David Douglas
Satellite remote sensing of landscape features that possess high-frequency dynamics, such as sea ice distribution and vegetation phenology, and spatial analyses of how wildlife migrations are influenced by habitat and weather dynamics.
My projects aim to pioneer new analytical avenues in applied wildlife research by combining remote sensing with traditional wildlife studies to answer questions about habitat use and animal movements at landscape scales. The studies I engage align with Department of Interior priorities in the Arctic by addressing a growing need to understand how changes in climate or land use practices affect wildlife migrations, habitat availability, habitat quality, and population dynamics. Climate is the overarching force that controls wildlife habitat resources in the Arctic, so understanding linkages between the physical and biological environment is critical for making informed management decisions in the face of accelerating warming and expanding human activities. My expertise includes tracking wildlife by satellite, monitoring sea ice and vegetation changes by satellite, and the implications of future climate change on Arctic wildlife in general.
Professional Experience
1986 - Present Research Wildlife Biologist USGS Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska
1985 - 1986 Biological Technician Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Fairbanks, Alaska
1980 - 1984 Biological Technician US Forest Service, Region 4, Ogden, Utah
Education and Certifications
M.S. 1986 Washington State University, Pullman, WA Wildlife Biology
B.A. 1982 Utah State University, Logan, UT Biology
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 36
Filter Total Items: 45
Tracking Data for Pacific Loons (Gavia pacifica)
This data release includes 1 child item with tracking data for Pacific Loons, a species that breeds throughout much of Alaska and winters throughout the Pacific Ocean basin, along the coasts of East Asia and North America. Child Item 1: "Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Pacific Loons (Gavia pacifica) - Processed Data" -- Quality-controlled data collected from Argos satellite...
Locations Collected 1985-2015 from Female Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) with Dependent Young Instrumented in the Southern Beaufort Sea with Satellite-linked Transmitters by the USGS
This dataset contains a select subset of Argos and GPS locations collected by satellite data collection systems from collared adult female polar bears that were instrumented in the southern Beaufort Sea between 1985-2015.
Tracking Data for Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus)
This data release includes 2 child items with tracking data for Tundra Swans, a species that nests in coastal areas throughout Alaska and winters across a broad area of North America from the Pacific to Atlantic coasts. Child Item 1: "Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) - Processed Data" -- Quality-controlled data collected from Argos satellite...
Tracking data for Yellow-billed Loons (Gavia adamsii)
This data release includes 2 child items with tracking data for Yellow-billed loons, a species that breeds in coastal areas of western and northern Alaska and adjacent regions of Russia and Canada. This species winters along the Pacific coasts of North America and Eurasia. Child Item 1: "Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Yellow-billed Loons (Gavia adamsii) - Processed Data" -- Quality...
Tracking Data for Northern Pintails (Anas acuta)
This data release includes 2 child items with tracking data for Northern Pintails, a duck species that, in Alaska, nests throughout the state and in adjacent regions of Russia and Canada. Child Item 1: "Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Northern Pintails (Anas acuta) - Processed Data" -- Quality-controlled data collected from Argos satellite transmitters. Child Item 2: "Argos Satellite...
Tracking Data for Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)
This data release includes 2 child items with tracking data for Blue-winged Teal, a duck species that breeds throughout much of North America and whose wintering range includes neotropical areas of the Caribbean and Central and South America, thus providing a migratory link between the continents of North and South America. Child Item 1: "Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Blue-winged...
Filter Total Items: 152
Spring fasting behavior in a marine apex predator provides an index of ecosystem productivity
The effects of declining Arctic sea ice on local ecosystem productivity are not well understood but have been shown to vary inter-specifically, spatially, and temporally. Because marine mammals occupy upper trophic levels in Arctic food webs, they may be useful indicators for understanding variation in ecosystem productivity. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are apex predators that...
Authors
Karyn D. Rode, Ryan H. Wilson, David C. Douglas, Vanessa L Muhlenbruch, Todd C. Atwood, Eric V. Regehr, Evan S. Richardson, Nicholas Pilfold, Andrew E. Derocher, George M. Durner, Ian Stirling, Steven C. Amstrup, Michelle St. Martin, Anthony M. Pagano, Kristin S. Simac
High altitude flights by ruddy shelduck Tadorna ferruginea during trans-Himalayan migrations
Birds that migrate across high altitude mountain ranges are faced with the challenge of maintaining vigorous exercise in environments with limited oxygen. Ruddy shelducks are known to use wintering grounds south of the Tibetan Plateau at sea level and breeding grounds north of Himalayan mountain range. Therefore, it is likely these shelducks are preforming high altitude migrations. In...
