Title: North-East American Canada goose migration 2015-2021
Citation: Sorais M., Patenaude-Monette M., Sharp C., Askren R., LaRocque A., Leblon B., and Giroux J.-F. North-East American Canada goose migration 2015-2021. Movebank. https://www.movebank.org/cms/panel_embedded_movebank_webapp?gwt_fragment=page=studies,path=study2105214573
Study Site: East coast of James Bay
Purpose: Numbers of temperate-breeding Atlantic and Mississippi Flyway Canada geese have greatly increased since the 1980s. Consequently, numbers of yearlings, sub-adults and failed breeders undertaking pre-molt migration to northern latitudes has also increased, potentially providing additional hunting opportunities for Cree hunters living near James Bay, Canada. We described movement patterns and habitat use of molt migrant Canada geese Brenta canadensis maxima along the east coast of James Bay based on nine geese fitted with GSM–GPS devices during 11 northward and eight southward migrations between 2015 and 2019. Geese staged for 2.8 ± 0.6 days (mean ± standard error of the mean) at 3.2 ± 0.6 staging sites (mostly tidal flats and salt marshes) from the first week of June in spring and 3.8 ± 1.8 days at 2.0 ± 0.5 staging sites (mostly inland freshwater wetlands, peatlands and tidal flats) from the first week of September when returning south. Shallow and deep water habitats were used as resting sites during both migrations. In spring, molt migrants were mostly harvested in June well after the migration of sub-arctic breeding geese whereas in autumn, both subspecies were harvested in September. Molt migrant temperate-breeding geese can increase harvest opportunities and represent supplementary wildlife food for Cree communities. However, the current number of molt migrant geese harvested by Cree hunters is not sufficient to significantly impact populations of temperate-breeding geese.
Abstract: This dataset presents the movements of 82 adult Canada geese (Branta maxima) tracked with GPS-tagged collars in order to investigate their migration routes and timing. Two subspecies were tracked: B. c. interior and B. c. maxima. Most B. c. interior individuals were captured during their molting season in Nunavik (Northern Quebec, Canada), 18 males on the Ungava Bay west coast in summer 2019, and 36 males on the Hudson Bay east coast in summer 2017, 2018, and 2019. One B. c. maxima male was also captured along B. c. interior individuals near Hudson Bay. Twenty B. c. maxima males were captured along with one B. c. interior males during their 2018 southward migration in Boatswain Bay (Quebec, Canada). Six B. c. maxima females were captured and marked on their nest in the Great Toronto area (Ontario, Canada) in spring 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019. We used GPS devices with cellular transmission. Fixes were scheduled to 15 or 30 minutes. This dataset includes a total of 1,680,653 cleaned-up locations, with horizontal and vertical dilution of precision <5. Locations coordinates are given in the World Geodetic System 1984. Locations date and hour is given in in the Eastern Standard Time zone. Cleaned-up tracking duration was 387.5 days on average (min: 5 days, max: 3.8 years).
Supplemental Information Summary:
Research:
Further Info:
Status: Complete
Keywords:
wildlife,
mapping,
traditional knowledge,
Geographical coordinates: North: 55.35, South: 51.17 East: -78.66 West: -80.46
Bounding Temporal Extent: Start Date: 2015-01-01, End
Date: 2019-12-31
