Spatio-temporal population change of Arctic-breeding waterbirds on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska
Rapid physical changes that are occurring in the Arctic are primary drivers of landscape change and thus may drive population dynamics of Arctic-breeding birds. Despite the importance of this region to breeding and molting waterbirds, lack of a comprehensive analysis of historic data has hindered qu...
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Resilience Alliance
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:96687d8230f74436b7ef3c1ad2dfa8cf 2023-05-15T14:36:50+02:00 Spatio-temporal population change of Arctic-breeding waterbirds on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska Courtney L. Amundson Paul L. Flint Robert A. Stehn Robert M. Platte Heather M. Wilson William W. Larned Julian B. Fischer 2019-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doaj.org/article/96687d8230f74436b7ef3c1ad2dfa8cf EN eng Resilience Alliance http://www.ace-eco.org/vol14/iss1/art18/ https://doaj.org/toc/1712-6568 1712-6568 https://doaj.org/article/96687d8230f74436b7ef3c1ad2dfa8cf Avian Conservation and Ecology, Vol 14, Iss 1, p 18 (2019) abundance aerial survey arctic national wildlife refuge eiders geese important areas loons national petroleum reserve population change sea ducks spatial autocorrelation waterfowl Plant culture SB1-1110 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Plant ecology QK900-989 article 2019 ftdoajarticles 2022-12-31T09:06:53Z Rapid physical changes that are occurring in the Arctic are primary drivers of landscape change and thus may drive population dynamics of Arctic-breeding birds. Despite the importance of this region to breeding and molting waterbirds, lack of a comprehensive analysis of historic data has hindered quantifying avian population change. We estimated distribution, abundance, and spatially explicit population trend of 20 breeding waterbird species using 25 years (1992-2016) of aerial survey data collected on the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP), Alaska. The ACP is an extensive wetland complex on Alaska's North Slope that supports millions of breeding waterbirds and includes portions of the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We summarized annual counts into approximately 6-km by 6-km grid cells and analyzed data with generalized linear mixed models that accounted for survey timing and spatio-temporal autocorrelation. Geese and swans were most abundant along the coast between Admiralty Bay and Prudhoe Bay. Sea ducks, generalist predators (i.e., jaeger, gulls, terns), and loons were most abundant between Utqiaġvik and Point Lay, Alaska. Important areas for most species included the coastal fringe near Teshekpuk Lake, the Colville River Delta, and Admiralty Bay. The National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska was an important area for all species examined. Conversely, density on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was greater than average for 20% of species. Annual population growth rates over the 25-year survey period were variable: 13 increased (range: 1.4%-13.8%), one decreased (-3.4%), and six were stable. However, even species with no overall population trend had areas of changing population size, suggesting localized conditions affected waterbird distributions on the ACP. Our results can be used to better inform land use decisions, improve monitoring of waterbird populations, and increase understanding of avian response to ecological change in the Arctic. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic north slope Prudhoe Bay Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Admiralty Bay |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
abundance aerial survey arctic national wildlife refuge eiders geese important areas loons national petroleum reserve population change sea ducks spatial autocorrelation waterfowl Plant culture SB1-1110 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Plant ecology QK900-989 |
spellingShingle |
abundance aerial survey arctic national wildlife refuge eiders geese important areas loons national petroleum reserve population change sea ducks spatial autocorrelation waterfowl Plant culture SB1-1110 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Plant ecology QK900-989 Courtney L. Amundson Paul L. Flint Robert A. Stehn Robert M. Platte Heather M. Wilson William W. Larned Julian B. Fischer Spatio-temporal population change of Arctic-breeding waterbirds on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska |
topic_facet |
abundance aerial survey arctic national wildlife refuge eiders geese important areas loons national petroleum reserve population change sea ducks spatial autocorrelation waterfowl Plant culture SB1-1110 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Plant ecology QK900-989 |
description |
Rapid physical changes that are occurring in the Arctic are primary drivers of landscape change and thus may drive population dynamics of Arctic-breeding birds. Despite the importance of this region to breeding and molting waterbirds, lack of a comprehensive analysis of historic data has hindered quantifying avian population change. We estimated distribution, abundance, and spatially explicit population trend of 20 breeding waterbird species using 25 years (1992-2016) of aerial survey data collected on the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP), Alaska. The ACP is an extensive wetland complex on Alaska's North Slope that supports millions of breeding waterbirds and includes portions of the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We summarized annual counts into approximately 6-km by 6-km grid cells and analyzed data with generalized linear mixed models that accounted for survey timing and spatio-temporal autocorrelation. Geese and swans were most abundant along the coast between Admiralty Bay and Prudhoe Bay. Sea ducks, generalist predators (i.e., jaeger, gulls, terns), and loons were most abundant between Utqiaġvik and Point Lay, Alaska. Important areas for most species included the coastal fringe near Teshekpuk Lake, the Colville River Delta, and Admiralty Bay. The National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska was an important area for all species examined. Conversely, density on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was greater than average for 20% of species. Annual population growth rates over the 25-year survey period were variable: 13 increased (range: 1.4%-13.8%), one decreased (-3.4%), and six were stable. However, even species with no overall population trend had areas of changing population size, suggesting localized conditions affected waterbird distributions on the ACP. Our results can be used to better inform land use decisions, improve monitoring of waterbird populations, and increase understanding of avian response to ecological change in the Arctic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Courtney L. Amundson Paul L. Flint Robert A. Stehn Robert M. Platte Heather M. Wilson William W. Larned Julian B. Fischer |
author_facet |
Courtney L. Amundson Paul L. Flint Robert A. Stehn Robert M. Platte Heather M. Wilson William W. Larned Julian B. Fischer |
author_sort |
Courtney L. Amundson |
title |
Spatio-temporal population change of Arctic-breeding waterbirds on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska |
title_short |
Spatio-temporal population change of Arctic-breeding waterbirds on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska |
title_full |
Spatio-temporal population change of Arctic-breeding waterbirds on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Spatio-temporal population change of Arctic-breeding waterbirds on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatio-temporal population change of Arctic-breeding waterbirds on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska |
title_sort |
spatio-temporal population change of arctic-breeding waterbirds on the arctic coastal plain of alaska |
publisher |
Resilience Alliance |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doaj.org/article/96687d8230f74436b7ef3c1ad2dfa8cf |
geographic |
Arctic Admiralty Bay |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Admiralty Bay |
genre |
Arctic north slope Prudhoe Bay Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic north slope Prudhoe Bay Alaska |
op_source |
Avian Conservation and Ecology, Vol 14, Iss 1, p 18 (2019) |
op_relation |
http://www.ace-eco.org/vol14/iss1/art18/ https://doaj.org/toc/1712-6568 1712-6568 https://doaj.org/article/96687d8230f74436b7ef3c1ad2dfa8cf |
_version_ |
1766309368212488192 |