Authors
N. Parr, S. Bearhop, David C. Douglas, J.Y. Takekawa, Diann Prosser, S.H. Newman, W.M. Perry, Balachandran Sivananinthaperumal, M.J. Witt, Y. Hou, Z. Lu, L.A. Hawkes
Drivers and environmental responses to the changing annual snow cycle of northern Alaska
On the North Slope of Alaska, earlier spring snowmelt and later onset of autumn snow accumulation are tied to atmospheric dynamics and sea ice conditions, and result in environmental responses.Linkages between atmospheric, ecological and biogeochemical variables in the changing Arctic are analyzed using long-term measurements near Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska. Two key variables...
Authors
Christopher J. Cox, Robert S. Stone, David C. Douglas, Diane Stanitski, George J. Divoky, Geoff S. Dutton, Colm Sweeney, J. Richard George, David U. Longenecker
Increased Arctic sea ice drift alters adult female polar bear movements and energetics
Recent reductions in thickness and extent have increased drift rates of Arctic sea ice. Increased ice drift could significantly affect the movements and the energy balance of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) which forage, nearly exclusively, on this substrate. We used radio-tracking and ice drift data to quantify the influence of increased drift on bear movements, and we modeled the...
Authors
George M. Durner, David C. Douglas, Shannon E. Albeke, John P. Whiteman, Steven C. Amstrup, Evan S. Richardson, Ryan H. Wilson, Merav Ben-David
Decadal declines in avian herbivore reproduction: density-dependent nutrition and phenological mismatch in the Arctic
A full understanding of population dynamics depends not only on estimation of mechanistic contributions of recruitment and survival, but also knowledge about the ecological processes that drive each of these vital rates. The process of recruitment in particular may be protracted over several years, and can depend on numerous ecological complexities until sexually mature adulthood is...
Authors
Megan V. Ross, Ray T. Alisaukas, David C. Douglas, Dana K. Kellett
Migration trends of Sockeye Salmon at the northern edge of their distribution
Climate change is affecting arctic and subarctic ecosystems, and anadromous fish such as Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. are particularly susceptible due to the physiological challenge of spawning migrations. Predicting how migratory timing will change under Arctic warming scenarios requires an understanding of how environmental factors drive salmon migrations. Multiple mechanisms exist...
Authors
Michael P. Carey, Christian E. Zimmerman, Kevin D. Keith, Merlyn Schelske, Charles Lean, David C. Douglas
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 36
Filter Total Items: 45
Tracking Data for Pacific Loons (Gavia pacifica)
This data release includes 1 child item with tracking data for Pacific Loons, a species that breeds throughout much of Alaska and winters throughout the Pacific Ocean basin, along the coasts of East Asia and North America. Child Item 1: "Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Pacific Loons (Gavia pacifica) - Processed Data" -- Quality-controlled data collected from Argos satellite...
Locations Collected 1985-2015 from Female Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) with Dependent Young Instrumented in the Southern Beaufort Sea with Satellite-linked Transmitters by the USGS
This dataset contains a select subset of Argos and GPS locations collected by satellite data collection systems from collared adult female polar bears that were instrumented in the southern Beaufort Sea between 1985-2015.
Tracking Data for Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus)
This data release includes 2 child items with tracking data for Tundra Swans, a species that nests in coastal areas throughout Alaska and winters across a broad area of North America from the Pacific to Atlantic coasts. Child Item 1: "Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) - Processed Data" -- Quality-controlled data collected from Argos satellite...
Tracking data for Yellow-billed Loons (Gavia adamsii)
This data release includes 2 child items with tracking data for Yellow-billed loons, a species that breeds in coastal areas of western and northern Alaska and adjacent regions of Russia and Canada. This species winters along the Pacific coasts of North America and Eurasia. Child Item 1: "Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Yellow-billed Loons (Gavia adamsii) - Processed Data" -- Quality...
