International Single Species Action Plan for the ... - AEWA

AEWA Technical Series No. 36
breeding area of the Fennoscandian population are discussed by Øien & Aarvak 2004. It is
also important to consider that ornithological/conservation research could be an additional
potential source of disturbance on the breeding grounds, unless very strictly controlled.
Predation
Breeding grounds
Importance: Local
Studies suggest that the breeding success and juvenile production of Lesser White-fronted
Goose is broadly comparable to other goose species and that predation rates cannot explain
the rapid population declines recorded. The expansion of Red Fox Vulpes vulpes and Great
Black-backed Gull Larus marinus may elevate the predation threat for the Fennoscandian
population and supplemented/reintroduced Swedish population, while (as for other geese)
predation may be higher in years when small mammal prey is less abundant.
There is anecdotal evidence that disturbance by White-tailed Eagles Haliaeetus albicilla and
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos may be having a significant impact on the small
Fennoscandian population of Lesser White-fronted Goose (M. Ekker, T. Aarvak pers.
comm.). American Mink Mustela vison have spread throughout Scandinavia and may also
contribute to higher predation (T. Lehtiniemi, pers. comm.).
Generic issues that may decrease reproductive success (i.e. those factors that pose a
potential threat to geese and other birds in general, but for which no significant adverse
impacts relating specifically to Lesser White-fronted Geese are known; all are therefore
assumed to be of ‘Low’ importance)
• Poor weather – poor weather conditions during the summer may lead to virtually
complete breeding failure among tundra-nesting species. Effects may include latelying
snow delaying access to nest sites; loss of condition among breeding adults;
and/or poor survival of goslings and juveniles.
• Similarly poor weather on the wintering grounds, with deep snow cover, may result in
no foraging areas being available to geese, thereby leading to poor body condition,
while unusually dry weather in autumn can mean that grass/cereal crops are in poor
condition during the winter, again resulting in poor foraging for geese.
(c) Threat factors causing habitat loss/degradation/conversion
Agricultural intensification
Staging/wintering grounds
Importance: High
Extensive areas of grassland and wetland in the staging and wintering areas have been
converted for agricultural use. In particular, there was large-scale conversion of steppe
grassland to cultivation during the second half of the twentieth century in the Central Asian
staging/wintering grounds, including for the production of crops such as cotton that do not
provide suitable feeding for geese. Within Europe, agricultural intensification resulted in the
loss and degradation of staging/wintering areas in Greece.
However the relationship between agricultural intensification and goose use is complex. For
example, in recent decades new goose wintering areas have been identified in Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, where irrigated fields are used for the production of wheat and
rice. These sites provide suitable goose staging/wintering habitat, but are subject to high
hunting pressure (both legal and illegal). Nevertheless, there have been notable increases in
goose numbers. For example, during the mid-1980s the total number of wintering geese in
Uzbekistan was assessed at only 5,000 individuals, whereas the current estimate (for known
International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Lesser White-fronted Goose 31