scholarly journals The Annual Migration Cycle of Emperor Geese in Western Alaska

ARCTIC ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry W. Hupp ◽  
Joel A. Schmutz ◽  
Craig R. Ely
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Region ◽  
Aleutian Islands ◽  
Aleutian Island ◽  
Commander Islands ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Alaska Peninsula ◽  
Winter Distribution ◽  
Wintering Areas ◽  
Satellite Transmitters ◽  
The Bering Sea

Most emperor geese (Chen canagica) nest in a narrow coastal region of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) in western Alaska, but their winter distribution extends more than 3000 km from Kodiak Island, Alaska, to the Commander Islands, Russia. We marked 53 adult female emperor geese with satellite transmitters on the YKD in 1999, 2002, and 2003 to examine whether chronology of migration or use of seasonal habitats differed among birds that wintered in different regions. Females that migrated relatively short distances (650–1010 km) between the YKD and winter sites on the south side of the Alaska Peninsula bypassed autumn staging areas on the Bering Sea coast of the Alaska Peninsula or used them for shorter periods (mean = 57 days) than birds that made longer migrations (1600–2640 km) to the western Aleutian Islands (mean = 97 days). Alaska Peninsula migrants spent more days at winter sites (mean = 172 days, 95% CI: 129–214 days) than western Aleutian Island migrants (mean = 91 days, 95% CI: 83–99 days). Birds that migrated 930–1610 km to the eastern Aleutian Islands spent intermediate intervals at fall staging (mean = 77 days) and wintering areas (mean = 108 days, 95% CI: 95–119 days). Return dates to the YKD did not differ among birds that wintered in different regions. Coastal staging areas on the Alaska Peninsula may be especially important in autumn to prepare Aleutian migrants physiologically for long-distance migration to winter sites, and in spring to enable emperor geese that migrate different distances to reach comparable levels of condition before nesting.

scholarly journals STATE OF STOCKS AND MODERN FISHERY OF ATKA MACKEREL PLEUROGRAMMUS MONOPTERYGIUS (PALLAS, 1810) IN THE OLYUTORSKY-NAVARINSKY AREA OF THE BERING SEA

2020 ◽  
Vol 200 ◽  
pp. 38-57
Author(s):  
A. O. Zolotov ◽  
O. G. Zolotov ◽  
Yu. K. Kurbanov
Keyword(s):  
Bering Sea ◽  
Gulf Of Alaska ◽  
Aleutian Islands ◽  
Commander Islands ◽  
Spawning Grounds ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Atka Mackerel ◽  
Pleurogrammus Monopterygius ◽  
Commercial Stock ◽  
The Bering Sea

Atka mackerel Pleurogrammus monopterygius is one of the mass species of fam. Hexagrammidae that inhabits the boreal and subarctic waters of the North Pacific and forms two large populations in its western and eastern parts. Reproductive range of the eastern, Aleutian population extends from the Gulf of Alaska, along Aleutian Islands to Commander Islands, with the main spawning grounds at the Aleutians and in the southeastern Bering Sea. From these areas, the fish at early stages of ontogenesis spread widely in system of the Bering Sea currents to the western-southwestern Bering Sea, where the atka mackerel aggregations are formed on the external shelf at prominent capes, as Cape Olyutorsky. Dynamics of the atka mackerel stock in the Olyutorsky-Navarinsky area in 1994–2019 is presented on the base of bottom trawl surveys, fishery statistics, and open NOAA data. After the period of low stock in the middle 1990s, the atka mackerel abundance increased sharply to the maximum in 2006–2008, when the spawning stock in this area was about 9.5 . 103 t and the commercial stock about 14.0 . 103 t. Since that time, trend to decreasing is observed, with the spawning stock 3.6 . 103 t and the commercial stock 5.6 . 103 t in 2013, and recent stabilization at the low level with slight decline continuing. A possible reason of the sharp increase in 2000s could be the intensive transport of the atka mackerel juveniles from the main spawning grounds at Aleutian Islands to the area at Cape Olyutorsky. The catches of atka mackerel in the Olyutorsky-Navarinsky area in 1994–2018 corresponded well with its stock dynamics.

