28 



Bmls — Our Li\ ini; Rf\('iirci's 



For further inrorniution: 



Donald H. Ru;,ch 



National Biological Service 



Wisconsin Cooperati\c Wildlife 



Research Unit 



University of Wisconsin 



Madison, WI 5J706 



Canada's eastern subarctic regions. 



Although small geese with long migrations 

 have generally not fared as well as large geese 

 with short migrations, some small geese ha\'e 

 responded well to intensive management. 

 Introduced Arctic fo.xes (Alope.x kigopiis) 

 depleted populations of the Aleutian Canada 

 goose (B.C. leucopaivia). and the subspecies 

 was nearly extinct by 1440. About 300 were 

 rediscovered in the Aleutians on Buldir Island 

 in 1962 (Jones 1963). Sub.sequent removal of 

 fo.xes and translocation of wild gee.se have led 

 to increases to about 750 geese in 1975 and 

 more than 11.000 in 1993. 



Heavy hunting caused numbers of cackling 

 Canada geese to plummet to record lows in the 

 early I980"s, but intensive research (Raveling 

 and Zezulak 1992) and harvest control have 

 brought about a sustained recovery (Table). 



Recent genetic studies of Canada geese sup- 

 port the existence of two major groups that last 

 shared a common ancestor about 1 million years 

 ago. The large-bodied group [B.c. ccimidcnsis. 

 intehoi: maxima, moffitti. fulva. occidentalis) is 

 mainly continental in distribution, while the 

 small-bodied group (luitcliinsii. tavcnwri. mini- 

 ma, leuc(tpareia) breeds in coastal Alaska and 

 Arctic Canada (Rusch et al. in press). 



The future of the.se diverse stocks of Canada 

 geese depends upon information adequate to 

 pemiit simultaneous protection of rare forms, 

 responsible subsistence and recreational hunt- 

 ing of abtmdant populatit)ns, and control of nui- 

 sance Canada geese in urban and suburban envi- 

 ronments. Delineation of breeding ranges and 

 spring surveys that monitor numbers of pairs 



and their productivity offer the most realistic 

 approach to population management and the 

 conservation of this remarkable diversity of 

 geese. 



Ranges of most populations have been 

 described, and spring surveys are in place for 

 some. Development and continuation of spring 

 surveys for each subspecies ol' Canada geese are 

 prerequisites for their conservation and man- 

 agement. The species can no doubt be perpetu- 

 ated without spiing surveys, but without contin- 

 ued monitoring, management, and conserva- 

 tion, it is likely that rare forms will disappear, 

 opportunities for subsistence and recreational 

 hunting will diminish, and nuisance problems 

 caused by large geese living near humans will 

 increase. 



Rt'fcrences 



Bellrose. F.C. 1476. Ducks, geese and swans of North 

 •America. Stackpole. Harrishurg. PA. 544 pp. 



Dclacour, J.T. IQ.'i4. The waterfowl of the world. Vol. I. 

 Country Life. Ltd.. London. 251 pp. 



Hanson. H.C. 1965. The giant Canada goose. Southern 

 llhnois University Press. Carbondale. 226 pp. 



Hnic. R.L.. and C. Schoenfeld. eds, 1968. Canada goo.se 

 management. Dcnbar Educational Research Services. 

 Madison. WI. 194 pp. 



loncs. R.D.. Jr I96.V Buldir Island, site of a reinnant popu- 

 lation of Aleutian Canada geese. Wildfowl 14:80-84. 



Office of Migratory Bird Management. 1993. Status of 

 waterfowl and fall night forecast. U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service. Washington. DC, 37 pp. 



Raveling, D.G.. and D.S. Zezulak. 1992. Changes in distri- 

 bution of cackling Canada geese in autumn. California 

 Fish and Game 78:65-77. 



Rusch. D.H.. DD, Hamburg. M.D. Samuel, and B.D. 

 Sullivan, eds. 1994. Biology and management of Canada 

 geese. Proceedings of the 1991 International Canada 

 Goose Symposium. In press. 



Canada Geese 

 in the Atlantic 

 Flyway 



by 



Jay B. Hestbeck 

 National Biological Service 



Large changes have occurred in the geo- 

 graphic wintering distribution and sub- 

 species composition of the Atlantic Flyway 

 population of Canada geese {Braiita canaden- 

 sis) over the last 40 years. The Atlantic Flyway 

 can be thought of as being partitioned into four 

 regions: South. Chesapeake, mid-Atlantic, and 

 New England. Wintering numbers have 

 declined in the southern states (Noilh Carolina, 

 South Carolina, Georgia, Florida), increased 

 then decreased in the Chesapeake region 

 (Delaware. Maryland, Virginia), and increased 

 markedly in the mid-Atlantic region (New York, 

 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia) (Serie 

 1993: Fig. 1). In the New England region 

 (Maine, New Hampshire. Vermont, 

 Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut), 

 wintering numbers increased from around 6,000 

 during 1948-50 to between 20,000 and 30,000 

 today (Serie 1993). 



Overall, the total number of wintering geese 

 reached a peak of 955,000 in 1981 and has since 

 declined 40% to 569,000 in 1993. 



Compounding these distributional changes in 

 wintering numbers, the subspecies composition 

 has also changed. The Canada goose population 

 is composed of migrant geese (primarily B.c. 



48 53 



58 



I I I I ! I I I I I I I I I I I 



63 68 73 78 83 88 93 

 Year 



Fig. 1. Midwinter number of Canada geese in mid- 

 Atlantic. Chesapeake, and South regions of the Atlantic 

 Flyway. 1948-93 (Midwinter Survey. U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service. Office of Migratory Bird Management) 



