Survival of juvenile Greater Snow Geese immediately after banding

We studied survival immediately after banding of Greater Snow Geese (Chen c aerulescens atlantica) captured in mass banding drives on Bylot Island (Nun avut, Canada) during the late brood-rearing period. Shortly after release, the banding sites and the surrounding areas were checked for dead banded bi rds. Logistic regression was used to model post-banding survival in relatio n to mass and age at banding, size of catch, banding year, and their intera ctions. Between 1993 and 1996, 6577 adults and 6736 juveniles were banded, of which 6 adults and 192 juveniles (goslings) were found dead. Apparent su rvival immediately after banding was high for juveniles (0.971 +/- 0.002) a nd close to 1.00 for adults. The post-banding survival of juveniles decreas ed with catch size and increased with mass at banding, although the magnitu de of the latter effect varied among years. Age at banding also affected su rvival in interaction with banding year and catch size. Post-banding surviv al was lowest for the youngest goslings captured in the largest catches in some years. Our analysis suggests that banding has a negligible effect on p ost-banding survival of juvenile snow geese when catch size does not exceed 600 individuals and goslings are heavier than 1400 g or older than 34 d, a nd has virtually no effect on adults.