Nesting Activity of Kittlitz’s Murrelet in the Kakagrak Hills, Northwestern Alaska

The Kittlitz’s Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) is a broadly distributed but uncommon seabird species endemic to coastal Alaska and eastern Russia. Although northern Alaska constitutes a large portion of this species’ range, little is known about Kittlitz’s Murrelets in this vast region. We studied nesting activity of Kittlitz’s Murrelets in the Kakagrak Hills, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, in northern Alaska during summer 2014. Between 15 and 26 June, we located two active Kittlitz’s Murrelet nests by walking line transects in 28 sampling blocks (250 × 250 m) that were stratified by two habitat types (Alpine Alkaline Barrens and Alpine Dryas Dwarf Shrub) and selected randomly. We found one additional active nest opportunistically while walking between blocks. All three nests were located in Alpine Alkaline Barrens habitat, and all failed during the egg stage. Causes of failure were nest abandonment (n = 1), depredation (n = 1), and unknown (n = 1). Overall mean nest density was 0.80 nests/km2 (SE = 0.52). Although our sample of nests was small, our results demonstrate that Kittlitz’s Murrelets nest regularly in northern Alaska. However, the apparently low productivity raises questions about the reproductive value of this region to this cryptic and secretive species.

The Enigmatic Choris and Old Whaling Cultures of the Western Arctic

The Choris (750–400 B.C.) and Old Whaling (1150–850 B.C.) cultures are both enigmatic manifestations in the archaeological record in a time of significant cultural “flux” in northwestern Alaskan prehistory. Both cultures represent potential first occurrences in the region—novel lithic assemblage and housing forms (implying the movement of new people into the region) and the possibility of whaling in the case of Old Whaling, and the introduction of pottery and new communal house structures for Choris. However, most of the solid evidence for Choris comes from primarily two locations—Choris Peninsula and Onion Portage, and thus far Old Whaling has only been identified at Cape Krusenstern. The chapter explores both of these archaeological cultures, their chronology and geographic distribution, associated artifacts, subsistence economy, and how they articulate with broader culture history of the western Arctic.

Sea Ice Crossing by Migrating Caribou, Rangifer tarandus, in Northwestern Alaska

Long movements across sea ice by Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in Alaska are relatively uncommon and are not well documented. With rapidly diminishing sea ice cover in arctic waters, these movements may cease altogether. On 26 May 2012, a Caribou crossed a long span (57 km) of sea ice off the coast of Alaska. The cow successfully crossed after traveling 66 km on the sea ice and eventually reached the calving grounds. The highly dynamic nature of sea ice, which is driven by oceanic currents and wind during spring break-up, presents inherent hazards different from lake ice. Based on three years of Global Positioning System (GPS) radio-collar data, Caribou routinely crossed long expanses (30 km) of ice covering the brackish Selawik Lake and shorter stretches (<13 km) on Inland Lake during their spring migration north. There was also a single crossing on the ice covering Selawik Lake during the fall migration south to the wintering grounds that took place in early November 2010. Five GPS-collared Caribou crossed the short frozen span (14 km) of Kotzebue Sound between Cape Krusenstern National Monument and the Baldwin Peninsula in the fall of 2011.