Search

Breeding bird response to habitat rehabilitation after anthropogenic disturbance has received little attention in the Arctic. The North Slope of Alaska is an important breeding ground for many populations of migratory birds and has also supported major oilfields since the late 1960s. The most obvious impacts of industrial development to nesting birds are direct habitat loss and fragmentation resulting from the construction of infrastructure, along with increased mechanical noise, vehicle traffic, and other forms of anthropogenic disturbance. In response to state and federal requirements, efforts have been made to rehabilitate abandoned portions of the oilfields. We compared bird use at rehabilitation sites and at nearby paired reference sites. Densities of shorebirds and passerines varied between rehabilitation sites and reference sites, but waterfowl densities did not. Specifically, passerine and shorebird densities were higher at reference sites in the early or mid-season and lower at reference sites in the late season. Additionally, birds on rehabilitation sites were primarily observed foraging and resting, while behavior observed on paired reference sites was more diverse and included courtship displays, nesting, and aggression. Further, rehabilitation sites supported significantly fewer nests and fewer species than recorded at reference sites. Our findings suggest that sites 3 to 10 years post rehabilitation do not provide bird habitat comparable to nearby reference sites and, by extension, do not provide shorebird and passerine habitat comparable to that found prior to development. However, rehabilitation sites appear to provide adequate habitat for waterfowl and are important to shorebirds and passerines as foraging areas. Continued monitoring will be needed to establish the long-term suitability of rehabilitation sites, compared to reference sites, as breeding habitat for birds.

Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) populations have undergone significant declines at core nonbreeding sites in northeastern South America. Breeding populations have also declined in the eastern North American Arctic, but appear to be stable or increasing in the central and western Arctic. To identify vulnerable populations and sites, we documented the migratory connectivity of Semipalmated Sandpipers using light-level geolocators, deploying 250 at 8 Arctic sites across the species' breeding range from 2011 to 2015, plus 87 at a single wintering site in northeastern Brazil in 2013 and 2014. We recovered 59 units and resighted 7 more (26% return rate) on the breeding grounds, but none at the nonbreeding site. We recovered only ∼3% of units deployed in 2013 at eastern Arctic breeding sites, but recovered 33% of those deployed in 2015. Overall, birds with geolocators were 57% as likely to return as those carrying alphanumeric flags. Stopover durations at prairie sites (mean: 8.7 days southbou...

Kubelka et al. (Science, 9 November 2018, p. 680-683) claim that climate change has disrupted patterns of nest predation in shorebirds. They report that predation rates have increased since the 1950s, especially in the Arctic. We describe methodological problems with their analyses and argue that there is no solid statistical support for their claims.

