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RESPONDENT
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Julian Fischer
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SITE NAME
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Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta coastal zone, USA
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| // julian_fischer@fws.gov // U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, Waterfowl Management Branch, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503, USA
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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Yukon Delta Nesting Waterfowl Survey
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
| Spring arrived earlier in 2007 than in 2006. Spring weather conditions in 2007 were similar to recent years with earlier than average snow melt and river breakup. The Kuskokwim River at Bethel broke-up on 23 May 2007, nearly three weeks earlier than the previous year, and a week earlier than the 23-year average (mean 11 May for 1985-2007; NOAA 2007). Following a winter of relatively low snow cover, little snow remained on the nesting grounds by May.
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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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| In general, 2007 was a year of very good potential production for geese and eiders. Depredation and nest abandonment rates were low for all species. Recent 10-year trends in nests populations are positive for all waterfowl except Cackling Geese and Brant, whose numbers have generally declined since 1998. We estimated 4,399 Spectacled Eider nests (corrected for nest detection rate) on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta coastal zone in 2007. While the estimate of nests was 9% below the 1985-2006 average, high nest success resulted in egg production slightly higher than the 1985-2006 average. The early spring arrival on the YKD in 2007 resulted in most species nesting a week earlier than average.
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Rodent dynamics:
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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