Wildlife Conservation Society Continues Arctic Bird Research and Conservation

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), with funding support from a variety of sources, continued and expanded its research in 2010 to provide scientific details of the Arctic region and its resources.

During late-May to early-July, more than a dozen WCS field biologists investigated reproductive biology of all bird species nesting on study plots they established. According to Joe Liebezeit, the Arctic Alaska Field Coordinator for the group, "We continued our work at the same site in the Prudhoe Bay oilfields where we’ve worked since 2003, and at a second new site to the west, in a remote region of the Arctic near the Ikpikpuk River in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska."

The focus at both sites is to get a better understanding of how successfully birds are able to reproduce and thereby better understand population trends of key species, Liebezeit said. They focused their research on shorebirds including the Semipalmated Sandpiper, Red Phalarope, and Red-necked Phalarope. Other species were also given attention, including the Bar-tailed Godwit.

The Ikpikpuk River study site is within the a National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska, the largest piece of public land in the U.S.A. Funding for research here was provided by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Liz Claiborne/Art Ortenberg Foundation.

Liebezeit and his cohorts noted high densities of shorebirds and other tundra birds at the Ikpikpuk study area. Their investigations at both sites include finding and monitoring nests, evaluating reproductive success and documenting other particulars of the natural history of the birds present.

Ikpikpuk Field Camp, 2010. Images courtesy of Joe Liebezeit, WCS.

Banding a Semipalmated Sandpiper.

Two new aspects of the WCS research this season included the use of remote cameras to identify nest predators that will often eat the eggs and young at active nests, and color-banding adult shorebirds to better understand adult survivorship.

Fifteen remote cameras, about the size of a shoebox, were used at both study areas to evaluate nest predation, Liebezeit said. When a would-be predator crosses the infrared beam while it is raiding a nest, pictures are taken enabling the predator to be identified. This is helpful in evaluating differences between the Prudhoe Bay site - which is a human-altered area with a greater preponderance of predators such as the Arctic fox, Common Raven and gulls - to the Ikpikpuk site which is a remote locality with a lesser number of human-related predators, he said.

A second new focus is placing colored bands on the legs of captured, adult shorebirds. Trapping and marking birds is an effective means of determining the survivorship of the adult birds since it enables the same bird to be identified and resighted multiple times, Liebezeit said. If marked birds are recaptured or resighted in subsequent years, a statistical analysis can be used to evaluate this feature of the bird's life cycle. This research is a cooperative effort with the Arctic Shorebird Demography Network.

Liebezeit, in association with the WCS, has been studying birds in the Arctic region since 2002. Each season, recent college graduates with a desire to gain field experience studying birds, apply for a few coveted positions to spend two months on the tundra working with an array of different birds.

"A lot of people want to go to the Arctic to study birds, and we have no problems getting help" Liebezeit said. "Our projects afford a good opportunity for young people to get research experience."

"WCS is concerned with conservation of natural resources of this region. Conditions in the Arctic are a complex situation," Liebezeit said.

"Climate change is happening faster in the Arctic than anywhere else on earth," he said, then indicating notable concerns based upon his experience, including:

• A rise in sea levels which would inundate shoreline which is important foraging habitat for a variety of species
• A drying trend on the tundra which may lessen the extent of wetlands, noting that this needs further study as wetland dependent species such as phalaropes and dowitchers may lose habitat, while a species such as the Black-bellied Plover may benefit as they prefer drier habitat
• An early indication that species more prevalent in boreal forest habitat may be moving their range further northward, which may alter the local food web. One example he noted was more red fox seem to be moving into Arctic Fox habitat.

The information obtained by this research will enable effective management and conservation of nesting birds and other wildlife in the region, Liebezeit said. The North American Program website of WCS has the latest information about their Arctic research.

"Every year I also contribute a summary of our annual findings from each of our study sites to Arctic Birds" an international project which reports details from numerous surveys of breeding birds. "This is valuable since this compilation of information is the only circumpolar synthesis of information on arctic breeding birds," Liebezeit added.