Kubelka et al. (Reports, 9 November 2018, p. 680) claim that climate change has disrupted patterns of nest predation in shorebirds. They report that predation rates have increased since the 1950s, especially in the Arctic. We describe methodological problems with their analyses and argue that there is no solid statistical support for their claims. Fil: Bulla, Martin. Nioz Royal Netherlands Institute For Sea Research; Países Bajos. Max Planck Institute For Ornithology; Alemania. Czech University of Life Sciences; República Checa Fil: Reneerkens, Jeroen. Nioz Royal Netherlands Institute For Sea Research; Países Bajos. University of Groningen; Países Bajos Fil: Weiser, Emily L.. Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center; Estados Unidos Fil: Sokolov, Aleksandr. Institute Of Plant And Animal Ecology; Rusia Fil: Taylor, Audrey R.. University of Alaska; Estados Unidos Fil: Sittler, Benoît. Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg; Alemania. Arctic Ecology Research Group; Francia Fil: McCaffery, Brian J.. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Estados Unidos Fil: Ruthrauff, Dan R.. U.S. Geological Survey; Estados Unidos Fil: Catlin, Daniel H.. Virginia Tech University; Estados Unidos Fil: Payer, David C.. National Park Service; Estados Unidos Fil: Ward, David H.. U.S. Geological Survey; Estados Unidos Fil: Solovyeva, Diana V.. Institute of Biological Problems of the North; Rusia Fil: Santos, Eduardo S. A.. Universidade de São Paulo; Brasil Fil: Rakhimberdiev, Eldar. Lomonosov Moscow State University; Rusia. University of Groningen; Países Bajos Fil: Nol, Erica. Trent University; Canadá Fil: Kwon, Eunbi. Virginia Tech; Estados Unidos Fil: Brown, Glen S.. Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry; Canadá Fil: Hevia, Glenda Denise. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentina Fil: Gates, H. River. National Audubon Society; Estados Unidos Fil: Johnson, James A.. Fish and Wildlife Service; Estados Unidos Fil: van Gils, Jan A.. Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University; Países Bajos Fil: Hansen, Jannik. Aarhus University. Aarhus Institute Of Advanced Studies.; Dinamarca Fil: Lamarre, Jean-François. Polar Knowledge Canada; Canadá Fil: Rausch, Jennie. Environment and Climate Change Canada; Canadá Fil: Conklin, Jesse R.. University of Groningen; Países Bajos Fil: Liebezeit, Joe. Audubon Society of Portland; Estados Unidos Fil: Bêty, Joël. University of Quebec; Canadá Fil: Lang, Johannes. Arctic Ecology Research Group ; Francia. Giessen University; Alemania Fil: Alves, José A.. University of Aveiro; Portugal. University of Iceland; Islandia Fil: Fernández-Elipe, Juan. No especifíca; Fil: Exo, Klaus-Michael. Institute of Avian Research “Vogelwarte Helgoland"; Alemania Fil: Bollache, Loïc. Universite de Franche-Comte; Francia Fil: Bertellotti, Néstor Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentina Fil: Giroux, Marie-Andrée. Université de Moncton; Canadá Fil: van de Pol, Martijn. Netherlands Institute of Ecology ; Países Bajos Fil: Johnson, Matthew. USDA Forest Service; Estados Unidos Fil: Boldenow, Megan L.. University of Alaska; Estados Unidos Fil: Valcu, Mihai. Max Planck Institute für Ornithologie; Alemania Fil: Soloviev, Mikhail. Lomonosov Moscow State University; Alemania Fil: Sokolova, Natalya. Arctic Research Station; Rusia Fil: Senner, Nathan R.. University of South Carolina; Estados Unidos Fil: Lecomte, Nicolas. Université de Moncton; Canadá Fil: Meyer, Nicolas. Universite de Franche-Comte; Francia. Arctic Ecology Research Group; Francia Fil: Schmidt, Niels Martin. Aarhus University. Department of Bioscience; Dinamarca Fil: Gilg, Olivier. Arctic Ecology Research Group; Francia. Universite de Franche-Comte; Francia Fil: Smith, Paul A.. Environment and Climate Change Canada; Canadá Fil: Machín, Paula. No especifíca; Fil: McGuire, Rebecca L.. Wildlife Conservation Society; Estados Unidos Fil: Cerboncini, Ricardo A. S.. Universidade Federal do Paraná; Brasil Fil: Ottvall, Richard. No especifíca; Fil: van Bemmelen, Rob S. A.. Wageningen Marine Research; Países Bajos Fil: Swift, Rose J.. Cornell University; Estados Unidos Fil: Saalfeld, Sarah T.. No especifíca; Fil: Jamieson,Sarah E.. Simon Fraser University; Canadá Fil: Brown, Stephen. No especifíca; Fil: Piersma, Theunis. NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research; Países Bajos. Conservation Ecology Group; Países Bajos Fil: Albrecht, Tomas. Czech Academy of Sciences; República Checa. Charles University; República Checa Fil: D’Amico, Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentina Fil: Lanctot, Richard B.. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Estados Unidos Fil: Kempenaers, Bart. Max Planck Institute für Ornithologie; Alemania

The Black Oystercatcher is a large shorebird found along the west coast of North America. Because of its small global population size, low reproductive rate, and dependence on rocky intertidal habitats, it is considered a “species of high conservation concern” and may act as an indicator of intertidal ecosystem health. In 2015, Portland Audubon initiated a 3-y shore-based population survey in Oregon building upon long-term monitoring previously conducted by the US Geological Survey (USGS) and others. The objectives were to: (1) estimate the current minimum population of breeding Black Oystercatchers in Oregon and compare to previous estimates; (2) document oystercatcher abundance on shoreline adjacent to the Oregon's system of Marine Reserves (MRs) and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs); and (3) describe the spatial distribution of breeding oystercatchers along the coast. We targeted all rocky shoreline along Oregon's coastline to conduct abundance surveys each spring from 2015–2017. A total of 75 survey routes were sampled using a standardized land-based survey protocol. Trained volunteer community scientists conducted the majority of the surveys. We used N-mixture statistical models to estimate oystercatcher population size and probability of detection. Population estimates from the best-fitting models were consistent, with estimates ranging from 506 oystercatchers in 2016 (95% credible interval, 463–560) to 629 (548–743) in 2015. These estimates described a small but stable population. Probability of detection remained consistent across years (ranging from 0.51 to 0.53). Breeding density of oystercatchers was higher in southern Oregon. Oystercatcher abundance adjacent to MRs-MPAs accounted for between 12.4–18.3% of the total population estimate, which was lower than expected (approximately 25%). Subsequent conservation efforts for Black Oystercatchers in Oregon could be successful by focusing on limiting human disturbance, particularly on the north and central coasts, and protecting core habitats on the south coast where much of the population resides.

