LRWC Goes to Greenland
This summer Director Sue Sheaffer and LRWC Research Scientist Rich Malecki joined a 13-person expedition to Greenland. The expedition partnered the LRWC with participants from the National Environmental Research Institute (Denmark), the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (UK), the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (UK), the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Ireland), BirdWatch Ireland, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The expedition was part of a collaborative research effort for the declining population of Greenland white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons flavirostris). Our role was to outfit geese with satellite transmitters that will track their migration over the Greenland ice cap during the fall when they return to their wintering grounds. The information collected from these birds will alow us to identify importand habitats and stopover locations along the way that need to be protected.
Although most populations of greater white-fronted geese are doing just fine, the relatively small population (currently <30,000 birds) that breeds in Greenland has been a conservation concern for many years. These birds winter exclusively in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and are one of the rarest species of geese to winter in the United Kingdom. This population has declined by almost 30% over the last 10 years, yet the causes of the decline are not known with certainty. Suspected are late spring weather conditions that have limited annual reproduction, and increased competition for nest sites on the breeding range from an expanding population of breeding Canada geese (Branta canadensis) that are now found in southwestern Greenland. The focus of the expedition was to capture and mark not only white-fronted geese, but also Canada geese.
The transmittters for this project are solar powered, with a built-in solar panel across the top of the unit to keep the battery charged. Inside the transmitter there is a GPS receiver to record the daily locations of the birds, and a satellite transmitter that sends the data to an orbiting satellite. There also is a small microprocessor that can be programmed to tell the unit when to collect a GPS location and when to download data to the satellite. The technology is pretty amazing, as the entire transmitter weighs only 45 grams. The transmitters are programmed to collect six GPS locations each day, and the locations are downloaded to an orbiting satellite every three days. The data are subsequently emailed to the LRWC office, where we can monitor the movements of the white-fronts anywhere they go.
White-fronted goose with a satellite transmitter
Our trip to Greenland opened several doors for the LRWC overseas. Unfortunately, we were able to mark only two adult white-fronts with satellite transmitters while we were in Greenland. We now are planning to travel to the wintering grounds in Ireland where the Ireland Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government has offered to trap white-fronted geese in early December. Our goal will be to deploy an additional four satellite transmitters in Ireland. This will allow us to track these birds throughout the annual cycle, providing information to guide critical management initiatives for this population across its range.
The initial data from the satellite transmitter demonstrates the movements of the birds during late summer on the breeding grounds to depict their movements. Check out the slide show after the maps, for photos of our Greenland expedition!
CHECK OUT OUR GREENLAND SLIDESHOW!
