Steve,

How does all this fit in with the recent emergence of blue Ross's Geese?

Gene.

----- Original Message -----
From: SGMlod at aol.com
To: Tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2006 2:03 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Blue Goose Redux


Greetings All

This is my last whipping of this dead horse.

I think that the chances of Blue Geese occurring on Wrangel via "vagrancy" are vastly greater than them appearing via gene mutation. Why?

1) There are multiple Blue Geese, not just one.
2) To achieve a "pure" Blue Goose, the mutation needs to occur twice, one for each allele.
3) If these mutations were common, then Blue Geese would not be exceptionally rare among Greater Snow Geese populations
4) the appearance of Blue Geese on Wrangel (and regularly in Snohomish/Skagit Counties) is a relatively new phenomenon
5) Blue Geese are becoming more prevalent in the western portion of the Lesser Snow Goose breeding range.
6) Snow/Blue Geese are female philopatric. In other words, pairs meet on the wintering grounds and then return to where the female was born. The great majority of Wrangel Blue Geese are males, fitting this pattern.

Cheers
Steven Mlodinow
Everett WA


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