In the 2012 President's Budget Request, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is terminated. As a result, all resources, databases, tools, and applications within this web site will be removed on January 15, 2012. For more information, please refer to the NBII Program Termination page.
Pacific Black Brant
(Branta bernicla nigricans)
breed over an extensive range in Alaska, Arctic Canada and Russia, and winter on the Pacific coastline mainly along the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. Little information exists for breeding populations in Russia, and more information is needed on breeding distribution in the Canadian Arctic. After a significant decline in the late 1970's caused by harsh winters and over-harvesting, the population rebounded with increased hunting regulations and management in the early 1990's to stable levels at about 126,000 birds, but still remains below the continental management goal of 150,000 wintering birds. Loss of winter habitat is one of the critical threats to this species as they are more dependent on natural wintering habitat than most other goose species. Much of the coastal habitat Brant use during winter is subject to human activities which result in loss of habitat through industrial and residential development or disturbance by recreational activities. Potential oil and gas development on the breeding areas and long-term effects of climate change also pose a threat. Because breeding and wintering populations are localized, disasters such as eelgrass die off (a major food source), frozen feeding areas, pollution and oil spills in even one of the major staging or wintering areas could have a tremendous impact on the entire population. This vulnerability necessitates careful population-monitoring and regulation of hunting.
Date: September 2010
Sources:
Arctic Goose Joint Venture. 2008. Meet the Geese: Brant. Retrieved September 2010 from http://www.agjv.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=55.
Reed, A., D. H. Ward, D. V. Derksen and J. S. Sedinger. 1998. Brant
(Branta bernicla),
The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved September 2010 from http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/337.
Resources on the "Pacific Black" subspecies of Brant
Species Profile from NatureServe (*information only at the species level*)
Brant Branta bernicla
Description:A small goose. Head, neck, back, and upper breast basically all black, with a small white necklace (absent in juveniles in summer and fall). Belly dark to pale gray. Dark taill surrounded by white coverts. Wingspan around 42 inches (107 cm).
Life History:Egg laying occurs in June-July. Female incubates an average of 3-4 eggs for 22-26 days. Male stands guard. Individual females produce up to one brood each year (do not renest if first attempt fails). Nestlings are precocial, tended by both adults, sometimes congregate in large creches, fledge in 45-50 days, remain with adults until following spring. Some first breed at two years, most at three years. Lifelong pair bond. Nesting often occurs in loose colonies. Large numbers of subadults and nonbreeders concentrate around nesting colonies and other areas during nesting season and molt period (Johnson and Herter 1989). Brant are long lived. Some live 20-25 years. Storms accompanied by high tides may destroy large numbers of nests (Johnson and Herter 1989). The arctic fox is the most important predator of eggs and young in the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta colonies, where glaucous gulls and parasitic jaegers also take eggs and young (Derksen and Ward 1993). Flightless period during summer molt lasted 23-24 days in northern Alaska (Taylor 1995, Auk 112:904-919).
Habitat:In winter, this species occurs primarily in marine situations that are marshy, along lagoons and estuaries, and on shallow bays (AOU 1998), often in areas with eelgrass (e.g., see Wilson and Atkinson 1995). Areas dominated by large freshwater lakes and estuaries provide important summer molting areas (Derksen and Ward 1993). Nesting occurs mostly on coastal tundra, in low and barren terrain; on islands, deltas, lakes, and sandy areas among puddles and shallows, and in vegetated uplands. In western North America, preferred nest sites are one peninsulas or islets in large wetland complexes, some of which are subject to tidal action (Derksen and Ward 1993). Nests are on the ground in a depression lined, or built up, with mosses and lichens. Adults with broods move from colony sites to rearing habitats along tidal flats (Derksen and Ward 1993).
Distribution:
United States:
AK, CA, CT, DE, ID, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NN, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SD, TX, VA, VT, WA
Canada:
BC, MB, NB, NS, NT, NU, ON, PE, QC, YT
Status:
NatureServe Status: Global Status: G5, Global Status Last Reviewed: 20Nov1996, Global Status Last Changed: 20Nov1996, Rounded Global Status: G5 - Secure
Other Statuses: IUCN Red List Category: LC - Least concern
