HUNTING VULNERABILITY OF LOCAL AND MIGRANT CANADA GEESE - A COMMENT

Lindberg and Malecki (1994) estimated the vulnerability of large local Canada geese (mainly Branta canadensis maxima) and smaller migrants ( mainly B. c. interior) to fall hunting in northwestern Pennsylvania, 1 988-89. They reported that local Canada geese were harvested proportio nately more than their availability in the fall population, and migran ts proportionately less than their availability, in 9 of 10 e-week per iods. We evaluated several of the assumptions inherent in Lindberg and Malecki's (1994) calculations. We then reanalysed their data using mo dified assumptions and found that vulnerabilities were not consistentl y different among local geese and migrants. Vulnerability estimates we re sensitive to relatively small changes in population sizes of local and migrant geese. We suggest that the apparently high vulnerability o f local Canada geese was caused by underestimation of their numbers in the fall population, and overestimation of their numbers in the harve st.