Publications

Most of the Christian quadrangle is in the Porcupine Plateau; the northwestern part is in the southern Brooks Range, and the southern quarter is in the Yukon Flats. Outcrops of bedrock are poor or lacking, except in the Brooks Range. Although large valley glaciers have moved through the Porcupine Plateau, along the East Fork Chandalar and Vanticlese Creek, most of the upland areas in the...

No abstract available.

Organochlorines, semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), and trace elements were investigated in streambed sediments and fish tissues at selected sites in the Cook Inlet Basin, Alaska, during 1998. At most sites, SVOCs and organochlorine compounds were either not detected or detected at very low concentrations. Chester Creek at Arctic Boulevard at Anchorage, which was the only site...

Many shorebirds show elaborate breeding displays that include aerial flights and ground displays accompanied by song. The mate attraction hypothesis suggests that breeding displays function to attract mates and maintain pair bonds, whereas the territory defense hypothesis suggests breeding displays function in defining and defending nesting and feeding territories. We tested these...

Animal movement and migration studies have made significant progress with the use of telemetry. Conventional radio telemetry has been used in numerous studies in different regions. However, the use of this technology is restricted to species with limited range of movement. Applying this tool for long distance migrants is usually unsatisfactory. Other challenges such as hilly terrain or...

Seabirds are the most visible and vulnerable victims of oil pollution in marine waters. As demonstrated by the "Exxon Valdez" spill (Piatt et al. 1990), we cannot predict when or where an accident leading to pollution might occur in Alaska, or where oil will eventually end up traveling from a point source of pollution. It is therefore prudent to document the abundance and distribution of...

Populations of Steller's eiders (Polysticta stelleri) molting and wintering along the Alaska Peninsula have declined since the 1960's. We captured and marked a large sample of Steller's eiders molting in 2 lagoons along the Alaska Peninsula between 1975-97. We used mark-recapture analysis techniques to estimate annual survival and movement probabilities within and among lagoons for male...

Distinct sand lance populations occur within the relatively small geographic area of Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska. Marked meso-scale differences in abundance, growth, and mortality exist as a consequence of differing oceanographic regimes. Growth rate within populations (between years) was positively correlated with temperature. However, this did not extend to inter-population comparisons...

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence and allelic frequency data for 12 microsatellite loci were used to analyze population genetic structure and recolonization by rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, following the 1991 Cantara spill on the upper Sacramento River, California. Genetic analyses were performed on 1,016 wild rainbow trout collected between 1993 and 1996 from the mainstem and in...

No abstract available.

We salvaged dead birds from high seas driftnets in the Central North Pacific Ocean during a study of the impact of high seas driftnet fishing on marine ecosystems. Digestive tract contents and stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon in breast muscles of these birds were analyzed to assess the effect of driftnets on the trophic relationships of marine birds. The diets of Sooty (Puffinus...

We fitted 173 satellite radio collars (platform transmitter terminals) to 121 adult female polar bears in the Beaufort Sea and relocated the bears 44 736 times between 1985 and 1995. We regularly resighted many instrumented bears so that we could ascertain whether changes in movements or distribution were related to reproductive status. Mean short-term movement rates were less than 2 km...