Response of Pacific Loons (&lt;i&gt;Gavia Pacifica&lt;/i&gt;) to Impoundments at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

Kertell, Kenneth

doi:10.14430/arctic1211

Cited by 10 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Disturbance effects from various forms of human activity have been documented for a variety of avian species, including loons. Kertell () observed Pacific loons flushed from nests in roadside impoundments by workers in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Nesting success of arctic loons ( Gavia arctica ) in Sweden increased after recreational access to nest islands ceased (Götmark et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Territory occupancy by breeding yellow‐billed loons near oil development

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Less than 4,000 yellow-billed loons (Gavia adamsii) breed in remote and disjunct locations in northern Alaska, USA. Over 75% of the United States population of yellow-billed loons nests in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA), where impending oil and gas development will intersect their breeding range. We investigated the relationship of recent oilfield development to occupancy of yellow-billed loon territories by breeding pairs (indicated by active nests) and broods using 14 years of aerial surveys on the Colville River delta. We also evaluated the survey requirements prescribed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for NPRA. We began aerial surveys for yellow-billed loons in 1993, prior to construction of the Alpine oilfield in 1998, and followed territories through 2008, after construction of 2 additional satellite drill sites. We used records from 37 breeding territories on 36 lakes in model selection analyses to examine how habitat and disturbance factors (proximity to facilities and construction time period) influenced occupancy by breeding pairs and broods. Annually, 13 AE 2.5 (SE)% (n ¼ 14 yr) of broods (n ¼ 19) moved from nesting lakes to adjacent brood-rearing lakes, and the remainder stayed in nesting lakes (n ¼ 128). Lakes used for nesting and brood-rearing were almost 25 times larger ( x ¼ 95.9 AE 25 ha, n ¼ 23 lakes) than nesting lakes from which broods left ( x ¼ 4.0 AE 1.1 ha, n ¼ 7 lakes, P < 0.001). Thirty-eight percent of territories (n ¼ 14 territories) were on lakes shared by >1 breeding pair. Lake type (deep open lakes with islands or polygonized margins, deep open lakes without islands or polygonized margins, and tapped lakes with high-water connections) was the most influential covariate on occupancy by breeding pairs, and lake area was most influential on occupancy by broods. Time period and distance to facilities (as discrete zones at 1.6 km and 3.2 km and as linear distance) were factors in the highest-ranked models for 5 of the 6 model sets that included disturbance parameters. Interaction terms for time period and distance to oilfield facilities were factors in 3 of 6 model sets. The pattern of occupancy of breeding territories, however, was not consistent with disturbance-related effects. Occupancy of territories by breeding pairs was lower in the predevelopment period (lowest human activity) than in the latest development period (highest human activity) and higher in the zones near oilfield facilities than far from facilities. Occupancy of territories by broods was highest in the latest development period and similarly high in zones near and far from facilities. Application of BLM minimum survey requirements (3 yr with 2 surveys/yr) to the initial 3 years of surveys in this study resulted in detecting 81% of the known territories on the Colville River delta. The BLM restrictions on development were judged conservative in maintaining breeding territories around oilfield developments. Our results did not demonstrate displacement of nests or broods from long-standing territori...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Territory occupancy by breeding yellow‐billed loons near oil development

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The biology of North American populations of ninespine stickleback Pungitus pungitius, especially those in the Arctic, is not well understood (see McPhail 1963;Cameron et al 1973;Curtis 1981;Heins et al 2002Heins et al , 2003Heins et al , 2004. Ninespine stickleback are an important component of freshwater Arctic food webs, and previous studies in the Arctic have confirmed its role as a forage species for Arctic char Salvelinus alpinus (Hunter 1970;Karlsson & Bystrom 2005;Gallagher & Dick 2010), lake trout Salvelinus namaycush (Johnson 1975) and migratory birds (Kertell 1996). Ninespine stickleback belong to the Gasterosteidae that are unique among freshwater Arctic fishes in their reproductive behavioural ecology whereby spawning occurs in the spring and males build nests and defend a territory (Wootton 1976), while females can produce multiple clutches during a spawning season (Heins et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological characteristics of ninespine stickleback Pungitius pungitius from southern Baffin Island, Canada

