Skip to main content
Advanced Search

Filters: Categories: Data (X) > Tags: {"scheme":"https://earthdata.nasa.gov/gcmd-forum","name":"animals/vertebrates"} (X) > Tags: {"scheme":"https://earthdata.nasa.gov/gcmd-forum","name":"earth science"} (X) > Extensions: Project (X)

44 results (29ms)   

View Results as: JSON ATOM CSV
thumbnail
The Alaska Trumpeter Swan Survey was an aerial survey conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Alaska Region (MBM-AK) and partners to monitor the status of trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) in Alaska. It was first conducted in 1968 and then repeated at five-year intervals from 1975 through 2015. The objectives of the survey were to estimate the abundance, distribution (1968–2005 only), and productivity of trumpeter swans in late summer, when the swans were dispersed on breeding territories and cygnets were large enough to be easily counted from the air. Estimates were obtained for the abundance of white swans (swans >1 year old), cygnets, and total swans, as well...
thumbnail
Shorebirds are among the most rapidly declining species in North America (Rosenberg et al. 2019), with many long-distance migrants experiencing the greatest declines (Environment Canada 2020). Nonetheless, not all shorebirds are declining and there may be differences among species and populations using different migratory routes. For instance, previous meta-analyses have suggested that shorebirds using the Mid-Continental Flyway are experiencing more rapid declines than those using the Pacific or Atlantic flyways (Thomas et al. 2006). At the same time, within a species, more northerly breeding populations are experiencing greater phenological mismatches and lower reproductive success than southerly ones (Kwon et...
thumbnail
Between September and November each year, nearly the entire world population of Pacific black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) stages at Izembek Lagoon and surrounding estuaries (hereafter: Izembek Complex). The Izembek Complex is a unique area of protected brackish waters, supporting one of the world’s largest eelgrass beds and a diverse array of wildlife. The Alaska Fall Brant Survey has been conducted annually since 1976 in late-September through October, to provide an index of abundance for the entire post-breeding Pacific black brant population (Branta bernicla nigricans), while secondarily, providing annual fall population indices for cackling geese (Branta hutchinsii), emperor geese (Anser canagicus), and...
thumbnail
The mottled duck, a focal species for the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative, is one of only a few duck species adapted to breeding in southern marshes. A major part of its population spends its entire life cycle within a relatively small coastal area in eastern Texas and western Louisiana. This is a thriving part of the Mississippi and Central Flyways, two of four major waterfowl migration routes in North America. In recent years, the mottled duck’s habitat and surrounding areas have been compromised by urbanization, agricultural development, and changes to the area’s hydrology affecting coastal wetlands. The latter threat includes the ramifications of climate change, such as sea level rise and...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2012, 2013, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, All tags...
The Waterfowl Breeding Population & Habitat Survey (WBPHS) has been conducted annually since 1955 (1957 in Alaska) by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Canadian Wildlife Service to estimate the spring abundance of targeted waterfowl species in their principal breeding areas of North America. The survey results are used to establish annual hunting regulations in the United States and Canada, monitor population trends, and inform various conservation and management decisions at the state, flyway, and continental levels.The Waterfowl Program in the FWS Division of Migratory Bird Management-Alaska Region (MBM-Alaska) is responsible for surveying strata 1–12 of the WBPHS during May to June of each year (i.e.,...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, All tags...
The primary objective is to provide guidance to conservation agencies and programs such as Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Louisiana Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 2 and 4 National Wildlife Refuges, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Office Region 2 to focus banding activities (i.e., where and when) and minimum sample sizes necessary to meet harvest management objectives for mottled ducks. A secondary objective is to investigate alternate marking techniques (e.g., PIT tags, NANO tags) to supplement or replace assessments derived from band recoveries. The banding needs assessment will be a two part analysis. The first part will use multi-state simulation...
thumbnail
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) Aerial Breeding Pair Survey provides data on the spring abundance of targeted waterfowl species nesting on the YKD coastal zone in western Alaska. This region supports millions of waterbirds that comprise one of the largest and most important waterfowl breeding grounds in North America, including species of concern such as the red-throated loon (Gavia stellata), emperor goose (Chen canagica), Pacific black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans), common eider (Somateria mollissima), black scoter (Melanitta nigra), long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis), and the threatened spectacled eider (Somateria fischeri). The YKD goose, swan, and crane survey was first implemented in 1985 to monitor...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, All tags...
