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RESPONDENT
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Daniel Ruthrauff
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SITE NAME
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St. Matthew and Hall islands, Bering Sea, USA
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (907) 786-3514/(907) 786-3636(f) // druthrauff@usgs.gov // Alaska Science Center/USGS, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503 USA
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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Population size and habitat requirements of Rock Sandpipers Calidris ptilocnemis ptilocnemis
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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25.05
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9.07
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5
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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| Season phenology: |
average
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Weather conditions: |
| Seasonal phenology likely average, but very little previous data exist to assess. Weather was cool and foggy during most of visit (typical Bering Sea weather patterns); = 15 clear, sunny days total during our stay. Average daily high temperatures ~+13øC, daily low ~+4øC. Periodic wind storms with rain, drizzle, but nothing unusual for the site.
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
average
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Breeding conditions:
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Because this was our first (and last, unfortunately) visit to the island, we are unable to properly assess interannual variation in bird numbers, breeding success, predation pressure, and weather conditions. Furthermore, St. Matthew and Hall islands are uninhabited and only a handful of biologists have ever visited the islands. Thus, very little historical data exist as context for our visit. That said, densities of Rock Sandpipers were comparatively high in certain habitats compared to study sites on the Pribilof Islands and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Densities of all other wader species were very low; all other breeding wader species were encountered very infrequently. It was our impression that vole numbers were average (endemic vole species present, Microtus abbreviatus); we were the first visitors to document the widespread distribution and breeding of Red Fox, apparently arriving naturally (i.e., not introduced) at the island within the last decade. Weather and seasonal phenology were not unusual compared to other sites in the Bering Sea.
We monitored 16 Rock Sandpiper nests and one Semipalmated Plover nest; at the time of our departure, 6 were were still active, 2 had hatched, and 8 had been depredated; the Semipalmated Plover nest hatched successfully. Failed nests likely depredated by either Arctic or Red fox. Broods of young Rock Sandpipers, Western Sandpipers, and Least Sandpipers were encountered opportunistically throughout the island towards the end of our stay on the island.
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Rodent dynamics:
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Rodent species recorded:
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| Latin | Abundance |
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| Miscrotus abbreviatus | common |
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
| The primary objective of the study was to census the breeding population of Rock Sandpipers. We surveyed a total of 182 km distributed across 34 transects on St. Matthew and 20 km across 12 transects on Hall Island. Data have not yet been analyzed; part of a 3-year study to estimate breeding population of nominate race of Rock Sandpiper. St. Paul Island surveyed in 2001, St. George Island in 2002.
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