The following is a list of current goose research & management/conservation projects which have information available on the Web. By no means is this an exhaustive list of ongoing projects (many currently have no Web-presence). To find out about projects that aren't listed here, your can use GooseRef^© to identify the projects, and the names of the principal researchers, and then use the contact list to reach them directly.

Last updated: October 25, 1999

Research Projects

The Greater Snow Goose Project

This on-going research program provides critical information for the management of this snow goose sub-species since 1988. The major goals are to study the population dynamics and life-history strategy, trophic interactions in the Arctic (plant-herbivore and predator-prey interactions), and movements and habitat use during migration. Field work is conducted throughout the annual cycle of this popultion, including on Bylot Island (the most important breeding colony of this sub-species) in the summer, and in southern Quebec during both the spring and fall migrations.

Pacific Black Brant Research Project

A comprehensive site devoted to the various activities related to study of the Pacific black brant. Here you will find a plethora of information on Black Brant and the people involved with their conservation. From current research into the ecology and life history of Black Brant to conservation efforts, festivals, and school activities all along the Pacific Flyway; you can find it here.

The Hudson Bay Project

The Hudson Bay Project is a collaborative research program designed to examine the interacting biotic and abiotic factors that lead to the initiation and spread of these types of runaway processes (trophic cascades) in the coastal lowlands of this region. By understanding underlying processes and their impacts, we will be in a better position to develop strategies that may slow or halt the spread of the trophic cascades and perhaps lessen or even reverse their attendant degradation. The scope of the problem requires the integration of numerous areas of biological and physical sciences.

Humboldt Bay Goose Study

Initial goals include gathering data that will be useful to policy makers when addressing socio-political issues dealing with the geese in the Arcata area. There are four initial operational objectives: assess habitat preferences of the geese during the non-breeding season determine habitat characteristics of roosts, nests and brood-rearing sites, determine fate of broods, and determine identity of marked individuals throughout range. The HSU waterfowl research group will also address questions dealing with traditional use of sites, mate choice, divorce, pair bond tenacity, extra-pair behavior, adoption and parental care. Though the study will focus on the resident Western Canada Geese Branta canadensis moffitti, we are also interested in the stopover ecology Aleutian Canada Geese Branta canadensis leucopareia. Individuals of both races have been fitted with codes neck collars that are readable with a telescope.

Humboldt Bay Brant Project

The objectives of this study are founded on the working hypothesis that brant are grazing specialists that manipulate favored food stocks in such a way that optimizes foraging opportunities upon return to previously grazed sites. We predict therefore that Zostera communities and the black brant population interact on a temporal and spatial scale.

The Banks Island Snow Goose Project

The Banks Island Snow Goose Project was established in 1995 to provide baseline demographic data for the major component of the Central and Pacific Flyway population of this species.

Wild Wings Heading North

An innovative online research project that involved the use of public feed-back via the Web to track a number of geese individually marked with satellite transmitters during their migration.

Abian Cholera: Bacteria, Waterfowl & Wetlands

In 1994-95 a project was initiated to study the etiology of avian cholera in snow geese. Background information and preliminary results of this study can be found here.

White Goose Overabundance Initiative

The overabundance of white geese has been well publicized in both the scientific and popular press. Over the past couple of years, a consortium of agencies and research groups have joined together to formulate management initiatives for control of white geese. The large Working Group Report is available through this link.

Reassessment of LSGO Harvest Needs

As per the preceding item, the overabundance of white geese has been examined in some detail. Some of the original recommendations have recently been reevaluated - and preliminary results of this new analysis are available through this link. A related paper by Charles Francis on the relative efficacy of spring harvest to control LSGO is also available here.