A report on the results of four years worth of studies at Teshekpuk Lake, will be published in the journal Arctic, in March 2011.

The WCS - formerly known as the New York Zoological Society - has a long history of interest in the Alaskan Arctic. Some of their first research surveys were done in the early 1900s. In the 1950s, Olaus and Marty Murie were supported by the organization for their investigations evaluating unique aspects of the area which was eventually established as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In the latter 1990s, the Society - with its headquarters in New York City - restarted its North America conservation initiatives, including efforts to investigate the Arctic.

Climate Change and Birds Audubon Presentation

Retired meteorologist John Pollock gave a presentation on climate change and how it may affect birds at the April 8th monthly meeting of the Audubon Society of Omaha.

The talk - Climate Change: It's Not for the Birds - was based on his recent investigations into climate change, and the hour-long presentation gave detailed information depicting how climate change is known to be occurring.

His presentation was well presented and vividly conveyed how science is being used to understand dramatic changes to the global climate. Slides included many graphs and figures, essential to showing the climatic situation.

Especially useful examples included these specifics:

• Changes in global temperatures since the early 1800s.
• Changes in the concentration of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere: the atmospheric level was about 315 ppm in 1958, 385 ppm in 2007 and based on projections may exceed 500 ppm before A.D. 2100. The levels of this gas, have a huge impact on weather and temperature, according to solid scientific studies.
• Climatic change depicted by research on conditions thousands of years in the past, including studies of ice cores and tree rings.
• How biome shifts will change as climatic conditions differ; this would include shifts in elevation for plants or animals, changes to the conditions of islands due to differences in sea levels, how refugia for species can be altered, and the dramatic influence of global scale differences caused by changes in ice sheets or glacial conditions.

The influence of volcanic eruptions was also a topic of discussion.

Based on the research their is the possibility "twenty-first century CO2 levels resemble the early Miocene period," of about 3.2 million years ago, Pollock mused during the discussion among the more than 35 people attending.

Illustrated during the presentation were results from long-term studies indicating dramatic fluctuations in climatic conditions.

As climates change - with variable temperatures and precipitation - vegetation adapts and will significantly respond to the growing conditions, which can alter the range suitable for animal species dependent on particular vegetation for their survive.

Most of the details he presented to the members of the local conservation group were about the climate, but Pollack finished up with some details pertinent to birds.

Shifts in the ranges of birds can occur for several reasons, Pollock indicated, including changes in the distribution of vegetation, habits of birds which may pioneer into new areas and change the known range of a species, new behavioral strategies, to cite some examples.

Negative influences of a warming climate apparent to Pollock were: vanishing islands, inundated deltas of rivers at the sea coast, influences of invasive species, impacts from large regions of human disturbance, shrinking or vanishing biomes.

"Changes are probably on the way," Pollack said. "We don't know when drastic climate changes will take place," but they can be expected.

Pollock urged some conservation strategies to help lessen the impacts to birds because of differences in habitat as the climate changes. He also did not expect to see efforts made to address this issue, and pondered if a climatic disaster was necessary to change the political climate enough for people to become concerned with the issue to make the changes necessary to reduce the human impact on the environment.

Pollack plans to continue his efforts to educate people about climate change. He retired early in 2009, after working for the National Weather Service since 1978 and now gives particular attention to researching climate change. Before he started his career, John Pollack received a B.S. and M.S. degree in meteorology.

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The 2010 State of the Birds report was recently released, with its entire content a discussion of climatic influences on wild birds. The report "shows that climate changes will have an increasingly disruptive effect on bird species in all habitats, with oceanic and Hawaiian birds in greatest peril."

"Climate Science Centers will help support a network of new Landscape Conservation Cooperatives that will engage federal agencies, tribal, state, and local governmental and non-governmental partners, and the public in crafting practical, landscape-level strategies for managing climate change impacts on land, natural, and cultural resources within the eight regions."

The 32 report includes key findings and was a cooperative project by numerous agencies and NGO's involved with bird conservation.

