Brant Branta bernicla Scientific name definitions

The Brant (called Brent Goose in Europe) is a small dark goose that occurs throughout much of the northern hemisphere. In contrast to other goose species, Brant are characterized by their extensive use of native coastal habitats outside the breeding season. Three to four subspecies are recognized (see Systematics), mainly on the basis of plumage characteristics. The two/three North American subspecies are further separated into four subpopulations based on genetics, location of breeding and wintering areas, and migration routes.

This goose breeds from the low to the high Arctic, and migrates long distances to wintering areas. Different subpopulations nesting in arctic Canada and Alaska winter in areas as distant and widely separated as Baja California, the Puget Sound, the coastline of the mid-Atlantic states, and Ireland. In summer, salt marshes, especially those containing the graminoids Carex and Puccinellia, are key habitats for nesting and raising young. These same habitats, along with large freshwater lakes with abundant moss and sedge shorelines, are also used during the flightless molt. Wintering locations are usually characterized by an abundance of native intertidal plants used as forage, particularly the seagrass, Zostera; no other species of goose relies so heavily on a single plant species during the nonbreeding season. In contrast to European populations, Brant wintering in North American have, for the most part, not switched to agricultural habitats.

Like other geese, this species provides biparental care, accompanies its young through their first migration, and usually mates for life. Brant show fidelity to both wintering and breeding areas. In the low Arctic, Brant often breed in relatively dense colonies, but in the high Arctic nesting is more dispersed. During brood-rearing, the availability and abundance of salt marsh foraging habitat directly affects growth and recruitment of goslings, thereby influencing local population dynamics. During winter, their strong dependence on certain food plants makes them vulnerable to occasional heavy losses from starvation, more so than most other geese. Further, oceanographic conditions experienced at wintering locations directly affect their subsequent breeding condition and reproductive performance. These vulnerabilities necessitate careful population-monitoring and regulation of hunting.

Brant have been extensively studied in Europe, Asia, and North America but much remains to be learned. Key studies in e. North America include those on breeding and molting by Barry (Barry 1956 Barry, T. W. (1956). Observations of a nesting colony of American brant. Auk 73:193-202. Close , Barry 1962 Barry, T. W. (1962). Effect of late season on Atlantic brant reproduction. Journal of Wildlife Management 26:19-26. Close ) and Ankney (Ankney 1984 Ankney, C. D. (1984). Nutrient reserve dynamics of breeding and molting brant. Auk 101:361-370. Close ), and those on wintering and population dynamics by Kirby (Kirby and Obrecht Kirby and Obrecht 1980 Kirby, R. E. and H. H. Obrecht. (1980). Atlantic Brant-human commensalism on eelgrass beds in New Jersey. Wildfowl 31:158-160. Close , Kirby and Obrecht 1982 Kirby, R. E. and H. H. Obrecht. (1982). Recent changes in the North American distribution and abundance of wintering Atlantic brant. Journal of Field Ornithology 53:333-341. Close ; Kirby et al. Kirby et al. 1985a Kirby, R. E., T. W. Barry, R. H. Kerbes and H. H. Obrecht. (1985a). Population dynamics of North American Light-bellied Brent Geese as determined by productivity and harvest surveys. Wildfowl 36:49-52. Close , Kirby et al. 1986 Kirby, R. E., M. J. Conroy, T. W. Barry and R. H. Kerbes. (1986). Survival estimates for North American Atlantic Brant, 1956-75. Journal of Wildlife Management 50:29-32. Close ) and Ladin et al. (2011). Main studies in w. North America include those on breeding by Mickelson (Mickelson 1975 Mickelson, P. G. (1975). Breeding biology of cackling geese and associated species on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Wildlife Monographs 45. Close ), by Sedinger and Flint (Sedinger and Flint 1991 Sedinger, J. S. and P. L. Flint. (1991). Growth rate is negatively correlated with hatch date in Black Brant. Ecology 72:496-502. Close , Sedinger et al. 1995a Sedinger, J. S., M. W. Eichholz and P. L. Flint. (1995a). Variation in brood behavior of black brant. Condor 97:107-115. Close , Flint and Sedinger 1992 Flint, P. L. and J. S. Sedinger. (1992). Reproductive implications of egg-size variation in the Black Brant. Auk 109:896-903. Close , Flint et al. 1995 Flint, P. L., J. S. Sedinger and K. H. Pollock. (1995). Survival of juvenile black brant during rearing. Journal of Wildlife Management 59:455-463. Close , Sedinger et al. 2006, 2008), on molting by Derksen et al. (Derksen et al. 1982 Derksen, D. V., W. D. Eldridge and M. W. Weller. (1982). Habitat ecology of Pacific Black Brant and other geese moulting near Teshekpuk Lake, Alaska. Wildfowl 33:39-57. Close ) and Singer et al. (2012), on migration and wintering by Dau (Dau 1992 Dau, C. P. (1992). The fall migration of Pacific Flyway Brant Branta bernicla in relation to climatic conditions. Wildfowl 43 (1992):80-95. Close ), Lindberg et al. (2007), Ward et al. (2009), and Sedinger et al. (2011), on staging by Reed et al. (Reed et al. 1989b Reed, A., R. Stehn and D. Ward. (1989b). Autumn use of Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, by Brant from different breeding areas. Journal of Wildlife Management 53 (3):720-725. Close ), Moore et al. (2004), Lee et al. (2007), and Smith et al. (2012), on survival rates by Ward (Ward et al.Ward et al. 1997 Ward, D. H., E. A. Rexstad, J. S. Sedinger, M. S. Lindberg and N. K. Dawe. (1997). Seasonal and annual survival of adult Pacific brant. Journal of Wildlife Management 61:773-781. Close , Ward et al. 2004) , Sedinger (Sedinger et al. 2002, 2007), and Nicolai et al. (2012), on food habits by Lee et al. (2004), Moore and Black (2006), and Mason et al. (2007), and on current status and conservation by Sedinger et al. (Sedinger et al. 1993 Sedinger, J. S., C. J. Lensink, D. H. Ward, R. M. Anthony, M. L. Wege and G. V. Byrd. (1993). Current status and recent dynamics of the Black Brant Branta bernicla breeding population. Wildfowl 44:49-59. Close , Sedinger et al. 1994 Sedinger, J. S., D. H. Ward, R. M. Anthony, D. V. Derksen, C. J. Lensink and K. S. Bollinger. (1994). Management of Pacific brant: population structure and conservation issues. Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference 59:50-62. Close ), Ward et al. (2005), and Shaughnessy et al. (2012). Canadian high Arctic populations have been studied by Boyd (Boyd and Maltby Boyd and Maltby 1979 Boyd, H. and L. S. Maltby. (1979). "The brant of the western Queen Elizabeth Islands, N.W.T." In Management and biology of Pacific Flyway geese, a symposium., edited by R. L. Jarvis and J. C. Bartonek, 5-21. Corvallis: Oregon State Univ. Book Stores. Close , Boyd and Maltby 1980 Boyd, H. and L. S. Maltby. (1980). Weights and primary growth of Brant Geese Branta bernicla moulting in the Queen Elizabeth Islands, N.W.T., Canada, 1973-1975. Ornis Scandinavica 11:135-141. Close ; Boyd et al. 1988 Boyd, H., L. S. Maltby and A. Reed. (1988). Differences in the plumage patterns of Brant breeding in High Arctic Canada. Can. Wildl. Serv. Prog. Note 174. Close ) and Cotter and Hines (2001).