Distribution and movements of Alaska-breeding Steller's Eiders in the nonbreeding period

Abstract

Abstract. Annual spring aerial surveys were initiated in 1992, and repeated in 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 to monitor the population status of and habitat use by Steller's eiders (Polysticta stelleri) migrating northward in southwestern Alaska. Since the timing of migration varies, two to three replicate shoreline surveys were conducted each spring through 1997, to increase the probability of encountering the entire population of eiders as they transited the survey area en route to their arctic breeding grounds. Fiscal constraints and inclement weather in subsequent years resulted in successful completion of only one survey per year, the timing of which was carefully scheduled using satellite sea ice imagery and other available data. The 2005 survey was conducted 4/2 to 4/8. We made visual estimates of Steller's eiders and all other identifiable water birds and marine mammals. The design consisted of a census of shorelines, embayments and shoals where Steller's eiders and other seaducks were known to congregate during migration. To enhance consistency, most flock estimates of Steller's eiders were made by the pilot/port side observer (Larned), who has fulfilled that function for each survey since the project's inception. In each year where multiple surveys were completed, the highest Steller's eider count was used as that year's population estimate. Annual Steller's eider raw counts are

Mitogenomics supports an unexpected taxonomic relationship for the extinct diving duck Chendytes lawi and definitively places the extinct Labrador Duck

“…Steller's Eider use of distinct breeding, molting and wintering habitat may allow us to generate more informed hypotheses regarding the Labrador Duck range and biology. Steller's Eider breeding occurs around freshwater ponds in the arctic coastal plains of the Alaskan North Slope and in Siberia; they then migrate to shallow protected embayments to molt in the autumn (Petersen et al 2006;Martin et al 2015), and ice free shallow water habitats in winter. A major Steller's Eider molting ground on Novoya Zemla (Petersen et.…”

Sustaining ecological and subsistence functions in conservation areas: eider habitat and access by Native hunters along landfast ice

“…King eiders are far more abundant than common eiders in this region (Quakenbush et al 2009), which is reflected in numbers taken by hunters. Spectacled eiders and Steller's eiders also migrate along this corridor (Sexson et al 2014; Martin et al 2015), but are federally threatened and therefore not legally hunted. Repeated benthic sampling from 1999 to 2010 in the northern Bering Sea indicated that the dispersion of large areas of high prey density may shift over periods as short as 5–6 years (Lovvorn et al 2009, 2014), apparently with strong effects of changes in currents driven by prevailing winds.…”

Use of marine vs. freshwater proteins for egg‐laying and incubation by sea ducks breeding in Arctic tundra

“…Finally, we used published values for marine invertebrate prey from nearshore habitats of the Bering and Chukchi Seas (Dunton et al, 1989(Dunton et al, , 2012Lovvorn et al, 2015). These values represent prey available to sea ducks during their spring migration between wintering sites and the breeding ground (Figure 1), with some fraction of these duck populations known to stage in this region before moving inland to breeding sites (Lovvorn et al, 2015;Martin et al, 2015;Oppel & Powell, 2009b;Sexson et al, 2014). We selected marine prey taxa to include in our analyses based on those included in Lovvorn et al (2015) for King Eiders collected along the Chukchi Sea coast, and on dietary and foraging studies of all four species in other regions (Blicher et al, 2011;Bustnes & Erikstad, 1988;Bustnes & Galaktionov, 2004;Bustnes & Systad, 2001;Jamieson et al, 2001;Lovvorn et al, 2003;Merkel et al, 2007;Ouellet et al, 2013;Petersen et al, 1998;White & Veit, 2020;Žydelis & Ruškytė, 2005).…”