| Titre : | Wintry Distribution patterns and habitat use of Greylag Geese Anser anser in a city in southern Germany (2008) |
| Auteurs : | Sonja Kaessmann, Auteur ; Friederike Woog, Auteur |
| Type de document : | Article |
| Dans : | Vogelwarte (46(2) MAY 2008) |
| Article en page(s) : | 131-138 |
| Langues: | Allemand |
| Résumé : | Unlike most wild Nordic goose populations, the feral Greylag Geese in Stuttgart so far do not show marked migratory behaviour. We investigated how wintry weather conditions changed distribution patterns and habitat use of these usually sedentary geese and whether they were forced to switch to snow- and ice-free areas. Three different methods were used to investigate this: (1) The number of geese present in different areas of the city during winter 2004/05 was recorded, (2) the changes in distribution patterns of ringed individuals noted and (3) faeces transects established on different pastures to measure relative grazing pressure on a weekly basis.During weekly counts 80 - 159 Greylags were recorded throughout the study area indicating temporal immigration and emigration of geese. Distribution patterns showed large individual variation: Whereas some geese used only few areas some others roamed more widely.Weekly grazing intensity at the Max-Eyth-Lake was always higher than within the city. While the lakes were frozen up most geese used habitats along the river Neckar adjacent to the Max-Eyth-Lake. During these periods the river Neckar was the only stretch of open water in the study area and became more important to the geese.A further increase in numbers might change the distribution pattern of the geese and may lead to colonisation of more distant areas in the future. |



