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Craig Ely, Ph.D.

Evolutionary and behavioral ecology, waterfowl and wetlands, reproduction and energetics.

Professional Experience

  • 1988 - Present     Research Wildlife Biologist, USGS, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska

  • 1985 - 1988          Research Associate, Alaska Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska (stationed in Anchorage, AK)

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D.     1992     University of California Davis, Davis, CA     Ecology

  • M.S.       1979     University of California Davis, Davis, CA     Ecology

  • B.S.        1976     University of California Davis, Davis, CA     Wildlife and Fisheries Biology

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science

  • American Ornithologists Union

  • American Society of Naturalists

  • Animal Behavior Society

  • Cooper Ornithological Society

  • The Wildlife Society

  • The Wildfowl Trust

  • American Society of Field Ornithologists

  • International Society of Behavioral Ecology

Science and Products

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Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta

Swan Research

USGS research on swans in Alaska has focused on pathogens, contaminants, and demographic rates in each of the different breeding areas of Alaska. The vastly different migration patterns of swans in Alaska means that there are multiple factors on the wintering grounds and during migration that may influence population size and trends.
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Alaska Science Center
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Swan Research

USGS research on swans in Alaska has focused on pathogens, contaminants, and demographic rates in each of the different breeding areas of Alaska. The vastly different migration patterns of swans in Alaska means that there are multiple factors on the wintering grounds and during migration that may influence population size and trends.
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Tundra swans that nest in Alaska are exposed to lead on their wintering grounds along the Atlantic Coast

Satellite Tracking of Birds in Alaska Points to Distant Sources of Lead and Mercury Exposure

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists measured lead in blood from tundra swans that nest in Alaska and then followed the migration of these birds using satellite telemetry. Levels of lead in blood were higher in adults than young swans,suggesting exposure to lead occurs on wintering areas and/or during migration, rather than on the summer breeding grounds in Alaska. The lowest blood levels were...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
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Satellite Tracking of Birds in Alaska Points to Distant Sources of Lead and Mercury Exposure

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists measured lead in blood from tundra swans that nest in Alaska and then followed the migration of these birds using satellite telemetry. Levels of lead in blood were higher in adults than young swans,suggesting exposure to lead occurs on wintering areas and/or during migration, rather than on the summer breeding grounds in Alaska. The lowest blood levels were...
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Filter Total Items: 63

Body condition of wintering Pacific greater white-fronted geese

Extreme changes to key waterfowl habitats in the Klamath Basin (KB) on the Oregon–California border and the Sacramento Valley (SV) in California, USA, have occurred since 1980. The spatial distribution of Pacific greater white‐fronted geese (Anser albifrons sponsa; geese) has likewise changed among these areas and population size has grown from 79,000 to >600,000 geese during the same period. To a
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Exploring overlap of feather molting and migration in Tundra Swans using δ2H analysis

Determining the processes that shape the relative timing of energetically-costly events in the annual cycle of migrating birds is important to our understanding of avian phenology and ecology. We paired satellite tracking and hydrogen stable isotope analysis (δ2H) to examine the relative timing of two such events – migration and feather molting – in tundra swans from four breeding areas in Alaska,
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Conservation status of the world’s swan populations, Cygnus sp. and Coscoroba sp.: a review of current trends and gaps in knowledge

Recent estimates of the world’s swan Cygnus sp. populations indicate that there are currently between 1.5–1.6 million birds in 8 species, including the Coscoroba Swan Coscoroba coscoroba as an honorary swan. Monitoring programmes in Europe and North America indicate that most populations increased following the introduction of national and international legislation to protect the species during th
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms for use in a genetic stock identification system for greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) subspecies wintering in California

California provides wintering habitat for most greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons [GWFG]) in the Pacific Flyway and this population has rapidly increased since the 1980s. Increased harvest of GWFG wintering in California may prevent agricultural depredation while providing increased hunting opportunities. However, changes in harvest levels are unlikely to be uniform across the species be
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Molecular Ecology Laboratory

Current trends and future directions in swan research: Insights from the 6th International Swan Symposium

Given their popularity with researchers and public alike, together with their welldocumented importance in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, fundamental and applied research on swans continues to develop in the 21st century. The 6th International Swan Symposium (6th ISS), was held at the Estonian University of Life Sciences in Tartu, Estonia, in October 2018. The symposium brought together 101 d
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Shorebirds adjust spring arrival schedules with variable environmental conditions: Four decades of assessment on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

