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.

Vast Arctic Park Established at Novaya Zemlya, Russian Republic

The Russian government has established an "arctic park" of 1.5 million hectares (ca. 3,706,580 acres or 5791 square miles) on the northern part of Novaya Zemlya island, in the Arctic Ocean between the Barents and Kara Seas.

The World Wildlife Fund, which announced the designation, "has long been lobbying for the park, which is also a key area for walrus, wild reindeer and bird population. The park creation excludes all industrial activities."

“This is exactly the sort of thing we need to see from Arctic governments,” said Neil Hamilton, Director of WWF's International Arctic Programme.

The area has long been recognized for its variety of birdlife, with one historic report for an 1895-1897 expedition.

An 1881 article by Captain H.W. Feilden, had additional notes on the historic ornithology. On the return of Captain A. H. Markham, R.N., from a cruise in Barents Sea and to Novaya Zemlya during the summer and autumn of 1879, he placed in my hands, for examination, his ornithological collection, consisting of some sixty well-preserved birds' skins, comprising twenty-six different species."

The text includes a detailed list of species noted at Lystina Island.

The remote place has been a haven for a number of bird species, and was the focus for another survey of resident seabirds in 1994 and mid-1995. Reports were issued for the two joint Norwegian-Russian expeditions to census seabirds, illustrated with scenes of the area.

In 1994, survey work was done between July 28 to August 16, and 34 bird species were documented (5.97 mb pdf file).

In 1995, "The field work was carried out in Gribovaya Bay and Bezymyannaya Bay in the period July 21 to August 2." There were 27 or 28 species of birds noted with detailed notes on seabirds presented (6.22 mb pdf file).

The diversity of birds was one reason for the establishment of the new park.

The WWF noted that the "protected area is smaller than the 5 million hectares initially planned."

“Despite the fact that the Russian Arctic Park is our big achievement, we’re sorry that not all planned territories were included in the park area,” said Oleg Sutkaitis, head of the Barents Sea Ecoregional Office for WWF Russia.

“Franz Josef Land and Victoria Island were crossed out from the project, but we will now work on widening the park’s borders.”

Silver Bay, West Coast, Novaya Zemlya. A view from the 1890s.

"When announcing the park, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he hoped it would be a major attraction for tourism, and announced that he personally plans to vacation there."

Arctic Research Compares Birdlife of Different Decades

Arctic Tern. Photo: Sarah Trefry

For Sarah Trefry, a graduate student at the University of New Brunswick, the past summer provided a unique opportunity to compare some Arctic bird populations to those present twenty years ago.

“The surveys were just one part of the much larger ongoing ecological research program of Dr. Greg Henry, a professor at the University of British Columbia,” Trefry said. “His multidisciplinary program monitors bird, animal, insect, and plant populations over time.”

Dr. Henry “knew about my interest in birds, and suggested that I conduct bird surveys of the lowland to compare with earlier surveys done by Dr. Bill Freedman of Dalhousie University. I was also interested in comparing Dr. Freedman's survey technique with a more intensive ‘rope drag’ technique, as a measure of the proportion of breeding birds that get 'captured' through a walking census.

“Breeding bird survey were done at the same site in the early 1980s,” she explained, and “breeding bird populations have also been infrequently monitored at the site since 1980.”

The past summers field work by Trefry (a summer between her MSc project investigating collared pika vocalizations in the Yukon and PhD project on sexual dimorphism and sex ratios in Magnificent Frigatebirds) was the first year she was involved with research at Alexandra Fiord.

The field season’s “climate was slightly unusual for the Canadian High Arctic. At our camp, spring melt-out came late, but arrived without warning. All snow at the site melted over two days in mid-June. The last two weeks of June were warm and sunny. July was much cloudier and cooler. ‘Winter’ arrived when it typically does in mid-August.” this information actually came from James Hudson, since his project has been working with the climate data. You could attribute this quote to him.

Sarah Trefry and James Hudson on rope-drag. Photo: Carolyn Churchland.

The breeding bird surveys at Alexandra Fiord and Ellesmere Island conducted from mid June to late July - with the assistance of James Hudson (studying plant ecology) – were done by “walking transects and rope dragging within five plots, to obtain a measure of how many birds were being spotted on the walking transects.”

The surveys showed “very similar results in breeding bird species and abundances compared to the earlier surveys done at the site.”

“We found few changes in bird densities and species present in the lowland compared to earlier surveys,” Trefry explained. “A few species formerly breeding in low numbers on the lowland were absent, such as Arctic Terns, but these were nesting in high density on a nearby island. The walking census seemed to perform quite well compared to the more labour-intensive rope drags, which James and I spent many hours doing.”

