Fine Scale Movements and Habitat Use of Black Brant During the Flightless Wing Molt in Arctic Alaska

Lewis, Tyler L.; Flint, Paul L.; Derksen, Dirk V.; Schmutz, Joel A.

doi:10.1675/063.034.0206

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…This seasonal preference for water suggests that a predator-avoidance strategy may persist in a species that evolved over 0.89 million years without mammalian predators (Paxinos et al 2002). The Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans), Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus), Greylag Goose (A. anser), Barnacle Goose (B. leucopsis), and the closest relative of the N n , the Canada Goose (B. canadensis), also rely on sources of water to escape from predators while flightless (Madsen and Mortensen 1987, Fox and Kahlert 2000, Radtke and Dieter 2010, Lewis et al 2011. It is possible that N n never lost their behavioral affinity for water but were simply restricted to high-elevation environments with few water resources.…”

Section: Discussion Implications Of Habitat Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest-Habitat Selection by the Phainopepla: Congruence Across Spatial Scales But Not Habitat Types

Crampton

Sedinger

2011

The Condor

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Section: Discussion Implications Of Habitat Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest-Habitat Selection by the Phainopepla: Congruence Across Spatial Scales But Not Habitat Types

Crampton

Sedinger

2011

The Condor

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“…We focused our study on two estuarine environments along the Beaufort Sea coast, Smith River and Garry Creek, both of which support increasing numbers of geese, as counted in July (figures 1 and 2; Flint et al 2008, Lewis et al 2011, Lewis et al 2010. Both estuaries are delimited by low-lying areas that are <1 m above sea level (figure 1; Mars and Houseknecht 2007), and are currently dominated by Carex subspathacea and Puccinellia phryganodes, which is classified as 'Halophytic Sedge (or Grass) Wet Meadow' (Viereck et al 1992) or 'Coastal Wet Sedge Tundra' and 'Coastal Barrens' (Jorgenson and Heiner 2003).…”

Section: Study Area and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the abundance of molting Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans, hereafter Brant) within the TLSA has remained stable, while the distribution has steadily shifted from inland lakes to coastal estuaries (Flint et al 2008). A recent study of molting Brant on several lakes across the TLSA suggested that improved habitat conditions along the coast likely explained the shift in goose distribution, but noted that further study would be required to identify the processes and extent to which habitat change had occurred (Lewis et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the Arctic coast of Alaska

Tape

Flint

Meixell

et al. 2013

Environ. Res. Lett.

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The Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska is characterized by thermokarst lakes and drained lake basins, and the rate of coastal erosion has increased during the last half-century. Portions of the coast are <1 m above sea level for kilometers inland, and are underlain by ice-rich permafrost. Increased storm surges or terrestrial subsidence would therefore expand the area subject to marine inundation. Since 1976, the distribution of molting Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) on the Arctic Coastal Plain has shifted from inland freshwater lakes to coastal marshes, such as those occupying the Smith River and Garry Creek estuaries. We hypothesized that the movement of geese from inland lakes was caused by an expansion of high quality goose forage in coastal areas. We examined the recent history of vegetation and geomorphological changes in coastal goose habitat by combining analysis of time series imagery between 1948 and 2010 with soil stratigraphy dated using bomb-curve radiocarbon. Time series of vertical imagery and in situ verification showed permafrost thaw and subsidence of polygonal tundra. Soil stratigraphy and dating within coastal estuaries showed that non-saline vegetation communities were buried by multiple sedimentation episodes between 1948 and 1995, accompanying a shift toward salt-tolerant vegetation. This sedimentation allowed high quality goose forage plants to expand, thus facilitating the shift in goose distribution. Declining sea ice and the increasing rate of terrestrial inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence in coastal estuaries of Alaska may portend a 'tipping point' whereby inland areas would be transformed into salt marshes.

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“…In some cases, terrestrial inputs to lakes may be enough to shift the dominant source of production from photosynthetic to bacterial (Forsström et al, 2013;Jansson et al, 2000). PDLs may be influenced by an additional nutrient source because their drained banks provide nesting habitat for loons (Haynes et al, 2014) and grazing lawns for geese (Lewis et al, 2011;Weller et al, 1994), which may increase detrital organic matter available to be flushed into the PDLs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrient Dynamics in Partially Drained Arctic Thaw Lakes

et al. 2018

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Thaw lakes are ubiquitous on arctic coastal plains (ACPs). While many thaw lakes have steep banks, stable water levels, and static surface areas, others only partially fill their basins and vary in area over the summer. These partially drained lakes (PDLs) are hydrologically connected to the wetlands immediately surrounding them. Heat and nutrient availability limit aquatic productivity on ACPs, and we hypothesized that shallow shorelines and greater hydrologic connectivity with the landscape should result in greater nutrient concentrations and biogeochemical cycling in PDLs. We tested this by monitoring water chemistry in lakes with varying levels of seasonal drainage in sandy and silty peaty lowland sites on the ACP of Alaska. One highly drained lake (N1) was significantly warmer than minimally drained lakes (minDLs) related to earlier ice off, reaching temperatures as high as 16 °C in June when minDLs still contained ice. Ammonia, total dissolved phosphorus, and dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations were higher in lakes with greater drainage, and concentrations in N1 rivaled those in the small, biologically productive ponds. Many PDLs displayed a midsummer decrease in nutrients consistent with assimilation by the aquatic ecosystem, and a late‐summer increase most likely related to runoff from drained lake margins following precipitation. N1 exported kilograms of ammonium and total dissolved phosphorus to the stream network over the summer. Given increased warming and drying in the arctic, the proportion of PDLs may be changing, which in turn may affect nutrient and organic matter availability in arctic lakes and export to downstream environments.

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Fine Scale Movements and Habitat Use of Black Brant During the Flightless Wing Molt in Arctic Alaska

Cited by 13 publications

References 34 publications

Nest-Habitat Selection by the Phainopepla: Congruence Across Spatial Scales But Not Habitat Types

Nest-Habitat Selection by the Phainopepla: Congruence Across Spatial Scales But Not Habitat Types

Inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the Arctic coast of Alaska

Nutrient Dynamics in Partially Drained Arctic Thaw Lakes

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