Movements and distribution of polar bears in the Beaufort sea
Steven C. Amstrup, George M. Durner, I. Stirling, N.J. Lunn, F. Messier
2000, Canadian Journal of Zoology (78) 948-966
We fitted 173 satellite radio collars (platform transmitter terminals) to 121 adult female polar bears in the Beaufort Sea and relocated the bears 44 736 times between 1985 and 1995. We regularly resighted many instrumented bears so that we could ascertain whether changes in movements or distribution were related to...
Genetic diversity and epidemiology of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in Alaska
E.G Emmenegger, T.R. Meyers, T.O. Burton, Gael Kurath
2000, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (40) 163-176
Forty-two infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) isolates from Alaska were analyzed using the ribonuclease protection assay (RPA) and nucleotide sequencing. RPA analyses, utilizing 4 probes, N5, N3 (N gene), GF (G gene), and NV (NV gene), determined that the haplotypes of all 3 genes demonstrated a consistent spatial pattern. Virus...
Seasonal movements and pelagic habitat use of Murres and Puffins determined by satellite telemetry
Scott A. Hatch, P.M. Meyers, D.M. Mulcahy, David C. Douglas
2000, Condor (102) 145-154
We tracked the movements of Common Murres (Uria aalge), Thick-billed Murres (U. lomvia), and Tufted Puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) using surgically implanted satellite transmitters. From 1994–1996, we tagged 53 birds from two colonies in the Gulf of Alaska (Middleton Island and Barren Islands) and two colonies in the Chukchi Sea (Cape...
Biogeochemical effects of global change on U.S. National Parks
R. Herrmann, R. Stottlemyer, J.C. Zak, R.L. Edmonds, H. Van Miegroet
2000, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (36) 337-346
Federal parks and other public lands have unique mandates and rules regulating their use and conservation. Because of variation in their response to local, regional, and global-scale disturbance, development of mitigation strategies requires substantial research in the context of long-term inventory and monitoring. In 1982, the National Park Service began...
Reevaluation of tsunami formation by debris avalanche at Augustine Volcano, Alaska
C. F. Waythomas
2000, Pure and Applied Geophysics (157) 1145-1188
Debris avalanches entering the sea at Augustine Volcano, Alaska have been proposed as a mechanism for generating tsunamis. Historical accounts of the 1883 eruption of the volcano describe 6- to 9-meter-high waves that struck the coastline at English Bay (Nanwalek), Alaska about 80 kilometers east of Augustine Island. These accounts...
An evaluation of the Wyoming Gauge System for snowfall measurement
Daqing Yang, Douglas L. Kane, Larry D. Hinzman, Barry E. Goodison, John R. Metcalfe, Paul Y.T. Louie, George H. Leavesley, Douglas G. Emerson, Clayton L. Hanson
2000, Water Resources Research (36) 2665-2677
The Wyoming snow fence (shield) has been widely used with precipitation gauges for snowfall measurement at more than 25 locations in Alaska since the late 1970s. This gauge's measurements have been taken as the reference for correcting wind‐induced gauge undercatch of snowfall in Alaska. Recently, this fence (shield) was tested...
Crustal deformation associated with glacial fluctuations in the eastern Chugach Mountains, Alaska
Jeanne Sauber, George Plafker, Bruce F. Molnia, Mark A. Bryant
2000, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (105) 8055-8077
The changes of the solid Earth in south central Alaska in response to two major glacial fluctuations on different temporal and spatial scales have been estimated and we evaluated their influence on the stress state and ongoing tectonic deformation of the region. During the recent (1993–1995) Bering Glacier surge, a...
Testing assumptions for unbiased estimation of survival of radiomarked harlequin ducks
Daniel Esler, Daniel M. Mulcahy, Robert L. Jarvis
2000, Journal of Wildlife Management (64) 591-598
Unbiased estimates of survival based on individuals outfitted with radiotransmitters require meeting the assumptions that radios do not affect survival, and animals for which the radio signal is lost have the same survival probability as those for which fate is known. In most survival studies, researchers have made these assumptions...
