Abstracts

Presented by Jay A. VonBank - Email: jay.vonbank@students.tamuk.edu

Greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons frontalis) use both agricultural and wetland habitats throughout winter with changes in use exhibited temporally and in relation to environmental and landscape factors. Currently, an unknown proportion of white-fronts winter in Mexico, largely in Tamaulipas and Vera Cruz along the Laguna Madre, and in the Central Highland states of Zacatecas and Durango, where little information regarding wintering ecology is largely unknown. Because conservation efforts for waterfowl typically focus on wetland habitats, understanding what factors influence wetland use by species of interest is imperative to develop informed conservation strategies. During the winters of 2016-2018, we captured and placed GPS/GSM tracking devices on 72 adult white-fronts throughout Texas, of which 7 individuals made movements into Mexico. These white-fronts wintered in the Central Highlands, Interior Plains, and Coastal ecoregions of Mexico in the states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, Zacatecas, and Jalisco. We used current satellite imagery to determine dominant vegetation type for each wetland, and water extraction modelling using surface water reflectance to determine wetland size. We also measured distances from the center of each wetland to the nearest agricultural field used for foraging and distance to the nearest used wetland. We used linear mixed-effects models and AIC model comparison to explore how wetland and landscape variables influenced use by white-fronted geese. Our top model indicated that larger wetlands and wetlands that were closer to other used wetlands were related to increased use. Additionally, there was an interaction between wetland type and distance to agriculture, indicating that white-fronts exhibited increased use of grass/pasture and woody wetland types that were closer to food sources. Wetlands in Mexico are being degraded at a rapid rate, and information such as this is important for future management and conservation planning efforts throughout Mexico for wetland-dependent species such as the greater white-fronted goose.