Crossing the ultimate ecological barrier: Evidence for an 11,000-km-long non-stop flight from Alaska to New Zealand and Eastern Australia by Bar-tailed Godwits
Robert E. Gill Jr., Theunis Piersma, Gary Hufford, R. Servranckx, Adrian C. Riegen
2005, The Condor (107) 1-20
Populations of the Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica; Scolopacidae) embark on some of the longest migrations known among birds. The baueri race breeds in western Alaska and spends the nonbreeding season a hemisphere away in New Zealand and eastern Australia; the menzbieri race breeds in Siberia and migrates to western and northern Australia. Although the...
Nonlinear dynamics in ecosystem response to climatic change: Case studies and policy implications
Virginia R. Burkett, Douglas A. Wilcox, Robert Stottlemyer, Wylie Barrow, Dan Fagre, Jill Baron, Jeff Price, Jennifer L. Nielsen, Craig D. Allen, David L. Peterson, Greg Ruggerone, Thomas Doyle
2005, Ecological Complexity (2) 357-394
Many biological, hydrological, and geological processes are interactively linked in ecosystems. These ecological phenomena normally vary within bounded ranges, but rapid, nonlinear changes to markedly different conditions can be triggered by even small differences if threshold values are exceeded. Intrinsic and extrinsic ecological thresholds can lead to effects that cascade...
Fault-dominated deformation in an ice dam during annual filling and drainage of a marginal lake
J. S. Walder, D.C. Trabant, M. Cunico, S.P. Anderson, R. Scott Anderson, A. G. Fountain, A. Malm
2005, Annals of Glaciology (40) 174-178
Ice-dammed Hidden Creek Lake, Alaska, USA, outbursts annually in about 2-3 days. As the lake fills, a wedge of water penetrates beneath the glacier, and the surface of this 'ice dam' rises; the surface then falls as the lake drains. Detailed optical surveying of the glacier near the lake allows...
Seabird, fish, marine mammal, and oceanography coordinated investigations (SMMOCI) in Sitka Sound, Alaska, July 2000
John F. Piatt, Donald E. Dragoo
2005, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Report AMNWR 04/01
Surveys for seabirds and marine mammals were conducted in and near Sitka Sound, Alaska (Fig. 1) from the M/V Tiĝlax̂ during 12-16 July 2000 (Table 1, Fig. 1). The objective was to characterize the marine environment in the vicinity of St. Lazaria Island, one of ten seabird colonies monitored annually...
Subduction erosion of the Jurassic Talkeetna-Bonanza arc and the Mesozoic accretionary tectonics of western North America
P.D. Clift, T. Pavlis, S.M. DeBari, A.E. Draut, M. Rioux, P.B. Kelemen
2005, Geology (33) 881-884
The Jurassic Talkeetna volcanic arc of south-central Alaska is an oceanic island arc that formed far from the North American margin. Geochronological, geochemical, and structural data indicate that the arc formed above a north-dipping subduction zone after ca. 201 Ma. Magmatism migrated northward into the region of the Talkeetna Mountains...
Rhynchelmis aleutensis n. sp. (Clitellata: Lumbriculidae) from Adak Island, Alaska
Steven V. Fend
2005, Zootaxa (1093) 45-53
A new lumbriculid worm, Rhynchelmis aleutensis, is described from streams on Adak Island, Alaska. The new species does not resemble other Alaskan or Siberian Rhynchelmis species. The paired spermathecal diverticula and the morphology of the male pores and atria suggest that it is more closely related to a species group known only from...
Mineralization, watershed geochemistry, and metals in fish from a Subarctic River, Alaska
L. P. Gough, B. Wang, J.G. Crock, R.R. Seal, P. Weber-Scannell
2005, Conference Paper, World Water Congress 2005: Impacts of Global Climate Change - Proceedings of the 2005 World Water and Environmental Resources Congress
We report on the levels of trace metals and metalloids in Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus), an important freshwater sport and subsistence fish in the Fortymile River, east-central Alaska. Functional biogeochemical baseline values and (or) ranges are presented for 38 major- and trace-elements in the muscle (fillet) and liver of 34...
Stress distribution along the Fairweather-Queen Charlotte transform fault system
C. G. Bufe
2005, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (95) 2001-2008
Tectonic loading and Coulomb stress transfer are modeled along the right-lateral Fairweather-Queen Charlotte transform fault system using a threedimensional boundary element program. The loading model includes slip below 12 km along the transform as well as motion of the Pacific plate, and it is consistent with most available Global Positioning...
