Paul Flint, Ph.D. (Former Employee)

We studied incubation behavior of Spectacled Eiders (Somateria fischeri) on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in 1996. We trapped 19 females on their nests and weighed them in early incubation and again at hatch. Average daily weight loss for incubating females was 16.6 ± 1.0 g day-1, which resulted in a cumulative loss of 26% of body weight throughout incubation. Nest attendance was monitored...

We studied egg size variation of Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) nesting on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska from 1991-1996. Mean egg size was 64.36±0.03 (SE) ml. Egg size did not vary with clutch size or serve as an index of body size. There was less than 2% overlap in total clutch volumes for clutches of different sizes indicating that phenotypic clutch size-egg size trade-offs are not...

We developed a model to estimate the number of bird carcasses that were likely deposited on the beaches of St. Paul Island, Alaska following the M/V Citrus oil spill in February 1996. Most of the islands beaches were searched on an irregular schedule, resulting in the recovery of 876 King Eider carcasses. A sub-sample of beaches were intensively studied to estimate daily persistence rate...

Historically, an unknown number of Steller's Elders nested along the outer coastal fringe of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, but no nests had been found since 1975. We located six nests from 1991-1998 and we conclude that Steller's Elders are still a regular breeder at low densities on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

We used wooden blocks to estimate the proportion of oiled seabird carcasses that were likely to be recovered on beaches of St Paul Island, Alaska following a near-shore oil spill. We released a total of 302 blocks 6 km north of the island in 1997 at the site of a 17 II 1996 oil spill. We used a paired design and released half the blocks when the winds were onshore and released the second...

We studied survival of adult female and duckling Common Eiders during brood rearing at two sties o the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, in 1997. Duckling survival to 30 days of age was 19%±10% (95% CI). Seventy-three percent of radio-marked adult females had lost all their ducklings by 30 days after hatch. Duckling survival was not related to hatch date. We estimate an average of 0.84...