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Publications

USGS research activities relevant to Alaska have yielded more than 9400 historical publications. This page features some of the most recent newsworthy research findings.

Filter Total Items: 3087

Pacific Coast Caspian Terns: Dynamics of an expanding population Pacific Coast Caspian Terns: Dynamics of an expanding population

Nesting distribution, age-related seasonal movements, survivorship, and mechanisms of population expansion in Pacific Coast Caspian Terns (Sterna caspia) were examined primarily through analysis of 412 recoveries of birds banded as juveniles between 1935 and 1980. Since the beginning of this century, the population has shifted from nesting in numerous small colonies associated with...
Authors
Robert E. Gill, L. Richard Mewaldt

Nest sites and eggs of Kittlitz's and Marbled murrelets Nest sites and eggs of Kittlitz's and Marbled murrelets

Fourteen known and three probable nests of Kittlitz's Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) and eight known and one probable nest of Marbled Murrelet (B. marmoratus) have been reported. Nests of Kittlitz's Murrelet tend to be at higher elevations and farther inland than those of Marbled Murrelet. Kittlitz's nests have much less vegetative cover than Marbled nests. Nests of both species...
Authors
Robert H. Day, Karen L. Oakley, D.R. Barnard

Nestling growth relationships of brown-headed cowbirds and dickcissels Nestling growth relationships of brown-headed cowbirds and dickcissels

Data on nestling growth of brood parasites and their hosts are surprisingly few in the literature, Even the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater), whose host relations have been studied in some other respects, has not been studied in any detail from this standpoint. This is particularly regrettable because the lack of host specialization and high incidence of multiple parasitism in this...
Authors
Scott A. Hatch

Mechanism and ecological significance of sperm storage in the Northern Fulmar with reference to its occurrence in other birds Mechanism and ecological significance of sperm storage in the Northern Fulmar with reference to its occurrence in other birds

Sperm-storage glands were found in the uterovaginal (UV) region of the oviduct in Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis), Horned Puffins (Fratercula corniculata), and Leach's Storm-Petrels (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) collected before or shortly after egg laying. Previously described only in domestic Galliformes, UV sperm-storage glands may prove to be a common feature of the avian...
Authors
Scott A. Hatch

Memorial to a Black Turnstone: An examplar of breeding and wintering site fidelity Memorial to a Black Turnstone: An examplar of breeding and wintering site fidelity

Most of us who have banded long-distance migrants are aware, through recaptures of individuals, of the high degree of site fidelity exhibited by many bird species. It is not uncommon for a bander to have a marked bird remain in the vicinity of its banding site throughout a season and then to recapture or sight the bird there during the following season, or occasionally for several...
Authors
Robert E. Gill, Colleen M. Handel, Leonard A. Shelton

Effect of loading density of sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum), eggs in incubation boxes on mortality caused by infectious haematopoietic necrosis Effect of loading density of sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum), eggs in incubation boxes on mortality caused by infectious haematopoietic necrosis

Infectious haematopoietic necrosis (IHN) can cause massive mortalities of sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum), cultured in hatcheries. One method of enhancing sockeye salmon populations is to use a streamside egg incubation box from which the fry are automatically released into the stream as they emerge from the gravel. In this system, however, IHN epizootics occur as the fry...
Authors
D. Mulcahy, K. Bauersfeld

Observations of emperor geese feeding at Nelson Lagoon, Alaska Observations of emperor geese feeding at Nelson Lagoon, Alaska

Estuaries along the north side of the Alaska Peninsula provide essential habitat for most of the American population of Emperor Goose (Chen canagica) during migration (Petersen and Gill 1982). Most of the population passes through Nelson Lagoon in spring and fall, with over 40,000 birds recorded there (Gill et al 1981). Little is known about the feeding activity of Emperor Geese while...
Authors
Margaret R. Petersen

An isolated population of small Canada geese on Kaliktagik Island, Alaska An isolated population of small Canada geese on Kaliktagik Island, Alaska

Recently we discovered that a small form of the Canada Goose Branta canadensis breeds on Kaliktagik Island, one of the Semidi Islands, about 80 km south of the Alaska Peninsula near longitude 157°W (Figure 1). The unexpected occurrence of geese on this oceanic island and the possibility that they are closely allied with the endangered Aleutian race of Canada Geese B. c. leucopareia...
Authors
Scott A. Hatch, Martha A. Hatch

Titre distribution patterns of infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus in ovarian fluids of hatchery and feral salmon populations Titre distribution patterns of infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus in ovarian fluids of hatchery and feral salmon populations

Infectious haematopoietic mecrosis virus (IHNV) is enzootic in virtually all populations of sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum), and in populations of chinook salmon, O. tshawytscha (Walbaum), of the Sacramento River drainage in California. This disease is an obstacle in hatcheries using brood stocks from these populations. However, naturally spawning sockeye salmon are highly...
Authors
D. Mulcahy, R.J. Pascho, C.K. Jenes

Detection of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in river water and demonstration of waterborne transmission Detection of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in river water and demonstration of waterborne transmission

In a study of the possible role of waterborne infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus in transmission of the disease among spawning sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum), both infection rates and virus titres were higher in fish held at high density in a side channel than in fish in the adjacent river. Virus was never isolated from river water, but was found in water from the...
Authors
Daniel M. Mulcahy, Ronald J. Pascho, C.K. Jenes

Yellow birds stand out in a crowd Yellow birds stand out in a crowd

Highly visible auxiliary markers, such as neck collars, nasal saddles, patagial tags, and leg streamers, are used regularly and effectively with banding in studying migration and distribution of large birds (e.g. waterfowl, birds of prey, wading birds). Simply stated, a large bird can accommodate a marker that is large enough to be seen readily by an observer but still small enough not...
Authors
Colleen M. Handel, Robert E. Gill
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