Abby Powell, PhD (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 52
Reduction of garbage in the diet of nonbreeding glaucous gulls corresponding to a change in waste management Reduction of garbage in the diet of nonbreeding glaucous gulls corresponding to a change in waste management
Glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) are major predators in the Arctic and may benefit from human development. We studied use of garbage by glaucous gulls in Barrow, Alaska, in 2007, when municipal waste was disposed of in a landfill, and in 2008, when it was incinerated. In both years, diet samples from breeding adult gulls contained less garbage than those from loafing nonbreeding gulls...
Authors
Emily L. Weiser, Abby N. Powell
Evaluating gull diets: A comparison of conventional methods and stable isotope analysis Evaluating gull diets: A comparison of conventional methods and stable isotope analysis
Samples such as regurgitated pellets and food remains have traditionally been used in studies of bird diets, but these can produce biased estimates depending on the digestibility of different foods. Stable isotope analysis has been developed as a method for assessing bird diets that is not biased by digestibility. These two methods may provide complementary or conflicting information on...
Authors
Emily L. Weiser, Abby N. Powell
King eider use an income strategy for egg production: a case study for incorporating individual dietary variation into nutrient allocation research King eider use an income strategy for egg production: a case study for incorporating individual dietary variation into nutrient allocation research
The use of stored nutrients for reproduction represents an important component of life-history variation. Recent studies from several species have used stable isotopes to estimate the reliance on stored body reserves in reproduction. Such approaches rely on population-level dietary endpoints to characterize stored reserves (“capital”) and current diet (“income”). Individual variation in...
Authors
Steffen Oppel, Abby N. Powell, Diane M. O’Brien
Abdominally implanted transmitters with percutaneous antennas affect the dive performance of Common Eiders Abdominally implanted transmitters with percutaneous antennas affect the dive performance of Common Eiders
Implanted transmitters have become an important tool for studying the ecology of sea ducks, but their effects remain largely undocumented. To address this, we assessed how abdominally implanted transmitters with percutaneous antennas affect the vertical dive speeds, stroke frequencies, bottom time, and dive duration of captive Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima). To establish baselines...
Authors
Abby N. Powell, Christopher J. Latty, Tuula E. Hollmén, Margaret R. Petersen, Russel D. Andrews
Does garbage in diet improve Glaucous Gull reproductive output? Does garbage in diet improve Glaucous Gull reproductive output?
Anthropogenic subsidies are used by a variety of predators in areas developed for human use or residence. If subsidies promote population growth, these predators can have a negative effect on local prey species. The Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) is an abundant predator in northern Alaska that is believed to benefit from garbage as a supplemental food source, but this supposition has...
Authors
Abby Powell, Emily L. Weiser
Age-specific survival estimates of King Eiders derived from satellite telemetry Age-specific survival estimates of King Eiders derived from satellite telemetry
Age- and sex-specific survival and dispersal are important components in the dynamics and genetic structure of bird populations. For many avian taxa survival rates at the adult and juvenile life stages differ, but in long-lived species juveniles' survival is logistically challenging to study. We present the first estimates of hatch-year annual survival rates for a sea duck, the King...
Authors
Steffen Oppel, Abby N. Powell
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 52
Reduction of garbage in the diet of nonbreeding glaucous gulls corresponding to a change in waste management Reduction of garbage in the diet of nonbreeding glaucous gulls corresponding to a change in waste management
Glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) are major predators in the Arctic and may benefit from human development. We studied use of garbage by glaucous gulls in Barrow, Alaska, in 2007, when municipal waste was disposed of in a landfill, and in 2008, when it was incinerated. In both years, diet samples from breeding adult gulls contained less garbage than those from loafing nonbreeding gulls...
Authors
Emily L. Weiser, Abby N. Powell
Evaluating gull diets: A comparison of conventional methods and stable isotope analysis Evaluating gull diets: A comparison of conventional methods and stable isotope analysis
Samples such as regurgitated pellets and food remains have traditionally been used in studies of bird diets, but these can produce biased estimates depending on the digestibility of different foods. Stable isotope analysis has been developed as a method for assessing bird diets that is not biased by digestibility. These two methods may provide complementary or conflicting information on...
Authors
Emily L. Weiser, Abby N. Powell
King eider use an income strategy for egg production: a case study for incorporating individual dietary variation into nutrient allocation research King eider use an income strategy for egg production: a case study for incorporating individual dietary variation into nutrient allocation research
The use of stored nutrients for reproduction represents an important component of life-history variation. Recent studies from several species have used stable isotopes to estimate the reliance on stored body reserves in reproduction. Such approaches rely on population-level dietary endpoints to characterize stored reserves (“capital”) and current diet (“income”). Individual variation in...
Authors
Steffen Oppel, Abby N. Powell, Diane M. O’Brien
Abdominally implanted transmitters with percutaneous antennas affect the dive performance of Common Eiders Abdominally implanted transmitters with percutaneous antennas affect the dive performance of Common Eiders
Implanted transmitters have become an important tool for studying the ecology of sea ducks, but their effects remain largely undocumented. To address this, we assessed how abdominally implanted transmitters with percutaneous antennas affect the vertical dive speeds, stroke frequencies, bottom time, and dive duration of captive Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima). To establish baselines...
Authors
Abby N. Powell, Christopher J. Latty, Tuula E. Hollmén, Margaret R. Petersen, Russel D. Andrews
Does garbage in diet improve Glaucous Gull reproductive output? Does garbage in diet improve Glaucous Gull reproductive output?
Anthropogenic subsidies are used by a variety of predators in areas developed for human use or residence. If subsidies promote population growth, these predators can have a negative effect on local prey species. The Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) is an abundant predator in northern Alaska that is believed to benefit from garbage as a supplemental food source, but this supposition has...
Authors
Abby Powell, Emily L. Weiser
Age-specific survival estimates of King Eiders derived from satellite telemetry Age-specific survival estimates of King Eiders derived from satellite telemetry
Age- and sex-specific survival and dispersal are important components in the dynamics and genetic structure of bird populations. For many avian taxa survival rates at the adult and juvenile life stages differ, but in long-lived species juveniles' survival is logistically challenging to study. We present the first estimates of hatch-year annual survival rates for a sea duck, the King...
Authors
Steffen Oppel, Abby N. Powell