Robert E Gill, Jr.
The movement ecology of migratory animals, especially extreme endurance migrant birds, fascinates me. Alaska migratory shorebirds have links to all hemispheres, requiring international collaborations to implement effective conservations efforts.
Through an emeritus position at the Alaska Science Center my research is focused on: 1) collaborations with an international suite of colleagues to assess the movement ecology of extreme endurance migrant shorebirds and identify the global-scale conservation issues facing their populations, and 2) releasing data to the public domain and publishing results associated with information collected during my five-decade-long tenure as a research biologist.
Professional Experience
2015 - present Scientist Emeritus USGS, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK
1996 - 2015 Research Wildlife Biologist USGS, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK
1993 - 1996 Wildlife Biologist NBS Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK
1987 - 1993 Wildlife Biologist USFWS, Alaska Fish and Wildlife Research Center, Anchorage, AK
1984 - 1987 Wildlife Biologist Denver Wildlife Research Center, Anchorage, AK
1981 - 1983 Wildlife Biologist Seattle National Fisheries Research Center, Anchorage, AK
1976 - 1980 Wildlife Biologist US Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, AK
1973 - 1976 Wildlife Biologist California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA
Education and Certifications
Ph. D. 2010 - present Groningen University, The Netherlands
M.S. 1972 San Jose State University, San Jose, CA Biology
B.A. 1970 San Jose State College, San Jose, CA Wildlife Management
Affiliations and Memberships*
Alaska Shorebird Group (Founding member)
American Ornithologists' Union (Life member, Elective Member 1983, Fellow 2011)
Arctic Institute of North America (Life member)
Australasian Wader Studies Group (North American Representative, 2001-2010)
Canada Shorebird Plan (Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, 1998-2001)
Cooper Ornithological Society (Life member)
East Asian-Australasian Shorebird Working Group (U.S. representative, 2002-2007)
Global Flyway Network (Member, Scientific Advisory Board (2001-present)
International Wader Study Group (Life member; Executive Committee, 1999-2008; Editorial Advisory Board, 2012-present)
New Zealand Wader Study Group
Pacific Shorebird Migration Project (Co-PI, 2006-present)
Russian Working Group on Waders
Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group (Founding Member; Advisory Board, 2008-present)
Western Field Ornithologists (Board of Directors, 1999-2015; Assoc. Editor, 2005-present)
Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (Chair, Scientific Advisory Board, 2004-2012)
U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan (Chair, Research and Monitoring Group, 1998-2001)
Abstracts and Presentations
Five invited keynote, 14 invited, and >60 contributed presentations before various scientific bodies.
Science and Products
Estimates of shorebird populations in North America
A comprehensive monitoring program for North American shorebirds
Mate fidelity and breeding site tenacity in a monogamous sandpiper, the black turnstone
Population estimates of Nearctic shorebirds
Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica in Alaska: A population estimate from the staging grounds
Seasonal shorebird use of intertidal habitats in Cook Inlet, Alaska
Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis)
Guts don't fly: Small digestive organs in obese Bar-tailed Godwits
Recovery strategies for the California clapper rail (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) in the heavily-urbanized San Francisco estuarine ecosystem
Alaska shorebirds: status and conservation measures at a terminus of the East Asian-Australasian flyway
Alaska and its importance to Western Hemisphere shorebirds
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 92
Estimates of shorebird populations in North America
Estimates are presented for the population sizes of 53 species of Nearctic shorebirds occurring regularly in North America, plus four species that breed occasionally. Population estimates range from a few tens to several millions. Overall, population estimates most commonly fall in the range of hundreds of thousands, particularly the low hundreds of thousands; estimated population sizes for largeAuthorsR. I. G. Morrison, Robert E. Gill, B. A. Harrington, S. K. Skagen, G. W. Page, C. L. Gratto-Trevor, S. M. HaigA comprehensive monitoring program for North American shorebirds
