Relationship with humans
- Important species in bird-watching tourism (Steven et al. 2015)
- Human-wildlife conflict where rice is cultivated (Frith 1967)
- Little impact on agriculture (Frith 1967)
- Geese controlled using nets and limited permitted take (Delaney et al. 2009)
Feral pigs
- Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are the major feral ungulate pest of Magpie Geese habitats in Northern Australia (Peter Bayliss, personal communication, 2018)
- Populations in Kakadu region increased following reductions in water buffalo densities in the 1980s
- Impacts (Whitehead 1998b; Bayliss et al. 2017; Pettit, Naiman, Warfe 2017
- Pigs compete with Magpie Geese for critical food (E. dulchis corms)
- Digging damages soil conditions
Feral water buffalo
(Peter Bayliss, personal communication, 2018, and as noted)
- Historical impacts
- Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) were introduced to river areas of northern Australia in the early 1800s (e.g., Ens et al. 2016; Pettit, Naiman, Warfe 2017)
- Numbers reduced by a large-scale, nationl eradication program in the 1980s (Bayliss and Yeomans 1990)
- Substantial reductions in remote areas of northern Australia (Peter Bayliss, personal communication, 2018)
- Where present, water buffalo damaged Magpie Geese nesting and dry season feeding habitats (Corbett et al. 1996)
- Buffalo grazing and trampling changed plant growth and distribution patterns; grasses used for nesting also displaced by other grasses
- Magpie Geese were most impacted in Kakadu region
- Buffalo pet meat industry in Kakadu region substantially reduced buffalo populations
- Possible future impacts (Peter Bayliss, personal communication, 2018)
- Numbers of water buffalo increasing on Arnhem Land Plateau (Northern Territory)
- Appear to be migrating back onto floodplains
- Could become a problem again, if not managed
Water birds
- Rarely interact with other waterfowl (Johnsgard 1965)
- Defend nest from other water birds that approach too closely (Kear 1973)