David Douglas
Satellite remote sensing of landscape features that possess high-frequency dynamics, such as sea ice distribution and vegetation phenology, and spatial analyses of how wildlife migrations are influenced by habitat and weather dynamics.
My projects aim to pioneer new analytical avenues in applied wildlife research by combining remote sensing with traditional wildlife studies to answer questions about habitat use and animal movements at landscape scales. The studies I engage align with Department of Interior priorities in the Arctic by addressing a growing need to understand how changes in climate or land use practices affect wildlife migrations, habitat availability, habitat quality, and population dynamics. Climate is the overarching force that controls wildlife habitat resources in the Arctic, so understanding linkages between the physical and biological environment is critical for making informed management decisions in the face of accelerating warming and expanding human activities. My expertise includes tracking wildlife by satellite, monitoring sea ice and vegetation changes by satellite, and the implications of future climate change on Arctic wildlife in general.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 39
Walrus Research
The USGS Alaska Science Center conducts long-term research on the Pacific walrus to provide scientific information to Department of Interior management agencies and Alaska Native co-management partners. In addition, the USGS Pacific walrus research program collaborates with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the State of Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game and Alaska Native co...
Polar Bear Research
Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) are one of 4 marine mammal species managed by the U.S. Department of Interior. The USGS Alaska Science Center leads long–term research on polar bears to inform local, state, national and international policy makers regarding conservation of the species and its habitat. Our studies, ongoing since 1985, are focused on population dynamics, health and energetics...
Tracking Data for Emperor Geese (Anser canagicus)
Available here are tracking data for the Emperor Goose, an endemic waterfowl species to the Bering Sea region that breeds primarily in western Alaska on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and spends the winter in southwestern Alaska and throughout the Aleutian Islands. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns, winter habitat use, and annual survival of emperor geese.
Tracking Data for Long-billed Curlews (Numenius americanus)
Available here are tracking data for the largest shorebird in North America, the long-billed curlew. This species nests in deserts and grasslands of central and western North America and spends the nonbreeding season in agriculture fields and pastures or along coastlines in California, Texas, and Mexico. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of this unmistakable and...
Tracking Data for Buff-Breasted Sandpipers (Calidris subruficollis)
Available here are tracking data of buff-breasted sandpiper, a shorebird species that breeds only in Arctic Alaska and Canada, spending the winter in the grasslands of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina after a lengthy migration. These data were collected to determine range-wide migratory routes, migratory timing, and stopover habitats of this species.
Tracking Data for Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis)
Available here are tracking data of long-tailed duck, a species of seaduck that breeds throughout the circumpolar Arctic and spends the winter in coastal areas of northern and mid latitudes. These data were collected to determine range-wide migratory routes, migratory timing, and stopover habitats of this species.
Tracking Data for Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus)
Available here are tracking data for the Marbled Murrelet, a seabird species that forages in coastal marine waters and nests in old-growth forests of Alaska, Canada, and the western United States.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tracking Data for Steller's Eiders (Polysticta stelleri)
Available here are tracking data of the Steller’s Eider, a species of seaduck that breeds throughout the circumpolar Arctic and spends the winter in coastal areas of western and southwestern Alaska. The Alaska-breeding population is listed as threatened under provisions of the Endangered Species Act. These tracking data were collected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The entire data package...
Tracking Data for Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica)
Available here are tracking data for two subspecies of Bar-tailed Godwits. One of the subspecies, Limosa lapponica baueri, nests in Alaska and spends the nonbreeding season in New Zealand and eastern Australia whereas L.l.menzbieri nests in Siberia and spends the nonbreeding season in western Australia. This study was the first to describe the year-round movements of these extremely long-distance...
Tracking Data for Spectacled Eiders (Somateria fischeri)
Available here are tracking data of Spectacled Eider, a sea duck species that breeds only in Alaska and Russia and spends the winter exclusively in the Bering Sea. The Alaska breeding population is listed as threatened under provisions of the Endangered Species Act. These data were collected to better understand the winter distribution in the Bering Sea and locate birds for winter aerial surveys...