thumbnail
More than 90% of the Pacific population of Steller’s eider (Polysticta stelleri) spends a portion of the fall in Alaska during fall wing molt and staging period, mostly along the Alaska Peninsula. The long-term Steller’s eiders counts from fall emperor goose surveys have shown declines at Izembek Lagoon and Port Heiden and approximate stability at Seal Islands and Nelson Lagoon (1992-2015, USFWS unpubl. data). Spring surveys for Steller’s eiders have been conducted along the north side of the Alaska Peninsula by USFWS since 1992; fall oblique photographic surveys covering the same area began in 2012.Systematic transect-based “overhead” photography is a method proposed for the fall survey and will be used to generate...
thumbnail
Sea level rise caused by climate change is an ongoing phenomenon and a concern both locally and worldwide. Low-lying coastal areas are particularly at risk to flooding and inundation, affecting a large proportion of the human population concentrated in these areas as well as natural communities-particularly animal species that depend on these habitats as a key component of their life cycle. While more local, state, and federal governments have become concerned with the potential effects that predicted sea levels will have on their communities and coastal landscapes, more information is needed on the potential effects that changes in sea level will have on coastal habitats and species.
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2012, 2013, 2014, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, All tags...
thumbnail
From 1995 to 1999, a subset of nest plots were searched twice by field crews to estimate nest detection probability by mark-recapture methods. Over the five years, 30 plots were searched twice and over 2700 unique nests were found. From these data, nest detection probability is estimated using a Huggins-type mark recapture model where individual-level covariate effects of nest and observer attributes were estimated. These estimates are then used to predict nest detection rates in other years based on covariates of nests and observers. Nest detection rates are then applied to annual plot search to estimate nest populations for each species in the sampled area.
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES, All tags...
thumbnail
The primary objective of this project was to monitor the growth of shorebird chicks by recapturing them from hatch to fledgling in relation to food abundance and weather conditions. In 2014 and 2015, we attempted to estimate the impacts of trophic mismatch by experimentally creating late hatched broods by refrigerating eggs to delay hatch. Transmitters were then attached to adults and chicks to follow and recapture chick in order to estimate growth rates and survival (see annual protocol documents for further information).Information for the Utqiagvik chick monitoring study were obtained concurrently with information obtained for the Utqiagvik shorebird project and information on chicks and nests included in these...
thumbnail
Broad scale banding of midcontinent greater white-fronted geese (MCWFG) is motivated by the Flyway Management Plan objective to maintain optimum harvest opportunity throughout the population range (Central, Mississippi, and Pacific Flyway Councils, 2023). This objective is accomplished by implementing a harvest strategy whereby changes to bag limits and season dates are dependent upon thresholds of abundance and harvest rate. Such estimates are calculated through Lincoln estimation (Lincoln 1930, Alisauskas et al. 2009, Dooley 2023) that requires annual banding. In addition, banding provides a means to identify changes in harvest distribution. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Migratory Bird Management...
thumbnail
This project aims to estimate spatial and temporal trends of waterfowl and waterbirds on the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) of Alaska from 2007 to present. The main approach is motivated by Amundson et al. (2019) using space-time generalized additive models (GAMs, Wood 2017) but with some improvements to handle observer effects and to associate sampling effort to specific spatial locations along a sampled transect similar to Miller et al. (2013). As part of this effort, a major data quality control process was begun in March 2022 that led to the correction of many data errors and re-formatting of the original 2007 to 2023 data to make it more accessible and usable to outside partners (original raw data available here)....
thumbnail
Many North American shorebird species are experiencing significant population declines, but we have incomplete information about the population sizes and trends for most species. Conservation efforts are underway throughout the Hemisphere to reverse these declines, but we cannot measure the success of those efforts until we have an accurate assessment of population sizes and trends. The Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM) is a broad-scale, multi-national effort to monitor both the sizes and trends of shorebird populations (https://www.shorebirdplan.org/science/program-for-regional-and-international-shorebird-monitoring/). PRISM also strives to describe the distribution and habitat...
The goals of this study are to: (1) generate a genetic toolset (80-90 microsatellite loci per species) for long term genetic monitoring of both wild and captive populations of each threatened gartersnake species (THEQ & THRU) that inhabit Arizona and New Mexico; (2) conduct field surveys at Saliz Creek to assess the genetic, demographic, and life history effects of a 2012 wild translocation event for THRU to better assess the strategies of genetic management and success of translocations; (3) conduct targeted surveys for both species at key sites to collect additional samples from geographic gaps and increase sample sizes at previously sampled sites to further evaluate connectivity and genetic diversity of these...
thumbnail
In 2019 a pilot study was conducted to determine the feasibility of using distance sampling to estimate density and population size of goose and eider nests on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD). Distance sampling (Buckland et al. 2001) is a common and well-understood method to estimate wildlife population size or density, especially for sparse and hard-to-detect populations. A main advantage of distance sampling is that it accounts for imperfect detection and gives precise estimates for a given level of effort relative to other methods. The objectives for the pilot project in 2019 was to (1) determine if distance sampling is feasible on the YKD, (2) determine what aspects of the field protocol need to be changed or...
