Publications

To obtain movement data on wild fulvous tree ducks (Dendrocygna bicolor) 165 immature pen-reared fulvous tree ducks were color-marked and released in three southeast Texas counties in July October 1969/70. Nine (5 percent) of the marked birds were recovered from 3 days to 9 months after release, and an additional 15 birds provided sight records. Many released birds apparently became...

Satellite telemetry technology has been used during field studies of polar bears in Alaska since 1985. A total of 109 Platform Transmitter Terminals (PTT) have been deployed on free-ranging female polar bears that seasonally inhabit waters adjacent to the Alaskan coast. The PTTs transmitted locational and sensor data to TIROS-N polar-orbiting satellites during a duty cycle of 12 hours on...

No abstract available.

We studied attendance patterns (presence and absence at breeding sites) of common murres (Uria aalge) and thick-billed murres (U. lomvia) at a colony in the Semidi Islands, western Gulf of Alaska. The period from mid-laying through hatching was appropriate for censusing because counts were subject to the least amount of daily variation. Time of day and weather did not have large effects...

We monitored habitat use and summer production of stocked underyearling coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch from 1983 to 1986 in three streams affected by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington. Two streams were in the blast area and one was on a volcanic mudflow terrace, Midsummer water temperatures frequently exceeded presumed stressful thresholds and occasionally surpassed the...

Habitat use by juvenile coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch, steelhead Salmo gairdneri, and the coastal subspecies of cutthroat trout Salmo clarki clarki in small streams in western Washington was influenced by hydraulic characteristics of different types of channel units. Coho salmon preferred pools with average velocities less than 20 cm/s; very few fish were found in riffles with high...

Northern Fulmars (Fulmar glacialis) fed on ice-associated macrofauna (probably gammarid amphipods) and pinniped offal concentrated by convergent flow at an eddy boundary near Northwest Cape on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. The eddy was anticyclonic, measured approximately 1.5 by 2.25 km, and was generated by nearshore streaming induced by the cape’s topography during lesser flood stage of...

This volume is a continuation of the annual United States Geological Survey (USGS) Circulars reporting results of work in progress on earth science investigations in Alaska. The series began in 1975 under the title "The United States Geological Survey in Alaska - Accomplishments during 19xx" and has continued since 1986 under the present title. The 40 short papers and the feature article...

A field camp was established at Kongkok Bay near the southwest cape of St. Lawrence Island and occupied continuously from 24 May to 2 September 1987. Permanent study plots were selected for both cliff and crevice-nesting species, and regular observations were made throughout the breeding season to document attendance patterns, breeding phenology, and success. Periodic collections of...

Polar bears are long-lived, late-maturing carnivores that have relatively low rates of reproduction and natural mortality. Their populations are susceptible to disturbance from human activities, such as the exploration and development of mineral resources or hunting. Polar bear populations have been an important renewable resource available to coastal communities throughout the Arctic...

No abstract available.

Migrant Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) and Bristle-thighed Curlews (N. tahitiensis) were recorded during five summers along coastal tundra of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. From June to September, 1975-1979, 358 flocks totalling 1,265 curlews were observed; an additional 54 flocks were identified by vocalization alone. Among the 359 flocks identified to species, 52% were of Whimbrels...