Journal
POLAR BIOLOGY
Volume 30, Issue 11, Pages 1363-1372Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00300-007-0296-9
Keywords
annual variation; breeding success; migratory birds; MODIS; nest-site availability; satellite images
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During four breeding seasons, 2003-2006, we studied the relationship between snow cover and nesting performance in pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) in a key breeding site on Svalbard. Snow cover in late May, i.e., at the time of egg laying of geese, was derived from MODIS satellite images. Snow cover had a profound cascading effect on reproductive output via the number of nesting pairs and timing of nesting, which affected nest success, while there was only a tendency for a negative effect on clutch size. Hence, we estimated a five-fold difference in the number of young produced (to post-hatching) between years with little snow and years with high snow cover. The results from the study area correlated with whole-population productivity estimates recorded in autumn. Thus, snow cover derived from MODIS satellite images appears to provide a useful indicator of the breeding conditions in the Arctic.
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