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...
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...
Ecosystem processes and nitrogen export in northern U.S. watersheds.
R. Stottlemyer
2001, Scientific World Journal (1) 581-588
There is much interest in the relationship of atmospheric nitrogen (N) inputs to ecosystem outputs as an indicator of possible "nitrogen saturation" by human activity. Longer-term, ecosystem-level mass balance studies suggest that the relationship is not clear and that other ecosystem processes may dominate variation in N outputs. We have...
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 <...
Habitat use by female caribou: Tradeoffs associated with parturition
Neil L. Barten, R.T. Bowyer, Kurt J. Jenkins
2001, Journal of Wildlife Management (65) 77-92
We compared habitat use, forage characteristics, and group size among preparturient, parturient, and nonparturient female caribou (Rangifer tarandus) during and after the birthing season to test hypotheses involving acquisition of forage and risk of predation. We monitored 39 radiocollared females from the Mentasta caribou herd, Alaska, in 1994 and 40...
Moose, caribou, and grizzly bear distribution in relation to road traffic in Denali National Park, Alaska
A. C. Yost, R.G. Wright
2001, Arctic (54) 41-48
Park managers are concerned that moose (Alces alces), caribou (Rangifer tarandus), and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) may be avoiding areas along the 130 km road through Denali National Park as a result of high traffic volume, thus decreasing opportunities for visitors to view wildlife. A wildlife monitoring system was developed in...
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...
Alaska: A twenty-first-century petroleum province
Kenneth J. Bird
2001, AAPG Memoir (74) 137-165
Alaska, the least explored of all United States regions, is estimated to contain approximately 40% of total U.S. undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and natural-gas resources, based on the most recent U.S. Department of the Interior (U.S. Geological Survey and Minerals Management Service) estimates. Northern Alaska, including the North Slope and...
Stock structure of sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) in Alaska
C.S. Gorbics, James L. Bodkin
2001, Marine Mammal Science (17) 632-647
Sea otters in Alaska are recognized as a single subspecies (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) and currently managed as a single, interbreeding population. However, geographic and behavioral mechanisms undoubrably constrain sea otter movements on much smaller scales. This paper applies the phylogeographic method (Dizon et al. 1992) and considers distribution, population response, phenotype...
Densities of breeding birds and changes in vegetation in an alaskan boreal forest following a massive disturbance by spruce beetles
Steven M. Matsuoka, Colleen M. Handel, Daniel R. Ruthrauff
2001, Canadian Journal of Zoology (79) 1678-1690
We examined bird and plant communities among forest stands with different levels of spruce mortality following a large outbreak of spruce beetles (Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby)) in the Copper River Basin, Alaska. Spruce beetles avoided stands with black spruce (Picea mariana) and selectively killed larger diameter white spruce (Picea glauca), thereby...
Corticosterone facilitates begging and affects resource allocation in the black-legged kittiwake
Alexander S Kitaysky, John C. Wingfield, John F. Piatt
2001, Behavioral Ecology (12) 619-625
Parent black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and their dependent chicks respond to food shortages by increasing circulating levels of corticosterone. To examine the behavioral significance of corticosterone release, we experimentally increased levels of circulating corticosterone in parents and chicks up to the levels observed during food shortages. We found that corticosterone-implanted...
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,...
Effects of color bands on Semipalmated Sandpipers banded at hatch
Jonathan Bart, Daniel S. Battaglia, Nathan R. Senner
2001, Journal of Field Ornithology (72) 521-526
Effects of color bands on adult birds have been investigated in many studies, but much less is known about the effects of bands on birds banded at hatch. We captured Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) chicks at hatch on the Alaskan North Slope and attached 0–3 bands to them. The chicks...
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...
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...
Apatite fission-track evidence of widespread Eocene heating and exhumation in the Yukon-Tanana Upland, interior Alaska
Cynthia Dusel-Bacon, J.M. Murphy
2001, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (38) 1191-1204
We present an apatite fission-track (AFT) study of five plutonic rocks and seven metamorphic rocks across 310 km of the YukonTanana Upland in east-central Alaska. Samples yielding ~40 Ma AFT ages and mean confined track lengths > 14 µm with low standard...
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...
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...
Recommended features of protocols for long-term ecological monitoring
Karen L. Oakley, Susan L. Boudreau, Sioux-Z Humphrey
2001, Conference Paper, Crossing boundaries in park management: Proceedings of the 11th conference on research and resource management in parks and on public lands
In 1991, the National Park Service (NPS) selected seven parks to serve as prototypes for development of a long-term ecological monitoring program. Denali National Park and Preserve was one of the prototype parks selected. The principal focus of this national program was to detect and document resource changes and to...
Snow cover and snow goose Anser caerulescens caerulescens distribution during spring migration
Jerry W. Hupp, Amy B. Zacheis, R. Michael Anthony, Donna G. Robertson, Wallace P. Erickson, Kelly C. Palacios
2001, Wildlife Biology (7) 65-76
Arctic geese often use spring migration stopover areas when feeding habitats are partially snow covered. Melting of snow during the stopover period causes spatial and temporal variability in distribution and abundance of feeding habitat. We recorded changes in snow cover and lesser snow goose Anser caerulescens caerulescens distribution on a...
Estimation of brood and nest survival: Comparative methods in the presence of heterogeneity
Bryan F.J. Manly, Joel A. Schmutz
2001, Journal of Wildlife Management (65) 258-270
The Mayfield method has been widely used for estimating survival of nests and young animals, especially when data are collected at irregular observation intervals. However, this method assumes survival is constant throughout the study period, which often ignores biologically relevant variation and may lead to biased survival estimates. We examined...
Lithologies of the basement complex (Devonian and older) in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska
Julie A. Dumoulin
David W. Houseknecht, editor(s)
2001, SEPM Core Workshop Notes (21) 201-214
Rocks of the basement complex (Devonian and older) were encountered in at least 30 exploratory wells in the northern part of the NPRA. Fine-grained, variably deformed sedimentary rocks deposited in a slope or basinal setting predominate and include varicolored (mainly red and green) argillite in the Simpson area, dark argillite...
The role of hybridization in the distribution, conservation and management of aquatic species: Symposium review
John Epifanio, Jennifer L. Nielsen
2001, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (10) 245-251
This issue of Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries contains six papers addressing several critical aspects of hybridization in fishes and aquatic organisms. Hybridization is a phenomenon long recognized in fishes (Hubbs, 1920, 1955; Schwarz, 1981), as well as in other plant and vertebrate taxa, despite some rather dogmatic proclamations...
Geographic variation of PCB congeners in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard east to the Chukchi Sea
M. Andersen, E. Lie, A.E. Derocher, S.E. Belikov, A. Bernhoft, Andrei N. Boltunov, G.W. Garner, J.U. Skaare, Øystein Wiig
2001, Polar Biology (24) 231-238
We present data on geographic variation in polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in adult female polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard eastward to the Chukchi Sea. Blood samples from 90 free-living polar bears were collected in 1987–1995. Six PCB congeners, penta to octa chlorinated (PCB-99, -118, -153, -156, -180,...
