Survival, Productivity, and Recruitment of Pacific Common Eiders Breeding at Kigigak Island, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

Project Number: 59

Year Funded: 2007

Lead Institution(s): US Fish and Wildlife Service

Project Lead: Bryce Lake

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Location: Alaska

Focal Species: Common Eider (Somateria mollissima)

Project Description: This study builds upon a previously established sample of marked adult females (n = 190) and ducklings (n = 250) at Kigigak Island, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska to characterize annual variation in survival and productivity. Objectives include estimating nest initiation date, hatch date, clutch size, and nest success; documenting nest habitat type and record nest location; resighting or trapping incubating females to identify previously marked individuals for estimation of survival; capturing and marking additional females; estimating mean annual survival and temporal variation in annual survival; and incorporating estimates of demographic parameters into a Pacific common eider population model.

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