Images

Image of the Taku towers, among the Taku Range at Taku Glacier during the summer of 2019

Central Arctic Herd caribou within the Kuparuk oil field on the North Slope of Alaska. The photo was taken during the summer mosquito harassment period. 

Central Arctic Herd - caribou crossing a road within the Kuparuk oil field on the North Slope of Alaska. The photo was taken during the summer mosquito harassment period. 

Caribou in the Central Arctic Herd crossing a road in the Kuparuk oil field in northern Alaska.

Caribou in the Central Arctic Herd crossing a road in the Kuparuk oil field in northern Alaska.

Tazlina River bridge

Caribou in the Central Arctic Herd crossing a road in the Kuparuk oil field in northern Alaska.

Kasilof River sonar on a bridge

Caribou with calves from the Central Arctic Herd in the Kuparuk Oil Field, Alaska.

Lesser Yellowlegs adult male, “A73”, watches for predators as he follows his recently hatched chicks through the boreal landscape of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.

Lesser Yellowlegs incubating near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Since the 1970s, this species has declined by ~63%, however, the potential cause(s) of the decline are not fully understood.

Lesser Yellowlegs nest near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. The egg on the far left of the frame is ‘pipped’, meaning that the chick’s bill has broken through the egg membrane and shell and will emerge within 24 hours. The chick in the middle of the frame recently emerged from the egg and is covered in fluid.

Hatching Lesser Yellowlegs nest near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. The egg on the far left of the frame is ‘pipped’, meaning that the chick’s bill has broken through the egg membrane and shell and will emerge within 24 hours. Since the 1970s, this species has declined by ~63%, yet the potential cause(s) of the decline are not fully understood.

A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre at its nesting site on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2019. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.pdf.

A Common Murre carries a Pacific sand lance, one of the most common prey items for murres, near its colony at Gull Island, Alaska.

A Bald Eagle disturbs Black-legged Kittiwakes nesting on Gull Island, Alaska.

Northern Fulmars, Black-legged Kittiwakes, and Common Murres have all been tested for and contained harmful algal bloom (HAB) toxins. Since 2015, the USGS has worked with a variety of stakeholders to develop testing methods and research projects to better understand the geographic extent, timing and impacts of algal toxins in Alaska marine ecosystems.

Common Murres on the water near their colony at Gull Island, Alaska.

Black-legged Kittiwakes flush from their nests at Gull Island as Bald Eagle flies by. Gull Island is located in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. 

Traffic counter placed along an oil field road in northern Alaska to assess the responses of caribou to vehicle traffic.

Impounded water above beaver dam on the Wrench Creek, Noatak National Preserve