Geese are waterfowl birds belonging to the family Anatidae. The birds are majorly monogamous and live in permanent pairs all year round. They are, however, territorial during the short nesting season. The geese occur in many species. In North America, in particular, Arctic-breeding geese have for the recent past increased at an alarming rate. The geese species include lesser snow geese, greater snow geese, Ross’ geese, greater white-fronted geese, and populations of Canada geese. The overpopulation is attributed to some factors that shall be discussed in the paper. The goose overpopulation has also directly or indirectly impacted the environment, humans, and the geese themselves.
The overpopulation is owed to the intense foraging activities of some species. Further, cumulative chronic effects of disturbance attributed to the geese on different vegetation types as well as high degree of philopatry to breeding grounds favor the high rate of population increase that is rated at 5% per annum. The high rate of geese population increase is favored by some factors including agricultural food resource subsidy during winter and migration. The foraging birds expanded their territories past the coastal marsh into rice and cereal grains fields that provided additional nutrient and energy subsidies. Another factor causing the overpopulation is the effect of refuges on migration routes. Policies that discouraged geese hunting led to lower geese harvest rates and in turn elicit geese population in their habitats. Moreover, climate amelioration in the Arctic further encourages the growth of the geese population. A general warming trend promotes the breeding of the birds and hence an increase in their numbers. In regards to climate change, geese reproductive success continues to be correlated with early spring melts. The warming of the nesting areas has hence encouraged the higher annual goose population growth rates. Lastly, the southern shift of nesting range of the geese has boosted the population growth. The change has resulted in geese moving to less severe climates.
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The goose overpopulation menace has caused several impacts on the habitats, humans, and their population. For instance, the high geese population has pressured the arctic and subarctic habitats in several ways. For example, the foraging methods have resulted in degrading influence on the vegetation and soil processes. For instance, the geese’ grubbing below ground biomass results in digging as well as the uprooting of rhizomes and roots of vegetation causing loss of the same. The geese also shoot-pull sedges resulting in their stunted growth; Furthermore, different plants have varied compensatory shoot growth owing defoliation through grazing foraging methods. The geese have also been linked to damage to coastal habitats. Regarding this, coastal salt marsh plant communities are notably grubbed by the geese resulting in the loss of biodiversity in the coastal areas. Dunes as well as beach ridge plant communities are also shoot-pulled and hence damaged by the geese. The effect of the vegetation damage is cumulative, and the rates of loss vary seasonally.
The geese have also had a significant impact on the humans. Among these impacts include loss of biodiversity. The foraging of cereal fields by the birds leads to adverse effects on the harvest and in turn, threatens food security. The geese also destroy coastal habitats leading to unpleasant scenic views that translate to the adverse impacts on recreational activities. Also, they have been linked to an increase of certain pests and diseases. The effects on humans are also directly translated to economic terms. On the other hand, the rise in population pressure of the geese has resulted in adverse effects on their populations. For instance, due to the increased pressure , competition for food through foraging methods has led to cannibalism. In this sense, birds turn on each other to satisfy their feeding needs. The population pressure has also led to increased or rather widespread geese diseases resulting in higher mortality rates.
The overpopulation menace has led to adverse economic terms as well as food insecurity. The mentioned effects can be readily handled by reducing the population growth rate of the geese in a bid to ensure that they exist in a manageable number. An ideal method is to hunt the birds. However, hunting is tiresome and only takes care of the fully grown birds. Other strategies can be employed to reduce the geese population. For instance, Ottawa has come up with techniques to eliminate the geese before their hatching Genius right? The method involves either shaking and piercing or oiling the eggs. In the former, the eggs are shaken and pierced to render them sterile – kill the developing chick – and then returning it to the nest. The female geese will lay the eggs but with no success of hatching. Oiling the eggs also ‘kills’ them as well as discourages the females from laying more eggs. The technique significantly reduces the geese population. Another method is to scare the birds away from their toxic green excrement – out of the water – by use of drones, sound cannons , and other noisemakers. Caging the birds can also do the trick as well as hunting them down and feeding the homeless.
In conclusion, geese overpopulation has had more adverse impacts than benefits. There is hence need to control their population in a bid to protect the environment, the human population, and also the geese themselves. The government ought to put in place structures to frustrate the factors favoring the geese population growth rate. Otherwise, the ideal measure is to aim, fire, and feed on the geese.
References
Hestbeck, Jay B., James D. Nichols, and Richard A. Malecki. "Estimates of movement and site fidelity using mark ‐ resight data of wintering Canada geese" Ecology 72, no. 2 (1991): 523-533.
Reed, A., R. J. Hughes, and H. Boyd. "Patterns of distribution and abundance of greater snow geese on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada 1983-1998" Wildfowl 53, no. 53 (2014): 53-65.
Rivers, David O., and Frederick T. Short. "Effect of grazing by Canada geese Branta canadensis on an intertidal eelgrass Zostera marina meadow" Marine Ecology Progress Series 333 (2007): 271-279.
Unckless, Robert L., and Joseph C. Makarewicz. "The impact of nutrient loading from Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) on water quality, a mesocosm approach" Hydrobiologia 586, no. 1 (2007): 393-401.
