Rosenfeld S.B., Sheremetev I.S., Baranyuk V.V.
В журнале Russian Journal of Ecology
Год: 2021 Том: 52 Номер: 6 Страницы: 523-532
This paper studies the differences in the trophic resource use in the breeding time between the snow goose Anser caerulescens that is the most abundant in the Arctic and the most widespread brant goose Branta bernicla under the conditions of the main part of the snow goose nesting range (Colville River Delta, Alaska). It was found that the diets of these species consist mainly of grasses and shrubs and to a lesser extent of mosses, sedges, horsetails and forbs, having almost no differences in the composition of resource items. It also was found that both species have the highest foraging costs in coastal habitats and the lowest ones have in marsh habitats. Without significant differentiation of trophic niches, the snow goose has significantly lower foraging costs than the brant goose. A probable transformation mechanism of communities including the species based on their trophic interactions was suggested.
