Individual adaptation to a changing environment in wild barnacle geese
1. Purpose
Our research aims to understand population processes, constraints and adaptation in the fast-changing Arctic environment: We have followed individual Barnacle geese and their offspring throughout their lives since 1990, while also recording data on their environmental conditions such as food availability and predation pressure (Arctic foxes and polar bears). This dataset illuminates how Barnacle geese have responded to changing Arctic conditions. With climate and environmental change occurring more rapidly than ever in the Arctic, we are applying to continue monitoring this population in order to answer new questions that emerge as conditions continue to change (e.g., What is the effect of the increased cloud cover on grass growth and gosling survival?).
2. Distress
All animal procedures in this application have previously been performed on Barnacle geese during our study. Capturing geese does cause some stress, but we have never observed any adverse effects of our methods on the bird’s performance after release. We therefore believe the stress imposed is mild.
Incubation phase
A small number of incubating adults (≤15 per year) are caught by sliding a noose attached to a pole around the neck. An engraved plastic ring for individual recognition is slipped over the goose’s leg and a solar-powered neck-collar tracker specifically designed for goose research is attached. From capture, the entire procedure takes less than a minute.
Hatching phase
Each year ≤320 hatchlings (from ~80 nests) are given a numbered metal ‘webtag’ 3mm long, and tarsus and mass are measured. Webtags are essential to recognize goslings during later captures and link their growth and survival with environmental measurements. A webtag is folded over the web of the foot using special pliers. This takes ~45 seconds per hatchling, ~3 minutes per nest.
Post-hatching phase
During this phase all geese are flightless because adults are moulting and goslings cannot fly. We slowly herd the geese into a pen and capture ≤135 geese over two catches. All individuals without an engraved plastic ring are given one. From the first 50 birds in each catch, a blood sample for molecular sexing and health screening (e.g., toxoplasmosis) is taken; bleeding stops within seconds and the sampling process takes <1 minute. We also screen these birds for avian influenza by briefly inserting specifically-designed cloacal and tracheal swabs.
3. Expected benefit
This research builds on our long-term monitoring of geese, shedding light on the ramifications of rapid environmental change in their Arctic ecosystem.
4. Animal number & type
Annually, this experiment will capture ≤15 incubating adults, ≤320 hatchlings and ≤135 temporarily flightless Barnacle geese.
5. Adhering to 3R
This research studies wild animals and their environment, and cannot be replaced using non-animals. By intensively and non-invasively observing marked geese using telescopes—yielding high resighting probabilities and complete life-histories of individual geese—we reduce the number of marked geese necessary to obtain meaningful data. Over 31 years of study, we have carefully refined our methods to fit the animals and habitat, e.g., we use a large team during catches to minimise handling stress and time.
Our research aims to understand population processes, constraints and adaptation in the fast-changing Arctic environment: We have followed individual Barnacle geese and their offspring throughout their lives since 1990, while also recording data on their environmental conditions such as food availability and predation pressure (Arctic foxes and polar bears). This dataset illuminates how Barnacle geese have responded to changing Arctic conditions. With climate and environmental change occurring more rapidly than ever in the Arctic, we are applying to continue monitoring this population in order to answer new questions that emerge as conditions continue to change (e.g., What is the effect of the increased cloud cover on grass growth and gosling survival?).
2. Distress
All animal procedures in this application have previously been performed on Barnacle geese during our study. Capturing geese does cause some stress, but we have never observed any adverse effects of our methods on the bird’s performance after release. We therefore believe the stress imposed is mild.
Incubation phase
A small number of incubating adults (≤15 per year) are caught by sliding a noose attached to a pole around the neck. An engraved plastic ring for individual recognition is slipped over the goose’s leg and a solar-powered neck-collar tracker specifically designed for goose research is attached. From capture, the entire procedure takes less than a minute.
Hatching phase
Each year ≤320 hatchlings (from ~80 nests) are given a numbered metal ‘webtag’ 3mm long, and tarsus and mass are measured. Webtags are essential to recognize goslings during later captures and link their growth and survival with environmental measurements. A webtag is folded over the web of the foot using special pliers. This takes ~45 seconds per hatchling, ~3 minutes per nest.
Post-hatching phase
During this phase all geese are flightless because adults are moulting and goslings cannot fly. We slowly herd the geese into a pen and capture ≤135 geese over two catches. All individuals without an engraved plastic ring are given one. From the first 50 birds in each catch, a blood sample for molecular sexing and health screening (e.g., toxoplasmosis) is taken; bleeding stops within seconds and the sampling process takes <1 minute. We also screen these birds for avian influenza by briefly inserting specifically-designed cloacal and tracheal swabs.
3. Expected benefit
This research builds on our long-term monitoring of geese, shedding light on the ramifications of rapid environmental change in their Arctic ecosystem.
4. Animal number & type
Annually, this experiment will capture ≤15 incubating adults, ≤320 hatchlings and ≤135 temporarily flightless Barnacle geese.
5. Adhering to 3R
This research studies wild animals and their environment, and cannot be replaced using non-animals. By intensively and non-invasively observing marked geese using telescopes—yielding high resighting probabilities and complete life-histories of individual geese—we reduce the number of marked geese necessary to obtain meaningful data. Over 31 years of study, we have carefully refined our methods to fit the animals and habitat, e.g., we use a large team during catches to minimise handling stress and time.