Reservoir characterization of marine and permafrost associated gas hydrate accumulations with downhole well logs
T. S. Collett, Myung W. Lee
2000, Conference Paper, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Gas volumes that may be attributed to a gas hydrate accumulation depend on a number of reservoir parameters, one of which, gas-hydrate saturation, can be assessed with data obtained from downhole well-logging devices. This study demonstrates that electrical resistivity and acoustic transit-time downhole log data can be used to quantify...
Age-specific breeding in Emperor Geese
Joel A. Schmutz
2000, The Wilson Bulletin (112) 261-263
I studied the frequency with which Emperor Geese (Chen canagica) of known age were observed breeding on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. No one- or two-year old geese were observed on nests. Three-year old geese bred at a lower rate than four-year old geese. These data suggest that patterns...
A genetic evaluation of morphology used to identify harvested Canada geese
John M. Pearce, Barbara J. Pierson, Sandra L. Talbot, Dirk V. Derksen, Donald K. Kraege, Kim T. Scribner
2000, Journal of Wildlife Management (64) 863-875
Using maximum likelihood estimators (in genetic stock identification), we used genetic markers to evaluate the utility of 2 morphological measures (culmen length and plumage color) to correctly identify groups of hunter-harvested dusky (Branta canadensis occidentalis) and dusky-like Canada geese on the wintering grounds within the Pacific Flyway. Significant levels of...
Winter survival of adult female harlequin ducks in relation to history of contamination by the Exxon Valdez oil spill
Daniel Esler, Joel A. Schmutz, R. L. Jarvis, D.M. Mulcahy
2000, Journal of Wildlife Management (64) 839-847
Harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) life-history characteristics make their populations particularly vulnerable to perturbations during nonbreeding periods. The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill was a major perturbation to nonbreeding habitats of harlequin ducks in Prince William Sound, Alaska, which resulted in population injury. To assess the status of population recovery from...
Long-term impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on sea otters, assessed through age-dependent mortality patterns
Daniel H. Monson, Daniel F. Doak, Brenda E. Ballachey, Aaron H. Johnson, James L. Bodkin
2000, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (97) 6562-6567
We use age distributions of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) found dead on beaches of western Prince William Sound, Alaska, between 1976 and 1998 in conjunction with time-varying demographic models to test for lingering effects from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Our results show that sea otters in this area had decreased...
Isotopic evidence for the sources of Cretaceous and tertiary granitic rocks, east-central Alaska: Implications for the tectonic evolution of the Yukon-Tanana terrane
J. N. Aleinikoff, G. L. Farmer, R. O. Rye, W. J. Nokleberg
2000, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (37) 945-956
Magnetotelluric traverses across the southern Yukon-Tanana terrane (YTT) reveal the presence of a thick conductive layer (or layers) beneath Paleozoic crystalline rocks. These rocks have been interpreted to be flysch of probable Mesozoic age, on the basis of the occurrence of Jurassic-Cretaceous flysch in the Kahiltna assemblage and Gravina-Nutzotin belt...
Recovery of tall cotton-grass following real and simulated feeding by snow geese
Jerry W. Hupp, Donna G. Robertson, Joel A. Schmutz
2000, Ecography (23) 367-373
Lesser snow geese Anser caerulescens caeruteseens from the western Canadian Arctic feed on underground parts of tall cotton–grass Eriophorum angustifolium during autumn staging on the coastal plain of the Beaufort Sea in Canada and Alaska. We studied revegetation of sites where cotton–grass had been removed either by human–imprinted snow geese or by hand to...
New species of Rhynchelmis (Clitellata, Lumbriculidae), with observations on the Nearctic species
S.V. Fend, R.O. Brinkhurst
2000, Hydrobiologia (428) 1-59
The Nearctic species of Rhynchelmis (Lumbriculidae) are distinguished frown the Palearctic group Rhynchelmis s. str. by longitudinal muscle bands that do not curl inwards. Six new species from western North America support the existence of two major groupings within the Nearctic fauna. Species in Group 1 are distinguished from other...
