What makes brant geese an interesting species to study for ornithologists, ecologists, and climate scientists?
Jim Sedinger: The colonial nesting nature of brant makes it possible to study demography (survival, reproductive effort, recruitment into the breeding population, etc.), which is difficult for many other species. Brant behavior in winter also allows following individuals in winter and spring. Brant come out of the water following high tide each day to preen and acquire grit. Investigators can read their uniquely engraved plastic leg bands during these periods. In some years during the 1990s David Ward’s crews read > 14,000 bands in Mexico during winter. Individual brant are also observed in large numbers in Humboldt Bay (Jeff Black and students) and the Strait of Georgia (Environment Canada). Brant on the Pacific coast are dependent on eelgrass in bays and estuaries extending from Alaska to Baja, so they are excellent indicators of environmental conditions along the coast.
