Population Delineation, Migratory Connectivity and Habitat Use of Atlantic Scoters: Black Scoters

Project Number: 117

Year Funded: 2009

Lead Institution(s): Canadian Wildlife Service

Project Lead: Scott Gilliland

Email:

Collaborator(s): Keith McAloney (CWS)

Location: Atlantic Flyway

Focal Species: Black Scoter (Melanitta americana)

Project Description: Up to 2007, only 34 Black and 27 Surf Scoters had been marked with PTTs in eastern North America. These birds provided the first insights into the migratory movements of eastern North American scoters. In 2009, we marked an additional 20 females; however, sample sizes must be increased to improve our understanding of the movements and affiliations for these populations. For example, of the females that have been tracked from wintering and spring staging sites along the Atlantic Coast, a large proportion have moved to breed in the central boreal forest (Perry et al. 2006), which is outside the known breeding range for Black Scoters (Bordage and Savard 1995), and thought just to support breeding Surf (Savard et al. 1998) and Whitewinged Scoters (Brown and Fredrickson 1997). This has implications for delineation of the eastern and western populations of Black Scoters, for interpreting the results of the May breeding pair surveys which the scoters are not be speciated during, and for the design of future breeding surveys for sea ducks.