Paul Flint, Ph.D. (Former Employee)

We studied the behavior of geese on exposed river ice during spring on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. The predominant behavior while on the ice for both sexes was foraging; however, females foraged more than males. Visual inspection of the ice revealed no potential plant or animal food items. However, numerous small (

Several species of breeding waterfowl have been shown to be exposed to lead shot on the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta, Alaska. I 'seeded' experimental plots with number 4 lead shot to determine the settlement rate of shot in wetland types commonly used by foraging waterfowl. I resampled plots for 3 years, using a suction dredge to remove sediment in 4-cm layers. There was no consistent...

We documented gosling size in late summer, adult body size, and clutch size of known-age Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) females nesting on the Tutakoke River colony between 1986 and 1995. During this period, the colony increased from 1,100 to >5,000 nesting pairs. Gosling mass at 30 days of age declined from 764 ± SE of 13 g and 723 ± 15 g for males and females, respectively, in...

Spectacled eider (Somateria fischeri) populations on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (Y-K Delta), Alaska, declined rapidly through the 1980s, and low adult female survival was suggested as the likely cause of the decline. We used mark-resighting techniques to study annual survival rates of adult female spectacled eiders at 2 sites on the Y-K Delta during 1993-96. Our data suggest survival...

Our objective was to synthesize individual components of reproductive ecology into a single estimate of productivity and to assess the relative effects of survival and productivity on population dynamics. We used information on nesting ecology, renesting potential, and duckling survival of northern pintails (Anas acuta) collected on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (Y-K Delta), Alaska, 1991-95...

We collected, 342 blood samples from spectacled eiders (Somateria fischeri) on their breeding grounds in western Alaska from late May through to early August 1993–1995. Lead concentrations of ≥0.50 p.p.m. wet weight were found in the blood of 20% of the adult female eiders, 2% of the adult males and 6% of the ducklings. Lead was detected (≥0.02 p.p.m.) more frequently in the blood of...