Abstract

MARATEO, Germán et al. CHANGES IN MIGRATORY SHELDGEESE (Chloephaga spp.) AVAILABILITY,USE AND HABITAT SELECTION DURING THEIR WINTERING IN THE PROVINCE OF BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA. Hornero [online]. 2023, vol.38, n.1, pp.4-4. ISSN 0073-3407.  http://dx.doi.org/10.56178/eh.v38i1.1419.

The three species of migratory sheldgeese (Chloephaga spp.) from South America, winter mainly in the south of the Province of Buenos Aires, and due to the fact that they were considered harmful to agricultura they were declared pests for decades, reducing drastically their populations. At present, they are protected and they fall under some of the categories of national threat. The objective of this work is to evaluate if there is habitat selection by sheldgeese during wintering. Sheldgeese presence and abundance, and habitat use and availability, were sampled in three districts of the Province of Buenos Aires during three different consecutive periods during fall/winter 2017. The availability and environment use, changed significantly over the studied period. In late autumn, sheldgeese selected stubble and shallow-tillage plots with weedy and/or resprouted sun-flower, while in winter they avoided summer crops and ’natural’ pastures and fields, selecting winter crops (but in mid-winter only the taller ones, those over 5 cm in height). This could be important for designing different winter planting plans for the studied region, since a greater simultaneous and joint offer of plots with winter crops could lead to a greater dispersion of flocks (lower density of geese/plot), which may lead to the balance of the socio-economic development and biodiversity preservation.

Keywords : Buenos Aires; habitat selection; migration; sheldgeese; wintering area.

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