Translocation, survival, and recovery of Kansas-banded Canada geese

Ecosphere
By: , and 
Edited by: Alessio Mortelliti

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Abstract

Temperate-breeding, or resident, Canada geese were once extirpated in Kansas, USA, but currently provide abundant viewing and hunting opportunities. Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (KDWPT) began reintroducing geese in 1980 with a goal of re-establishing a breeding population. Successful reintroductions led to translocating flocks to regions with no previous records of nesting geese; however, KDWPT continues to translocate individuals from nuisance flocks in urban areas to rural reservoirs to reduce human conflicts with urban geese. Our goal was to determine the effects of such translocations on survival and recovery of adult, sub-adult, and juvenile temperate-breeding Canada geese. We used Brownie dead-recovery models in Program MARK to compare survival and recovery probabilities between translocated and nontranslocated (normal wild) Kansas-banded Canada geese for 2012–2017. Model-estimated annual survival differed between status (normal wild Ŝ = 0.761, 95% CI 0.734–0.785; translocated Ŝ = 0.598, 95% CI 0.528–0.665). Recovery probability differed between normal and translocated adults (normal wild  = 0.074, 95% CI = 0.069–0.078; translocated  = 0.138, 95% CI = 0.120–0.158) and juveniles (normal wild  = 0.067, 95% CI = 0.059–0.075; translocated  = 0.250, 95% CI = 0.199–0.310). Recovery probability did not differ between status in the sub-adult age class (normal wild  = 0.126, 95% CI = 0.115–0.137; translocated  = 0.090, 95% CI = 0.055–0.144). Translocation is a viable management option to successfully reduce survival and increase recovery probability of urban nuisance geese in Kansas.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Translocation, survival, and recovery of Kansas-banded Canada geese
Series title Ecosphere
DOI 10.1002/ecs2.3659
Volume 12
Issue 7
Year Published 2021
Language English
Publisher Wiley
Contributing office(s) Coop Res Unit Seattle
Description e03659, 11 p.
First page 1
Last page 11
Country United States
State Kansas
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