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Geese names
Branta leucopsis
EOL Text
Early History (barnacles and geese): Barnacle goose gets its name from the early belief that the birds were born of barnacles in the sea shores. This was because the residents of the British Isles could not explain why the birds showed up in the summer and were absent in the winter.
Additional Information: During migratory flight, the heart rate of the barnacle goose can go up to a high of 315 beats per minute and a low of 225 beats per minute.
- Butler, P., C. Bishop, A. Woakes. 2003. Chasing a Wild Goose: Posthatch Growth of Locomotor Muscles and Behavioral Physiology of Migration of an Arctic Goose. Pp. 527-542 in P Berthold, E Gwinner, E Sonnenschein, eds. Avian Migration. New York: Springer.
- Wheye, D., D. Kennedy. 2008. Humans, Nature, and Birds. New Haven: Yale University Press.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Branta_leucopsis/ |
These robust geese brood in barren areas in the high north. Barnacle geese lay their eggs on ridges located high off the ground, unreachable for predators. Because the chicks are unable to fly right away, they need to eventually jump off the cliffs. It is a rocky bottom and not all chicks survive the ordeal. Since the end of the 20th century, more and more barnacle geese have been staying in the Netherlands to nest. This probably began with tame birds that went wild.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Ecomare |
Source | http://www.ecomare.nl/index.php?id=4001&L=2 |
Maximum longevity: 26.9 years (wild)
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright © 2002 - 2009 by Joao Pedro de Magalhaes |
Source | http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Branta_leucopsis |
Barnacle geese that have reached sexual maturity will choose their partners in early spring. Partner retention in Branta leucopsis is lifelong and monogamous. This partnership is believed to be established with a triumph ceremony in which the male will vocalize and change postures to impress the female. During this ceremony, the male will make loud calls and change the orientation and angle of his head relative to ground. If the female is willing to participate, she responds with loud calls and the male will increase the intensity of his movements and later try to approach the female. At times during the triumph ceremony, if a male catches the attention of a nearby female, he may exaggerate his displays by flicking his wings and lowering his head closer and more parallel to the ground. The goal of the male in this ceremony is to make contact with the female with his bill. If the female does not draw herself away, the male takes it as a sign of acceptance and forces all nearby males away. It is also believed that pairs may engage in the triumph ceremony each year to strengthen their partnership.
Mating System: monogamous
The breeding season occurs in spring, spanning from late May to June. Barnacle geese reaches sexual maturity at two years of age. However, rarely, males will be observed breeding at one year of age with females that are older. Barnacle geese that have mated for the first time at four years of age have also been recorded. It is believed that the age in which these geese mature may be related to environmental factors such as food availability and overall weather conditions. The female usually lays one egg per day until the desired clutch size (4 to 5 eggs) can be obtained. These eggs are pale gray colored. The clutch is incubated for 24 to 26 days and the young typically fledge 40 days after hatching.
Breeding interval: Barnacle geese breed once a year in spring.
Breeding season: Breeding occurs in the spring, usually between late May and June.
Range eggs per season: 3 to 6.
Average eggs per season: 4 to 5.
Range time to hatching: 24 to 26 days.
Range fledging age: 40 to 45 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 2 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 (low) years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 2 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; oviparous
Nests are constructed by females, often on cliff edges to avoid predators such as the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus). Nest building materials include mud and dead foliage. Prior to laying her eggs the female lines the nest with down. The female will incubate the eggs for 24 to 26 days. During this time, the male will guard the nest and the female. During the incubation period, it is energetically costly to incubate and defend the eggs as the parents cannot forage far away from the nest. This causes both the female and the male to lose 30% to 40% of their total body weight. Barnacle goose hatchlings are precocial and leave the nest as soon as their downy feathers have dried. Parents lead their brood to marshes with abundant vegetation, but the young are entirely responsible for feeding themselves. The young are aggressively defended by both parents until they fledge and become independent after 40 to 45 days. Families remain together even after the young are considered independent. These family groups will perform their first migration together to the wintering grounds, but will disperse before the following breeding season as parents become increasingly territorial.
Parental Investment: precocial ; male parental care ; female parental care ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Protecting: Male, Female); post-independence association with parents
- Attenborough, D. 1998. The Life of Birds. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
- Bigot, E., M. Hausberger, J. Black. 1995. Exuberant youth: The example of triumph ceremonies in Barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis). Ethology Ecology & Evolution, 7: 79-85. Accessed April 14, 2011 at http://www.fupress.net/index.php/eee/article/viewFile/686/632.
- Goodfellow, P. 1977. Birds as Builders. New York: Arco Publishing.
- Jonker, R., M. Kuiper, L. Snijders, S. Van Wieren, R. Ydenberg, H. Prins. 2011. Divergence in timing of parental care and migration in barnacle geese. Behavioral Ecology, 22 (2): 326-331.
- Ogilvie, M. 1978. Wild Geese. South Dakota: Buteo Books.
- Skutch, A. 1976. Parent Birds and Their Young. Austin: University of Texas Press.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Branta_leucopsis/ |
Deze stoere ganzen broeden in onherbergzame gebieden in het hoge noorden. Ze leggen hun eieren op richels, hoog van de grond, waar roofdieren niet kunnen komen. Omdat de kuikens nog niet kunnen vliegen, moeten ze na een tijdje uit hun nest van de kliffen springen. Door de rotsige ondergrond overleven niet alle kuikens deze beproeving. Sinds het einde van de vorige eeuw broeden er steeds meer brandganzen gewoon in Nederland. Dit zou begonnen zijn met verwilderde tamme vogels.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Ecomare |
Source | http://www.ecomare.nl/index.php?id=4001&L=2 |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 5
Specimens with Barcodes: 5
Species With Barcodes: 1
Greenland to Novaya Zemlya; winters to n Mediterranean.
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology |
Source | No source database. |
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
There are 5 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.
Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.
See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
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Gulf of Maine, North West Atlantic, Polish Exclusive Economic Zone, Portuguese Exclusive Economic Zone, Spanish Exclusive Economic Zone, United Kingdom Exclusive Economic Zone, Wimereux
- Müller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp.
- North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)
- MEDIN (2011). UK checklist of marine species derived from the applications Marine Recorder and UNICORN, version 1.0.
- Ramos, M. (ed.). 2010. IBERFAUNA. The Iberian Fauna Databank
- Kedra, M. (2010). A Checklist of marine species occurring in Polish marine waters, compiled in the framework of the PESI EU FP7 project.
Red List Criteria
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Contributor/s
History
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2008Least Concern
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2004Least Concern
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | © International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/100600385 |