Rapid formation of new migration route and breeding area by Arctic geese

Jesper Madsen; Kees H T Schreven; Gitte H Jensen; Fred A Johnson; Leif Nilsson; Bart A Nolet; Jorma Pessa

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.065

Rapid formation of new migration route and breeding area by Arctic geese

Curr Biol. 2023 Mar 27;33(6):1162-1170.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.065. Epub 2023 Mar 1.

Authors

Jesper Madsen¹, Kees H T Schreven², Gitte H Jensen³, Fred A Johnson³, Leif Nilsson⁴, Bart A Nolet², Jorma Pessa⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, C. F. Møllers Allé 8, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark. Electronic address: jm@ecos.au.dk.
² Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, NL-6708 PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands; Department of Theoretical and Computational Ecology, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, NL-1090 GE, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
³ Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, C. F. Møllers Allé 8, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
⁴ Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden.
⁵ Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, PB 86, FI-90101 Oulu, Finland.

PMID: 36863340
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.065

Abstract

Many Arctic-breeding animals are at risk from local extirpation associated with habitat constriction and alterations in phenology in their Arctic environment as a result of rapid global warming.¹ Migratory species face additional increasing anthropogenic pressures along their migratory routes such as habitat destruction, droughts, creation of barriers, and overexploitation.²^,³ Such species can only persist if they adjust their migration, timing of breeding, and range.⁴ Here, we document both the abrupt (∼10 years) formation of a new migration route and a disjunct breeding population of the pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) on Novaya Zemlya, Russia, almost 1,000 km away from the original breeding grounds in Svalbard. The population has grown to 3,000-4,000 birds, explained by intrinsic growth and continued immigration from the original route. The colonization was enabled by recent warming on Novaya Zemlya. We propose that social behavior of geese, resulting in cultural transmission of migration behavior among conspecifics as well as in mixed-species flocks, is key to this fast development and acts as a mechanism enabling ecological rescue in a rapidly changing world.

Keywords: Arctic; climate change; cultural transmission; habitat loss; pink-footed goose; population exchange; rapid evolution; social learning.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animal Migration*
Animals
Arctic Regions
Geese*
Global Warming
Seasons
Svalbard