A model for the magmatic-hydrothermal system at Mount Rainier, Washington, from seismic and geochemical observations
S.C. Moran, D. R. Zimbelman, S. D. Malone
2000, Bulletin of Volcanology (61) 425-436
Mount Rainier is one of the most seismically active volcanoes in the Cascade Range, with an average of one to two high-frequency volcano-tectonic (or VT) earthquakes occurring directly beneath the summit in a given month. Despite this level of seismicity, little is known about its cause. The VT earthquakes occur...
Molecular analysis of population genetic structure and recolonization of rainbow trout following the Cantara spill
J.L. Nielsen, Erika L. Heine, Christina A. Gan, Monique C. Fountain
2000, California Fish and Game (86) 21-40
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence and allelic frequency data for 12 microsatellite loci were used to analyze population genetic structure and recolonization by rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, following the 1991 Cantara spill on the upper Sacramento River, California. Genetic analyses were performed on 1,016 wild rainbow trout collected between...
USGS National Seismic Hazard Maps
A.D. Frankel, C.S. Mueller, T. P. Barnhard, E. V. Leyendecker, R. L. Wesson, S. C. Harmsen, F. W. Klein, D. M. Perkins, N.C. Dickman, S.L. Hanson, M. G. Hopper
2000, Earthquake Spectra (16) 1-19
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed new probabilistic seismic hazard maps for the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. These hazard maps form the basis of the probabilistic component of the design maps used in the 1997 edition of the NEHRP Recommended Provisions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings and...
Inter-decadal change in diet and population of sea otters at Amchitka Island, Alaska
J. Watt, D.B. Siniff, J. A. Estes
2000, Oecologia (124) 289-298
After having been hunted to near-extinction in the Pacific maritime fur trade, the sea otter population at Amchitka Island, Alaska increased from very low numbers in the early 1900s to near equilibrium density by the 1940s. The population persisted at or near equilibrium through the 1980s, but declined sharply in...
Life history plasticity and population regulation in sea otters
Daniel H. Monson, James A. Estes, James L. Bodkin, Donald B. Siniff
2000, Oikos (90) 457-468
We contrasted body condition, and age-specific reproduction and mortality between a growing population of sea otters (Enhydralutris) at Kodiak Island and a high-density near-equilibrium population at Amchitka Island, Alaska. We obtained data from marked individuals, population surveys, and collections of beach-cast carcasses. Mass:length ratios indicated that females (but not males)...
Performance of implantable satellite transmitters in diving seabirds
Scott A. Hatch, P.M. Meyers, D.M. Mulcahy, David C. Douglas
2000, Waterbirds (23) 84-94
We report on the first deployment of satellite transmitters in large alcids. In 1995 and 1996, we surgically implanted 51 transmitters in Common and Thick-billed murres (Uria aalge and U. lomvia) and Tufted Puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) at three colonies in Alaska. These devices furnished more than 2,900 locations over succeeding...
Effects of neck collars and radiotransmitters on survival and reproduction of emperor geese
Joel A. Schmutz, Julie A. Morse
2000, Journal of Wildlife Management (64) 231-237
Neck collars have been used widely for studies of goose population biology. Despite concerns about their negative impacts, few studies have employed designs capable of clearly demonstrating these effects. During a 1993-98 study of emperor geese (Chen canagica), we contrasted survival and reproduction of geese marked with tarsal bands to...
Infectious bursal disease virus antibodies in eider ducks and Herring Gulls
T. Hollmen, J. Christian Franson, Douglas E. Docherty, Mikael Kilpi, Martti Hario, Lynn H. Creekmore, Margaret R. Petersen
2000, Condor (102) 688-691
We measured antibodies to infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) in blood of nesting Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) females and immature Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) in the Baltic Sea, and in blood of Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri) females nesting in a remote area of western Alaska. Positive (≥ 1:16) IBDV titers...
Tephrochronology of the Brooks River Archaeological District, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska: What can and cannot be done with tephra deposits
J.R. Riehle, D.E. Dumond, C.E. Meyer, J.M. Schaaf
2000, Book chapter, The archaeology of geological catastrophes
The Brooks River Archaeological District (BRAD) in Katmai National Park and Preserve is a classical site for the study of early humans in Alaska. Because of proximity to the active Aleutian volcanic arc, there are numerous tephra deposits in the BRAD, which are potentially useful for correlating among sites of...
