414 • INFONORTH Distribution and Habitat Requirements of Scoters in the Mackenzie Delta Region

• Main Author: Shannon L. Haszard
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: SCOTER POPULATION DECLINE; Mackenzie Delta; Arctic; Gwich’in; Melanitta fusca
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.506.8762; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic55-4-414.pdf

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, Gwich’in hunters and eldersbegan to wonder why “black ducks ” (the local namefor white-winged scoters Melanitta fusca and surf scoters M. perspicallata) were less common than they had been previously. Wildlife biologists across North America have voiced similar concerns. Questions raised about the status of scoters provided a great opportunity for me to study these sea duck species as part of my Master’s research in Biology at the University of Saskatchewan. For instance, ecologists would like to understand why animal abundance varies in space and time and identify the mecha-nisms responsible for producing these patterns. Determin-ing habitat requirements of scoters and relating these patterns to variation in reproductive success can be an important step toward understanding the causes and con-sequences of animal distribution and population dynamics and developing conservation initiatives.