INTERCONTINENTAL MIGRATORY CONNECTIVITY AND POPULATION STRUCTURING OF DUNLINS FROM WESTERN ALASKA
Responsible organisation
2013 (English)In: The Condor, ISSN 0010-5422, E-ISSN 1938-5129, Vol. 115Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The Dunlin (Calidris alpina) is a polytypic shorebird with complex patterns of distribution and migration throughout its holarctic range. We analyzed mark-resighting data obtained between 1977 and 2010 from birds captured at two major staging areas in western Alaska to test the hypothesis that the migration patterns of Alaskan populations are a mixture of parallel and chain, similar to those of Dunlin populations in the western Palearctic. Birds marked on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta were found wintering in both Asia and North America, which documented the unexpected mixing of C. a. arcticola from northern Alaska and C. a. pacifica from western Alaska and contradicted our initial prediction of parallel migration pathways for these two subspecies. In its North American winter range C. a. pacifica segregated according to location of marking, confirming our prediction of a chain migration pattern within this population. Individuals of C. a. pacifica marked on the delta were resighted significantly farther north, mostly in southern British Columbia and Washington, than birds marked on the second, more southerly staging area on the Alaska Peninsula, which were resighted primarily in the San Francisco Bay area of northern California. We recommend additional studies use a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic markers to quantify the strength of migratory connectivity between breeding, staging, and wintering areas. Such information is needed to guide conservation efforts because the Dunlin and other waterbirds are losing intertidal habitats at an unprecedented rate and scale, particularly in the Yellow Sea and other parts of Asia.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2013. Vol. 115
Keywords [en]
Alaska Beringia migratory connectivity Dunlin Calidris alpina population structure migration conservation sharp-tailed sandpipers calidris-alpina northern coast pacific coast red knots patterns shorebirds movement segregation recoveries Zoology
National Category
Natural Sciences
Research subject
SWEDARCTIC 2005, Beringia 2005
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:polar:diva-1900DOI: 10.1525/cond.2013.120127OAI: oai:DiVA.org:polar-1900DiVA, id: diva2:810432
Note
ISI Document Delivery No.: 213TH Times Cited: 5 Cited Reference Count: 76 Gill, Robert E., Jr. Handel, Colleen M. Ruthrauff, Daniel R. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) through the Bureau of Land Management as part of the Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program; USFWS; U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); Swedish Polar Research Secretariat; USGS A study extending over four decades was obviously supported by many people and institutions. Financial support for field work from 1976 to 1982 was provided to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) through the Bureau of Land Management as part of the Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program, from 1983 to 1996 by the USFWS, and from 1997 to 2010 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the "Beringia 2005" expedition of the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, and the interagency (USFWS and USGS) program for surveillance sampling for highly pathogenic avian influenza. Principal logistical support was provided by the Yukon Delta and Izembek national wildlife refuges. Numerous individuals helped with capturing and marking Dunlins over the years, but we owe special recognition to P. Battley, F. Broerman, J. Conklin, S. Davis, T. DeGange, M. Dementyev, T. Donnelly, M. Green, C. Harwood, A. Lindstrom, J. Lawonn, H. Lemke, M. Maftei, B. McCaffery, C. McCaffery, D. Melville, J. Nelson, M. Petersen, A. Riegen, M. Sexson, D. Stojanovic, J. Terenzi, L. Tibbitts, and D. Veitch. We especially thank C.-Y. Chiang, J. Choi, P. Sanzenbacher, and N. Warnock for allowing us to incorporate sightings of their marked birds into our database. Equally important to marking birds was having them resighted. The late Mark Barter maintained a database of Dunlins resighted away from or in east Asia, an invaluable cross-reference for our records. The following we thank for their observations or for passing along observations by others, with names in italics responsible for multiple records: D. Aldercroft, N. Arce, P. Ashman, R. Bayer, the late L. Binford, J Buchanan, E. Cardiff, R. Carmona, T. Chandik, C. Hsuan, C.-Y. Chiang, J Choi, P. Connors, L. Cooper, G. Dorsey,N.Drumheller,A. Edwards, M. Egger, R. Erickson, J. Evens, S. Feys, R. Gates, H. Gibbs, R. Gordon, T. Harris-Haller, S. Harrison, Mr. Hattori, N. Hentze, S. Herman, B. Hill, T. Hiroi, M. Hyakutake, J Ireland, K Irwin, S. Jamieson, H. Johansen, S. Johnston, Y-K fu, G. Kaiser, M Kashiwagi, N. Kishimoto, A. Kumagai, Y. Kurasashi, R. Lanctot, P. La Tourrette, J. Lawonn, R. LeValley, B. MacDonald, M. Mahafey, N. Mamagata, T. Manoles, J. Michaels, C. Minton, J. P. Myers, T. Nakayama, H. Nehls, P. Nietlisbach, G. Page, C. Park, D. Paulson, D. Roberson, D. Rogers, R. Ronson, S. Shanewise, Y. Shigeta, D. Shuford, J. Smith, W. Somerville, P. Springer, L. Stenzel, E. Stopps, P. Suchanek, K. Suzuki, Mr. Takenaka, W. Turnbull, G. Van Vliet, T. Wahl, R. Widrig, K. Wohl, L.-L. Wu, and D. Yu. We thank R. Browning, J. Choi, Z.-J. Ma, P. Tomkovich, and N. Warnock for sharing information and insights. J. Terenzi worked his magic with ArcGIS, D. Bystrak provided data from the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory, and P. Unitt made available historic references. Use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. government. We thank L. Tibbitts, R. Lanctot, J. Pearce, T. Piersma, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. 6 Cooper ornithological soc Lawrence Ornithology
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