Factors involved in population dynamics and delineation of North American mergansers

Project Number: 43

Year Funded: 2006

Lead Institution(s): USGS Alaska Science Center

Project Lead: John Pearce

Email:

Collaborator(s): Paul Flint (USGS), Sandra Talbot (USGS), Dirk Derksen (USGS), John Morton (USFWS)

Location: North America

Focal Species: Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)

Project Description: This project examined reproductive ecology and site fidelity of Common and Red-breasted Mergansers in south-central Alaska, and genetic samples were collected throughout Alaska and across North America for all three species of mergansers to examine population delineation. Objectives included 1) document general nesting ecology, estimate levels of fidelity, and examine how these influence population dynamics and structure of Common and Red-breasted mergansers in Alaska; 2) Assess population genetics of Common and Red-breasted mergansers in Alaska; and 3) Assess phylogeography of all three merganser species across North America.

Project Reports:

SDJV43 Interim Report FY04
SDJV43 Interim Report FY05
SDJV43 Final Report FY06

Related Publications

Pearce, J. M., P. Blums, and M. S. Lindberg. 2008. Site Fidelity is an Inconsistent Determinant of Population Structure in the Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes Cucullatus): Evidence from Genetic, Mark–recapture, and Comparative Data. The Auk 125:711–722. https://doi.org/10.1525/auk.2008.07154

Pearce, J.M. 2008. Site fidelity: Definition, measurement and implications for population structure using mark-recapture, genetic, and comparative data in the Hooded, Red-breasted, and Common Merganser. PhD. Dissertation, University of Alaska Fairbanks. https://www.proquest.com/openview/0a874472f26a28736b4a0cc9b57d9e73/1?cbl=18750&pq-origsite=gscholar

Pearce, J. M., K. G. McCracken, T. K. Christensen, and Y. N. Zhuravlev. 2009. Migratory Patterns and Population Structure among Breeding and Wintering Red-breasted Mergansers ( Mergus serrator ) and Common Mergansers ( M. merganser ). The Auk 126:784–798. https://doi.org/10.1525/auk.2009.08182

Peters, J. L., K. A. Bolender, and J. M. Pearce. 2012. Behavioural vs. molecular sources of conflict between nuclear and mitochondrial DNA: the role of male-biased dispersal in a Holarctic sea duck. Molecular Ecology 21:3562–3575. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05612.x

Factors involved in population dynamics and delineation of North American mergansers