The Greenland white-fronted goose subspecies was first described by Sir Peter Scott in 1947 and has since led a precarious existence. Research has shown that the decline is due to a reduction in the proportion of breeding birds, rather than any changes in the mean brood size or adult survival rate.
Expansion of the Greenland breeding population of Canada geese, and the subsequent competition for territories with whitefronts is being investigated as a potential reason for the reduction in the latter’s overall productivity.
A census of the geese is conducted by the volunteer network of the Greenland White-fronted Goose Study Group each winter under a sub-contract to WWT.