impacts of “supermoon” events on the physiology of a wild bird

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