Swan Research
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USGS research on swans in Alaska has focused on pathogens, contaminants, and demographic rates in each of the different breeding areas of Alaska. The vastly different migration patterns of swans in Alaska means that there are multiple factors on the wintering grounds and during migration that may influence population size and trends.
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Tundra Swan
Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska 2013.(Credit: Ryan Askren, U.S. Geological Survey. Public domain.)
Tundra swans, once known as whistling swans, are a common breeding bird along coastal portions of Alaska, but there are distinctly different migratory patterns for birds across Alaska. Birds that breed on the North Slope of Alaska, winter on the east coast of North America, whereas those nesting in western Alaska winter along the west coast. Additionally, birds breeding along the Alaska Peninsula are largely non-migratory.
Watch satellite tracking of the migratory pathways of marked birds from these populations below using Argos Wildlife Tracking.
Argos Wildlife Tracking of Tundra Swans
(Credit: David Douglas, USGS. Public domain.)
More information with tracking maps and data for each Tundra Swan can be found here
Autumn and spring migratory pathways for Arctic Coastal Plain (blue), Bristol Bay Lowland (orange), and Lower Alaska Peninsula (red) populations of Alaska tundra swans from 2008 through 2011 based on locations of birds marked with satellite transmitters. Publication: Molecular Detection of Hematozoa Infections in Tundra Swans Relative to Migration Patterns and Ecological Conditions at Breeding Grounds https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0045789
(Credit: Craig Ely, USGS. Public domain.)
Waterfowl Research
Scientists at the USGS Alaska Science Center have conducted research on waterfowl species (ducks, geese, and swans) in Alaska since the 1970s. Because Alaska is an international crossroads of migratory bird flyways, with millions of birds from Asia and North America breeding in Alaska each summer, USGS research has also taken place in adjacent countries (Russia, Japan, Canada, Mexico) and in...
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Date published: January 22, 2020Status: ActiveTracking Data for Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus)
Available here are tracking data of Tundra Swans, a species that nests in coastal areas throughout Alaska and winters across a broad area of North America from the Pacific to Atlantic coasts. These data were collected to better understand the timing and patterns of migratory movements and seasonal use of habitats in breeding, wintering, and migratory areas of North America.
Contacts: John M Pearce, Ph.D., David DouglasAttribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: July 13, 2017Status: ActiveAvian Influenza Research
Since 2006, the USGS Alaska Science Center has been part of the State and Federal interagency team for the detection and response to highly pathogenic (HPAI) viruses in North America. Avian influenza or "bird flu" is a viral disease that primarily infects domestic poultry and wild birds. Avian influenza viruses are naturally occurring in wild birds such as ducks, geese, swans, and gulls. These...
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. Demographic outcomes of diverse migration strategies assessed in a metapopulation of tundra swans
Background Migration is a prominent aspect of the life history of many avian species, but the demographic consequences of variable migration strategies have only infrequently been investigated, and rarely when using modern technological and analytical methods for assessing survival, movement patterns, and long-term productivity in the context of...
Ely, Craig R.; Meixell, Brandt W. Delineation of Tundra Swan Cygnus c. columbianus populations in North America: geographic boundaries and interchange
North American Tundra Swans Cygnus c. columbianus are composed of two wellrecognised populations: an Eastern Population (EP) that breeds across northern Canada and north of the Brooks Range in Alaska, which migrates to the eastern seaboard of the United States, and a Western Population (WP) that breeds in coastal ...
Ely, Craig R.; Sladen, William J. L.; Wilson, Heather M.; Savage, Susan E.; Sowl, Kristine M.; Henry, Bill; Schwitters, Mike; Snowden, James Molecular detection of hematozoa infections in tundra swans relative to migration patterns and ecological conditions at breeding grounds
Tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) are broadly distributed in North America, use a wide variety of habitats, and exhibit diverse migration strategies. We investigated patterns of hematozoa infection in three populations of tundra swans that breed in Alaska using satellite tracking to infer host movement and molecular techniques to assess the...
Ramey, Andrew M.; Ely, Craig R.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Pearce, John M.; Heard, Darryl J. Nesting ecology of tundra swans on the coastal Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska
Nesting ecology of Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus columbianus) was studies the Kashunuk River near Old Chevak (61A?26a??N, 165A?27a??W), on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of western Alaska from 1988-2000. Annual variation in snow-melt chronology, nesting phenology, nesting density, clutch size and nest success was examined. The same area (...
Babcock, Colleen A.; Fowler, A. C.; Ely, Craig R.