Eight species were found breeding in the lowland habitat, according to the international breeding conditions survey posted on Arctic Birds network: “Snow Buntings, Hoary Redpolls, Lapland Longspurs, Parasitic Jaegers, Long-tailed Ducks, and Baird's Sandpipers. There was also evidence of Rock Ptarmigan, Arctic Turns, and a pair of Gyrfalcons nesting (though the Gyrfalcon nest failed this year). The following numbers of probable and confirmed nests by species were found at the lowland: Snow Buntings: 132, Hoary Redpolls: 2, Lapland Longspur: 19, Parasitic Jaegar: 2, Long-tailed Duck: 2, Baird's Sandpiper: 6.”

Female Long-tail duck on nest. Photo: Sarah Trefry

Lapland Longspur chicks. Photo: Sarah Trefry

“Species like jaegers and ducks were very susceptible to Arctic Fox and Gray Wolf predators if their nests were found, and the jaegar pairs this year at our site were not successful. Climate data for the site shows ambient warming in temperature over the past twenty years, but as of yet the breeding birds appear to be relatively comparable over time.”

“These results are interesting because there was no significant change in the composition of bird species during the breeding season in this area, whereas other Arctic research sites have been noted as having declining breeding bird populations, Trefry noted.

William Brown and Carolyn Churchland relax in the Ellesmere sun. Photo: Sarah Trefry

Trefry, originally from Alberta, has “always enjoyed working in the Canadian Arctic. It is a visually stunning, invigorating, and inaccessible place to work, and one feels very special to get the opportunity to be there. There are few species of animals, but those that are there you often get good looks at, and one cannot help but admire their adaptations for survival in northern climates. I loved the sunshine in June, 24 hours of constant light as the sun makes its circuit around the sky. It makes you feel like you can go forever. Tundra naps are also a highlight - the sun is also appreciated then!

“Alexandra is a neat site because it has a history of Royal Canadian Mounted Police living there with Inuit families, and evidence of them living there remains. On the nearby islands there are also remains of Thule whalers who hunted for Bowhead whales, which are no longer found in that area.

“The locations also means that you are very isolated. This became a challenge when James had a bit of a medical condition and I came into camp while he was flown to a hospital in Iqaluit. However, a second Twin Otter brought him in a week later. And with the isolation comes a forced self-sufficiency, and often the opportunity to become fast friends with those you are working with. And we had a really great crew this year, who were a delight to work with.“

"Support for the project came from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Government of Canada International Polar Year Program, and ArcticNet graciously provided financial support for our 2008 field campaign. Invaluable logistical support was given by the Polar Continental Shelf Project. The Qikiqtani Inuit Association, Nunavut Department of Environment and Royal Canadian Mounted Police authorized our research in 2008."

The multidisciplinary, ecological research project will continue to monitor bird, animal, insect, and plant populations.

Alexandra Fiord field crew, 2008. L-R: Sarah Trefry, Tammy Elliott, Adrian Leitch, William Brown, Carolyn Churchland. Photo: James Hudson.

International Efforts Continue to Conserve Ivory Gulls

Ivory Gulls nest in colonies, sometimes in large numbers, up to many hundreds. Their nests can be placed densely, and intra-specific aggressive behaviour is characteristic in this species. Image courtesy of Maria Gavrilo, whom also provided the image captions.

Research this summer in the polar Arctic regions will continue to provide details essential for a better understanding of the Ivory Gull and how to conserve this imperiled species.

The Russian team will work in a recently discovered colony on Alexandra Land, west Frantz-Josef Land where 300 pairs bred both in 2006 and 2007, according to Maria Gavrilo, a research scientist at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. The Russian team includes Andrey Volkov and Mikhail Ivanov, both from Moscow.

“To evaluate the status of the species on their core breeding range is the main goal of the studies needed to better understand processes observed with the species worldwide. Other breeding areas will be studied as well with a Norwegian team working on Svalbard, and the French group continuing in north-east Greenland.”

Efforts to better understand the Ivory Gull are needed because it “is a rare species in a global context and is one of the most poorly known seabird species in the world,” she said. “There is growing concern in the circumpolar Arctic that the Ivory Gull may be in decline. The most recent information on population trend of Ivory Gulls exists for Canada, Svalbard and Russia. In Canada, the Ivory Gull has a highly restricted range, breeding exclusively in Nunavut Territory. Until recently, the Canadian Arctic was thought to support 15-20% of the entire global breeding population, and colonies of continental and global importance. However, aerial surveys conducted in 2002-2006 allowed Canadian scientists to record an 80-85% decline in national breeding population since the early 1980s. Estimate from 1990s suggested Russia supported 10,000 breeding pairs from 14,000 breeding pairs worldwide.”

An Ivory Gull on the nest, Domashny Island, Severnaya Zemlya, 2006. Both images taken by Maria Gavrilo.