Chloroethene biodegradation in sediments at 4°C
P. M. Bradley, S. Richmond, F. H. Chapelle
2005, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (71) 6414-6417
Microbial reductive dechlorination of [1,2-14C]trichloroethene to [14C]cis-dichloroethene and [14C]vinyl chloride was observed at 4°C in anoxic microcosms prepared with cold temperature-adapted aquifer and river sediments from Alaska. Microbial anaerobic oxidation of [1,2-14C]cis-dichloroethene and [1,2-14C]vinyl chloride to 14CO2 also was observed under these conditions. ...
Evidence for size-selective mortality after the first summer of ocean growth by pink salmon
J.H. Moss, D.A. Beauchamp, A.D. Cross, K.W. Myers, Edward V. Farley Jr., J.M. Murphy, J.H. Helle
2005, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (134) 1313-1322
Pink salmon Onchorhynchus gorbuscha with identifiable thermal otolith marks from Prince William Sound hatchery release groups during 2001 were used to test the hypothesis that faster-growing fish during their first summer in the ocean had higher survival rates than slower-growing fish. Marked juvenile pink salmon were sampled monthly in Prince...
Biology and conservation of Xantus's Murrelet: Discovery, taxonomy and distribution
Harry R. Carter, Spencer G. Sealy, Esther E. Burkett, John F. Piatt
2005, Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation (33) 81-87
The biology of Xantus's Murrelets Synthliboramphus hypoleucus is similar in many respects to better-studied Ancient Murrelets S. antiquus, especially regarding morphology and the species' precocial mode of post-hatching development. It nests mainly in rock crevices but also under shrubs on islands in southern California, United States, and northwestern Baja California,...
Verification of sex from harvested sea otters using DNA testing
Kim T. Scribner, Ben A. Green, Carol Gorbics, James L. Bodkin
2005, Wildlife Society Bulletin (33) 1027-1032
We used molecular genetic methods to determine the sex of 138 sea otters (Enhydra lutris) harvested from 3 regions of Alaska from 1994 to 1997, to assess the accuracy of post‐harvest field‐sexing. We also tested each of a series of factors associated with errors in field‐sexing of...
Offshore marine observation of Willow Ptarmigan, including water landings, Kuskokwim Bay, Alaska
Christian E. Zimmerman, Nicola Hillgruber, Sean E. Burril, Michelle A. St. Peters, Jennifer D. Wetzel
2005, The Wilson Bulletin (117) 12-14
We report an observation of Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) encountered 8 to 17 km from the nearest shoreline on Kuskokwim Bay, Alaska, on 30 August 2003. The ptarmigan were observed flying, landing on our research vessel, and landing and taking off from the water surface. We also report on one...
New constraints on mechanisms of remotely triggered seismicity at Long Valley Caldera
E. E. Brodsky, S. G. Prejean
2005, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (110) 1-14
Regional-scale triggering of local earthquakes in the crust by seismic waves from distant main shocks has now been robustly documented for over a decade. Some of the most thoroughly recorded examples of repeated triggering of a single site from multiple, large earthquakes are measured in geothermal fields of the western...
Observer variability in pinniped counts: Ground-based enumeration of walruses at haul-out sites
Mark S. Udevitz, C.V. Jay, M.B. Cody
2005, Marine Mammal Science (21) 108-120
Pinnipeds are often monitored by counting individuals at haul-out sites, but the often large numbers of densely packed individuals at these sites are difficult to enumerate accurately. Errors in enumeration can induce bias and reduce precision in estimates of population size and trend. We used data from paired observers monitoring...
Seasonal marine growth of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in relation to competition with Asian pink salmon (O. gorbuscho) and the 1977 ocean regime shift
Gregory T. Ruggerone, Ed Farley, Jennifer L. Nielsen, Peter Hagen
2005, Fishery Bulletin (103) 355-370
Recent research demonstrated significantly lower growth and survival of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) during odd-numbered years of their second or third years at sea (1975, 1977, etc.), a trend that was opposite that of Asian pink salmon (O. gorbuscha) abundance. Here we evaluated seasonal growth trends of Kvichak...
