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Spring-staging Ecology of Midcontinent Greater White-fronted Geese

Tables

Table 1. White-fronted goose use of habitat (%) in relation to agricultural habitats available on the Harvard Marsh and Prairie Dog Marsh study areas in the Rainwater Basin Area of south-central Nebraska during spring 1980.
  Study area  
  Harvard Marsh Prairie Dog Marsh Combined
Habitat> % use % available> na % use % available na % use % available na
Pasture/hayland 0.4 5.7 400 0.0 4.8 0 0.3 5.2 400
Growing winter wheat 13.1 10.0 13,677 52.3 11.2 17,726 22.8 10.6 31,403
Harvested winter wheat 0.2 2.1 180 0.0 5.0 0 0.1 3.7 180
Harvested corn 86.2 66.3 89,753 44.0 64.8 14,899 75.8 65.5 104,652
Harvested milo <0.1 13.7 21 3.7 7.2 1,250 0.9 10.1 1,271
Harvested soybeans 0.1 2.0 120 0.0 1.2 0 0.1 1.6 120
Canal/dugouts <0.1 0.2 10 0.0 5.8 0 <0.1 3.3 10
Totals 100.0 100.0 104,161 100.0 100.0 33,875 100.0 100.0 138,036
a No. of geese counted by habitat during all surveys.

 

Table 2. Diurnal activity budgets of white-fronted geese in the Rainwater Basin Area of Nebraska during spring 1979-80.
  % of observations
Habitat (n)a Resting Feeding Alert Agonistic Walking
Corn          
   Idle (7) 44.0BCb 21.5BC 6.7BC 0.0A 12.3BCc
   Disced (19) 33.8B 18.8BC 5.6B 0.3A 20.2C
   Chisel plowed (14) 12.7A 31.5BC 14.1C 0.3A 18.1C
   Grazed (5) 29.1A 39.2C 7.9BC 0.3A 14.9BC
   Moldboard plowed (9) 66.1C 0.3A 1.9AB 0.1A 0.4A
Winter Wheat (6) 59.0C 18.1BC 1.1AB 0.3A 4.8AB
Wetland (16) 27.4AB 16.8B 0.8A 0.0A 0.6A
aNo. of individuals observed.
bMeans within columns with the same letter are not different, P > 0.05. Univariate pairwise contrasts were used to compare percentages of time allocated to activities among habitats (Johnson and Wichern 1988).
cActivities summed by habitat do not total 100% because time spent in courtship, calling, swimming, and comfort movements were not included.

 

Table 3. Results of regression analyses testing for linear dependence of body mass, fat, protein, and calcium on Julian date for adult (Ad) and immature (Im) white-fronted geese in the Rainwater Basin Area of south-central Nebraska, spring 1979-80.
  Regression statistics
Dependent variable Age Sex ba SE(b) t df P
Body massb Ad M 18.19 5.32 3.42 17 <0.01
Ad F 22.23 4.91 4.53 11 <0.01
Im M 12.36 3.28 3.77 10 <0.01
Im F 11.35 5.05 2.25 6 0.06
Fat Ad M 12.29 2.81 4.37 17 <0.01
Ad F 17.70 2.45 7.24 11 <0.01
Im M 8.79 2.12 4.15 10 <0.01
Im F 13.04 3.78 3.45 6 0.01
Proteinb Ad M 1.03 0.66 1.57 17 0.13
Ad F 1.37 0.58 2.37 11 0.03
Im M 0.70 0.47 1.50 10 0.16
Im F 0.15 1.05 0.15 6 0.88
Calciumb Ad M 0.05 0.09 0.54 17 0.59
Ad F 0.04 0.08 0.45 11 0.65
Im M -0.21 0.15 -1.35 10 0.20
Im F 0.04 0.14 0.29 6 0.77
aSlopes from linear regressions (b) estimate daily rates of nutrient deposition (g).
bAdjusted for variation in structural size using principal components analysis.

 

Table 4. Area of corn harvested, average yield, total production, harvest method, and percent harvest loss for Clay County in the Rainwater Basin Area of south-central Nebraska by 5-year intervals from 1910 to 1990.
Year Area Harvesteda (ha) Yielda (kg/ha) Total Productiona (metric tons) Harvest methodb Harvest loss (%)c
1910 37,166 2,115 78,595 HP 6d
1915 33,684 2,170 73,082 HP 6
1920 38,624 2,446 94,468 HP 6
1925 46,154 1,381 63,717 HP 6
1930 44,751 1,506 67,387 HP 6
1935 35,968 452 16,248 HP 6
1940 21,749 188 4,094 HP 6e
1945 37,000 1,512 55,947 HP/MP 6f
1950 36,207 2,333 84,468 MP 6g
1955 28,583 1,582 45,220 MP 6
1960 32,251 4,507 145,350 MP/MC 6h
1965 13,587 6,056 82,277 MC/MP 7i
1970 35,263 7,117 250,966 MC 8j
1975 46,073 6,920 318,834 MC 8
1980 48,705 6,258 304,772 MC 8
1985 50,972 9,308 474,428 MC 8
1990 53,482 9,484 507,196 MC 7k
a U.S. Dep. Agric. 1909-93.
bHP = handpicked, MP = mechanical pickers, MC = mechanical combines.
c% corn remaining in fields after harvest.
dMost corn grown for grain production in Nebr. during 1910-35 handpicked from standing stalks (Macy et al. 1938) with estimated residues averaging about 6%, mostly unhusked ears, based on studies in Ill. (Young 1931).
eMost corn still harvested by hand in Clay County, Nebr., in 1940 (I. D. Godtel, Clay Center, Nebr., pers. commun.).
fA 6% harvest loss based on estimated 50% of the cornfields handpicked at 6% harvest loss (Young 1931) and 50% mechanically picked (Johnson and Lamp 1966, Quick and Buchele 1978) at 6% harvest loss (Byg et al. 1964, Johnson and Lamp 1966).
gCorn harvested primarily by pickers without shellers (Byg et al. 1964, Johnson and Lamp 1966).
hAssumes that 80 % of the harvest was by mechanical picker (Johnson and Lamp 1966) with 6% loss (Byg et al. 1964, Johnson and Lamp 1966).
iAssumes 60% of the crop was combined (Quick and Buchele 1978) with an 8% harvest loss (Reinecke and Krapu 1986) and 40% was harvested by mechanical pickers at 6% loss (Byg et al. 1964) resulting in a 7% average rate of loss.
jHarvest principally by combine (Quick and Buchele 1978; I. D. Godtel, pers. commun.) with an 8% loss rate (Reinecke and Krapu 1986).
kProjected harvest loss assumes some improvement in combine efficiency, mostly due to increased efforts by farmers to minimize losses through improved operation (V. L. Hofman, Dep. Agric. Eng., North Dakota State Univ., Fargo, pers. commun.).

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