In spite of the rest of the gull species nesting on land, Ivory Gulls have uniformly-coloured grey downy chicks. These several-days old chicks are from the north-eastermost breeding colony in Russia, Komsomolets Island, Severnaya Zemlya, at 80.48 N/97 E.

In the “Status report on marine birds breeding in the Barents Sea Region” prepared by seabird experts from Russia and Norway, the Ivory Gull is listed as a high priority species The main breeding area of the species stretches from the Kara Sea through the chain of high-latitudinal islands to the Greenland Sea. Recent survey in Svalbard suggests that only a few of the known colonies are still being used and that the total population is smaller than previously estimated. Information obtained currently (2006-2007) on Russian breeding grounds indicate stable populations in some key colonies, although considerable fluctuations in numbers of breeding birds. Thus Russian Arctic is core breeding area for the species which supports nesting colonies of global importance.”

“The Ivory Gull project was initiated several years ago within the framework of the Russian-Norwegian co-operation on environmental protection after ornithologists of our two countries clearly understood that only joint and coordinated efforts in studying this species will be effective for solving the problem of the Ivory Gull population status,” Gavrilo said. “The field work started in 2006 at both Russia and Svalbard. That year we (Russian team) made extensive survey from Severnaya Zemlya (Central Siberian Arctic) westwards till Victoria Island, visiting the Frantz Josef Land Archipelago. This ambitious survey of a vast area of remote Arctic islands during short summer season was possible only because of the support provided by the Federal Border Guard and its Arctic network. In 2007, we continued and visited in Russia Severnaya Zemlya and FJL, partly the same islands, but also new ones. This work was partly supported by Russian IPY program. Valuable services were also provided by the network of Sevhydromet (Northern Directorate of Federal Hydrometeorological Service) and its network of polar weather stations.”

Andrey Volkov is preparing a bait for trapping Ivory Gulls, Hayes Island, Franz-Josef Land, 2007. Pictures by Maria Gavrilo.

Mikhail Ivanov just caught an Ivory Gull. Field camp on Hayes Island, Franz-Josef Land, 2007.

“We plan to place two satellite transmitters on birds, trap and ring birds with metal and individual encoded plastic rings, sample blood (used for studies of genetics, physiology, immune status, cytogenetics, and sexing), sample food items, collect samples for contaminant analysis (eggs and blood), count birds, and evaluate reproductive success count birds, and evaluate reproductive success.” Accessible islands will also be surveyed for population numbers and reproductive success.

Satellite transmitter’s placed on several Ivory Gull’s have been used to track a birds’ movements in the Arctic Ocean, northwest Russia and around southern Greenland, an assessment essential to understanding the species range and habitat use. The most recent “registered position” of several Ivory Gulls can be tracked at the Norwegian-Russian Project on Ivory Gull interactive satellite tracking map at a website sponsored by the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.

Movements of the birds which receive a transmitter this summer around mid-July will be viewable at the tracking map as soon as device will start signaling.

“Telemetry in coming season is a continuation of the project successfully started 2007, when satellite transmitters were attached to 18 Ivory Gulls for the first time,” Gavrilo said. “We obtained very valuable and amazing data on ivory gull migrations. One of the important finding was that birds both from Svalbard (Norway) and Franz-Josef Land (Russia) use the same flyways and share wintering grounds, and birds from the same colony use both major wintering grounds, i.e. gulls from neighboring nests may go to the North Atlantic while another goes to the North Pacific. Thus, the birds from the same breeding colony may face different hazards while on different wintering grounds and using different flyways, i.e. they may accumulate different contaminants or experience different climatic and feeding conditions. Later, during breeding this may affect their reproductive capability in different ways. We also hope that satellite tracking will draw light on the problem of breeding site fidelity in Ivory Gulls – do birds return to the same nesting colony next year and can they change their breeding sites or just miss breeding in the case of poor season, i.e., too little sea ice around. Knowing what types of ice habitats Ivory Gulls prefer will allow us to predict species distribution according to models describing climatic and sea ice cover changes. Tracking movements with help of transmitters is possibly the only way to study migration and habitat use in Ivory Gulls since traditional ringing provides very few information due to extremely low recovery rate.

