Skip to main content

Breeding dispersal in a heterogeneous landscape: the influence of habitat and nesting success in greater snow geese

Oecologia volume 155, pages 33–41 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Despite numerous studies on breeding dispersal, it is still unclear how habitat heterogeneity and previous nesting success interact to determine nest-site fidelity at various spatial scales. In this context, we investigated factors affecting breeding dispersal in greater snow geese (Anser caerulescens atlanticus), an Arctic breeding species nesting in two contrasting habitats (wetlands and mesic tundra) with variable pattern of snowmelt at the time of settlement in spring. From 1994 to 2005, we monitored the nesting success and breeding dispersal of individually marked females. We found that snow geese showed a moderate amount of nest-site fidelity and considerable individual variability in dispersal distance over consecutive nesting attempts. This variability can be partly accounted for by the annual timing of snowmelt. Despite this environmental constraint, habitat differences at the colony level consistently affected nesting success and settlement patterns. Females nesting in wetlands had higher nesting success than those nesting in mesic tundra. Moreover, geese responded adaptively to spatial heterogeneity by showing fidelity to their nesting habitat, independently of snowmelt pattern. From year to year, geese were more likely to move from mesic to high-quality wetland habitat, regardless of previous nesting success and without cost on their subsequent nesting performance. The unpredictability of snowmelt and the low cost of changing site apparently favour breeding-site dispersal although habitat quality promotes fidelity at the scale of habitat patches.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

References

  • Anderson MG, Rhymer JM, Rohwer EC (1992) Philopatry, dispersal, and the genetic structure of waterfowl populations. In: Batt BDJ, et al. (eds) Ecology and management of breeding waterfowl. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minn., pp 365–395

    Google Scholar 

  • Badyaev AV, Faust JD (1996) Nest site fidelity in female wild turkey: potential causes and reproductive consequences. Condor 98:589–594

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennetts RE, Nichols JD, Lebreton J-D, Pradel R, Hines JE, Kitchens WM (2001) Methods for estimating dispersal probabilities and related parameters using marked animals. In: Clobert J, Danchin E, Dhondt AA, Nichols JD (eds) Dispersal. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 3–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Bêty J, Gauthier G, Giroux J-F, Korpimaki E (2001) Are goose nesting success and lemming cycles linked? Interplay between nest density and predators. Oikos 93:388–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bêty J, Giroux J-F, Gauthier G (2004) Individual variation in timing of migration: causes and reproductive consequences in greater snow geese (Anser caerulescens atlanticus). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 57:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blums P, Nichols JD, Lindberg MS, Hines JE, Mednis A (2003) Factors affecting breeding dispersal of European ducks on Engure marsh, Latvia. J Anim Ecol 72:292–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boulinier T, Danchin E, Monnat JY, Doutrelant C, Cadiou B (1996) Timing of prospecting and the value of information in a colonial breeding bird. J Avian Biol 27:252–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brownie C, Hines JE, Nichols JD, Pollock KH, Hestbeck JB (1993) Capture–recapture studies with multiple strata including non-Markovian transitions. Biometrics 49:1173–1187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (1998) Model selection and inference: a practical information-theoretic approach. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Cam E, Oro D, Pradel R, Jimenez J (2004) Assessment of hypotheses about dispersal in a long-lived seabird using multistate capture–recapture models. J Anim Ecol 73:723–736

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choquet R, Reboulet A-M, Pradel R, Lebreton JD (2001) U-care (Utilities–CApture–REcapture) user’s guide. In: CEFE/CNRS (ed) Montpellier, France

  • Clark RG, Shutler D (1999) Avian habitat selection: pattern from process in nest-site use by ducks? Ecology 80:272–287

    Google Scholar 

  • Clobert J, Danchin E, Dhondt AA, Nichols JD (eds) (2001) Dispersal. Oxford University Press, New York

  • Cooke F, Abraham KF (1980) Habitat and locality selection in lesser snow geese: the role of previous experience. In: Proceedings of the International Ornithological Congress, vol 17, pp 998–1004

  • Danchin E, Boulinier T, Massot M (1998) Conspecific reproductive success and breeding habitat selection: implications for the study of coloniality. Ecology 79:2415–2428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danchin E, Giraldeau LA, Valone TJ, Wagner RH (2004) Public information: from noisy neighbors to cultural evolution. Science 305:487–491

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dinsmore SJ, White GC, Knopf FL (2002) Advanced techniques for modeling avian nest survival. Ecology 83:3476–3488

