Habitat use by threatened sheldgeese (Chloephaga spp.) in Austral Patagonia at two spatial scales

Upland Goose Chloephaga picta, Ashy-headed poliocephala and Ruddy-headed rubidiceps are endemic goose-like threatened birds of southern South America. This work aimed to study how sheldgeese distributed both temporally spatially characterize their habitat use in part breeding range Southern Argentina, a little-explored subpolar region. We conducted nine surveys between spring 2013 summer 2016 across maximum 235 km Santa Cruz 698 Tierra del Fuego per survey. recorded the presence non-breeding sheldgoose groups pairs. collected data at site-scale (~ 0.8 km2) extracted from geographic information systems for landscape-scale (5 analyses. 2396 containing one, two or three species, 788 pairs 102 solitary individuals. The was present almost all most abundant sheldgoose, followed by Goose. observed only 15 locations. Poa grasslands, meadows Festuca grasslands were habitats which we detected Sheldgoose density higher than Cruz, increased autumn decreased winter. largest concentrated waterbodies. Sheldgeese selected sites with greater diversity, richness number patches. Our results provide understand environmental conditions favour aid selection important areas conservation these species.