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RESPONDENT
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Robert Gill, Jr.
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SITE NAME
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Alaska Peninsula, from Port Heiden to Ugashik Bay, USA
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| 907-786-3514/907-786-3636(fax) // robert_gill@usgs.gov // U. S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 1011 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK, 99503, USA
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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Population assessment of Marbled Godwits
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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7.05
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9.05
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2
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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| Season phenology: |
average
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Weather conditions: |
| During 6-10 May we surveyed region centered 175 km SSW of King Salmon to assess the breeding status of Marbled Godwits Limosa fedoa. Phenology was average in timing, weather was warm, dry, and no extreme weather events occurred during our presence.
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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: |
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Breeding conditions:
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No human activity in the area other than our presence. The assessment focused on the avifauna associated with wet graminoid/alder/willow community away from the coast but before the slope to the Alaska Range. Two, 2-person crews conducted line transect surveys with distance estimation over two areas suspected of supporting nesting godwits. These were followed by 840 km of aerial line transects (with distance estimation) from a helicopter over a much larger portion of the area. During ground surveys we recorded all birds and mammals observed.
Red Foxes and Wolves had low numbers. Four Short-eared Owls were recorded on two plots, and were told about a nest found by a Fish and Wildlife crew. No breeding of skuas was recorded. A single Arctic Skua was seen flying on 1 of the 2 plots. Northern Harriers were the most abundant potential predator with 6 males and 2 females recorded on the 2 plots.
Because the surveys did not begin until almost complete snowmelt and they were only conducted over a 5-day period, we could not adequately assess the breeding conditions in the survey area (i.e., the area had not been surveyed previously and no effort was made to determine nesting success). Preliminary analyses of the aerial data indicate a total nesting population in the surveyed area of 1,352 Marbled Godwits (859-2,204 95% CI). This compares very favorably with estimates derived from previous counts of birds on nearby intertidal areas during both pre- and post-breeding periods. In 2006, we will visit two additional ground census plots and conduct aerial line transects of what is suspected to be the entire breeding range for the L. fedoa beringiae population.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| We failed to note much sign of small rodents.
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
| No "detailed" studies were carried out at this site. Detailed aerial surveys (distance estimation) with helicopter were done to estimate the population size of Marbled Godwits nesting on the AK Peninsula.
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