The Current Status of Aleutian Archaeology

1953 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 29-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert C. Spaulding
Keyword(s):  
Open Water ◽  
Aleutian Islands ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Special Significance ◽  
Commander Islands ◽  
The West ◽  
Alaska Peninsula ◽  
Strong Winds ◽  
Unimak Island

The Geographical situation and ecological character of the Aleutian Islands are of such nature as to give the archaeological record there special significance with regard to certain problems of Eskimo prehistory. From the point of origin, Unimak Island, the islands extend to the west in a thousand mile long chain which is essentially a broken extension of the Alaska Peninsula. Water gaps are relatively short in the eastern section, although the inter-island passes are often perilous because of currents and tide rips, not to speak of frequent fogs and strong winds. In the west the water gaps tend to become longer, culminating in the 40 miles or more of stormy open water involved in the passage from the Rat Islands to the Near Islands. Between the westernmost of the Aleutians, Attu Island, and the Russian Commander Islands is a still more formidable gap of about 250 statute miles, and 138 statute miles intervene between the Commander Islands and the coast of Kamchatka. Since there is no reason to think that these geographical conditions were significantly different in the appreciably recent past, the inference clearly seems to be that the Aleutian Islands were peopled from the Alaska Peninsula by competent boatmen.

scholarly journals Steller’s sea cow genome suggests this species began going extinct before the arrival of Paleolithic humans

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fedor S. Sharko ◽  
Eugenia S. Boulygina ◽  
Svetlana V. Tsygankova ◽  
Natalia V. Slobodova ◽  
Dmitry A. Alekseev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bering Sea ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Anthropogenic Activity ◽  
Commander Islands ◽  
The North ◽  
Extinction Process ◽  
Sea Cow ◽  
The North Pacific ◽  
The Bering Sea ◽  
Woolly Mammoth

AbstractAnthropogenic activity is the top factor directly related to the extinction of several animal species. The last Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) population on the Commander Islands (Russia) was wiped out in the second half of the 18th century due to sailors and fur traders hunting it for the meat and fat. However, new data suggests that the extinction process of this species began much earlier. Here, we present a nuclear de novo assembled genome of H. gigas with a 25.4× depth coverage. Our results demonstrate that the heterozygosity of the last population of this animal is low and comparable to the last woolly mammoth population that inhabited Wrangel Island 4000 years ago. Besides, as a matter of consideration, our findings also demonstrate that the extinction of this marine mammal starts along the North Pacific coastal line much earlier than the first Paleolithic humans arrived in the Bering sea region.

scholarly journals Seasonal differences in migration strategies of Red Kites (Milvus milvus) wintering in Spain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge García-Macía ◽  
Javier Vidal-Mateo ◽  
Javier De La Puente ◽  
Ana Bermejo ◽  
Rainer Raab ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spring Migration ◽  
Great Variability ◽  
Autumn Migration ◽  
Seasonal Differences ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Wintering Areas ◽  
Satellite Transmitters ◽  
Migration Strategies ◽  
Migratory Movements ◽  
Milvus Milvus

AbstractRed Kite shows a great variability in its migration strategies: most individuals in north-eastern Europe are migrants, but there is also a growing number of sedentary individuals. Here, we tagged 49 Red Kites wintering in Spain with GPS/satellite transmitters between 2013 and 2020 to study the autumn and spring migration between the breeding or summering areas in Central Europe and the wintering quarters in Spain. In first place, differences between immatures and adults were found for spring migration. Adults began the spring migration towards the northeast in February–March while the immature individuals began to migrate significantly later and showing a wider date range (February-June). Adults also takes significantly less days to arrive at their destinations (12 ± 5 days) and cover more distance per day (134.2 ± 37.1 km/day) than immatures (19 ± 11 days and 98.9 ± 21.2 km/day). In second place, we also found differences between spring and autumn migration (excluding immatures). Spring migrations were clearly faster and with less stopovers days than autumn migrations. Autumn migration began between mid-October and late November and two different behaviours were observed: most birds made a quick migration direct to the wintering areas with only some days of stopovers, but others prolonged the migration with long stops along the route. These results highlight a great variation in the migratory movements of Red Kite, not only according to age but also between individuals and seasons.

scholarly journals Variation in winter site fidelity within and among individuals influences movement behavior in a partially migratory ungulate

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0258128
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Fullman ◽  
Brian T. Person ◽  
Alexander K. Prichard ◽  
Lincoln S. Parrett
Keyword(s):  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
First Passage Time ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Movement Behavior ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Directed Movement ◽  
Movement Trajectories ◽  
Wintering Areas ◽  
Wintering Area

Many animals migrate to take advantage of temporal and spatial variability in resources. These benefits are offset with costs like increased energetic expenditure and travel through unfamiliar areas. Differences in the cost-benefit ratio for individuals may lead to partial migration with one portion of a population migrating while another does not. We investigated migration dynamics and winter site fidelity for a long-distance partial migrant, barren ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) of the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd in northern Alaska. We used GPS telemetry for 76 female caribou over 164 annual movement trajectories to identify timing and location of migration and winter use, proportion of migrants, and fidelity to different herd wintering areas. We found within-individual variation in movement behavior and wintering area use by the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd, adding caribou to the growing list of ungulates that can exhibit migratory plasticity. Using a first passage time–net squared displacement approach, we classified 78.7% of annual movement paths as migration, 11.6% as residency, and 9.8% as another strategy. Timing and distance of migration varied by season and wintering area. Duration of migration was longer for fall migration than for spring, which may relate to the latter featuring more directed movement. Caribou utilized four wintering areas, with multiple areas used each year. This variation occurred not just among different individuals, but state sequence analyses indicated low fidelity of individuals to wintering areas among years. Variability in movement behavior can have fitness consequences. As caribou face the pressures of a rapidly warming Arctic and ongoing human development and activities, further research is needed to investigate what factors influence this diversity of behaviors in Alaska and across the circumpolar Arctic.

