Elevations and distances in the United States
U.S. Geological Survey
2001, Report
The information in this booklet was compiled to answer inquiries received by the U.S. Geological Survey from students, teachers, writers, editors, publishers of encyclopedias, almanacs, and other reference books, and people in many other fields of work. The elevations of features and distances between points in the United States were determined...
Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project
Geoff S. York, P.R. Becker, Lyman K. Thorsteinson
2001, Book, Alaska Forum on the Environment, Anchorage, Alaska
No abstract available....
Selection of habitats by Emperor Geese during brood rearing
Joel A. Schmutz
2001, Waterbirds (24) 394-401
Although forage quality strongly affects gosling growth and consequently juvenile survival, the relative use of different plant communities by brood rearing geese has been poorly studied. On the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, population growth and juvenile recruitment of Emperor Geese (Chen canagica) are comparatively low, and it is unknown whether their...
Fine-scale population structure in Atlantic salmon from Maine's Penobscot River drainage
A.P. Spidle, Schill W. Bane, B.A. Lubinski, T.L. King
2001, Conservation Genetics (2) 11-24
We report a survey of micro satellite DNA variation in Atlantic salmon from the unimpounded lower reaches of Maine's Penobscot River. Our analysis indicates that Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River are distinct from other populations that have little or no history of human-mediated repopulation, including two of its tributaries,...
Polar bears in the Beaufort Sea: A 30-year mark-recapture case history
Steven C. Amstrup, T. L. McDonald, I. Stirling
2001, Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics (6) 221-234
Knowledge of population size and trend is necessary to manage anthropogenic risks to polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Despite capturing over 1,025 females between 1967 and 1998, previously calculated estimates of the size of the southern Beaufort Sea (SBS) population have been unreliable. We improved estimates of numbers of...
Juvenile groundfish habitat in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, during late summer
Alisa A. Abookire, John F. Piatt, Brenda L. Norcross
2001, Alaska Fishery Research Bulletin (8) 45-56
We investigated the habitat of juvenile groundfishes in relation to depth, water temperature, and salinity in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Stations ranging in depth from 10 to 70 m and with sand or mud-sand substrates were sampled with a small-meshed beam trawl in August-September of 1994 to 1999. A total of...
Cost considerations for long-term ecological monitoring
L. Caughlan, K.L. Oakley
2001, Ecological Indicators (14) 1-12
For an ecological monitoring program to be successful over the long-term, the perceived benefits of the information must justify the cost. Financial limitations will always restrict the scope of a monitoring program, hence the program's focus must be carefully prioritized. Clearly identifying the costs and benefits of a program will...
Water Resources Data, Alaska, Water Year 2000
D. F. Meyer, D.L. Hess, M.F. Schellekens, C. W. Smith, E.F. Snyder, G. L. Solin
2001, Water Data Report AK-00-1
Water-resources data for the 2000 water year for Alaska consists of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stages of lakes; and water levels and water quality of ground-water wells. This volume contains records for water discharge at 106 gaging stations; stage or contents only at 4 gaging...
Neckband retention for lesser snow geese in the western Arctic
M.D. Samuel, Diana R. Goldberg, A. E. Smith, W. Baranyuk, E.G. Cooch
2001, Journal of Wildlife Management (65) 797-807
Neckbands are commonly used in waterfowl studies (especially geese) to identify individuals for determination of movement and behavior and to estimate population parameters. Substantial neckband loss can adversely affect these research objectives and produce biased survival estimates. We used capture, recovery, and observation histories for lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens...
Summer diving behavior of male walruses in Bristol Bay, Alaska
C.V. Jay, Sean D. Farley, G.W. Garner
2001, Marine Mammal Science (17) 617-631
Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) make trips from ice or land haul-out sites to forage for benthic prey. We describe dive and trip characteristics from time-depth-recorder data collected over a one-month period during summer from four male Pacific walruses in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Dives were classified into four types. Shallow...
Remote identification of polar bear maternal den habitat in northern Alaska
George M. Durner, Steven C. Amstrup, Ken J. Ambrosius
2001, Arctic (54) 115-121
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) give birth in dens of ice and snow to protect their altricial young. During the snow-free season, we visited 25 den sites located previously by radiotelemetry and characterized the den site physiognomy. Seven dens occurred in habitats with minimal relief. Eighteen dens (72%) were in coastal...
Biogeochemistry of a treeline watershed, northwestern Alaska
R. Stottlemyer
2001, Journal of Environmental Quality (30) 1990-1998
Since 1950, mean annual temperatures in northwestern Alaska have increased. Change in forest floor and soil temperature or moisture could alter N mineralization rates, production of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and organic nitrogen (DON), and their export to the aquatic ecosystem. In 1990, we began study of nutrient cycles in...
Land cover change on the Seward Peninsula: The use of remote sensing to evaluate the potential influences of climate warming on historical vegetation dynamics
Cherie Silapaswan, D.L. Verbyla, A. D. McGuire
2001, Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing (27) 542-554
Vegetation on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, which is characterized by transitions from tundra to boreal forest, may be sensitive to the influences of climate change on disturbance and species composition. To determine the ability to detect decadal-scale structural changes in vegetation. Change Vector Analysis (CVA) techniques were evaluated for Landsat...
Comparing movement patterns of satellite-tagged male and female polar bears
Steven C. Amstrup, George M. Durner, T. L. McDonald, D.M. Mulcahy, G.W. Garner
2001, Canadian Journal of Zoology (79) 2147-2158
Satellite radiotelemetry has provided great insights into the movements and behaviors of polar bears (Ursus maritimus). The diameter of the neck of adult male polar bears exceeds that of their head, however, and radio collars slip off. This has limited collection of movement information to that from radio-collared females. To...