World Environment Day Forum on Climate Change Held in Omaha

A forum on climate change occurred on June 3rd in association with World Environment Day events in Omaha, Nebraska.

The theme for this year is "UNite to Combat Climate Change" and the forum Wednesday afternoon was part of the events being held in Omaha, the North American host city for celebrating World Environment Day on June 5th.

"Climate change is a long-term issue," said Dr. Mack Hack, the forum moderator and director of The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska (TNC). The forum was meant to "introduce people to perspectives on this issue and spur thinking on this topic and to join in the conversation."

"Climate change threatens to become the dominant environmental issue of our lifetime, and our children's lifetime," Hack said in a prepared statement. "It's not just about nature; it's about people in nature. Climate change is beginning to unravel the natural systems that provide us with clean water, clean air, and the food, fuel, and other natural resources that sustain our lives on this planet. Right now we have time to react in an effective and thoughtful manner - if our carbon emissions continue to grow, our options will decrease."

Presentations were given by four speakers.

Speaking first — on sustainability issues — was Dr. Harmon D. Maher Jr., of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Department of Geography and Geology. He noted the importance of education and presented several examples of activities by UNO educators.

"What climate change may mean for the Great Plains," was the subject for Jonathan Hoekstra, managing director of The Nature Conservancy’s climate change program. "Climate change is a real and present issue here and now," he said. "We need to address the root causes and prepare people and the planet for impacts which are unavoidable." He then cited several examples which indicate a changing climate, including earlier spring seasons, shifts in the ranges of animal species, dramatic weather events such as extreme droughts and changes in precipitation patterns.

"We need solutions from all sectors of society," Hoekstra said, mentioning restoration of natural habitats to protect coastal people and properties, improving the sustainability of natural resources such as coral reefs, and working to foster a transition to new conditions.

A new website — Climate Wizard — debuted in early June according to Hoekstra. It provides access to climate change information and lets users visualize model scenarios of future weather and precipitation for different geographic regions around the world. The site was developed by TNC, the University of Washington, and the University of Southern Mississippi.

Dr. Joseph Fargione, a lead scientist for TNC’s North America region then spoke on renewable energy development. Biofuels and wind energy were two of his primary topics.

"Business as usual" will not work, he pointed out. Carbon emissions need to be reduced through improved efficiencies in the standards for miles per gallon achieved by motor vehicles, energy efficient buildings, more wind, biofuel and solar energy. He also indicated the importance of eliminating tropical deforestation and an increase in the planting of trees.

There is also a need transition to more sustainable sources of biofuels, saying waste biomass, agricultural residue, forestry waste, municipal waste, and algae are sources.

His comments also addressed how wind turbine can locally impact wildlife, discussing how development of turbine farms in grasslands can have a detrimental impact on prairie-chickens.

Amy Fraenkel, represented the United Nations Environment Programme, and told the crowd of about 100 about climate change in relation to the global economy.

"The economy and the environment are tied together," she said, "and all the costs of burning fossil fuels are not considered."

A "green economy initiative" is needed, Fraenkel said, indicating that money needs to be invested into a sustainable economy which implements improvements in use of energy by buildings, use of renewable energy, improvements in transportation, increased investment in renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture that will reduce green house gasses.

"Climate change is a lens to see other issues affecting the environment," she said.

"There needs to be a global transition to low carbon and a sustainable economy," Fraenkel said. Working on the local or individual level is an important step. People making certain their voices were heard in local and national politics was also stressed during her remarks.

Mary Daugherty, World Environment Day liaison in Omaha and a city resident instrumental in having the city be selected as a host city, was "proud the city of Omaha" was selected. "It was my dream to see it happen," she said after the forum. "I would like to see people make decisions for themselves, as better decisions on a broader scale" can be made on a personal level.

A 30-minute period of questions and answers followed the formal remarks.

The forum at the Milo Bail Student Center was sponsored by The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska, the United Nations Environment Programme and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

This article was published first at the Blogger News Network.