Posted by Joanna Class, Woodland Park Zoo Animal Care Manager
The editor’s note: In addition to being an animal care machine at Woodland Park Zoo, Joanna serves as Vice President of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Anseriformes Taxon Advisory Group. She also volunteer with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which leads up the research project she writes about here.
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| Emperor Geese in Woodland Park Zoo. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo |
If someone saw me going through the airport in June last year, they would have thought ‘TSA will love her!’. The item in question was a portable incubator, which on the outside looks like a hard, black briefcase with wires and a temperature reading on the front. In other words, not your typical scroll bag luggage. So why did I take this unusual object through the TSA Gauntlet? It had a very important place to be-Yukon-Kuskkwim Delta in southwestern Alaska. I was invited by Tasha Dimarzio, a waterfly biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG), to help implant GPS transmitters in 30 female imperial geese (Considers Canagicus) and collect eggs from larger white -fronted geese (Considers albifrons) To be pierced and raise as part of a banding study. I met Tasha back in 2016 at a workshop in North Carolina and we quickly became friends while we bothered over all things waterfowl. When she mentioned the possibility of volunteering with an emperor’s goose project led by Tyler Lewis, Ph.D. And head investigator, I replied with an enthusiastic ‘Heck Yeah!’
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| Joanna has an emperor goose that was part of the tagging survey. Photo: Scott Ford, DVM |
Emperor Goose is one of ADFG’s target species. A striking bird with a bold, snow-covered head and luminous pearl-gray feathers edged with black and white is the species endemic to the coast Alaska, northeastern Russia and into Canada. Their falling population is currently listed as closely threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This is due to several factors, including the fact that they do not reach the breeding age until they are about 3 years old, they do not hook every year, and they have low youth survival rates with approx. 1 out of 10 gosling that do not manage it through their first year. Their global population estimates of 2019 are about 140,000 individuals. The goal of implantation of transmitters to females was triple: to trace the use of the place, hen survival and estimate brood survival. If the females remain in the witch area after tagging, they probably raise gosling in the food -rich wetlands. If they leave before their young people are old enough to fly, their breeding probably failed and they now focus their energy reserves on melting.
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| Eight percent of the world’s Emperor Geese breeds along the Yukon-Kuskkwim Delta Coast, with the remaining witch along the coastal areas of northwestern Alaska and in Siberia. Map of Habitat Range: With permission from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game |
You may be wondering, ‘If the emperor’s geese are the target species, why did you collect larger white -fronted goose eggs?’ And I will say ‘excellent question!’ Larger white -front geese share similar habitats with emperors and are about the same size. They are also extremely abundant not only in North America, but also in Europe and Asia with an estimated global population of about 5-6 million birds and an IUCN list of least concern. Their sturdy population is much less sensitive to disturbance, so allowed permitted for collecting larger white fronted eggs instead of emperors. 2-3 eggs per Red was taken, leaving 2-3 back to the geese to raise. The goal of egg collection was to raise gosling under human care and test different types of tags and transmitters that could surely be mounted at a young age to wild emperor goslings and other relevant species. This would give a more accurate picture of wild gosling survival rates. Performing this work in a controlled setting allows close monitoring of goslings if problems arise with the transmitters. It helps to ensure that these methods and devices are secure before implementation on wild birds that we may never have in hand again. A priority of fieldwork minimizes its influence on wildlife and this is no exception.
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| Researchers cross through the wetlands of Yukon-Kuskkwim Delta in southwestern Alaska. Photo: Joanna Class/Woodland Park Zoo |
To catch these birds, we had to set up first. This involved bringing all our supplies in the next few weeks on Float aircraft. I felt like a Clydesdale clapping through mud as we led our totes and tents over the delta against Pingos I would call home. Pingos are hills that form when an ice mass grows underground and pushes the soil upwards. On a flooding surface, they are a refuge for wildlife (and scientists!) Trying to escape the muddy waters.
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| An emperor goose nest in Yukon-Kuskkwim Delta in southwestern Alaska. Photo: Tasha Dimarzio |
The next step was to scout for nests. The field technicians could cover between 8-20 or more miles in a day searching for emperor and larger white-fronted nests. When a nest was discovered, a pin would be dropped on the handheld GPS device, the chicken would be flushed out of the nest, and the bow net, which was put in place with either a remote trigger or with the classic string bed, Wile E. coyote style. We would then keep our distance and give the female time to return to her nest. The next day, the technicians with boxes and GPS devices began to trap. Most of my commitment was as a veterinary assistant in the field surgery tent with Dr. Scott Ford, a veterinarian who specializes in GPS sender implantation. Here we waited for the field team to bring the hens back. This team consisted of Tyler, Michael Gututy, PhD, Jason Herreman, MS and Tasha Dimarzio.
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| Joanna carefully monitors heart rate and respiration of the goose during the procedure. Photo: Tyler Lewis, PhD |
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| Once the procedure was completed, the “patients” woke up and recover with companions in a quiet recovery tent until they were ready for release. Photo: Joanna Class |
After completing the 30 field procedures, the larger white -fronted goose egg collection began. On the tundra, there is no hiding amount of visibility can make someone feel eagle-eyed. We had to step carefully so as not to disturb the imperial benefits after their procedures or abundance of other witch pockets, waterfowl, cranes, gulls, long spurs and beach birds. If we accidentally rinsed a bird from the nest, we quickly covered the eggs with peat and grass to hide them from curious eyes. Gulls and Jaegers are ubiquitous on the tundra and that passing a fresh omelet is not something they are suitable to do.
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| Packing each larger white -fronted goose egg carefully into the incubator. Photo: Jacob Kraemer |
During the afternoon on our last day we started in teams of two to collect the eggs. Jacob Kraemer, director of Pinola Conservancy’s Aviary in Shreveport, Louisiana, then monitored the eggs overnight. A generator was on site to make sure the incubators kept the temperature properly. I am pleased to be able to report that 31 of the eggs successfully hatched out and that Goslings are closely monitored by the staff in Pinola.
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| In this wild part of Alaska is transport according to float plan. Photo: Michael Gututerery, PhD |
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| The view of these fragile wetlands from above is spectacular! Photo: Joanna Class |
The next morning we packed the camp with our new precious cargo and waited for the float plans to arrive before the tide ebb. I soaked the last rays of tundra sunshine and packed as many memories away as my mind’s library could store. I doubted that any bed would be more comfortable than the soft peat under my tent.
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| An emperor goose chick–Caller a Gosling—It hatched at Woodland Park Zoo several years ago. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo |
Here at Woodland Park Zoo we have two pairs of emperor geese. A couple, Mimi and Poppi, can be seen at the myring exhibition in the temperate forest. Our second couple, Matthew and Roberta, are in an off-exhibit farm with other geese. Both couples are talented parents and we hope to continue working with this incredible species in the coming years.