Gallagher

Dick

2011

Ecology of Freshwater Fish

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

– Stable δ13C and δ15N isotopes, diet and parasites demonstrated that the prey consumed by ninespine stickleback Pungitius pungitius in a small lake on Baffin Island changed during the summer and also revealed intraspecific variation in their ecological niche. In July, there were differences in the diets of male and female ninespine stickleback as indicated by the stable isotopes, differences corroborated by the data on diet composition and the parasite fauna. Differences suggested that the sexes occupied different habitats during spawning. During July, females utilise the shallower littoral areas consuming zooplankton and benthic organisms, while males occupy deeper areas of the littoral zone feeding mainly on pelagic zooplankton. Parasite data support these observations as males had higher infections of copepod‐transmitted parasites than females. There appeared to be no segregation of resources between males and females in late August, although the diet of both male and female ninespine stickleback shifted towards more benthic organisms, compared with July. Differences in δ13C isotope, diet composition and infections of co‐occurring parasites demonstrated that sympatric ninespine stickleback and Arctic char Salvelinus alpinus captured in the littoral zone occupied separate niches. Ninespine stickleback preyed mainly on zooplankton and chironomids, while Arctic char consumed a greater variety of prey items, including zooplankton and larger‐sized prey such as insects and ninespine stickleback. The multifaceted approach improved our understanding of the trophic ecology of ninespine stickleback in southern Baffin Island and quantified resource use and dietary overlap with Arctic char.

show abstract

“…Their presence early in the breeding season may also make them valuable to nesting loons (Haynes et al, 2015). Pacific Loon chicks are typically fed invertebrates from the nesting lake (Bergman and Derksen, 1977;Kertell, 1996;Rizzolo, 2017), and the lack of large fish (i.e., salmonids) in the lakes used by Pacific Loons may allow for the persistence of large invertebrate taxa that are important prey for Pacific Loon chicks (Laske et al, 2019). The diet of adult Pacific Loons has not been TABLE 2.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Fish Populations on Pacific Loon (<i>Gavia pacifica</i>) and Yellow-billed Loon (<i>G. adamsii</i>) Lake Occupancy and Chick Production in Northern Alaska

Uher‐Koch¹,

Wright²,

Uher-Koch³

et al. 2020

ARCTIC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Predator populations are vulnerable to changes in prey distribution or availability. With warming temperatures, lake ecosystems in the Arctic are predicted to change in terms of hydrologic flow, water levels, and connectivity with other lakes. We surveyed lakes in northern Alaska to understand how shifts in the distribution or availability of fish may affect the occupancy and breeding success of Pacific (Gavia pacifica) and Yellow-billed Loons (G. adamsii). We then modeled the influence of the presence and abundance of five fish species and the physical characteristics of lakes (e.g., hydrologic connectivity) on loon lake occupancy and chick production. The presence of Alaska blackfish (Dallia pectoralis) had a positive influence on Pacific Loon occupancy and chick production, which suggests that small-bodied fish species provide important prey for loon chicks. No characteristics of fish species abundance affected Yellow-billed Loon lake occupancy. Instead, Yellow-billed Loon occupancy was influenced by the physical characteristics of lakes that contribute to persistent fish populations, such as the size of the lake and the proportion of the lake that remained unfrozen over winter. Neither of these variables, however, influenced chick production. The probability of an unoccupied territory becoming occupied in a subsequent year by Yellow-billed Loons was low, and no loon chicks were successfully raised in territories that were previously unoccupied. In contrast, unoccupied territories had a much higher probability of becoming occupied by Pacific Loons, which suggests that Yellow-billed Loons have strict habitat requirements and suitable breeding lakes may be limited. Territories that were occupied had high probabilities of remaining occupied for both loon species.

show abstract

Response of Pacific Loons (<i>Gavia Pacifica</i>) to Impoundments at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

Cited by 10 publications

References 20 publications

Territory occupancy by breeding yellow‐billed loons near oil development

Territory occupancy by breeding yellow‐billed loons near oil development

Ecological characteristics of ninespine stickleback Pungitius pungitius from southern Baffin Island, Canada

Effects of Fish Populations on Pacific Loon (<i>Gavia pacifica</i>) and Yellow-billed Loon (<i>G. adamsii</i>) Lake Occupancy and Chick Production in Northern Alaska

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About