Publications

Sea duck populations are declining in Alaska. The reasons for the decline are not known; environmental lead exposure is one suspected cause. Thirty wild Steller's eider ducks (Polysticta stelleri) and 40 wild black scoter ducks (Melanitta nigra) were tested for blood lead levels using a portable blood lead analyzer (LeadCare; ESA, Inc., Chelmsford, Massachusetts 01824, USA). Sixty-seven...

The population of dusky Canada geese (Branta canadensis occidentalis; hereafter duskies) breeding on the Copper River Delta (CRD), Alaska, USA, has been in long-term decline, largely as a result of reduced productivity. Estimates of renesting rates by duskies may be useful for adjusting estimates of the size of the breeding population derived from aerial surveys and for understanding...

Since 1987, the Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project (AMMTAP) has collected tissues from 18 marine mammal species. Specimens are archived in the National Institute of Standards and Technology's National Biomonitoring Specimen Bank (NIST-NBSB). AMMTAP has collected blubber, liver and/or kidney specimens from a number of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) from the areas near Nome and...

Longitudinal foraging data collected from 60 sea otters implanted with VHF radio transmitters at two study sites in Central California over a three-year period demonstrated even greater individual dietary specialization than in previous studies, with only 54% dietary overlap between individuals and the population.Multivariate statistical analyses indicated that individual diets could be...

1. Growth models for body mass and length were fitted to data collected from 1842 sea otters Enhydra lutris shot or live-captured throughout south-west Alaska between 1967 and 2004. Growth curves were constructed for each of two main year groups: 1967–71 when the population was at or near carrying capacity and 1992–97 when the population was in steep decline. Analyses of data collected...

This study was designed to determine the spring, summer, autumn, and early winter distribution, migration routes, and timing of migration of the Atlantic population of Steller's eiders Polysticta stelleri. Satellite transmitters were implanted in 20 eiders captured in April 2001 at Vads??, Norway, and their locations were determined from 5 May 2001 to 6 February 2002. Regions where birds...

No abstract available.

The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 caused major damage and 43 deaths in the coastal communities of Seward and Valdez. Most of these losses were caused by tsunamis that occurred immediately after the earthquake and were most likely induced by local submarine landslides. Recent NOAA multibcam bathymetric surveys near Seward and Valdez provide detailed information about the morphology of...

Genetic structure of the seagrass Zostera marina in a coastal lagoon with restricted water flow, and with heterogeneous water residence times and oceanographic characteristics, was assessed using 8 polymorphic microsatellite loci. Analyses of genetic differentiation (θ) and Bayesian clustering suggested that the Z. marina population in San Quintin Bay (SQB) is genetically substructured...

This report by the National Marine Fisheries Service applies a formal evaluation framework to the problem of delineating Oncorhynchus mykiss populations in the South-Central/Southern California Coast recovery domain, in support of recovery planning under the Endangered Species Act.

We evaluated the feasibility and efficiency of using swabs to collect buccal epithelial cells fromsmall (2‐ to 13‐g) birds as a source of DNA for genetic studies. We used commercially available buccal swab kits to collect samples from 42 adult and 39 nestling (4‐ to 8‐day‐old) black‐capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) and from6 4‐day‐old nestling boreal chickadees (P. hudsonica). We...

This paper provides updates on population estimates for 52 species of shorebirds, involving 75 taxa, occurring in North America. New information resulting in a changed estimate is available for 39 of the 75 taxa (52%), involving 24 increases and 15 decreases. The preponderance of increased estimates is likely the result of improved estimates rather than actual increases in numbers. Many...