Formation and failure of volcanic debris dams in the Chakachatna River valley associated with eruptions of the Spurr volcanic complex, Alaska
C. F. Waythomas
2001, Geomorphology (39) 111-129
The formation of lahars and a debris avalanche during Holocene eruptions of the Spurr volcanic complex in south-central Alaska have led to the development of volcanic debris dams in the Chakachatna River valley. Debris dams composed of lahar and debris-avalanche deposits formed at least five times in the last 8000-10,000...
Shallow-storage conditions for the rhyolite of the 1912 eruption at Novarupta, Alaska
Michelle L. Coombs, James E. Gardner
2001, Geology (29) 775-778
Recent studies have proposed contrasting models for the plumbing system that fed the 1912 eruption of Novarupta, Alaska. Here, we investigate the conditions under which the rhyolitic part of the erupted magma last resided in the crust prior to eruption. Geothermometry suggests that the rhyolite was held at ∼800-850 °C,...
Seismic response of the katmai volcanoes to the 6 December 1999 magnitude 7.0 Karluk Lake earthquake, Alaska
J.A. Power, S.C. Moran, S.R. McNutt, S.D. Stihler, J.J. Sanchez
2001, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (91) 57-63
A sudden increase in earthquake activity was observed beneath volcanoes in the Katmai area on the Alaska Peninsula immediately following the 6 December 1999 magnitude (Mw) 7.0 Karluk Lake earthquake beneath southern Kodiak Island, Alaska. The observed increase in earthquake activity consisted of small (ML < 1.3), shallow (Z <...
The Great Auk [Book review]
John F. Piatt
2001, Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation (29) 65-66
Human obsession with the Great Auk or Garefowl Pinguinus impennis is what this book is about, and it further fuels the fire of our fascination. As Fuller concludes in his introduction: ‘The Great Auk, large and plump, has tempted man since the dawn of history. Whatever the precise reasons for...
Critical habitat for ovigerous Dungeness crabs
Karen Scheding, Thomas C. Shirley, Charles E. O’Clair, S. James Taggart
Gordon H. Kruse, Nicolas Bez, Anthony Booth, Martin W. Dorn, Susan Hills, Romuald N. Lipcius, Dominique Pelletier, Claude Roy, Stephen J. Smith, David B. Witherell, editor(s)
2001, Conference Paper, Spatial processes and management of marine populations
The Dungeness crab, Cancer magister, supports an important fishery in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, yet there is limited knowledge of ovigerous female brooding locations and brooding behavior. Our earlier research suggests that ovigerous crabs aggregate at the same brooding locations for many years. Within these locations, ovigerous females occur in...
Effects of gull predation and weather on survival of emperor goose goslings
Joel A. Schmutz, Bryan F.J. Manly, Christian P. Dau
2001, Journal of Wildlife Management (65) 248-257
Numbers of emperor geese (Chen canagica) have remained depressed since the mid-1980s. Despite increases in glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus), a primary predator of goslings, little information existed to assess whether recent patterns of gosling survival have been a major factor affecting population dynamics. We used observations of known families of...
Seabird tissue archival and monitoring project: Protocol for collecting and banking seabird eggs
Geoff Weston-York, Barbara J. Porter, Rebecca S. Pugh, David G. Roseneau, Kristin S. Simac, Paul R. Becker, Lyman K. Thorsteinson, Stephen A. Wise
2001, Report
Archiving biological and environmental samples for retrospective analysis is a major component of systematic environmental monitoring. The long-term storage of carefully selected, representative samples in an environmental specimen bank is an important complement to the real-time monitoring of the environment. These archived samples permit:The use of subsequently developed innovative analytical...
Comparison of methods used to estimate numbers of walruses on sea ice
Mark S. Udevitz, James R. Gilbert, Gennadii A. Fedoseev
2001, Marine Mammal Science (17) 601-616
The US and former USSR conducted joint surveys of Pacific walruses on sea ice and at land haul-outs in 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1990. One of the difficulties in interpreting results of these surveys has been that, except for the 1990 survey, the Americans and Soviets used different methods for...
Vegetation and paleoclimate of the last interglacial period, central Alaska
D.R. Muhs, T. A. Ager, J. E. Beget
2001, Quaternary Science Reviews (20) 41-61
The last interglacial period is thought to be the last time global climate was significantly warmer than present. New stratigraphic studies at Eva Creek, near Fairbanks, Alaska indicate a complex last interglacial record wherein periods of loess deposition alternated with periods of soil formation. The Eva Forest Bed appears to...
Evolution of the December 14, 1989 precursory long-period event swarm at Redoubt volcano, Alaska
C.D. Stephens, B. A. Chouet
2001, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (109) 133-148
The intermittency pattern and evolution in waveforms of long-period (LP) seismic events during the intense, 23-h swarm that preceded the December 14, 1989 eruption of Redoubt volcano are investigated. Utilizing cross correlation to exploit the high degree of similarity among waveforms, a substantially more complete event catalog is generated than...
Estimating repeatability of egg size
Paul L. Flint, R.F. Rockwell, J.S. Sedinger
2001, The Auk (118) 500-503
Measures of repeatability have long been used to assess patterns of variation in egg size within and among females. We compared different analytical approaches for estimating repeatability of egg size of Black Brant. Separate estimates of repeatability for eggs of each clutch size and laying sequence number varied from 0.49...