Ivory Gull Summary Courtesy of Maria Gavrilo The Ivory Gull, Pagophila eburnea, is a high Arctic seabird which is associated with sea ice all year round. In spite of an early discovery by Jonas Poole in 1609, it still remains one of the less studied seabird species in the world. The Ivory Gull has semi-circumpolar breeding distribution in the high latitudes of Atlantic sector of the Arctic. Scattered, mostly small colonies occur in Arctic Canada, Greenland, Svalbard, and the northern islands of Russia in the Barents and Kara seas. The wintering distribution of the Ivory Gull is poorly known, although it generally winters along the southern edge of Arctic pack ice in the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean (Davis Strait and Labrador, Greenland and Barents seas), and the North Pacific Ocean (Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, and perhaps Beaufort and Chukchi seas). Ivory gull breeding colonies are indicated by large dots on map. The gulls typically spend most of the winter at sea off the icepack areas of the Arctic Ocean, shown by the stippled areas. Map prepared by Environment Canada/Canadian Wildlife Service. Being a characteristic species of the ice zone of the Arctic it has a restricted breeding range and a relatively low overall population size. The Ivory Gull project is a joint effort of the Norwegian Polar Institute, Troms and the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg. It is a part of the working plan of the Joint Norwegian-Russian Commission on Environmental Protection in the Barents Sea Region. Effective fulfillment of the project was not possible without mutual cooperation between all parties involved in the project as well as the assistance of many engaged people and facilities of different organizations. The satellite tracking project has been funded by the Norwegian oil company StatoilHydro. The population survey, contaminant analyses and monitoring activity have been financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Environment, the Governor of Svalbard, the Norwegian State Pollution Control Authority, the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management, the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg.

“The Ivory Gull keeps all year round in remote oceans far from human settlements; it is also not a game species, therefore we can’t obtain information from the hunters like for example goose people do. Moreover, I’d say that following birds from their home island all way on their traveling over the thousand miles of ice covered oceans is quite thrilling amusement, and every morning while running my notebook, I first come to the project website to see what’s going on with our birds at their ice-bound home country.”

The Ivory Gull – a top predator in its marine ecosystem – is a “characteristic high Arctic species associated with ice seascapes and landscapes throughout the annual cycle and is a good indicator of the ecological status of the Arctic Ocean. It is at risk of climate changes and environmental pollution, hence, it is believed of high conservation concern.” As a rare species, it is recently uplisted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature to the “Near Threatened” category, and Red listed in Russia, Norway and Canada.

“Seabirds are good indicators of the health of marine environment in polar regions,” Gavrilo said. “There are two major long-term and persistent impacts affecting Arctic seabirds currently: global change and persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs).”

“In spite of the remoteness of the areas and long distance of the major industrial activity spots, seabirds in high Arctic are facing several global threats currently and potentially as well. One is global pollution with long-distance transportation of contaminants ending in the Arctic Ocean. Our study revealed amazingly high concentrations of POPs in Ivory Gull eggs, with dominance of DDE and PCBs.

“Climate change poses considerable challenge especially to those species which make use of ice habitats in the Arctic (i.e. pagophilous species, like the Polar Bear and Ivory Gull). Northwards penetration of industrial activity, i.e., shipping, shelf oil and gas extraction and transportation, tourism following recent climate warming in the Arctic will bring new threats to the remote wilderness areas and seabirds of the high Arctic. Oil pollution is of special concern since seabirds are the most vulnerable group of biota in relation to oiling. Nowadays, there is a threat to Arctic seabirds from oiling on their wintering grounds, i.e., in the Sea of Okhotsk for the Ivory Gulls.

“Disturbance from mass tourism might become a problem in some areas, especially taking into account easier access to previously ice-blocked areas in high latitudes. Mining is an increasing problem in some areas, i.e. already in Arctic Canada, probably in some Russian islands as well.”

“Considering the very low public awareness of Ivory Gulls – the species is virtually unknown to the general public – we used every chance to introduce Ivory Gulls to the people who live in the High Arctic side by side with this interesting and enigmatic bird. Collaboration between the expedition team and personnel involved in logistic support of the project provided a good opportunity to distribute information about the importance of the Ivory Gull study. Before the expedition, promotional material such as press-release and souvenir products was prepared. Special envelope, stickers and expedition logo were designed. Press release and souvenirs were distributed among crew members, personnel of frontier outposts and polar stations. Libraries of frontier outposts, as well as Dikson Hydromet and the polar stations were given a Russian edition of the book ‘The status of marine birds breeding in the Barents Sea Region.’ As a feedback valuable information on Ivory Gull was later obtained from remote settlements on the islands.”

The “High Arctic islands of Russia is a unique areas of so-called arctic desert, still enough remote to keep pristine wildlife far away from major centers of industrial activity like petroleum industry and commercial fishing. These areas still support viable and to a certain extent undisturbed populations of wildlife, and seabirds in particular. The central Russian Arctic ‘sector’ including Kara and Laptev seas under current climatic changes is a refuge for many species tied up with ice habitats, i.e., for the Ivory Gull. Other seabirds surveyed in the Kara Sea during our recent visit like Glaucous Gulls and Black-legged Kittiwakes, are also in a good state demonstrating stable and even increasing population trends in contrast to many areas in the Barents Sea region.

“The great value of the wildlife and wilderness of these islands allowed to propose and almost establish a national park named The Russian Arctic covered Franz-Josef Land Archipelago and the northernmost portion of Northern Island of Novaya Zemlya. The project is currently in the final stage of consideration by the Russian Government.

