Publications

Ecosystem studies are difficult to interpret because of the complexity and number of pathways that may affect a phenomenon of interest. It is not possible to study all aspects of a problem; thus subjective judgment is required to weigh what has been observed in the context of components that were not studied but may have been important. This subjective judgment is usually a poorly documented and a

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game have cooperated since 1984 to develop and evaluate satellite telemetry as a means of overcoming the high costs and logistical problems of conventional VHF (very high frequency) radiotelemetry systems. Detailed locational and behavioral data on caribou (Rangifer tarandus), polar bears (Ursus maritimus), and other large ma

We classified levels of direct response of brown bears (Ursus arctos middendorffi) to aircraft, watercraft, and groups of people on the O'Malley River area of Kodiak Island, Alaska. General public use occurred on the area in 1991 and 1993, whereas structured bear viewing programs used the area in 1992 and 1994. Brown bears displayed high (running) or moderate (walking away) response on 18 (48%) oc

Satellite radiotelemetry is a useful method of tracking movements of animals that travel long distances or inhabit remote areas. However, the logistical constraints that encourage the use of satellite telemetry also inhibit efforts to assess accuracy of the resulting data. To investigate effectiveness of methods that might be used to improve the reliability of these data, we compared 3 sets of cri

Spreading his wings to reveal their pearly white undersides, the male buff-breasted sandpiper tilted his head to the sky, puffed out his chest, and uttered a series of soft "tick-ticks.” He then proceeded to stamp his feet and vibrate his wings as if the ground were quaking beneath him. Soon, three females, attracted by this courtship display, entered the curve of his embracing wings. They then sp

In the last issue of Northwest Science, Hayward and Iverson (“Long-Term Trends in Marbled Murrelets in Southeast Alaska Based on Christmas Bird Counts”) failed to mention other evidence for 40-75% declines in murrelet populations, or discuss implications of a climate regime shift that has reduced populations of seabirds in Alaska, or present any useful information on the status of old-growth breed

2,4-D herbicide treatment was applied to 2 treatment units to remove the forbs that are the preferred food of pocket gophers. One of these units also was seeded with grasses prior to the 2,4-D treatment. The effect of 2,4-D and grass seeding plus 2,4-D treatments were compared to an untreated control unit. Long-term monitoring (7 yr) was conducted on the 3 units for vegetative cover (7 yr), pocket

Izembek Lagoon, an estuary in Alaska, is a very important staging area for Pacific brant, a small migratory goose. Each fall, nearly the entire Pacific Flyway population of 130,000 brant flies to Izembek Lagoon and feeds on eelgrass to accumulate fat reserves for nonstop transoceanic migration to wintering areas as distant as Mexico. In the past 10 years, offshore drilling activities in this area

Researchers have debated the effect of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (TAP) and associated developments to caribou (Rangifer tarandus) of the central Arctic herd (CAH) since the 1970s. Several studies have demonstrated that cows and calves of the CAH avoided the TAP corridor because of disturbance associated with the pipeline, whereas others have indicated that female caribou of the CAH avoided riparia

We compared strip transect and radio-tracking methods of determining foraging range of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla). The mean distance birds were observed from their colony determined by radio-tracking was significantly greater than the mean value calculated from strip transects. We determined that this difference was due to two sources of bias: (1) as distance from the colony increa

We implanted 6 Common Murres (Uria aalge) and 10 Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia) with satellite transmitters and compared subsequent presence at the colony, nesting status, and provisioning to a control group that underwent a simple surgical procedure. In the 10 days following implantation, we resighted 10 of 11 control birds at the colony and 6 of 16 implanted birds. Of the birds that returned,

We estimated natal and breeding philopatry and dispersal probabilities for a metapopulation of Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) based on observations of marked birds at six breeding colonies in Alaska, 1986–1994. Both adult females and males exhibited high (>0.90) probability of philopatry to breeding colonies. Probability of natal philopatry was significantly higher for females than males.