Survival and reproduction of Pacific common eiders on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

Project Number: 41

Year Funded: 2007

Lead Institution(s): University of Alaska Fairbanks

Project Lead: Abby Powell

Email:

Collaborator(s): Heather Wilson (UAF), USFWS, YDNWR, USGS, ASC

Location: Alaska

Focal Species: Common Eider (Somateria mollissima)

Project Description: Populations of Pacific common eiders (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum) on the YukonKuskokwim Delta (YKD) in western Alaska declined by 50-90% from 1957 to 1992 and then stabilized at reduced numbers from the early 1990’s to the present. This study investigated the primary underlying processes affecting population dynamics of Pacific common eiders, with the goals of understanding factors that may have led to the observed decline and subsequent stabilization, and providing tools from which conservation, management, and recommendations for future research could be drawn. Analyses included data collected from 2002 to 2004, in addition to historical data collected from 1991 to 2001.

Project Reports:

SDJV41 Interim Report FY04
SDJV41 Final Report FY07

Related Publications

Wilson, H. M. 2007. Population Ecology of Pacific common eiders on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Dissertation, University of Alaska Fairbanks. 204 pp. https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/bitstream/handle/11122/8926/Wilson_H_2007.pdf?sequence=1

Wilson, H. M., P. L. Flint, and A. N. Powell. 2007. Coupling contaminants with demography: effects of lead and selenium in Pacific common eiders. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 26(7):1410-1417. https://doi.org/10.1897/06-537R.1

Wilson, H. M., P. L. Flint, T. L. Moran, and A. N. Powell. 2007. Survival of breeding Pacific common eiders on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Journal of Wildlife Management 71(2):403-410. https://doi.org/10.2193/2005-776

Wilson, H. M., P. L. Flint, A. N. Powell, J. B. Grand, and C. L. Moran. 2012. Population ecology of breeding Pacific common eiders on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Wildlife Monographs 182:1–28. https://doi.org/10.1002/wmon.8

Petersen, M. R., D. C. Douglas, H. M. Wilson, and S. E. McCloskey. 2012. Effects of sea ice on winter site fidelity of Pacific Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum ). The Auk 129:399–408. https://doi.org/10.1525/auk.2012.11256

Survival and reproduction of Pacific common eiders on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska