Movements of Northern Pintail Ducks and Whooper Swans Marked with Satellite Transmitters in Japan

Northern Pintail Project

Evaluating exchange of avian-borne pathogens between Asia and North America by migratory birds requires an understanding of where birds from each continent are likely to come into contact.  Satellite telemetry can help in that assessment.  Biologists from the Alaska Science Center are using satellite telemetry combined with band recovery data to estimate the extent to which Northern Pintails from Japan use the same nesting and molting areas in Russia as pintails from North America.  In addition, we are comparing neutral nuclear and mitochondrial genetic similarities between Asian and North American pintails to evaluate the degree of reproductive isolation between these populations.  We also are assessing transcontinental transmission of avian influenza by comparing genetic similarities of low pathogenic (non-H5N1) virus strains collected from Northern Pintails in Alaska and California to low pathogenic viruses found in Asian waterbirds.  Our collaborators include the University of Tokyo (Laboratory of Biodiversity Science), Kitasato University (School of Veterinary Medicine), USGS National Wildlife Health Center, Western Ecological Research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Yamashina Institute of Ornithology.

Northern Pintail Duck Movements

Click here for a copy of the project proposal

Click here for a copy of the 2007 progress report

Click here for a copy of Koehler et al. [2008. Genetic evidence of intercontinental movement of avian influenza in a migratory bird: the Northern Pintail (Anas acuta).  Molecular Ecology 17:4754-4762.]

Since February 2007, biologists from the Alaska Science Center have worked with Japanese scientists to mark 129 Northern Pintail ducks with satellite transmitters (also referred to as PTTs) at Lakes Izunuma-Uchinuma and Gosho-Damu Reservoir in northern Honshu, and the Notsuke Peninsula in Hokkaido.

Click here for a trip report from 2008

Click here for a trip report from 2009

Locations in Japan where Northern Pintail Ducks where captured and radiomarked	Capture of Northern Pintails at Lake Izunuma-Uchinuma, Japan
Dr. Hiroyoshi Higuchi (University of Tokyo) and Mr. Ken-ichi Tokita (Abiko City Museum of Birds) attach a satellite transmitter to a male Northern Pintail	A female Northern Pintail marked with a solar-powered satellite transmitter.  Photo courtesy of Dr. Tetsuo Shimada (Izunuma-Uchinuma Environmental Foundation)