Arctic summers are brief, and there has been strong selection for migratory birds to arrive in Arctic nesting areas as early as possible to time breeding with peak food availability and complete reproduction. The timing of emergence of nesting habitat in spring is, however, extremely variable in the Arctic, and few long-term studies have examined the ability of avian migrants to track spring condi
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Flyway structure in the circumpolar greater white‐fronted goose

Dispersal and migratory behavior are influential factors in determining how genetic diversity is distributed across the landscape. In migratory species, genetic structure can be promoted via several mechanisms including fidelity to distinct migratory routes. Particularly within North America, waterfowl management units have been delineated according to distinct longitudinal migratory flyways suppo
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Molecular Ecology Laboratory

Variation in age ratio of midcontinent greater white-fronted geese during fall migration

Annual productivity is an important parameter for the management of waterfowl populations. Fall age ratio (juveniles:total birds) is an index of productivity of the preceding breeding season. However, differences in the timing of migration between family groups and nonbreeding birds may bias age-ratio estimates. We examined temporal variation in age ratios of midcontinent greater white-fronted gee
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Genetic structure among greater white-fronted goose populations of the Pacific Flyway

An understanding of the genetic structure of populations in the wild is essential for long-term conservation and stewardship in the face of environmental change. Knowledge of the present-day distribution of genetic lineages (phylogeography) of a species is especially important for organisms that are exploited or utilize habitats that may be jeopardized by human intervention, including climate chan
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Chewing lice of swan geese (Anser cygnoides): New host-parasite associations

Chewing lice (Phthiraptera) that parasitize the globally threatened swan goose Anser cygnoides have been long recognized since the early 19th century, but those records were probably biased towards sampling of captive or domestic geese due to the small population size and limited distribution of its wild hosts. To better understand the lice species parasitizing swan geese that are endemic to East
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Low survival rates of Swan Geese (Anser cygnoides) estimated from neck-collar resighting and telemetry

Waterbird survival rates are a key component of demographic modeling used for effective conservation of long-lived threatened species. The Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides) is globally threatened and the most vulnerable goose species endemic to East Asia due to its small and rapidly declining population. To address a current knowledge gap in demographic parameters of the Swan Goose, available datasets
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Demographic outcomes of diverse migration strategies assessed in a metapopulation of tundra swans

Background Migration is a prominent aspect of the life history of many avian species, but the demographic consequences of variable migration strategies have only infrequently been investigated, and rarely when using modern technological and analytical methods for assessing survival, movement patterns, and long-term productivity in the context of life history theory. We monitored the fates of 50 sa
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center
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A 100-year History of Flooding on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta

Scientists examined storm flooding events in the Bering Sea region of western Alaska from 1913 to 2011 and found that the largest events occurred in...

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Tracking Data for Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons)

This metadata document describes VHF tracking data for Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) that were marked annually from 1987 to 1991 in Alaska and the Klamath Basin (Oregon and California) and subsequently tracked through the Pacific Flyway (primarily in Alaska, California, and Mexico). Only tracking data for geese marked or located, at least once, in Alaska are included in this data p
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Alaska Science Center

Tracking Data for Emperor Geese (Anser canagicus)

This metadata document describes the data contained in the "rawData" folder of this data package. This data package contains all data collected by the Argos System from 53 satellite transmitters attached to Emperor geese on their breeding range in western Alaska, 1999-2003. Five data files are included in the "rawData" folder of this data package. Two data files (with identical content) contain th
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Alaska Science Center

Stable Isotope Data from Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) Feathers, Alaska, 2008 and 2010

These data are in a single table that provides date and location information of Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) that were sampled in Alaska for feathers that were subsequently used in a stable isotope analysis. Results of deuterium, nitrogen, and carbon stable isotope analysis of feathers are provided.
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Alaska Science Center

Tracking Data for Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)

This metadata document describes the data contained in the "rawData" folder of this data package. This data package contains all data collected by the Argos System from 50 satellite transmitters attached to Tundra Swans on their breeding range in arctic and western Alaska, 2008. Five data files are included in the "rawData" folder of this data package. Two data files (with identical content) conta
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Alaska Science Center

Development of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in Greater-White Fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) for genetic stock identification on wintering grounds, 2019

This data set contains a description of 3 mitochondrial DNA and 93 nuclear DNA Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) loci and sequence information developed through double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) techniques for Greater White-Fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) that winter in California.
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Alaska Science Center, Molecular Ecology Laboratory
Tule white-fronted goose in the Kahiltna Valley, Alaska, in 1984
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Science and Products

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government