Paul Flint, Ph.D. (Former Employee)

We used satellite telemetry to study the migration routes and wintering areas of two allopatric breeding populations of Pacific Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum) in Alaska: the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and the western Beaufort Sea coast. Only 6% (2 of 36) of females wintered within the wintering area of the other breeding population. Both breeding populations wintered in the...

Measures of repeatability have long been used to assess patterns of variation in egg size within and among females. We compared different analytical approaches for estimating repeatability of egg size of Black Brant. Separate estimates of repeatability for eggs of each clutch size and laying sequence number varied from 0.49 to 0.64. We suggest that using the averaging egg size within...

Populations of Steller's eiders (Polysticta stelleri) molting and wintering along the Alaska Peninsula have declined since the 1960's. We captured and marked a large sample of Steller's eiders molting in 2 lagoons along the Alaska Peninsula between 1975-97. We used mark-recapture analysis techniques to estimate annual survival and movement probabilities within and among lagoons for male...

We used radio-telemetry to examine survival of adult female and juvenile Spectacled Eiders (Somateria fischeri) from 30 days after hatch until departure from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) during 1997-1999. Juvenile survival was 71.4%; adult female survival was 88.5%. Mink (Mustella vison) were the most common predator identified for both adults and juveniles. Detectable levels of lead...

Molting adult Steller's Eiders (Polysticta stelleri) were banded at Izembek Lagoon (1961-1998) and Nelson Lagoon (1995-1997) along the lower Alaska Peninsula to determine breeding distribution and movements. Of 52,985 Steller's Eiders banded, 347 were recovered. The overall low recovery rate may not be indicative of harvest levels but may be due to low reporting rates of bands. Almost...

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 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...

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 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...

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...

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...