Publications

Odocoileus hemionus (mule deer and black-tailed deer) and Odocoileus virginanus (white-tailed deer) are sympatric in western North America and are characterized by distinct morphology, behavior, and allozyme allele frequencies. However, there is discordance among nuclear and mitochondrial genetic relationships, as mule deer (O. h. hemionus) and white-tailed deer have similar...

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

Systematic ship-board surveys were used to simultaneously record seabird abundances and resolve coarse-scale (3 to 10 km) horizontal and fine-scale (1 to 10 m) vertical variability in water-column structure and bathymetry for portions of the coastal zone in Anadyr Strait near western St. Lawrence Island, northern Bering Sea, Alaska, during August and September 1987. Three plankton...

Tundra vegetation and environmental variables were sampled on the Yukon–Kuskokwim delta in western Alaska. On transects extending from intertidal mudflat to upland tundra, we estimated cover by vascular plant species, soil moisture, salinity, relative elevation, depth to permafrost, and distance upriver from the coast. Two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) classified 21...

We employ a line transect method to estimate the density of the common and Pacific loon in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge from aerial survey data. Line transect methods have the advantage of automatically taking into account “visibility bias” due to detectability difference of animals at different distances from the transect line. However, line transect methods must overcome...

Worldwide oil pollution has killed millions of marine birds in this century but it has been difficult to directly link these losses to population declines. Estimated bird losses from acute spills and chronic pollution are not precise because we usually do not know the proportion of birds killed at sea that are detected on beach surveys or the origin of those birds. Data required to...

A common problem in wildlife law enforcement is identifying the species of origin of carcasses, meat, or blood when morphological characters such as hair or bones are not available. Immunological and protein electrophoretic (allozyme or general protein) procedures have been used in species identification with considerable success (Bunch et al. 1976, McClymont et al. 1982, Wolfe 1983...

Between 1952 and 1988, we studied the abundance, distribution, occurrence, and habitats used by birds in the northwest portion of Bristol Bay and the adjacent Kilbuck and Ahklun mountains. In the 809 days we were present, we conducted 53 studies or surveys of birds in the region. We gathered information on 185 species, of which 65% (121) nested, 10% (19) probably nested, and 11% (21)...

Arctic geese nest in a highly seasonal environment in which ungrazed plants reach peak nitrogen concentrations when goslings hatch (Sedinger and Raveling 1986). Grazing by geese prolongs peak nutrient concentrations but reduces food availability. This should cause nutrient availability to decline seasonally. Here, we test the hypothesis that late-hatching goslings of Black Brant (Branta...

The foraging behavior of arctic foxes was observed in a waterfowl nesting area on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta of Alaska in 1985–1986. Observations were made during peak fox activity from two towers, 3 m high, located in different community types. Data were collected continuously for individual foxes on specific activities, the community in which activities occurred, and the type of food...

Gallinaceous birds typically retain the juvenal ninth (JIX) and tenth (JX) primary wing feathers during the first prebasic molt (Petrides 1945, terminology follows Humphrey and Parkes 1959). However, not all Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) retain JIX and JX during this molt. Some retain only JX (reviewed by Lewis 1967), and in 21% of 125 Florida Wild Turkeys (M. g. osceola), all 10...