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The Emperor Goose
(Chen canagica)
has been identified as a focal species of management concern because of a very restricted range, small population size, and serious population declines since the 1960s. This species is distributed in remote coastal habitats of Alaska and eastern Russia. The breeding range of the Emperor Goose in North America is restricted to coastal areas (tundra, salt marshes, and estuarine habitats) of the Bering Sea, with the largest concentration on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Alaska. They migrate relatively short distances and primarily winter along the Alaska Peninsula and in the eastern Aleutian Islands. The population declined nearly 70% between 1964 and 1986 and has since stabilized to about 80,000 birds. The cause of this decline is not clear but may have been due to overharvesting. Currently, the major threats to the Emperor Goose are high natural mortality of adults and young, and continued illegal harvesting. Emperor Geese also appear to be highly sensitive to chronic oil pollution and human disturbance around nesting sites. Long-term climate changes are likely to alter goose habitats and negatively affect the species.
Date: August 2010
Sources:
Pacific Flyway Council. 2008. Pacific Flyway Management Plan for the Emperor Goose. Pacific Flyway Study Committee, Portland, OR.
Petersen, M. R., J. A. Schmutz, and R. F. Rockwell. 1994. Emperor Goose
(Chen canagica).
The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.) 97.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2010. Waterfowl population status, 2010. U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. USA.
Species Profile from NatureServe
Emperor Goose Chen canagica
Description:A large waterfowl.
Life History:Clutch size is 3-8 (usually 5-6) eggs, laid generally by the second week of June, as early as late May if weather mild; median date for nest initiation is late May-early June (Petersen 1992). Incubation, by female with male nearby, lasts 24-25 days. Young first fly in early August, remain with parents until following spring. Severe weather and snow may delay nesting activity. Length of nesting season was 46-59 days over 3-year period in Alaska (Eisenhauer and Kirkpatrick 1977). Large proportion of adult females do not nest each year (Petersen 1992). Nesting is dispersed or semicolonial. In Alaska, nesting density in one study area varied from 18-27 per sq km over 2 years; highests density was 59 nests per sq, km in lowland pingo tundra (Eisenhauer and Kirkpatrick 1977).
Emperor geese may form large flocks during molt (Soothill and Whitehead 1978). Goslings are subject to predation by glaucous gulls until families amalgamate and increased numbers provide greater safety (Soothill and Whitehead 1978, Eisenhauer and Kirkpatrick 1977). Human harvest near villages is a locally significant mortality factor; predation and adverse weather are important mortality factors in fall staging and wintering areas (Eisenhauer and Kirkpatrick 1977). Annual survival rate of adult females varied from 44 to 69% over four years (Condor 94:398-406).
Habitat:Nonbreeding habitat includes salt-water areas along reefs, rocky beaches, and cliff shores. Roosting may occur on beaches and dunes adjacent to intertidal areas (Petrinovich and Patterson 1983). Ice-free coasts are used in winter. Nesting occurs in lowland marsh areas of Arctic tundra, generally not far from the coast, on edges of ponds, lakes, and potholes (AOU 1983), also on shore (e.g., among driftwood) or on low coastal or estuarine islands (Harrison 1978). Some nest sites are used in successive years, occasionally by the same female (Eisenhauer and Kirkpatrick 1977). Typical brood rearing areas in Alaska (Kokechik River area) included insides of bends of major sloughs and rivers that supported stands of Carex rariflora (Eisenhauer and Kirkpatrick 1977). On the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, goslings left inland sites within one week of hatching and selected vegetated mudflats in coastal salt marsh (Laing and Raveling 1993).
Distribution:
United States:
AK, WA
Status:
NatureServe Status: Global Status: G3G4, Global Status Last Reviewed: 30Dec2008, Global Status Last Changed: 01Jun2000, Rounded Global Status: G3 - Vulnerable
Other Statuses: IUCN Red List Category: NT - Near threatened