thumbnail
Upland Sandpiper is one of many declining shorebird species (-4.6%/year in Alaska; Ziolkowski et al. 2023) which breed on military and adjacent lands in Alaska. Western and eastern populations are small and unstable, and the species is endangered at the state level in several eastern U.S. states (Houston et al. 2023). Though there has been considerable work with Upland Sandpipers in their core, central U.S. breeding areas, this is the first dedicated study of Upland Sandpipers in Alaska. The objectives are to resight, band, and track Upland Sandpiper at breeding sites in Delta Junction, AK and Donnelly Training Area (TA 501 & TA 511) to estimate vial rates, determine migratory connectivity, and determine important...
thumbnail
Duck banding data is integral to the Adaptive Harvest Management (AHM) process that uses both band recovery data and aerial breeding population survey data to establish hunting regulatory packages each year. Mallard banding in Alaska is one component of the process to set hunting regulations for ducks in the Pacific Flyway by providing harvest rate estimates for the Western Mallard AHM model (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2021). Harvest rate is used in coordination with breeding population size estimates from the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey to determine the optimal regulatory strategy (liberal, moderate, restrictive, or closed) for dabbling ducks in the Pacific Flyway. Each regulatory alternative...
Conserving migratory or wide-ranging species presents considerable challenges, as these individuals move across disparate jurisdictions often crossing international borders among crucial stages of their annual cycle. Within North America, Migratory Bird Joint Ventures (JVs) have established successful partnerships to coordinate the planning and delivery of conservation actions within key regions to benefit migratory bird populations. However, the extent to which local conservation actions influence regional demographics and in turn affect continental population dynamics remains poorly understood. Maximizing efficient use of limited resources to conserve habitats for wide-ranging species has motivated a critical...
The whooping crane is one of the most iconic and endangered migratory birds in the world and the wild population’s wintering grounds and migration corridor overlaps a significant portion of the USFWS southwest region. Rapidly developing wind energy in the Gulf Coast (wintering habitat), East Texas, Oklahoma and Great Plains (migratory habitat) has the potential to impact whooping crane habitat use and shift seasonal mortality. Balancing wind energy with species conservation is also a Regional Conservation Priority. This work will provide information about the potential impacts and mitigations of risks of whooping cranes with energy exploration, development and production activities across their wintering area and...
map background search result map search result map Employing the Conservation Design Approach on Sea-Level Rise Impacts on Coastal Avian Habitats along the Central Texas Coast Spatially-Explicit Decision Support Tool for Guiding Habitat Conservation for Western Gulf Coast Mottled Ducks Alaska Midcontinent Greater White-Fronted Goose Banding, Innoko National Wildlife Refuge Alaska Mallard Banding, Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge Alaska Izembek Fall Brant Aerial Survey 1976-Present Fall Steller's Eider Overhead Survey at Nelson Lagoon, Alaska, 2020 Alaska Trumpeter Swan Survey 1986-2015 Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey Alaska-Yukon Arctic Coastal Plain Waterfowl and Waterbird Spatial and Temporal Trends Alaska Yukon Delta Nest Distance Sampling Pilot Project Alaska Yukon Delta Double Observer Nest Plot Detection Alaska Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Aerial Breeding Pair Survey Alaska Yukon Delta PRISM surveys Alaska Department of Defense Shorebird Migration Project 2021-Present Utqiagvik Alaska Shorebird Chick Monitoring Study Alaska Department of Defense Migratory Movements Upland Sandpiper Study 2021-Present Utqiagvik Alaska Shorebird Chick Monitoring Study Alaska Izembek Fall Brant Aerial Survey 1976-Present Employing the Conservation Design Approach on Sea-Level Rise Impacts on Coastal Avian Habitats along the Central Texas Coast Alaska Yukon Delta Nest Distance Sampling Pilot Project Alaska Yukon Delta Double Observer Nest Plot Detection Alaska Midcontinent Greater White-Fronted Goose Banding, Innoko National Wildlife Refuge Alaska Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Aerial Breeding Pair Survey Alaska Yukon Delta PRISM surveys Spatially-Explicit Decision Support Tool for Guiding Habitat Conservation for Western Gulf Coast Mottled Ducks Arctic Coastal Plain Waterfowl and Waterbird Spatial and Temporal Trends Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey Alaska-Yukon Alaska Trumpeter Swan Survey 1986-2015 Alaska Department of Defense Shorebird Migration Project 2021-Present Alaska Department of Defense Migratory Movements Upland Sandpiper Study 2021-Present