“The most difficult side of the work in such regions in Russia is inaccessibility of the areas, where the virtually absent infrastructure leads to high costs of the project, and unpredictability including availability of transportation, getting permissions and funds. After all this, harsh Arctic climate, absence of comfortable facilities and unavailability of internet is not a trouble at all.”

Maria Gavrilo with first tagged Ivory Gull at the Krenkel Polar station, Hayes Island, Franz-Josef Land, 31 July, 2007. This gull #74888, after completing the breeding season on Franz-Josef Land, went along the ice edge to its South Greenland wintering quarters. The last satellite signal was received on 2 January, 2008.

Foggy weather was dominating both in 2006 and 2007 seasons and seriously limited visibility and restricted our ability to watch polar bears. Oleg Prodan, our expedition leader in 2006, guards with a rifle nearby our field "lab" on Domashny Island, where we had polar bears every day. Photograph by Maria Gavrilo.

The unique Ivory Gull is of special interest to Ms. Gavrilo, and recent studies and education by her and other researchers have initiated efforts to help the species survive, and in particular, preparing and implementing a plan for its conservation.

“The Circumpolar Seabird Group (CBird) under CAFF (Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna of the Arctic Council) are currently developing a Conservation Strategy and Action plan for the Ivory Gull,” she said. Her current studies will “follow many recommendations stated in this Strategy which aims to conserve the Ivory Gull not only in Russia but worldwide.”

Following the 2006 expedition, there was a broadcast about the effort on Novosibirsk state television, Gavrilo said. A video in the news program entitled “Ivory Gulls rear offspring under protection of frontier guard” was shown later, “both regionally and on central Russian channel, and received the recognition among the best TV reports of the Company in 2006.” After the expeditions had been completed, special calendars for year 2007 and 2008 with pictures of Ivory Gulls were designed and widely distributed.”

Other successful efforts to publicize the Ivory Gull and its plight include:

• A talk entitled “In search of the ivory gulls: heliborne insert on the High Arctic islands” was given by Maria Gavrilo at the session of Polar Commission in The Russian Geographical Society, Saint-Petersburg in February 2006 to present results of the expedition to a general audience.
• A scientific talk “In search of the ivory gulls. Results of the Russian-Norwegian project in 2006” (by Maria Gavrilo, Andrey Volkov and Hallvard Strom, who is Ivory Gull project leader from Norwegian side) was given at the joint session of Menzbir’s Ornithological Society and Moscow Society of Nature Explorers, at Moscow in April 2007.
• Expedition highlights were also announced in “National Geographic Russia” (February, 2007, p. 28) and in World Wildlife Fund Arctic Bulletin in 2007, issue 3.
• Most recently, in April 2008 an exhibition devoted to the project was opened in State Biological Museum in Moscow entitled “Beyond the 67 N: We study the Arctic”

Envelope commemorating the Ivory Gull, 2006.

Commemorative envelope in 2007.

Gavrilo has also studied polar birds for more than two decades, following her graduation as a zoologist from Leningrad State University with a specialty in ornithology.

“I have been working in polar region regions, both Arctic and Antarctic (mostly in the Arctic) studying seabirds, their distribution in polar oceans and mapping, doing assessment of their vulnerability to different human impacts such as oiling and petroleum activity, shipping etc., and also dealing with conservation issues,” she said. “I’m really enjoying my work. I love to work in remote polar areas, in ice-covered oceans, observing birds at their wild pristine Arctic habitats. I’m thrilled at the observing wildlife under extreme Arctic conditions, trying to understand how they survive and what are their adaptations to harsh climate conditions.”

Maria Gavrilo taking blood sample from the Ivory Gull in the largest worldwide breeding colony on Domashny Island, Severnaya Zemlya, 2006. Photograph by Oleg Prodan.

Andrey Volkov and Maria Gavrilo separating blood samples for plasma and cells in the "laboratory" at the frontier post on Domashny Island, Severnaya Zemlya, 79 N. Photograph by Alexey Lokhov.

Research to Help Understand Bird Conservation in the Arctic

Joe Liebezeit (right) and Ruby Hammond watching a shorebird reveal its nest location. Images courtesy of Steve Zack, Wildlife Conservation Society.

A research initiative sponsored by the Wildlife Conservation Society is developing information essential to understanding the values of coastal Alaska for a variety of wild birds.

Research is underway at the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area in the northeast corner of the National Petroleum Reserve, and in the nearby Beaufort Sea region.

Funding is provided from a Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grant provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, foundations (Liz Claibourne / Art Ortenberg Foundation, Disney Conservation Fund, the Duke Foundation) and private donors, according to Joe Liebezeit, an associate conservation biologist, with the Society.