Anthropogenic changes to the biosphere, including widespread degradation and losses of habitats and ecosystems, are causing rapid and profound changes to bird and other wildlife populations throughout the world. Such changes have led to increasing risks and rates of extinction. As a consequence, information on how bird populations are changing is becoming increasingly important to wildlife conservMate fidelity and breeding site tenacity in a monogamous sandpiper, the black turnstone
We examined the relationship between mate fidelity and breeding site tenacity during a 5-year study of the black turnstone, Arenaria melanocephala, a socially monogamous sandpiper breeding in subarctic Alaska. We tested the predictions of several hypotheses regarding the incidence of divorce and the benefits of fidelity to mate and breeding site. Interannual return rates to the breeding grounds (8AuthorsColleen M. Handel, Robert E. GillPopulation estimates of Nearctic shorebirds
Estimates are presented for the population sizes of 53 species of Nearctic shorebirds occurring regularly in North America, plus four species that breed occasionally. Shorebird population sizes were derived from data obtained by a variety of methods from breeding, migration and wintering areas, and formal assessments of accuracy of counts or estimates are rarely available. Accurate estimates existAuthorsR. I. G. Morrison, Robert E. Gill, B. A. Harrington, S. K. Skagen, G. W. Page, C. L. Gratto-Trevor, S. M. HaigBar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica in Alaska: A population estimate from the staging grounds
Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica were surveyed on their staging grounds in Alaska during September 1995 and 1997. The single high count of 94,000 birds closely matched that of counts from New Zealand and south-eastern Australia, the known non-breeding area for most of the baueri subspecies. Numbers recorded on the southern Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta and at Egegik Bay, a small estuary along theAuthorsRobert E. Gill, Brian J. McCafferySeasonal shorebird use of intertidal habitats in Cook Inlet, Alaska
Seasonal shorebird use of intertidal habitats of Cook Inlet, Alaska, was studied from February 1997 to February 1999 using aerial surveys as the principal method of assessment. On-ground studies were conducted to validate aerial survey results and to assess shorebird use of vegetated habitats, especially during the breeding season. Twenty-eight species of shorebirds were recorded using the area, rAuthorsRobert E. Gill, T. Lee TibbittsEskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis)
No abstract availableAuthorsRobert E. Gill, Pablo Canevari, Eve H. IversenGuts don't fly: Small digestive organs in obese Bar-tailed Godwits
We documented fat loads and abdominal organ sizes of Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica baueri) that died after colliding against a radar dome on the Alaska Peninsula, most likely just after takeoff on a trans-Pacific flight of 11,000 km, and of birds of the same subspecies just before northward departure from New Zealand. We compared these data with data on body composition of godwits of the smAuthorsTheunis Piersma, Robert E. GillRecovery strategies for the California clapper rail (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) in the heavily-urbanized San Francisco estuarine ecosystem
The California clapper rail (Rallus longirostris obsoletus), a Federal- and State-listed endangered marsh bird, has a geographic range restricted to one of the most heavily-urbanized estuaries in the world. The rail population has long been in a state of decline, although the exact contribution of each of the many contributing causes remains unclear. The rail is one of the key targets of emergingAuthorsTheodore C. Foin, E. Jacqueline Garcia, Robert E. Gill, Steven D. Culberson, Joshua N. CollinsAlaska shorebirds: status and conservation measures at a terminus of the East Asian-Australasian flyway
No abstract available.AuthorsRobert E. GillAlaska and its importance to Western Hemisphere shorebirds
Thirty-seven species of shorebirds breed in Alaska, and six overwinter in its subarctic regions. The coastal habitats of Alaska provide critical staging areas during spring and fall migrations; 51 sites qualify within the three categories of shorebird reserves listed by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (Hemispheric, International and Regional). Studies on Alaskan shorebirds span 50AuthorsRobert E. Gill, Stanley E. Senner - News
*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