Oceanographic conditions structure forage fishes into lipid-rich and lipid-poor communities in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA
Alisa A. Abookire, John F. Piatt
2005, Marine Ecology Progress Series (287) 229-240
Forage fishes were sampled with a mid-water trawl in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA, from late July to early August 1996 to 1999. We sampled 3 oceanographically distinct areas of lower Cook Inlet: waters adjacent to Chisik Island, in Kachemak Bay, and near the Barren Islands. In 163 tows using...
Association of ice and river channel morphology determined using ground-penetrationg radar in the Kuparuk River, Alaska
Heather Best, J. P. McNamara, Lee M. Liberty
2005, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (37) 162
We collected ground-penetrating radar data at 10 sites along the Kuparuk River and its main tributary, the Toolik River, to detect unfrozen water beneath river ice. We used 250 MHz and 500 MHz antennas to image both the ice-water interface and the river channel in late April 2001, when daily...
Resource inventory of marine and estuarine fishes of the West Coast and Alaska: A checklist of North Pacific and Arctic Ocean species from Baja California to the Alaska - Yukon border
Milton S. Love, Catherine W. Mecklenburg, T. Anthony Mecklenburg, Lyman K. Thorsteinson
2005, Report
This is a comprehensive inventory of the fish species recorded in marine and estuarine waters between the Alaska–Yukon Territory border in the Beaufort Sea and Cabo San Lucas at the southern end of Baja California and out about 300 miles from shore. Our westernmost range includes the eastern Bering Sea...
Variations in the Arctic's multiyear sea ice cover: A neural network analysis of SMMR-SSM/I data, 1979-2004
G. I. Belchansky, David C. Douglas, V.A. Eremeev, Nikita G. Platonov
2005, Geophysical Research Letters (32) 1-4
A 26-year (1979-2004) observational record of January multiyear sea ice distributions, derived from neural network analysis of SMMR-SSM/I passive microwave satellite data, reveals dense and persistent cover in the central Arctic basin surrounded by expansive regions of highly fluctuating interannual cover. Following a decade of quasi equilibrium, precipitous declines in...
Stratigraphic and geochemical evolution of an oceanic arc upper crustal section: The Jurassic Talkeetna Volcanic Formation, south-central Alaska
P.D. Clift, A.E. Draut, P.B. Kelemen, J. Blusztajn, A. Greene
2005, Geological Society of America Bulletin (117) 902-925
The Early Jurassic Talkeetna Volcanic Formation forms the upper stratigraphic level of an oceanic volcanic arc complex within the Peninsular Terrane of south-central Alaska. The section comprises a series of lavas, tuffs, and volcaniclastic debris-How and flow turbidite deposits, showing significant lateral facies variability. There is a general trend toward...
Brown bear habituation to people - Safety, risks, and benefits
Stephen Herrero, Tom Smith, Terry D. DeBruyn, Kerry Gunther, Colleen A. Matt
2005, Wildlife Society Bulletin (33) 362-373
Recently, brown bear (Ursus arctos) viewing has increased in coastal Alaska and British Columbia, as well as in interior areas such as Yellowstone National Park. Viewing is most often being done under conditions that offer acceptable safety to both people and bears. We analyze and comment on the underlying processes...
Discovery of 100-160-year-old iceberg gouges and their relation to halibut habitat in Glacier Bay, Alaska
P.R. Carlson, P.N. Hooge, G.R. Cochrane
2005, American Fisheries Society Symposium (41) 235-243
Side-scan sonar and multibeam imagery of Glacier Bay, Alaska, revealed complex iceberg gouge patterns at water depths to 135 m on the floor of Whidbey Passage and south to the bay entrance. These previously undiscovered gouges likely formed more than 100 years ago as the glacier retreated rapidly up Glacier...
Polar bear research in the Beaufort Sea 2005
Steven C. Amstrup, George M. Durner, E.V. Regehr, G.S. York, T. S. Smith, Steven T. Partridge, David C. Douglas
2005, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the Canadian Polar Bear Technical Committee
No abstract available....
Polar climate: Arctic sea ice
R. S. Stone, David C. Douglas, G. I. Belchansky, S. D. Drobot
2005, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (86) S39-S41
Recent decreases in snow and sea ice cover in the high northern latitudes are among the most notable indicators of climate change. Northern Hemisphere sea ice extent for the year as a whole was the third lowest on record dating back to 1973, behind 1995 (lowest) and 1990 (second lowest;...