Research is being conducted on several bird-related topics, and Liebezeit provided further details in an email interview:

What is the research mission and its methods?

"Our mission is to conserve wildlife and wild places in Arctic Alaska. Our research is centered on understanding the main threats to wildlife in the Arctic: climate change and energy development; and to identify key areas for protection. For this latter issue, our focus has been Teshekpuk.

"This season, we are finishing up a 4-year study examining the breeding success, or how successful birds are at raising young to the point where they can leave the nest. Currently, there is little information on the importance of this region as a bird 'nursery' since no other studies have examined nest survivorship of the full suite of birds that utilize this region. This study is important because the Teshekpuk region of the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska is recognized for its importance to wildlife yet it is currently threatened with oil development. The Bureau of Land Management is currently selling oil exploration bids to oil companies in this region. At the same time we are working with other non-governmental organizations to help protect key areas in this important region.

"We will investigate post-breeding shorebird abundance, species composition, and fitness in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area since so little is known. In addition to the threat of oil development, the coastline in this region is rapidly eroding. As the polar ice cap shrinks due to climate change, wave action in the Arctic Ocean has intensified, particularly in the fall during storms. Because of this, coastal erosion rates have accelerated and salt water has intruded into freshwater habitats utilized by the feeding post-breeding shorebirds. In Alaska, this intensified coastal erosion is most dramatic on the Beaufort Sea coastline north of Teshekpuk Lake with over 1 km of erosion over the past 50 years. For this reason, we will investigate how climate-mediated coastal erosion may be impacting shorebird habitat use in this region.

Joe Liebezeit flushes a Semipalmated Sandpiper (lower left) from its tundra nest.

Joe Liebezeit “rope-dragging” to aid finding shorebird nests.

"In addition to our breeding bird project, we will be initiating a new study on the Beaufort Sea coast north of Teshekpuk Lake examining the use of this area by post-breeding shorebirds. Other researchers have found that after the breeding season, vast numbers of shorebirds congregate in coastal habitats along the Arctic Ocean coastline to fatten up on energy reserves before they begin their long southward migration.

What particular species are focused upon, and why?

"For our breeding bird study, we monitor nests of all birds in ourstudy plots including about 12 shorebirds species. The most common are: Semipalmated Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Red Phalarope and Dunlin; over five waterfowl species, including the King Eider, Greater White-fronted Goose; and other birds such as the Lapland Longspur and Willow Ptarmigan. We focus most of our investigation on the shorebirds and Lapland Longspurs since they provide the largest samples sizes.

"For the post-breeding work, the main species we will focus on will be shorebirds, in particular the Semipalmated Sandpiper, Dunlin, and Pectoral Sandpiper. We are focusing on this group of birds because they are the most numerous migratory birds in this region and some of them are of special conservation concern because their population numbers are low. Many of these species are of international importance because of their long migrations that take them to all parts of the globe.

Ruby Hammond and Joe Liebezeit “rope-dragging” to locate nests.

Joe Liebezeit measuring the angle and amount of shell floating to aid age determination in a shorebird egg.

"Methods during the breeding season (nest success study): we attempt to find all bird nests on 16 10-hectare plots. After nests are discovered we monitor them every few days until we determine whether the eggs hatched and the chicks successfully left the nest or they failed (e.g. failed due to predation, weather, etc.). From this information we can estimate "nest success" for the individual species and we will examine this with respect to other key variables that we measure (including predator numbers, habitat type, nest density) to learn which factors impact nest success the most.

"Methods during the post-breeding season: we will conduct line-transect surveys of shorebirds in key habitat types to estimate species composition, abundance, and timing of migration. We will also capture birds and individually mark them with color bands and take blood samples. The color-bands will enable us to re-sight the birds during surveys and thus estimate the 'tenure time' or how long birds stay in this area before moving on. The blood samples will be analyzed for triglyceride levels which is a measure of rate of fat gain. Birds that have a higher rate of fat gain are finding more food and thus this measure allows us an indirect measure of habitat quality."

How many years have these surveys been conducted? And what is the importance of long-term monitoring?

"We have been conducting surveys for breeding birds for four years at Teshekpuk and for six years at another site in the Prudhoe Bay region. Annual variation in the arctic is high so if we are to detect changes in populations it is important that we monitor over many years to help overcome the 'noise' of high annual variation to tease out the underlying trends."

Please comment on the importance of your survey efforts.

"The Arctic is an important region to study impacts of human disturbance (in our case via oil development) since these disturbances can be compared to nearby remote areas. Even more importantly, climate change is occurring most dramatically in the arctic (compared to the rest of the world) and so it is the most important place to investigate climate change impacts right now."

Are there any changes at your study locales which are affecting local birds?

