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Robert E Gill, Jr.

The movement ecology of migratory animals, especially extreme endurance migrant birds, fascinates me.  Alaska migratory shorebirds have links to all hemispheres, requiring international collaborations to implement effective conservations efforts. 

Through an emeritus position at the Alaska Science Center my research is focused on: 1) collaborations with an international suite of colleagues to assess the movement ecology of extreme endurance migrant shorebirds and identify the global-scale conservation issues facing their populations, and 2) releasing data to the public domain and publishing results associated with information collected during my five-decade-long tenure as a research biologist. 

Professional Experience

  • 2015 - present Scientist Emeritus   USGS, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK

  • 1996 - 2015    Research Wildlife Biologist    USGS, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK

  • 1993 - 1996    Wildlife Biologist     NBS Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK

  • 1987 - 1993    Wildlife Biologist     USFWS, Alaska Fish and Wildlife Research Center, Anchorage, AK

  • 1984 - 1987    Wildlife Biologist     Denver Wildlife Research Center, Anchorage, AK

  • 1981 - 1983    Wildlife Biologist     Seattle National Fisheries Research Center, Anchorage, AK

  • 1976 - 1980    Wildlife Biologist     US Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, AK

  • 1973 - 1976    Wildlife Biologist     California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA

Education and Certifications

  • Ph. D.   2010 - present  Groningen University, The Netherlands

  • M.S.     1972      San Jose State University, San Jose, CA    Biology

  • B.A.     1970      San Jose State College, San Jose, CA        Wildlife Management

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • Alaska Shorebird Group (Founding member)

  • American Ornithologists' Union (Life member, Elective Member 1983, Fellow 2011)

  • Arctic Institute of North America (Life member)

  • Australasian Wader Studies Group (North American Representative, 2001-2010)

  • Canada Shorebird Plan (Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, 1998-2001)

  • Cooper Ornithological Society (Life member)

  • East Asian-Australasian Shorebird Working Group (U.S. representative, 2002-2007)

  • Global Flyway Network (Member, Scientific Advisory Board (2001-present)

  • International Wader Study Group (Life member; Executive Committee, 1999-2008; Editorial Advisory Board, 2012-present)

  • New Zealand Wader Study Group

  • Pacific Shorebird Migration Project (Co-PI, 2006-present)

  • Russian Working Group on Waders

  • Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group (Founding Member; Advisory Board, 2008-present)

  • Western Field Ornithologists (Board of Directors, 1999-2015; Assoc. Editor, 2005-present)

  • Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (Chair, Scientific Advisory Board, 2004-2012)

  • U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan (Chair, Research and Monitoring Group, 1998-2001)

Abstracts and Presentations

  • Five invited keynote, 14 invited, and >60 contributed presentations before various scientific bodies.

Science and Products

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Filter Total Items: 92

Small population size of Pribilof Rock Sandpipers confirmed through distance-sampling surveys in Alaska

The Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) is endemic to the Bering Sea region and unique among shorebirds in the North Pacific for wintering at high latitudes. The nominate subspecies, the Pribilof Rock Sandpiper (C. p. ptilocnemis), breeds on four isolated islands in the Bering Sea and appears to spend the winter primarily in Cook Inlet, Alaska. We used a stratified systematic sampling...
Authors
Daniel R. Ruthrauff, T. Lee Tibbitts, Robert E. Gill, Maksim N. Dementyev, Colleen M. Handel
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Functional ecology of saltglands in shorebirds: Flexible responses to variable environmental conditions

1. Birds of marine environments have specialized glands to excrete salt, the saltglands. Located on the skull between the eyes, the size of these organs is expected to reflect their demand, which will vary with water turnover rates as a function of environmental (heat load, salinity of prey and drinking water) and organismal (energy demand, physiological state) factors. On the basis of...
Authors
J.S. Gutierrez, M.W. Dietz, José A. Masero, Robert E. Gill, Anne Dekinga, Phil F. Battley, J. M. Sanchez-Guzman, Theunis Piersma
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Contrasting extreme long-distance migration patterns in bar-tailed godwits Limosa lapponica

Migrating birds make the longest non-stop endurance flights in the animal kingdom. Satellite technology is now providing direct evidence on the lengths and durations of these flights and associated staging episodes for individual birds. Using this technology, we compared the migration performance of two subspecies of bar-tailed godwit Limosa lapponica travelling between non-breeding...
Authors
Phil F. Battley, Nils Warnock, T. Lee Tibbitts, Robert E. Gill, Theunis Piersma, Chris J. Hassell, David C. Douglas, Daniel M. Mulcahey, Brett D. Gartrell, Rob Schuckard, David S. Melville, Adrian C. Riegen
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

A horizon scanning assessment of current and potential future threats to migratory shorebirds

We review the conservation issues facing migratory shorebird populations that breed in temperate regions and use wetlands in the non-breeding season. Shorebirds are excellent model organisms for understanding ecological, behavioural and evolutionary processes and are often used as indicators of wetland health. A global team of experienced shorebird researchers identified 45 issues facing...
Authors
William J. Sutherland, José A. Alves, Tatsuya Amano, Charlotte H. Chang, Nicholas C. Davidson, C. Max Finlayson, Jennifer A. Gill, Robert E. Gill, Patricia M. González, Tómas Grétar Gunnarsson, David Kleijn, Chris J. Spray, Tamás Székely, Des B.A. Thompson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Experimental challenge and pathology of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 in dunlin (Calidris alpina), an intercontinental migrant shorebird species

Background Shorebirds (Charadriiformes) are considered one of the primary reservoirs of avian influenza. Because these species are highly migratory, there is concern that infected shorebirds may be a mechanism by which highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 could be introduced into North America from Asia. Large numbers of dunlin (Calidris alpina) migrate from wintering...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Hall, J. Christian Franson, Robert E. Gill, Carol U. Meteyer, Joshua L. TeSlaa, Sean Nashold, Robert J. Dusek, Hon S. Ip
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center

A puzzling migratory detour : Are fueling conditions in Alaska driving the movement of juvenile sharp -tailed sandpipers ?

Making a detour can be advantageous to a migrating bird if fuel-deposition rates at stopover sites along the detour are considerably higher than at stopover sites along a more direct route. One example of an extensive migratory detour is that of the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), of which large numbers of juveniles are found during fall migration in western Alaska. These...
Authors
A. Lindstrom, Robert E. Gill, S.E. Jamieson, B. J. McCaffery, Leif G. Wennerberg, Martin Wikelski, M. Klaassen
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Science and Products

*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

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