Virtual Posters

Pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) are one of the main herbivores of the Svalbard tundra, with 50,000 – 70,000 individuals migrating from wintering grounds in Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark to Svalbard to breed. Birds arrive in mid-May when habitat availability is restricted by extensive snow cover. Access to suitable forage at this time is critical to allow geese to replenish fat reserves used during their long migration and to build resources prior to nesting and egg laying. To determine how snow cover restricts access to preferred forage habitats we completed field surveys of snow cover, habitat types and locations of feeding geese in Adventdalen, one of the main spring foraging areas in Svalbard. Aerial photographic images were used as a basis for field mapping, with photographic images and survey maps imported into ARC GIS, where they were georeferenced and digitised. Snow cover was initially extensive with patchy, limited available habitat for foraging opportunities, with geese generally restricted to feeding in dry habitats. With progressive snow melt, geese spread out across the landscape. However, overall they preferred to feed in wetter habitats, which were generally last to experience snow melt. Arctic regions are predicted to undergo greater rates of climatic warming, and changes to the timing of snow melt and snow cover patterns are likely to be particularly dramatic. For long distance migratory terrestrial Arctic herbivores, such as pink-footed geese, these changes may be especially beneficial as early snow melt may improve access to favoured forage habitat on first arrival in Svalbard.