Recent findings by USGS Alaska Science Center staff and their collaborators.
Legacy Permafrost Data in Utqiagvik, Alaska
USGS Alaska Science Center geologists Alena Giesche, Elizabeth Drewes-Todd, and AVO permafrost geographer Eva Stephani digitized archived permafrost data from the Alaska Technical Data Unit. The dataset includes ground temperatures from four boreholes (60–110 ft deep) in Utqiagvik, measured by Naval Arctic Research Laboratory scientists between 1950 and 1961, along with snow depth, thaw depth, wind speed, and direction. Originally collected to study Arctic permafrost conditions and thermal properties of various terrains, the data now offer a rare historical baseline to validate permafrost models and assess long-term ground temperature trends.
Contact: Alena Giesche, Geologist
Web tool for visualizing and accessing sea otter survey data in Alaska
USGS and partners have conducted sea otter population surveys in Alaska for decades. Those data are regularly released as USGS data releases. A new Visualization Tool was designed to pull those data releases directly from ScienceBase and visualize them in an interactive map. The tool allows users to filter the data based on location, time, and other factors and download the files containing specific data of interest, rather than having to download and manipulate the data releases manually. The tool will allow managers and partners to quickly assess where and when sea otter population surveys have occurred to help inform efficient management decisions. The Sea Otter Survey Data Visualization Tool is a R Shiny application developed by the USGS to facilitate viewing and filtering sea otter population survey data using an interactive leaflet map.
Contact: Joe Eisaguirre, Research Wildlife Biologist Emeritus
Investigating response of black bears to city bear-proofing efforts
Alaska Science Center scientist Heather Johnson, in collaboration with colleagues from Colorado State University and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, published a paper investigating the behavioral responses of black bears to widescale city bear-proofing efforts. The authors found that bears avoided areas that had received bear-resistant trash containers, and their avoidance of these areas increased over time, suggesting that the bears were learning from the management intervention. These results highlight the importance of reducing human food attractants for changing bear behavior and reducing human-bear conflicts.
Contact: Heather Johnson, Research Wildlife Biologist
Highly pathogenic avian influenza in Alaska
Since late 2021, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has quickly become established as an economically and ecologically important animal disease throughout North America. In a new product, authors from diverse state, federal, tribal, and academic institutions (including the USGS Alaska Science Center) summarized extensive observational, virological, and serological data to evaluate the occurrence and impacts of HPAI upon introduction to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska circa spring 2022. The authors found that at least seven species of breeding birds were impacted by HPAI, likely accounting for the loss of thousands of individuals and potentially resulting in lower fecundity. However, qualitative and quantitative evidence indicated apparently modest impacts of HPAI to avian health following initial introduction into one of the most expansive and important breeding sites for migratory birds in North America.
Contact: Andy Ramey, Research Wildlife Geneticist
Recent findings by USGS Alaska Science Center staff and their collaborators.
Legacy Permafrost Data in Utqiagvik, Alaska
USGS Alaska Science Center geologists Alena Giesche, Elizabeth Drewes-Todd, and AVO permafrost geographer Eva Stephani digitized archived permafrost data from the Alaska Technical Data Unit. The dataset includes ground temperatures from four boreholes (60–110 ft deep) in Utqiagvik, measured by Naval Arctic Research Laboratory scientists between 1950 and 1961, along with snow depth, thaw depth, wind speed, and direction. Originally collected to study Arctic permafrost conditions and thermal properties of various terrains, the data now offer a rare historical baseline to validate permafrost models and assess long-term ground temperature trends.
Contact: Alena Giesche, Geologist
Web tool for visualizing and accessing sea otter survey data in Alaska
USGS and partners have conducted sea otter population surveys in Alaska for decades. Those data are regularly released as USGS data releases. A new Visualization Tool was designed to pull those data releases directly from ScienceBase and visualize them in an interactive map. The tool allows users to filter the data based on location, time, and other factors and download the files containing specific data of interest, rather than having to download and manipulate the data releases manually. The tool will allow managers and partners to quickly assess where and when sea otter population surveys have occurred to help inform efficient management decisions. The Sea Otter Survey Data Visualization Tool is a R Shiny application developed by the USGS to facilitate viewing and filtering sea otter population survey data using an interactive leaflet map.
Contact: Joe Eisaguirre, Research Wildlife Biologist Emeritus
Investigating response of black bears to city bear-proofing efforts
Alaska Science Center scientist Heather Johnson, in collaboration with colleagues from Colorado State University and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, published a paper investigating the behavioral responses of black bears to widescale city bear-proofing efforts. The authors found that bears avoided areas that had received bear-resistant trash containers, and their avoidance of these areas increased over time, suggesting that the bears were learning from the management intervention. These results highlight the importance of reducing human food attractants for changing bear behavior and reducing human-bear conflicts.
Contact: Heather Johnson, Research Wildlife Biologist
Highly pathogenic avian influenza in Alaska
Since late 2021, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has quickly become established as an economically and ecologically important animal disease throughout North America. In a new product, authors from diverse state, federal, tribal, and academic institutions (including the USGS Alaska Science Center) summarized extensive observational, virological, and serological data to evaluate the occurrence and impacts of HPAI upon introduction to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska circa spring 2022. The authors found that at least seven species of breeding birds were impacted by HPAI, likely accounting for the loss of thousands of individuals and potentially resulting in lower fecundity. However, qualitative and quantitative evidence indicated apparently modest impacts of HPAI to avian health following initial introduction into one of the most expansive and important breeding sites for migratory birds in North America.
Contact: Andy Ramey, Research Wildlife Geneticist