Study Shows Hungry Polar Bears a Threat to Barnacle Geese in Svalbard
23.08.2010 - Water & Oceans, Ice & Snow, Flora & Fauna, Arctic
Having just returned from a Svalbard expedition, a Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) scientists confirmed that stranded polar bears are devastating breeding barnacle goose populations in the summer months while looking for food. According to their research, as the Arctic sea ice diminishes, polar bears, especially on the west coast of Spitsbergen, are unable to reach the seal colonies on which they usually feed. Their resulting forced search for alternative food, the WWT says, could destroy conservation efforts conducted over the last 60 years, bringing the goose back from a dire low of 300 to over 30,000.
The flocks of barnacle geese typically winter on the Solway Firth (UK), before heading back to Svalbard each summer to breed. Last winter, however, only half the expected numbers of goslings were seen on their way to Solway, and reports from Svalbard suggest a similar situation this winter. On an eight-week monitoring expedition this summer, a research team from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands working on Diabasøya Island on the Nordenskiöldkysten observed ten different polar bears. The polar bears destroyed the vast majority of the 500 nests on the island, leaving fewer than 40 untouched with only one or two goslings.
While the geese live long lives, their population could quickly age should their breeding continue to be negatively affected. While the geese have historically been quite preserved from their primary predator on the islands, the increasing presence of polar bears might force the geese populations up onto cliffs for survival. While this might pose a threat to fledgling chicks, this solution would keep the flocks out of the reach of the stranded bears.
