Seabirds Populations of seabirds in Alaska are larger and more diverse than in any similar region of the northern hemisphere. Alaska's extensive estuaries and offshore waters provide breeding, feeding, and migrating habitats for upwards of 100 million seabirds of 66 species. Breeding birds number about 50 million individuals of 38 species--96 percent of all the breeding seabirds in the continental United States. The catalog of known breeding sites includes more than 1,300 colonies ranging in size from a few birds to more than 2.5 million. Important threats to Alaska's seabirds include oil pollution, the introduction of predators to nesting islands, conflicts with commercial fisheries, and disturbance or habitat loss associated with human population growth in coastal areas. Experience shows that seabirds can serve as sensitive indicators of local and large-scale changes in their marine environment. Seabird research at the Alaska Science Center - Biological Science Office encompasses the population dynamics, breeding biology, and feeding ecology of a variety of species such as kittiwakes, murres, puffins, auklets, petrels, cormorants, and gulls. The aim is to understand and provide for the conservation needs of the birds themselves, and also to support informed management policies for the marine system as a whole. Seabirds Detailed Project Information Seabirds and forage fish: Ecology of marine food-webs in Alaska. North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) Seasonal movements and pelagic habitat use of Alaska seabirds determined by satellite telemetry. Population ecology of seabirds on Middleton Island, Alaska. Pigeon guillemot restoration research at the SeaLife Center. Design and implementation of a seabird monitoring database for the North Pacific. Seasonal movements and pelagic habitat use of murres and puffins determined by satellite telemetry. Breeding performance of black-legged kittiwakes in relation to food availability: a controlled feeding experiment. Fisheries / marine bird interactions.

Landbirds Boreal habitats in Alaska support 130 species of breeding landbirds, including 68 species that migrate to Neotropical wintering areas. Significant population declines have been documented for many of these species in temperate regions over the past 30 years.  Land managers in Alaska are currently faced with major decisions that will influence the functioning of entire ecosystems, including how to manage spruce beetle epidemics, logging, and fire. Little information exists on the status of Alaskan populations in relation to those of temperate regions, habitat requirements in the north, or methods that can be used to monitor landbird populations in arctic and subarctic biomes.  This research project has three major goals: (1) to design and test methodology for a cooperative, regional program to monitor population trends of landbirds breeding in northern ecoregions; (2) to investigate relationships between the distribution of breeding landbirds and terrestrial habitats at the landscape level; and (3) to examine population dynamics governing population trends in boreal regions. Landbird Detailed Project Information Status and trends of boreal landbird populations Alaska Landbird Resource Information System.

Shorebirds Ninety percent of the migratory species (n = 53) in the Western Hemisphere have breeding populations in Alaska; 37 of these, plus three additional races, regularly breed there.  The North Pacific, including Alaska and the Russian Far East, host fully one-third of the world's shorebird fauna.  For almost all of the shorebirds occurring in Alaska, coastal habitats are critical during some phase of their annual cycle, particularly during the nonbreeding period. Many coastal areas are being altered at an alarming rate, not only in East Asia where broad-scale reclamation of intertidal habitats persists, but also in the Western Hemisphere where the problem is much more localized, but nevertheless ongoing. Effective conservation of any natural resource requires an understanding of population dynamics and habitat requirements.  For many arctic breeding shorebirds such parameters as population size, annual productivity, rates of adult and juvenile mortality, feeding habits, and migration strategies, including habitat dependence and timing and routes of migration, are largely unknown. The overriding focus of this program has been to fill in these information needs for as many taxa as possible in order that as many species as possible can be included in a comprehensive monitoring effort.  Shorebird Detailed Project Information Population status and ecology of shorebirds in Alaska

Waterfowl Adenovirus associated with Long-tailed Duck Mortality in Alaska - from the National Wildlife Health Center, USGS, BRD, Madison, Wisconsin. Waterfowl Detailed Project Information North American merganser programs Research update - Request for Assistance! Winter ecology of Pacific brant in Mexico and Alaska. Breeding and migration ecology of the tule white-fronted goose. Population dynamics and ecology of Spectacled and Steller's eiders. Population and reproductive ecology of ducks in western Alaska. Harlequin duck molting and wintering ecology in Prince William Sound: impact and recovery from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Demography and landscape interactions of goose populations on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Reproductive ecology and survival of dusky Canada geese. Post-nesting biology of sea ducks in Alaska Emperor geese telemetry project. The role of coastal wetlands in Cook Inlet, Alaska as a stopover habitat for migratory birds. Anchorage Canada Goose Project.

Banding and Telemetry Program Each year, biologists with the Alaska Science Center - Biological Science Office mark nearly 3,000 birds of 50 different species with uniquely-coded metal or plastic leg bands, neck collars, or radio transmitters. These markers provide valuable data for studies such as: mark-recapture analysis to determine annual survival of breeding and wintering birds, breeding behavior and reproductive success, timing and routes of migration, and location of wintering and breeding areas. Data from this marking program enables biologists at the Center to address the various study objectives outlined on this page. Banding and Telemetry Program Detailed Project Information Alaska Science Center - Biological Science Office Banding and Radio Telemetry Program. Anchorage Canada Goose Project.

Loons Numbers of Red-throated Loons (Gavia stellata) breeding in Alaska declined by 53% from 1977 to 1993.  Four information needs listed by the USFWS include data on demographic parameters, distribution among wintering areas and their links to breeding areas, subsistence by-catch in fishing nets, and exposure to contaminants. Our objectives are to (1) describe migration routes and provide links between loons from two breeding areas and their wintering areas using satellite telemetry, (2) measure heavy metal and organochlorine levels in the blood of loons from two breeding areas and in any addled eggs we discover, (3) estimate clutch size, hatching success, and chick-rearing success of loons and compare these values to that observed in other populations, and (4) begin discussions with USFWS personnel to develop means of surveying local people about their knowledge of by-catch in fishing nets. Loons Detailed Project Information Reproductive demographics, use of marine habitats, and exposure to contaminants of red-throated loons breeding in Alaska.

Last Updated: Tuesday, September 17, 2002