Publications

We studied breeding success, chick growth, and diets of Least (Aethia pusilla) and Crested (A. cristatella) auklets on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, in summer 1987. Least Auklets had higher breeding success on control plots (50-66%) than on disturbed plots (36%). Crested Auklets had a breeding success of 42% on disturbed plots. Predation by microtine rodents and weather accounted for most...

I used 2 methods to evaluate the effect of visiting black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) nests on survival of whole nests and eggs in a single colony on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. The first technique regressed survival of nests or eggs during a time interval against interval length. Departure of the y-intercept from 1.0 estimated the short-term effect of the visit at the...

I monitored the incubation schedules of Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis in an Alaskan colony by observing nests where the male and female were of different colour phases. Complete shifts of up to 16 days were recorded; the average shift in mid-incubation was 4–6 days. Mean shift length was inversely correlated with hatching success in 5 years, suggesting that Fulmars adjusted their foraging...

Monogamy is the primary mating system among waterfowl, but extra-pair copulations (EPCs) have been documented in at least 39 species (McKinney et al. 1983). Extra-pair copulations occur in most Holarctic species of dabbling ducks (Anas spp.), but have been recorded in only three species of geese: Lesser Snow Geese, Chen caerulescens caerulescens (Mineau and Cooke 1979a), Ross’ Geese, C...

Diurnal and seasonal patterns of attendance of Least Auklets (Aethia pusilla) and Crested Auklets (A. cristatella) were studied in 1987 at breeding colonies on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Numbers of auklets attending eight 200-m2 plots on talus slopes were counted throughout the day by observers on 11 occasions through the breeding season. Numbers attending smaller plots were recorded...

We estimated components of annual breeding productivity for eight species of marine birds on the Semidi Islands in the western Gulf of Alaska. Mortality of eggs and young, caused primarily by avian predators, accounted for most of the annual variation in productivity. Failure to produce eggs, clutch size variation, and the hatchability of eggs were generally less important. The stage of...

We studied the breeding seasons of marine birds on the Semidi Islands, western Gulf of Alaska, from 1976 to 1983. Distributions of laying or hatching observed in 11 species during 1–7 years are presented; less detailed information is available on the breeding schedules of three species. The combined laying period of 14 species lasted 3 months from mid-April to mid-July; the first eggs of...

Mortality rates of canvasbacks were estimated from band-recovery records. The annual rate of mortality of immatures during the first year was 77 per cent. Annual mortality rates of adults ranged from 35 to 50 per cent. Mortality rates of females were higher than those of males. Relatively larger numbers of immatures and adult females were shot early in the hunting season, and relatively...

We used Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the effects of animal movement on error of estimated animal locations derived from radio-telemetry triangulation of sequentially obtained bearings. Simulated movements of 0-534 m resulted in up to 10-fold increases in average location error but

Nearly 900 sea otter (Enhydra lutris) carcasses were recovered in or adjacent to coastal areas affected by the T/V Exxon Valdez oil spill. The time of carcass recovery and the condition of carcasses indicate that most oil spill-induced mortality occurred early in the response period. In fact, by 19 May about 70% of the carcasses had been found. The majority of the carcasses (56%) were...

About 1.8 million seabirds of 12 species breed on St. Lawrence Island (Figure 1) - one of the largest aggregations of breeding seabirds in the subarctic Pacific. Colonies of least and crested auklets alone, totaling 1.5 million birds, contain a substantial proportion (perhaps 20%) of these species’ world populations. Large seabird colonies occur also at Cape Thompson (Figure 2), where...

No abstract available.