St. Matthew Island (60Њ 24Ј N, 172Њ 42Ј W) and its small nearby satellites, Hall Island and Pinnacle Rock, are isolated in the northcentral Bering Sea. This infrequently visited location occupies a geographic position with a deep Bering Land Bridge history and is in an area of interdigitation of the Old World, New World, and Beringian avifaunas. It is known for its three Beringian endemics, a bird (McKay's Bunting, Plectrophenax hyperboreus), a small mammal, and a plant. This level of endemism is striking for a high-latitude island. The only previous summary of the avifauna of St. Matthew island (Hanna 1917) included 37 species. Our report considers more than 125 species and synthesizes data on presence and absence, abundance, and phenology. Because visits have been infrequent and concentrated during summer, our understanding of migration in this region remains poor, but the area is clearly affected by both the Old and New world migration systems. There is sufficient evidence to show that some profound changes among the island's breeding birds have occurred during the past century. In particular, the breeding range of Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) has been extended north to include St. Matthew, a change that is correlated with a northward shift in the extent of sea ice (Maslanik et al. 1996). King and Common eiders (Somateria spectabilis and S. mollissima) also have shown substantial changes in summer abundance. Other changes in the summer avifauna (e.g., among shorebirds) may reflect the dynamics of edge-of-range phenomena. Because of its central position in a region undergoing profound climate change and its demonstrated track record in showing avifaunal shifts, St. Matthew Island may represent an important bellwether for monitoring the biological effects of further climate change in the northern Bering Sea.
in association with z^m oPre ibrary San Francisco, California 2006 ;ram was established within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ..nation and methodologies on key environmental issues purees and their supporting ecosystems. The mission of [and Wildlife Service in its role as a primary source of fish and wildlife resources, particularly in respect [assessment.nesent information that will aid decisionmakers in the jtion of problems associated with major changes in gical information and evaluation for Department of programs, such as those relating to energy develop-Biological Services Program is intended for use in the ESS to prevent or minimize the impact of development ;ivities and technical assistance services are based on an ation of the decisionmakers involved and their infor-[of the state of the art to identify information gaps is a strategy that will ensure that the products proknd useful.[the following areas: coal extraction and conversion; land oil shale development; water resource analysis, |stern water allocation; coastal ecosystems and Outer id systems inventory, including National Wetland [analysis, and information transfer.consists of the Office of Biological Services in ible for overall planning and management; National central scientific and technical expertise and arrange tudies with states, universities, consulting firms, and a link to problems at the operating level; and staff at rch facilities, who conduct inhouse research studies..^>/uu. A project of this magnitude would not have been possible without the assistance of many individuals and organizations. Jay F. Watson, our Project Officer, was paramount in managing this study and provided us with encouragement and advice throughout the project.Bill Rodstrom's able field assistance during the 1979 field season played a principal role in the completion of this project. He was responsible for data collection for much of the north coast. Margaret Stewart's help during the 1980 field season and with the preparation of this report were invaluable.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.