Lead Institution(s): Canadian Wildlife Service
Project Lead: Scott Gilliland
Collaborator(s): Keith McAloney (CWS), Rodger TItman (MGU), Eric Reed (CWS), Jean-Pierre Savard (CWS), Neil Burgess (CWS), Sabir Bin Muzzaffar (MUNSTL), Mark O'Connor (MGU), Gus Dicker (SEM), Les Hulett (INCO)
Location: Eastern North America
Focal Species: Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
Project Description: Estimates of demographic parameters are required for understanding population dynamics and may be important for identifying factors related to scoter declines. To our knowledge, there is no estimate of survival for Surf Scoters, nor are there any indices of harvest rates available. In addition, molting and migration constitute major energy expenditures in migratory birds, yet for Surf Scoters, little is known about annual variation in molt chronology, about the resources that make sites attractive to molting birds or about their behavior, food, habitat requirements or energetic requirements during molt. This project, endorsed by the SDJV in 2004 and funded by the SDJV in 2005 to 2007, had two components: 1) A traditional banding program to measure vital rates of male Surf Scoters, and their affiliations between molting and harvest areas; and 2) A study of molting ecology (chronology, behavior and habitat use) of Surf Scoters. Capture and banding operations were conducted in northern Labrador near Nain, NL.