"Climate change is impacting bird species. We have evidence that some bird species are initiating their nests up to seven days earlier than 20 years ago - a likely response to a warming climate. There is concern that this change in timing may be decoupled from insect emergence or other components of their life cycle. We have not investigated the details of this issue as of yet. Right now our main focus with climate change is investigating how climate-mediated erosion may be impacting post-breeding shorebirds."

What is the importance of the region being studied for birds,locally and globally?

"The Teshekpuk Lake Region is one of the most important areas for wildlife on the Alaskan Arctic coastal plain. Internationally important populations of shorebirds, numbering in the hundreds of thousands nest and stage here, up to 20% of the Pacific flyway brant goose population molts here every summer. The 45,000 head Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd give birth to and rear their young here every year. At the same time, oil development pressure and climate change impacts are important threats in this region. "Globally, this region supports an international assemblage of migratory birds that winter and stopover in all other parts of the planet."

In addition to society reports and published findings, research results are contributed to the Arctic Birds website where findings can be readily accessed. "We post our results on the website so that our data can be shared with other collaborators and scientists," Liebezeit said. This allows different researchers to "begin to detect trends in breeding birds across large geographic regions."

Additional details indicate the importance of the Teshekpuk Lake region for birds.

"The Teshekpuk Lake area is part of a vast network of coastal lagoons, deep water lakes, wet sedge grass meadows, beaded streams & river deltas that cover almost one third of the 23.5 million acre Reserve. Thousands of freshwater lakes cover more than half of the coastal plain," according to information presented on the Northern Alaska Environmental Center website.

"The Teshekpuk Lake area sustains the largest goose molting concentration in the Arctic - with up to 60,000 geese (including the lesser Snow Goose, Canada and White-fronted Goose and up to 20% of the entire Pacific Black Brant population) congregating at once. The coastal plain of the Reserve, including the Teshekpuk Lake area, is the primary arctic habitat for threatened Spectacled Eiders and also supports the entire breeding population of Stellar's Eider."

The Teshekpuk Lake region - sprawling across 1.7 million acres - was designated in 1977 by the Department of the Interior as a "Special Area"with significant natural values that required "maximum protection," in recognition of the habitat utilized by vast numbers of nesting and molting waterfowl, and other birds that gather prior to their annual southerly migration.

"The Wildlife Conservation Society is working with diverse stakeholders including other NGOs, government agencies, and industry," Liebezeit said, "to balance protection of the most important places for wildlife in this region along with responsible development."

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Administration Relents on Drilling Near Teshekpuk Lake

"Washington, DC, May 16, 2008 - The Secretary of Interior announced today that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would defer additional oil and gas leasing around Teshekpuk Lake in the Northeast National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA) for at least 10 years. The decision came with the release of a final revised environmental statement and activity plan for Northeast NPRA, after a lawsuit blocked a controversial September 2006 lease sale in that area."

This news is from a press release issued by the National Audubon Society.

Research Essential to Understanding Avifauna at Arctic Refuge

Ongoing research into the habits of notable birds is helping biologists better understand the value of diverse habitats of the Arctic coastal plain.

In Alaska, biologists with the Fish and Wildlife Service are cooperating with a variety of partners to conduct several important projects at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which covers an expanse of 20 million acres. The area is similar in size to South Carolina, with five ecosystem types occurring within this vast land on the shore, and inland from the Beaufort Sea.

Two particular projects of importance during the past couple of years have investigated the biology of the Smith's Longspur and post-breeding activity for a variety of shorebirds, said Steve Kendall, a biologist and refuge ornithologist.

The Arctic NWR is the only federal refuge with significant breeding populations of Smith’s Longspurs, a species of conservation concern, he said. "Little is known about their abundance, distribution and habitat requirements." Two breeding seasons have been spent gathering baseline data, and better understanding their biology.

Smith's Longspur's at Atigun Gorge. Photographs courtesy of the Arctic NWR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

These birds have quite an "unusual breeding biology," Kendall said. "They have a polyandrous breeding system, where males mate with several females and vice versa and clutches may have a mixed paternity. The males and females form loose 'neighborhood' groups, with the male longspurs cooperating in rearing the broods."

A graduate student will continue the research this season, trying to "build models to predict abundance and distribution in northern Alaska, while continuing to investigate Smith’s Longspurs’ natural history."

Manomet Center of Conservation Sciences and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks have partnered with the Arctic Refuge to investigate how shorebirds use the coastal areas following the breeding season.

Breeding season Dunlin at Arctic NWR.

Breeding season Buff-breasted Sandpiper.

"Post-breeding shorebird studies thus far have shown considerable inter-annual and within-season variability in use of these habitats," Kendall said. "The mechanisms for this variability are unknown, but may include weather, wind, and water conditions, all of which likely affect food availability."

