USGS Changing Arctic Ecosystems: Measuring and forecasting the response of wildlife populations to changes in ecosystem processes on the Arctic Coastal Plain

Abstract

The USGS Changing Arctic Ecosystems (CAE) program quantifies the current and likely future response of wildlife and habitats to physical change in the Arctic and rapidly responds to the science needs of Department of the Interior agencies and other decision makers. Current research objectives of this project in include: (1) greater understanding in the behavioral shifts of Arctic-nesting geese to earlier spring phenology and to the increase of the western Arctic snow goose population in northern Alaska, (2) contribution of shorebird information from northern Alaska to the Arctic Shorebird Demographic Network that quantifies response of shorebird species to Arctic change across a network of 16 northern latitude study sites in Russia, the U.S. and Canada, (3) estimation of survival rates of three species of loons that breed in northern Alaska, and (4) quantification of forage quality and quantity for caribou of the Central Arctic Herd. .

Products

Title	Type
Juvenile Shorebird Morphological Data Collected in Alaska and Canada	Data
Arthropod Abundance Data from the Colville River Delta, Alaska	Data
Environmental Data from the Colville River Delta, Alaska	Data
Avian Demographic Data from the Colville River Delta, Alaska	Data
Predicted Calving and Post-calving Season Resource Use of the Porcupine Caribou Herd During 2012–2018 With Future Projections for the 2030s, 2040s, and 2050s	Data
Vegetation and Temperature Data, Smith River Estuary, Alaska, 2011-2013	Data
Shorebird Reproductive Response to Exceptionally Early and Late Springs Varies Across Sites in Arctic Alaska	Publication
Information from Bird Nests Monitored on the Colville River delta, Alaska, 2011–2018	Data
Habitat Selection Scenarios for Molting Waterfowl in the Goose Molting Area of the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, for NPR-A Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (2020)	Data
Effects of leg flags on nest survival of four species of Arctic-breeding shorebirds	Publication
Environmental and ecological conditions at Arctic breeding sites have limited effects on true survival rates of adult shorebirds	Publication
Comparative nest survival of three sympatric loon species breeding in the Arctic	Publication
NDVI exhibits mixed success in predicting spatiotemporal variation in caribou summer forage quality and quantity	Publication
Spring temperature, migration chronology, and nutrient allocation to eggs in three species of arctic-nesting geese: Implications for resilience to climate warming	Publication
The nitrogen window for arctic herbivores: plant phenology and protein gain of migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus)	Publication
The USGS Changing Arctic Ecosystems (CAE) Initiative	Project Website
Spring temperature, migration chronology, and nutrient allocation to eggs in three species of arctic-nesting geese: Implications for resilience to climate warming: Global Change Biology.	Publication
Normalized difference vegetation index as an estimator for abundance and quality of avian herbivore forage in arctic Alaska.	Publication
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Biomass, and Nitrogen Content of Goose Forage, Northern Alaska, 2011-2018	Data
Goose Mass and Vegetation Data, Colville River Delta, Alaska, 2012-2017	Data

Contacts

Adams, Layne G., 907.786.7159
Flint, Paul L., 907-786-7183
Johnson, Heather , 907-786-7155
Meixell, Brandt W., 907-786-7157
Patil, Vijay P., 907-786-7178
Ruthrauff, Daniel , 907-786-7162
Uher-Koch, Brian , 907-786-7052

Status: completed
Start Year: 2010
End Year: 2019

Project Sites

Collaborators

FWS - Alaska Migratory Bird Management

Location

North Slope Borough

USGS Mission Area and Program

Ecosystems → Wildlife Program

Major Initiatives

USGS - Changing Arctic Ecosystems Initiative

Keywords

Biosphere > Terrestrial Ecosystems > Alpine/Tundra
Climate Indicators

Alaska Science Center