Summary
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The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is a goose with a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body. Native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, it also occasionally migrates to northern Europe, and has been introduced to Britain, New Zealand, and other temperate regions.
Characteristics
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Habitat and ecology
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Systems
Associations
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As well as dispersing the seeds of the plants they eat, Canada Geese are important prey for many predators in the ecosystems in which they live.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds
Ecology
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Mean annual survival rate for Rocky Mountain birds banded on nesting areas: 53% for immatures, 64% for adults (Krohn and Bizeau 1980).
In winter, flocks foraged up to 48 km from roost in Texas (Glazener 1946).
Diet
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variety of grasses, wheat, beans, rice and corn and aquatic plants
Functional adaptation
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Feather structure insulates: Canada goose
Down feathers of geese insulate through special architecture.
"Feather keratin occurs in a 'b-sheet' configuration which differs from the a-helices that occur in mammalian keratins. . . We have measured the properties of individual down feathers from ducks, geese and penguins and found that their properties are similar to flight feathers and, indeed, the man-made polymers used in artificial insulation fibres. The message is that the architecture of down feathers is probably more important than material properties in determining their advantages over synthetic materials. . .Recently, we have begun to explore the toughness of feather keratin by using instrumented clippers and scissors. The fracture toughness of β-keratin has proved to be very high, around 10 kJ m-2." (Bonser 2007)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
Threats
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Major Threats
Although hunting and other direct mortality takes a substantial toll, this species has increased its range and population since the 1940s (Mowbray et al. 2002).
Sources and Credits
- (c) brendan.lally, some rights reserved (CC BY),
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11585318@N03/2306412534
- (c) Wikimedia Commons, some rights reserved (CC BY),
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Canada-Goose-Szmurlo.jpg/460px-Canada-Goose-Szmurlo.jpg
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA),
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branta_canadensis
- (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC),
http://eol.org/data_objects/10108719
- (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA),
http://eol.org/data_objects/34340924
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA),
http://eol.org/data_objects/31381272
- (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC),
http://eol.org/data_objects/28911653
- (c) WoRMS Editorial Board, some rights reserved (CC BY),
http://eol.org/data_objects/32719122
- (c) The Biomimicry Institute, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC),
http://eol.org/data_objects/16885209
- (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA),
http://eol.org/data_objects/34340925
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