Tracking Data for Pacific Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)
Available here are tracking data of Pacific walrus, a marine mammal that ranges between the Alaska Peninsula, up through the Bering and Chukchi seas, and over to Russia. These data were collected from animals marked in the northern Bering and Chuckchi sea to understand seasonal movement patterns, use of coastal haulouts in northwestern Alaska, and determine estimates of abundance in autumn.
Tracking Data for Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans)
Available here are tracking data for the Black Brant, a goose species that breeds in coastal areas of Alaska, northwestern Canada, and northeastern Russia and winters along coastal areas of North America from western Alaska to Mexico.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 39
Walrus Research
The USGS Alaska Science Center conducts long-term research on the Pacific walrus to provide scientific information to Department of Interior management agencies and Alaska Native co-management partners. In addition, the USGS Pacific walrus research program collaborates with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the State of Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game and Alaska Native co...
Polar Bear Research
Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) are one of 4 marine mammal species managed by the U.S. Department of Interior. The USGS Alaska Science Center leads long–term research on polar bears to inform local, state, national and international policy makers regarding conservation of the species and its habitat. Our studies, ongoing since 1985, are focused on population dynamics, health and energetics...
Tracking Data for Emperor Geese (Anser canagicus)
Available here are tracking data for the Emperor Goose, an endemic waterfowl species to the Bering Sea region that breeds primarily in western Alaska on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and spends the winter in southwestern Alaska and throughout the Aleutian Islands. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns, winter habitat use, and annual survival of emperor geese.
Tracking Data for Long-billed Curlews (Numenius americanus)
Available here are tracking data for the largest shorebird in North America, the long-billed curlew. This species nests in deserts and grasslands of central and western North America and spends the nonbreeding season in agriculture fields and pastures or along coastlines in California, Texas, and Mexico. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of this unmistakable and...
Tracking Data for Buff-Breasted Sandpipers (Calidris subruficollis)
Available here are tracking data of buff-breasted sandpiper, a shorebird species that breeds only in Arctic Alaska and Canada, spending the winter in the grasslands of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina after a lengthy migration. These data were collected to determine range-wide migratory routes, migratory timing, and stopover habitats of this species.
Tracking Data for Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis)
Available here are tracking data of long-tailed duck, a species of seaduck that breeds throughout the circumpolar Arctic and spends the winter in coastal areas of northern and mid latitudes. These data were collected to determine range-wide migratory routes, migratory timing, and stopover habitats of this species.
Tracking Data for Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus)
Available here are tracking data for the Marbled Murrelet, a seabird species that forages in coastal marine waters and nests in old-growth forests of Alaska, Canada, and the western United States.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tracking Data for Steller's Eiders (Polysticta stelleri)
Available here are tracking data of the Steller’s Eider, a species of seaduck that breeds throughout the circumpolar Arctic and spends the winter in coastal areas of western and southwestern Alaska. The Alaska-breeding population is listed as threatened under provisions of the Endangered Species Act. These tracking data were collected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The entire data package...
Tracking Data for Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica)
Available here are tracking data for two subspecies of Bar-tailed Godwits. One of the subspecies, Limosa lapponica baueri, nests in Alaska and spends the nonbreeding season in New Zealand and eastern Australia whereas L.l.menzbieri nests in Siberia and spends the nonbreeding season in western Australia. This study was the first to describe the year-round movements of these extremely long-distance...
Tracking Data for Spectacled Eiders (Somateria fischeri)
Available here are tracking data of Spectacled Eider, a sea duck species that breeds only in Alaska and Russia and spends the winter exclusively in the Bering Sea. The Alaska breeding population is listed as threatened under provisions of the Endangered Species Act. These data were collected to better understand the winter distribution in the Bering Sea and locate birds for winter aerial surveys...
Tracking Data for Pacific Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)
Available here are tracking data of Pacific walrus, a marine mammal that ranges between the Alaska Peninsula, up through the Bering and Chukchi seas, and over to Russia. These data were collected from animals marked in the northern Bering and Chuckchi sea to understand seasonal movement patterns, use of coastal haulouts in northwestern Alaska, and determine estimates of abundance in autumn.
Tracking Data for Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans)
Available here are tracking data for the Black Brant, a goose species that breeds in coastal areas of Alaska, northwestern Canada, and northeastern Russia and winters along coastal areas of North America from western Alaska to Mexico.
*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