Tracking Data for Northern Pintails (Anas acuta)
This data release includes 2 child items with tracking data for Northern Pintails, a duck species that, in Alaska, nests throughout the state and in adjacent regions of Russia and Canada. Child Item 1: "Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Northern Pintails (Anas acuta) - Processed Data" -- Quality-controlled data collected from Argos satellite transmitters. Child Item 2: "Argos Satellite...
Tracking Data for Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)
This data release includes 2 child items with tracking data for Blue-winged Teal, a duck species that breeds throughout much of North America and whose wintering range includes neotropical areas of the Caribbean and Central and South America, thus providing a migratory link between the continents of North and South America. Child Item 1: "Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Blue-winged...
Filter Total Items: 152
Spring fasting behavior in a marine apex predator provides an index of ecosystem productivity
The effects of declining Arctic sea ice on local ecosystem productivity are not well understood but have been shown to vary inter-specifically, spatially, and temporally. Because marine mammals occupy upper trophic levels in Arctic food webs, they may be useful indicators for understanding variation in ecosystem productivity. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are apex predators that...
Authors
Karyn D. Rode, Ryan H. Wilson, David C. Douglas, Vanessa L Muhlenbruch, Todd C. Atwood, Eric V. Regehr, Evan S. Richardson, Nicholas Pilfold, Andrew E. Derocher, George M. Durner, Ian Stirling, Steven C. Amstrup, Michelle St. Martin, Anthony M. Pagano, Kristin S. Simac
High altitude flights by ruddy shelduck Tadorna ferruginea during trans-Himalayan migrations
Birds that migrate across high altitude mountain ranges are faced with the challenge of maintaining vigorous exercise in environments with limited oxygen. Ruddy shelducks are known to use wintering grounds south of the Tibetan Plateau at sea level and breeding grounds north of Himalayan mountain range. Therefore, it is likely these shelducks are preforming high altitude migrations. In...
Authors
N. Parr, S. Bearhop, David C. Douglas, J.Y. Takekawa, Diann Prosser, S.H. Newman, W.M. Perry, Balachandran Sivananinthaperumal, M.J. Witt, Y. Hou, Z. Lu, L.A. Hawkes
Drivers and environmental responses to the changing annual snow cycle of northern Alaska
On the North Slope of Alaska, earlier spring snowmelt and later onset of autumn snow accumulation are tied to atmospheric dynamics and sea ice conditions, and result in environmental responses.Linkages between atmospheric, ecological and biogeochemical variables in the changing Arctic are analyzed using long-term measurements near Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska. Two key variables...
Authors
Christopher J. Cox, Robert S. Stone, David C. Douglas, Diane Stanitski, George J. Divoky, Geoff S. Dutton, Colm Sweeney, J. Richard George, David U. Longenecker
Increased Arctic sea ice drift alters adult female polar bear movements and energetics
Recent reductions in thickness and extent have increased drift rates of Arctic sea ice. Increased ice drift could significantly affect the movements and the energy balance of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) which forage, nearly exclusively, on this substrate. We used radio-tracking and ice drift data to quantify the influence of increased drift on bear movements, and we modeled the...
Authors
George M. Durner, David C. Douglas, Shannon E. Albeke, John P. Whiteman, Steven C. Amstrup, Evan S. Richardson, Ryan H. Wilson, Merav Ben-David
Decadal declines in avian herbivore reproduction: density-dependent nutrition and phenological mismatch in the Arctic
A full understanding of population dynamics depends not only on estimation of mechanistic contributions of recruitment and survival, but also knowledge about the ecological processes that drive each of these vital rates. The process of recruitment in particular may be protracted over several years, and can depend on numerous ecological complexities until sexually mature adulthood is...
Authors
Megan V. Ross, Ray T. Alisaukas, David C. Douglas, Dana K. Kellett
Migration trends of Sockeye Salmon at the northern edge of their distribution
Climate change is affecting arctic and subarctic ecosystems, and anadromous fish such as Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. are particularly susceptible due to the physiological challenge of spawning migrations. Predicting how migratory timing will change under Arctic warming scenarios requires an understanding of how environmental factors drive salmon migrations. Multiple mechanisms exist...
Authors
Michael P. Carey, Christian E. Zimmerman, Kevin D. Keith, Merlyn Schelske, Charles Lean, David C. Douglas
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government