The behavioural rhythms of organisms are thought to be under strong selection, influenced by the rhythmicity of the environment1,2,3,4. Such behavioural rhythms are well studied in isolated individuals under laboratory conditions1,5, but free-living individuals have to temporally synchronize their activities with those of others, including potential mates, competitors, prey and predators6,7,8,9,10. Individuals can temporally segregate their daily activities (for example, prey avoiding predators, subordinates avoiding dominants) or synchronize their activities (for example, group foraging, communal defence, pairs reproducing or caring for offspring)6,7,8,9,11. The behavioural rhythms that emerge from such social synchronization and the underlying evolutionary and ecological drivers that shape them remain poorly understood5,6,7,9. Here we investigate these rhythms in the context of biparental care, a particularly sensitive phase of social synchronization12 where pair members potentially compromise their individual rhythms. Using data from 729 nests of 91 populations of 32 biparentally incubating shorebird species, where parents synchronize to achieve continuous coverage of developing eggs, we report remarkable within- and between-species diversity in incubation rhythms. Between species, the median length of one parent’s incubation bout varied from 1–19 h, whereas period length—the time in which a parent’s probability to incubate cycles once between its highest and lowest value—varied from 6–43 h. The length of incubation bouts was unrelated to variables reflecting energetic demands, but species relying on crypsis (the ability to avoid detection by other animals) had longer incubation bouts than those that are readily visible or who actively protect their nest against predators. Rhythms entrainable to the 24-h light–dark cycle were less prevalent at high latitudes and absent in 18 species. Our results indicate that even under similar environmental conditions and despite 24-h environmental cues, social synchronization can generate far more diverse behavioural rhythms than expected from studies of individuals in captivity5,6,7,9. The risk of predation, not the risk of starvation, may be a key factor underlying the diversity in these rhythms., The study was supported by the Max Planck Society (to B.K.). M.B. is a PhD student in the International Max Planck Research School for Organismal Biology.

Range-wide monitoring of shorebirds (Aves: Charadriiformes) suggests that many species are declining. For most species, it is unknown whether distinct population units exist, which makes management and conservation difficult. One shorebird of conservation concern, the Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis), is a New World migrant that breeds at Arctic latitudes in North America and Russia and winters in southeastern South America. We conducted a molecular survey of samples representing each of three migratory regions (breeding, migration, and wintering) using nine polymorphic microsatellite loci and 1.5 kb of highly variable mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from the cytochrome b gene and mtDNA control region. We analyzed contemporary population structure, demographic trends, and phylogeographic patterns. Overall, microsatellite and mtDNA analyses revealed that Buff-breasted Sandpipers are panmictic both regionally and at a global scale, with no signal of a recent genetic bottleneck. The mtDN...

Counts of Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) at some migratory stopover sites have shown pronounced declines over the last 35 years. Counts from breeding grounds avoid sources of bias that have proven troublesome for trends estimated from migration surveys. Published and unpublished data were reviewed to examine trends in densities of Semipalmated Sandpipers at breeding sites across Alaska and arctic Canada. Information was sparse, and some comparisons are tenuous because methods varied over time. Valid time series were obtained for 13 sites across the species' range. In Alaska, Semipalmated Sandpipers either increased or were at least stable at six sites and decreased at one site. Surveys at both sites in the central portion of the range suggested no change in abundance. In the eastern portion of the range, trends were variable: decreases were observed at two sites, a possible increase at one site, and no change at another. Thus, the species was generally increasing or stable in the west...

Although Arctic Alaska contains some of the last remaining wild lands and intact wildlife populations in North America, the region is challenged by increasing energy development pressures and a climate that is changing more rapidly than anywhere else on Earth. The inevitability of transformative change in Arctic ecological systems suggests that there are few options available to offset impacts to wildlife and landscapes. Therefore, the main opportunities for addressing climate change in Arctic Alaska is the protection of large areas important to wildlife in advance of energy development and climate change planning, which takes into account interactions with energy development and seeks to identify climate refugia where arctic systems stand the best chances of persisting.

Correlations between transequatorial migratory bird routes and bipolar biogeographic disjunctions in bryophytes suggest that disjunctions between northern and southern high latitude regions may result from bird-mediated dispersal; supporting evidence is, however, exclusively circumstantial. Birds disperse plant units (diaspores) internally via ingestion (endozoochory) or externally by the attachment of diaspores to the body (ectozoochory). Endozoochory is known to be the primary means of bird-mediated dispersal for seeds and invertebrates at local, regional, and continental scales. Data supporting the role of bird-mediated endozoochory or ectozoochory in the long distance dispersal of bryophytes remain sparse, however, despite the large number of bryophytes displaying bipolar disjunctions. To determine if transequatorial migrant shorebirds may play a role in the ectozoochory of bryophyte diaspores, we developed a method for screening feathers of wild birds. We provide the first evidence of microscopic bryophyte diaspores, as well as those from non-bryophyte lineages, embedded in the plumage of long distance transequatorial migrant birds captured in their arctic breeding grounds. The number of diaspores recovered suggests that entire migratory populations may be departing their northern breeding grounds laden with potentially viable plant parts and that they could thereby play significant roles in bipolar range expansions of lineages previously ignored in the migrant bird dispersal literature.