    Google Scholar 

  • Doligez B, Danchin E, Clobert J (2002) Public information and breeding habitat selection in a wild bird population. Science 297:1168–1170

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Doligez B, Cadet C, Danchin E, Boulinier T (2003) When to use public information for breeding habitat selection? The role of environmental predictability and density dependence. Anim Behav 66:973–988

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ESRI (2004) ArcGIS 9.0. In: Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands

  • Fortier D, Allard M (2005) Frost-cracking conditions, Bylot Island, Eastern Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Permafrost Periglac 16:145–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fowler AC (2005) Fine-scale spatial structuring in cackling canada geese related to reproductive performance and breeding philopatry. Anim Behav 69:973–981

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gauthier G (1990) Philopatry, nest-site fidelity, and reproductive-performance in Buffleheads. Auk 107:126–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Gauthier G (1993) Feeding ecology of nesting greater snow geese. J Wildl Manage 57:216–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gauthier G, Rochefort L, Reed A (1996) The exploitation of wetland ecosystems by herbivores on Bylot Island. Geosci Can 23:253–259

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood PJ (1980) Mating systems, philopatry and dispersal in birds and mammals. Anim Behav 28:1140–1162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood PJ, Harvey PH (1982) The natal and breeding dispersal of birds. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 13:1–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haeming PD (2001) Symbiotic nesting of birds with formidable animals: a review with applications to biodiversity conservation. Biodivers Conserv 10:527–547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt RD, Barfield M (2001) On the relationship between the ideal free distribution and the evolution of dispersal. In: Clobert J, Danchin E, Dhondt AA, Nichols JD (eds) Dispersal. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoover JP (2003) Decision rules for site fidelity in a migratory bird, the prothonotary warbler. Ecology 84:416–430

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes RJ, Reed A, Gauthier G (1994) Space and habitat use by greater snow goose broods on Bylot Island, Northwest Territories. J Wildl Manage 58:536–545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DH (1979) Estimating nest success: the Mayfield method and an alternative. Auk 96:651–661

    Google Scholar 

  • Lebreton JD, Pradel R (2002) Multistate recapture models: modelling incomplete individual histories. J Appl Stat 29:353–369

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lecomte N, Careau V, Gauthier G, Giroux J-F (2007) Habitat labyrinths as refuges from terrestrial predators: spatio-temporal variation of predation risk in arctic-nesting geese. J Anim Ecol (accepted)

  • Lepage D, Gauthier G, Reed A (1996) Breeding-site infidelity in greater snow geese: a consequence of constraints on laying date? Can J Zool 74:1866–1875

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lepage D, Gauthier G, Menu S (2000) Reproductive consequences of egg-laying decisions in snow geese. J Anim Ecol 69:414–427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lessells CM (1985) Natal and breeding dispersal of canada geese Branta canadensis. Ibis 127:31–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindberg MS, Sedinger JS, Rexstad EA (1995) Estimating nest site fidelity of adult female black brant with multi-state modeling and geographic information systems. J Appl Stat 22:725–735

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald DW, Johnson DDP (2001) Dispersal in theory and practice: consequences for conservation biology. In: Clobert J, Danchin E, Dhondt AA, Nichols JD (eds) Dispersal. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 359–372

    Google Scholar 

  • Mainguy J, Gauthier G, Giroux JF, Bêty J (2006) Gosling growth and survival in relation to brood movements in greater snow geese (Chen caerulescens atlantica). Auk 123:1077–1089

    Google Scholar 

  • Massé H, Rochefort L, Gauthier G (2001) Carrying capacity of wetland habitats used by breeding greater snow geese. J Wildl Manage 65:271–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menu S, Gauthier G, Reed A (2001) Survival of juvenile greater snow geese immediately after banding. J Field Ornithol 72:282–290

    Google Scholar 

  • Mowbray TB, Cooke F, Ganter B (2000) Snow goose (Chen caerulescens). In: Poole A, Gill F (eds) The birds of North America, no. 514. The Birds of North America, Philadelphia, Pa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pradel R, Wintrebert CMA, Gimenez O (2003) A proposal for a goodness-of-fit test to the Arnason–Schwarz multisite capture–recapture model. Biometrics 59:43–53

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed A, Hughes RJ, Gauthier G (1995) Incubation behavior and body-mass of female greater snow geese. Condor 97:993–1001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed A, Hughes RJ, Boyd H (2002) Patterns of distribution and abundance of greater snow geese on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada 1983–1998. Wildfowl 53:53–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed ET, Bêty J, Mainguy J, Gauthier G, Giroux JF (2003) Molt migration in relation to breeding success in greater snow geese. Arctic 56:76–81

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed ET, Gauthier G, Pradel R (2005) Effects of neck bands on reproduction and survival of female greater snow geese. J Wildl Manage 69:91–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rohwer EC, Anderson MG (1988) Female-biased philopatry, monogamy and the timing of pair formation in waterfowl. Curr Ornithol 5:187–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Ronce O, Oliviery I, Clobert J, Danchin E (2001) Perspectives on the study of dispersal evolution. In: Clobert J, Danchin E, Dhondt AA, Nichols JD (eds) Dispersal. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 341–357

    Google Scholar 

  • SAS I (1989–2001) JMP-IN 4.0. In: Institute S (ed) SAS Institute, Cary, N.C.

  • Shutler D, Weatherhead PJ (1994) Movement patterns and territory acquisition by male red-winged blackbirds. Can J Zool 72:712–720

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith SM (1978) The “underworld” in a territorial sparrow: adaptive strategy for floaters. Am Nat 112:571–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Switzer PV (1993) Site fidelity in predictable and unpredictable habitats. Evol Ecol 7:533–555

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Switzer PV (1997) Past reproductive success affects future habitat selection. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 40:307–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay JP, Gauthier G, Lepage D, Desrochers A (1997) Factors affecting nesting success in greater snow geese: effects of habitat and association with snowy owls. Wilson Bull 109:449–461

    Google Scholar 

  • Trexler JC, Travis J (1993) Nontraditional regression analyses. Ecology 74:1629–1637

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valone TJ, Templeton JJ (2002) Public information for the assessment of quality: a widespread social phenomenon. Philos Trans Roy Soc B 357:1549–1557

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Noordwijk AJ (1995) On bias due to observer distribution in the analysis of data on natal dispersal in birds. J Appl Stat 22:683–694

    Google Scholar 

  • White GC, Burnham KP (1999) Program MARK: survival estimation from populations of marked animals. Bird Stud 46:120–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiens JA (1989) Spatial scaling in ecology. Funct Ecol 3:385–397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiklund CG (1996) Determinants of dispersal in breeding merlins (Falco columbarius). Ecology 77:1920–1927

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Funding was provided by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to G. Gauthier, the Arctic Goose Joint Venture (Canadian Wildlife Service), the Fonds Québécois pour la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies (Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec), ArcticNet, and the Northern Ecosystem Initiative (Environment Canada). Université Laval, the Centre d’Études Nordiques, the Société Provancher, the Fonds Richard Bernard and the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development provided additional financial assistance to N. Lecomte. Logistic supports were generously provided by the Polar Continental Shelf Project (Natural Resources Canada). We thank all the people who participated in the fieldwork, especially J. Bêty, M.-C. Cadieux, A. Calvert, V. Careau, M.-H. Dickey, M.-A. Giroux, M. Graham-Sauvé, A. Hargreaves, J. Inootik, C. Juillet, J. Mainguy, O. Mathieu, M. Morissette, C. Mussely, N. Ouellet, G. Picard, V. Préfontaine, A. Reed, E. Reed, G. Szor. We are grateful to T. Boulinier, S. Côté, V. Careau, M.-A. Giroux, A. Reed, S. Robinson and R. Rockwell and for their comments on this manuscript and to Heather Bryan for proofreading. We are indebted to the Pond Inlet Hunter and Trapper Association (Nunavut Territory) and to Parks Canada for allowing us to work on Bylot Island. This is Polar Continental Shelf Project contribution no. 017–07.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Nicolas Lecomte

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, 9037, Norway

Affiliations

  1. Département de Biologie and Centre d’Études Nordiques, Pavillon Vachon, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada, G1K 7P4

    Nicolas Lecomte & Gilles Gauthier

  2. Groupe de Recherche en Écologie Comportementale et Animale, Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, PO Box 8888, Stn Centre-ville, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3C3P8

    Jean-François Giroux

Authors
  1. Nicolas Lecomte
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gilles Gauthier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jean-François Giroux
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolas Lecomte.

Additional information

Communicated by Scott Robinson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lecomte, N., Gauthier, G. & Giroux, JF. Breeding dispersal in a heterogeneous landscape: the influence of habitat and nesting success in greater snow geese. Oecologia 155, 33–41 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0860-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0860-6

Keywords

  • Capture–recapture models
  • Breeding dispersal
  • Habitat use
  • Nest-site fidelity