This habitat is an important place for shorebirds to gather and acquire fat reserves necessary for southward migration, Kendall explained. "Reduced habitat quality at preferred staging areas, through human-caused or natural events, or disturbance causing displacement of staging shorebirds, could impact populations. We have particular concern for the coastal resources of the refuge because these areas are vulnerable to effects of climate change and offshore oil exploration and development of the east Beaufort Sea."

Capturing post-breeding shorebirds on mudflats of Beaufort Sea.

Post-breeding shorebirds at Jago Delta.

The Semipalmated Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Red Phalarope and Dunlin are more abundant and thus received more focus during this research. The Semipalmated Sandpipers especially have been noted to move from other regions of the coastal plain into the refuge area during the post-breeding period, Kendall said.

Results of additional research on the distribution of breeding shorebirds on the coastal plain of the refuge was published in 2007 in Condor, a prominent journal of ornithology.

Red-necked Phalarope. Photograph courtesy of Brad Winn.

Post breeding season Red-necked Phalarope.

Other bird study projects have been done in cooperation with non-governmental groups and corporate partners.

The Wildlife Conservation Society, British Petroleum, Conoco/Phillips and Manomet are partners in the study to evaluate "nest survival" in the vicinity of human infrastructure associated with oil development and villages. Kendall explained that predators can be attracted to land fills and food from people, which may result in differences in predation levels.

Results are currently being evaluated with plans to publish a research paper by the end of the year. The Canning River Delta was the study site on the refuge.

Habitat conditions are an integral part of the research efforts, with changes in sea conditions and land habitat two areas of particular interest.

A captured Pectoral Sandpiper.

Mist-netting post-breeding phalaropes.

Kendall noted that 2007 was an exceptional season on the arctic coast. There was an early ice-out date, with the ice pack far offshore early in the season. Without ice, there was a greater potential for flooding and erosion to change habitats, he said. The local barrier islands were also more prone to the effects of erosion since there was less of the ice cover that would typically limit the erosive impact of waves.

Weather conditions also were a big factor in conditions for local birds last season, Kendall said. Without the ice pack, wind had a greater influence on causing lower water levels. An unusual plankton bloom and an upwelling of aquatic food were readily utilized by foraging birds because of the predominant wind pattern.

Kendall has been the staff ornithologist at the refuge since 2002, when his position was created. He had previously studied birds since 1981 with state or federal positions at the Aleutian Islands, the Yukon River delta and in association with evaluating birds after the Exxon-Valdez oil spill.

He recalls an interesting story regarding the conditions and working with outside partners:

Steve Kendall boating to Demarcation Bay.

"During the 2006 season two partners from Manomet and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources flew up to work with me on surveying all of the major deltas on the Refuge. This required traveling the entire length of the Refuge’s Beaufort Sea coast in a 16 foot inflatable Achilles boat. The east coast of the U.S. was experiencing a heat wave of 100+ degrees when they left. In early August we left Kaktovik for Demarcation Bay, 60 miles to the east on the Alaska/Canada border. It was an exceptional day, with glassy calm seas. Minutes into the trip we started chuckling as a few snow flakes started falling. By the time we reached Demarcation Bay, the chuckles were over as we were traveling in complete white-out conditions in several inches of heavy wet snow. When we arrived at Demarcation, I asked my traveling partners; ‘So how should we begin?’ They looked at me as if I was crazy and said; ‘By heading to shore, building a fire and thinking about camping.’"

Another interesting occurrence happened while working on the Smith’s Longspur project:

"One of the methods we use to survey Smith’s Longspurs is to conduct point counts, where you stand at a randomly selected point and identify species by listening to their calls. At Sunset Pass in 2006, we had several Bluethroats at the study site. This mostly Old World species extends its breeding range into Alaska. They also are accomplished mimics. This ability made surveying a challenge as we could never quite be sure what species we heard singing. Was that a Smith’s Longspur or a Bluethroat mimicking a Smith’s Longspur? At one point we sat and watched a very hyperactive male Bluethroat display. During these aerial displays, we counted him singing the calls of at least 12 species we recognized, plus multiple others we didn’t recognize. At one point he even did a parasitic jaegar call. Jaegers prey on songbirds, by cooperatively hunting them in the air and there were several jaegers in the area. When they heard the bluethroat/jaeger call they came over to investigate. The Bluethroat had to do a quick dive in to the bushes to save himself. We never heard him mimic a jaegar again for the rest of the season."

Kendall's experience with bird studies is an important facet to his knowledge of northland habitats for wild birds, helping his understanding of the role of the Arctic for a variety of birdlife.

"The Arctic Refuge in an incredible place important for a great diversity of species," Kendall said, "and is valuable for many species." The variety of bird research is important in helping to understand and "conserve this wonderful area."

Useful links

Summary of 2007 Activities at Arctic NWR

Smith’s Longspur journal entry

Manomet Bird Observatory