elude other algae (especially Enteromorpha spp.), buds of Saxlfraga oppositi - 

 folia , rockgrass ( Phyllospadlx ) , glasswort ( Sallcornia ) , saltgrass ( Dlstlchlis 

 spicata ) , cordgrass ( Spartina ) , a grass ( Pucclnella ) , and sea-aster ( Aster trip - 

 oliura). Various grasses and domesticated plants obtained while feeding in 

 fields may also be important in the diet, particularly in Europe. Brant in Den- 

 mark have been noted feeding on grain-filled pellets ejected by Herring Gulls 

 (Fog 1967 _in Cramp et al. 1977). Mosses, lichens, berries, and sedges are also 

 consumed (Bellrose 1976, Palmer 1976a, Cramp et al. 1977, and authors cited 

 therein). These authors should be consulted for much more detailed lists of 

 foods consumed in various parts of the range. 



Little is known of food habits in the southeastern United States, but the 

 diet is presumably similar to that in other areas along the Atlantic seaboard. 

 Cottam et al. (1944) reported the stomach contents of 11 Brant collected in 

 North Carolina prior to the disappearance of eelgrass ( Zostera marina ) from the 

 east in 1932. They contrasted these with the contents of 21 stomachs collected 

 since 1932. The birds collected prior to 1932 fed almost solely on eelgrass and 

 widgeongrass . The stomachs contained from 10 to 100% eelgrass (mean = 69.5%) 

 and from 8 to 90% widgeongrass (mean = 28.2%). Stomachs collected since 1932 

 contained 24% Zostera and 60% Ruppia . 



Authors cited in Palmer (1976a) reported that a bird collected in South 

 Carolina had eaten only sea lettuce. 



SUSCEPTIBILITY TO OIL POLLUTION 



Birds of the European subspecies of Brant have been victims of oil spills 

 (Joensen and Hansen 1977). In 1966, Brant wintering populations decreased sig- 

 nificantly following an oil spill in the Medway Estuary, Great Britain. How- 

 ever, their numbers increased two years after the incident, indicating that am- 

 ple food supplies had again become available (Harrison and Buck 1968). Because 

 Brant rarely occur along the coast of the southeastern states (except in North 

 Carolina), there is little threat to the population by the development of oil 

 resources in that area. Should oil wash into shallow bays, however, potential 

 feeding areas might be severely damaged. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



1980 



Boyd, H. 1980. Importance of Ireland's Brent Geese. Brit. Birds 73: 363-364. 



Boyd, H. and L. S. Maltby. 1980. Weights and primary growth of Brent Geese 

 Branta bernicl a moulting in the Queen Elizabeth Islands, N.W.T., Canada, 

 1973-1975. Ornis Scand. 11: 135-141. 



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