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RESPONDENT
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Richard Lanctot
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SITE NAME
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Barrow, Alaska, USA
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| 907-786-3609/907-786-3641(f) // richard_lanctot@fws.gov // USFWS, 1011 E. Tudor Road, MS 201 Anchorage, AK 99503, USA
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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Barrow, Alaska, Shorebird Study
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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1.06
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1.08
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8
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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| Season phenology: |
average
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Weather conditions: |
| Snow completely covered the ground when we arrived on 1 June. Snow cover dropped to 26% by 7 June and to only 4% by 11 June. After a fairly warm first week of June, the weather turned cold and windy, remaining unpleasant between the 9 and 20 June. The latter part of June and early July were warmer, with mid to late July turning very cold, windy and rainy. Weather data are available from NOAA weather station located near Barrow.
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| Date of 50%
snow-cover: |
5.06
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
13.06
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
average
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Breeding conditions:
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Our study focused on surveying and locating nests of all shorebirds residing on four 600x600 meter plots, two of which had been surveyed in the 1970s and 1990s. The principal species nesting on the study area were Red Phalarope (REPH, N = 34), Dunlin (DUNL, N = 20), Pectoral Sandpiper (PESA, N = 9), and Semipalmated Sandpiper (SESA, N = 6), although small numbers of Long-billed Dowitcher (LBDO, N = 3), Red-necked Phalarope (RNPH, N = 2), and American Golden-plover (AMGP, N = 1) were also detected. An additional 10 DUNL, 2 PESA and 1 AMGP nest were located near our plots.
The first shorebird clutch was initiated on 4 June and the last on the 4 July in 2003 (median and peak initiation dates were the 14 June). Nests were initiated first by AMGP and SESA (median lay date = 9 June for both, N = 1 and 5 respectively), followed by DUNL (10 June, N = 20), REPH (14 June, N = 34), RNPH (15 June, N = 1), PESA (18 June, N = 9), and finally LBDO (21 June, N = 3). Nest initiations began and then were delayed by the cold weather, resulting in a bimodal laying distribution. Nest density, calculated as the number of nests found divided by the study area size (= four plots of 36 ha each) was 0.51/ha, although nest density per plot varied from 0.33/ha to 0.72/ha. Nest predation was documented in 42.7% of the nests; most predation was probably by one or more Arctic Fox that raised young in the area. A comparison of nesting success across species indicated hatching success (# hatching at least one young/total number of nests) was highest in SESA (83.3%), followed by REPH (47.1%), PESA (44.4%) and DUNL (35.0%; data limited to species with at least five nests). A similar comparison across study plots indicated plots 1 and 2 (52.6 and 46.2%, respectively) had higher hatching success than plots 3 and 4 (38.8 and 33.3%, respectively). We did not follow broods to document fledgling success.
We documented only one renest on our plots - an AMGP who initiated on 9 June, later abandoned and initiated again on 26 June. Other birds likely renested but the lack of marked adults made this difficult to detect.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| We did not capture lemmings. Brown Lemmings were seen almost once per day by 6-person crew, while Greenland Collared Lemming was observed once.
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Rodent species recorded:
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| Latin | Abundance |
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| Lemmus trimucronatus | common |
| Dicrostonyx groenlandicus | rare |
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
In 2003, we initiated the first year of a long-term shorebird study at Barrow, Alaska (71.29øN, 156.64øW). The objectives of this study to (1) collect baseline data on arrival date, nest initiation and effort, clutch and egg size, and hatching success of arctic-breeding shorebirds, and (2) to establish a marked population of as many shorebird species as possible that would allow us to obtain estimates of adult survival, mate and site fidelity, and natal philopatry. Data on demographic parameters are vitally needed to understand why many shorebirds are declining.
In 2003, we captured and color-marked adults and young on nests located both on and adjacent to our four study plots. Adults captured included 27 REPH, 34 DUNL, 9 PESA, 12 SESA, 5 LBDO, 2 RNPH and 1 AMGP. Chicks banded at nests on our plots included 48 REPH, 44 DUNL, 23 PESA, 20 SESA, 1 LBDO, 4 RNPH, and 3 AMGP.
Three other studies were also occurring at this location. Their summaries follow:
(1) Japanese biologists have joined American biologists in capturing and banding Dunlin (C. a. arcticola) breeding on the North Slope in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003. This year, biologists captured 16 adults, 4 yearlings and 55 chicks near Barrow between the 30 June and 3 July. One adult was later seen at Ohtsuka, Nakatsu-Shi, Ohita Prefecture, Kyushu (33ø40' N, 131ø14' E) and one yearling was seen at the mouth of the Kamo River, Saijo-Shi, Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku (33ø56' N, 133ø 10' E).
(2) In a prior study (Blomqvist et al. 2002), we showed that extra-pair paternity and maternity (quasi-parasitism) in three wader species was strongly related to genetic similarity between social pair members. We suggested that extra-pair parentage in many non-passerine birds may represent adaptive behavioural strategies to avoid negative effects of pairing with a genetically similar mate. To further test this hypothesis, we located nests and genetically sampled Semipalmated Sandpiper adults and young at Barrow, Alaska in June and July 2003. A total of 51 nests were located and 99 adults and 127 chicks (plus 16 embryos) were sampled for genetic material. We have recently begun conducting laboratory analyses to determine the genetic similarity of adults within a pair and the likelihood of that pair having extra-pair offspring.
(3) During July and August of 2003, we initiated a pilot study to investigate staging shorebird populations at Barrow. Fieldwork included counting shorebirds along littoral transects between the 16 July and the 1 August; these transects were previously surveyed in the 1970's by Peter Connors and his colleagues. We also mist netted, banded, and collected blood samples from 25 shorebirds for fat metabolite analysis at two different locations. Species captured included Red Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Pectoral Sandpiper. Preliminary analyses of these samples indicate the birds were either in poor condition (i.e., low fat status) or were not fattening rapidly.
Denver Holt, who was studying Snowy Owls in the area, laid out traps to capture small mammals (owlmontana@charlo.net).
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