Breeding Ecology of White-winged Scoters on the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

Project Number: 19

Year Funded: 2004

Lead Institution(s): University of Alaska Fairbanks

Project Lead: David Safine

Email:

Collaborator(s): Mark Lindberg (UAF)

Location: Alaska

Focal Species: White-winged Scoter (Melanitta delgandi)

Project Description: Breeding bird surveys indicate a long-term decline in the numbers of White-winged Scoters breeding in Alaska. The highest density breeding areas occur in Northwest Canada and Northeast Alaska, with the largest breeding population in Alaska found on the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge. Little is known about the reproductive life history and breeding habitat of White-winged Scoters on their primary breeding grounds. This project used VHF transmitters to mark females and locate nests of scoters at the Scoter Lake Complex, Yukon Flats NWR. They also used surveys and auxiliary markers to study brood rearing ecology of White-winged Scoters throughout the Yukon Flats NWR. To address questions of nest habitat selection, the study measured habitat variables at nest sites as well as random sites in the study area. They estimated nest survival, brood survival, and adult female summer survival of White-winged Scoters in their principal breeding range. In addition, they characterized the nest habitats selected by females. This study provides critical management information on the population dynamics and habitat requirements of White-winged Scoter in their primary breeding range.

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