Loon Research
Science Center Objects
Scientists at the USGS Alaska Science Center have conducted research on Alaska’s three loon species since the late 1970s. Loons rely on freshwater lakes for nesting habitat and fish and invertebrates inhabiting lakes and marine ecosystems for food. All three loon species in Alaska occur within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) on Alaska’s northern coast. Research by the USGS is informing distribution and abundance of loons in northern Alaska and how they may respond to environmental and human changes to the northern landscape.
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A Red-throated Loon swimming in a small lake on the Colville River Delta.
(Credit: Ryan Askren, USGS. Public domain.)
The main objectives of the USGS Alaska Science Center loon research program are to:
- Provide ecological and demographic information on Alaska’s three loon species.
- Determine mechanisms for population trends, particularly for the Red-throated Loon (declines noted across much of Alaska) and the Yellow-billed Loon (a candidate species for listing as ‘threatened’ from 2009 to 2014).
- Provide science information to Department of Interior management agencies and others for their decision-making regarding loons.
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Date published: August 13, 2018Status: ActiveChanging Arctic Ecosystems
Arctic regions of Alaska are important for cultural and economic sustainability and host a wide variety of wildlife species, many of which are of conservation and management interest to the U.S. Department of the Interior. The USGS and collaborators provide information about Arctic ecosystems that are used by Arctic residents, management agencies, and industry.
Contacts: John M Pearce, Ph.D.
Movements and habitat use of loons for assessment of conservation buffer zones in the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska
Oil and gas development in the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska, may pose threats to wildlife. Management guidelines within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska dictate buffer zones for coastal wildlife habitat and for breeding and foraging sites of yellow-billed loons (YBLOs; Gavia adamsii), a species of conservation concern. However, few data...
Poessel, Sharon; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Pearce, John M.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Katzner, Todd E.; Douglas, David C.; von Biela, Vanessa R.; Harrison, Autumn-Lynne The Yellow-billed Loon
The Yellow-billed Loon, known in Europe as the White-billed Diver, is a relatively rare bird nesting in arctic tundra regions of North America and Eurasia. This species was first described by G. R. Gray in 1859 (1), and named (Gavia adamsii) after the surgeon Dr. Edward Adams (who collected the first specimen) aboard the H.M.S. Enterprise...
Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Mike North; Schmutz, Joel A. Spatio-temporal population change of Arctic-breeding waterbirds on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska
Rapid physical changes that are occurring in the Arctic are primary drivers of landscape change and thus may drive population dynamics of Arctic-breeding birds. Despite the importance of this region to breeding and molting waterbirds, lack of a comprehensive analysis of historic data has hindered quantifying avian population change. We estimated...
Amundson, Courtney L.; Flint, Paul L.; Stehn, Robert A; Platte, Robert; Wilson, Heather M.; Larned, William W.; Fischer, Julian B. Serologic evidence for influenza A virus exposure in three loon species (Gavia spp.) breeding in Alaska
Limited information exists about exposure to influenza A viruses (IAVs) in many wild waterbird species, including loons. We analyzed serum samples from breeding adult Pacific (Gavia pacifica), Red-throated (Gavia stellata), and Yellow-billed (Gavia adamsii) loons sampled at three locations along the coast of Alaska, US from 2008 to 2017 to gain a...
Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Spivey, Timothy J.; Van Hemert, Caroline R.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Jiang, Kaijun; Wan, Xiu-Feng; Ramey, Andrew M. Comparative nest survival of three sympatric loon species breeding in the Arctic
Identifying factors influencing nest survival among sympatric species is important for understanding and managing sources of variation in population dynamics of individual species. Three species of loons nest sympatrically in northern Alaska and differ in body size, life history characteristics, and population trends. We tested the effects of...
Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Koch, Joshua C.; Wright, Kenneth G.; Schmutz, Joel A. International migration patterns of Red-throated Loons (Gavia stellata) from four breeding populations in Alaska
Identifying post-breeding migration and wintering distributions of migratory birds is important for understanding factors that may drive population dynamics. Red-throated Loons (Gavia stellata) are widely distributed across Alaska and currently have varying population trends, including some populations with recent periods of decline. To...
McCloskey, Sarah E.; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Fondell, Thomas F. A suspended dive-net technique for catching territorial divers
A variety of methods such as night-lighting and lift nets have been used to catch divers (Gavidae), although 24-hour daylight in the Arctic summer and the remote nature of field sites can make the use of these traditional methods impossible. Our research required capture of adult divers at remote locations in northern Alaska. Here we describe a...
Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Rizzolo, Daniel; Wright, Kenneth G.; Schmutz, Joel A. Diet of yellow-billed loons (Gavia adamsii) in Arctic lakes during the nesting season inferred from fatty acid analysis
Understanding the dietary habits of yellow-billed loons (Gavia adamsii) can give important insights into their ecology, however, studying the diet of loons is difficult when direct observation or specimen collection is impractical. We investigate the diet of yellow-billed loons nesting on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska using quantitative fatty...
Haynes, T B; Schmutz, Joel A.; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Iverson, S J; Padula, V. M.; Rosenberger, A E Nest visits and capture events affect breeding success of Yellow-billed and Pacific loons
Accurate estimates of breeding success are essential for understanding population dynamics and for managing populations. Unfortunately, research activities to collect these data can negatively impact the breeding success of the study species and bias estimates of breeding success. Despite the potential for negative impacts, few studies have...
Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Wright, Kenneth G. Fast and efficient: postnatal growth and energy expenditure in an Arctic-breeding waterbird, the Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)
Environmental conditions can exert a strong influence on the growth and energy demands of chicks. We hypothesized that postnatal growth in a cold, aquatic environment would require a high level of energy metabolism in semiprecocial Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata) chicks. We measured body-mass growth and daily energy expenditure (DEE) of free-...
Rizzolo, Daniel; Schmutz, Joel A.; Speakman, John R. Occupancy of yellow-billed and Pacific loons: evidence for interspecific competition and habitat mediated co-occurrence
Interspecific competition is an important process structuring ecological communities, however, it is difficult to observe in nature. We used an occupancy modelling approach to evaluate evidence of competition between yellow-billed (Gavia adamsii) and Pacific (G. pacifica) loons for nesting lakes on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska. With multiple...
Haynes, Trevor B.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Lindberg, Mark S.; Wright, Kenneth G.; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Rosenberger, Amanda E. Size and retention of breeding territories of yellow-billed loons in Alaska and Canada
Yellow-billed Loons (Gavia adamsii) breed in lakes in the treeless Arctic and are globally rare. Like their sister taxa, the well-documented Common Loon (G. immer) of the boreal forest, Yellow-billed Loons exhibit strong territorial behavior during the breeding season. Little is known about what size territories are required, however, or how...
Schmutz, Joel A.; Wright, Kenneth G.; DeSorbo, Christopher R.; Fair, Jeff; Evers, David C.; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Mulcahy, Daniel M.-
Date published: January 28, 2021Survey Data for Loon Occupancy in Freshwater Lakes, National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, 2011-2014
These data are in one table of territory occupancy data for loons and presence/absence data for fish species based on survey information for Pacific (Gavia pacifica) and Yellow-billed Loon (G. adamsii) and five species of fish (Alaska blackfish, arctic grayling, broad whitefish, least cisco, ninespine stickleback) from freshwater lakes on the Arctic Coastal Plain in northern Alaska, 2011-2014...
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: February 20, 2020Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Pacific Loons (Gavia pacifica) - Processed Data
This metadata document describes the data contained in the "processedData" folder of this data package. This data package contains data collected by the Argos System from 12 satellite transmitters attached to Pacific Loons on their breeding range in arctic, 2015-2016. The raw data were processed to accomplish two goals: flag implausible location estimates and decode raw sensor data. Two C
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: February 18, 2020Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Red-throated Loons (Gavia stellata) - Processed Data
This metadata document describes the data contained in the "processedData" folder of this data package. This data package contains all data collected by the Argos System from 92 satellite transmitters attached to Red-throated Loons on their breeding range in coastal areas throughout Alaska, 2000-2010. The raw data were processed to accomplish two goals: flag implausible location estimates
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: December 2, 2019Argos Satellite Tracking Data for Yellow-billed Loons (Gavia adamsii) - Processed Data
This metadata document describes the data contained in the "processedData" folder of this data package. This data package contains all data collected by the Argos System from 92 satellite transmitters attached to adult Yellow-billed Loons on their breeding range in Arctic Alaska and Canada, 2002-2017. The raw data were processed to accomplish two goals: flag implausible location estimates
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: June 18, 2019Influenza A Antibodies in Pacific (Gavia pacifica), Red-throated (G. stellata), and Yellow-billed Loons (G. adamsii) in Alaska, 2008-2017
This data set contains three spreadsheets with results of Influenza A Virus (IAV) screening in blood from Pacific, Red-throated, and Yellow-billed Loons at three locations in Alaska. Loons were captured along the Beaufort Sea Coast, Chukchi Sea Coast, and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta from 2008-2017. Three different tests were used and the results are presented in separate spreadsheets. All s
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: December 19, 2018
Serological Data on Influenza A from Birds and Mammals on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska, 2011-2017
These data (in two spreadsheets) are the results of screening for influenza A viruses (IAV) in blood from wild animals that utilize the Arctic region of Alaska. 758 blood samples from nine wildlife species (3 mammal, 6 waterbird) were collected in Arctic Alaska, 2011-2017. Two different tests were used and the results are presented in separate spreadsheets. All blood samples were
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: December 31, 2017
Satellite Telemetry Data of Red-throated Loons (Gavia stellata) breeding on the Copper River Delta, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Seward Peninsula, and Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska, 2000-2011
This data release contains a spreadsheet with migration and wintering locations of Red-throated Loons marked with satellite transmitters from four breeding populations in Alaska, 2000-2011. Implanted internal platform terminal transmitters (PTT) were programmed to elicit signals for 8 hours followed by a quiescent period of 48 - 120 hours, depending on season and year of study. Location
Attribution: Alaska Science Center
Red-throated Loon swimming near the Colville River, Alaska
A Red-throated Loon swimming in a small lake on the Colville River Delta.
Pacific Loon swimming in a small lake near the Colville River, Alaska
A Pacific Loon swimming in a small lake on the Colville River delta.
Pacific Loon swimming in a small lake near the Colville River, Alaska
A Pacific Loon swimming in a small lake on the Colville River delta.
Pacific Loon take off
A Pacific Loon taking off from a small lake near the Colville River Delta in northern Alaska.
Yellow-billed Loon on a lake in the northern area of Alaska
Yellow-billed Loon on a lake in the northern area of Alaska.
Yellow-billed Loon swimming on the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska
A Yellow-billed Loon swimming in a small lake on the Arctic Coastal Plain.