Emmons Lake Volcanic Center, Alaska Peninsula: source of the Late Wisconsin Dawson tephra, Yukon Territory, Canada

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 925-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret T Mangan ◽  
Christopher F Waythomas ◽  
Thomas P Miller ◽  
Frank A Trusdell
Keyword(s):  
Compositional Data ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Volcanic Center ◽  
Pyroclastic Deposits ◽  
Alaska Peninsula ◽  
Aleutian Arc ◽  
Pumice Flow ◽  
North And South ◽  
The Bering Sea

The Emmons Lake Volcanic Center on the Alaska Peninsula of southwestern Alaska is the site of at least two rhyolitic caldera-forming eruptions (C1 and C2) of late Quaternary age that are possibly the largest of the numerous caldera-forming eruptions known in the Aleutian arc. The deposits produced by these eruptions are widespread (eruptive volumes of >50 km3 each), and their association with Quaternary glacial and eolian deposits on the Alaska Peninsula and elsewhere in Alaska and northwestern Canada enhances the likelihood of establishing geochronological control on Quaternary stratigraphic records in this region. The pyroclastic deposits associated with the second caldera-forming eruption (C2) consist of loose, granular, airfall and pumice-flow deposits that extend for tens of kilometres beyond Emmons Lake caldera, reaching both the Bering Sea and Pacific Ocean coastlines north and south of the caldera. Geochronological and compositional data on C2 deposits indicate a correlation with the Dawson tephra, a 24 000 14C BP (27 000 calibrated years BP), widespread bed of silicic ash found in loess deposits in west-central Yukon Territory, Canada. The correlation clearly establishes the Dawson tephra as the time-stratigraphic marker of the last glacial maximum.

Are we underestimating the threat to Australia’s migratory land birds?

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh A Ford
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
The South ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Wintering Grounds ◽  
Limited Knowledge ◽  
Wintering Areas ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Near Threatened

Few migratory land birds in Australia are currently regarded as threatened or near threatened. In contrast, many of Australia’s migratory seabirds and shorebirds are threatened or near threatened, with most of the latter being added over the last two decades. Furthermore, many long-distance migratory land birds that breed in North America and Europe have experienced major declines, probably due to threats in their breeding or wintering grounds or both. I suggest that knowledge of our migratory land birds is limited, and almost non-existent outside their breeding areas. Some are already declining and I predict that others will decline in the near future. The priority now is to increase our knowledge of the locations of major wintering areas in northern Australia of land birds that breed in the south, and to study their ecology and behaviour outside the breeding season. We also have limited knowledge of how migrants in Australia prepare physiologically and behaviourally for migration. If they migrate in large hops, then we need to find and protect departure, refuelling and arrival sites.

scholarly journals Use of stable isotopes (δ2H, δ13C and δ15N) to infer the migratory connectivity of Terek Sandpipers (Xenus cinereus) at stopover sites in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 10-17
Author(s):  
Young-Min Moon ◽  
Kwanmok Kim ◽  
Jinhan Kim ◽  
Hwajung Kim ◽  
Jeong-Chil Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Light Level ◽  
Conservation Strategy ◽  
Migratory Connectivity ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Δ13c And Δ15n ◽  
Stopover Sites ◽  
Wintering Areas

Stable isotopes are well documented as effective intrinsic markers to infer migratory connectivity which provides key information for establishing an effective conservation strategy in migratory birds. However, there are few studies using stable isotopes that have been applied to long-distance migratory shorebirds globally and such studies are especially scarce along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. We used stable isotope analysis (δ2H, δ13C and δ15N) to infer breeding and wintering areas and examine the differences in those values among populations of Terek Sandpipers ( Xenus cinereus) at stopover sites in South Korea. The range of δ2H in feathers sampled from birds caught in the Korean peninsula at spring and autumn migration stopover sites was consistent with them being grown at sites throughout their flyway as confirmed by leg flag resightings of birds on this flyway. The eastern Siberia region from Yakutsk to Norilsk and Chukotka in Russia was inferred as the most probable breeding area of the population. Papua New Guinea in the Melanesia region, Malaysia and Indonesia were identified as the most probable wintering areas. Isotope values of populations at different stopover sites and different seasons were consistent. These results suggest that stable isotopes can be effectively used alongside other existing methods (e.g. ringing, coloured leg flags, light level geolocation, satellite tag telemetry) to infer the migratory connectivity for long-distance migratory shorebird species that occur over many countries and continents.

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