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#           Waterfowl Research      

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      By Alaska Science Center      November 3, 2023    

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Scientists at the USGS Alaska Science Center have conducted research on waterfowl species (ducks, geese, and swans) in Alaska since the 1970s. Because Alaska is an international crossroads of migratory bird flyways, with millions of birds from Asia and North America breeding in Alaska each summer, USGS research has also taken place in adjacent countries (Russia, Japan, Canada, Mexico) and in the lower 48-states and Hawaii.

**Return to Ecosystems >> Terrestrial Ecosystems**

**The main objectives of the USGS Alaska Science Center waterfowl research program are to:**
                                - Identify and fill gaps in our knowledge about the ecology of waterfowl species in Alaska
                                - Quantify the drivers of population trends of waterfowl populations in Alaska and throughout their annual cycle
                                - Provide science information to Department of Interior management agencies and others for decision making regarding waterfowl disease, population delineation, and species of conservation concern

### Waterfowl Research by Species

View Media Details

                                - Sea Duck Research
                                - Dabbling and Diving Duck Research
                                - Goose Research
                                - Swan Research

###  

 

### Study Area

### Contacts

#### John M. Pearce, Ph.D.

##### Associate Center Director for Ecosystems

Alaska Science Center

jpearce@usgs.gov

907-786-7094

### Explore Search

                      - Birds
                      - Migration and Corridors
                      - Migratory Birds
                      - Ecosystems
                      - Wildlife and Terrestrial Species
                      - Waterfowl
                      - Biology
                      - Ecosystems
                      - Wildlife & Terrestrial Species
                      - migratory birds
                      - Arctic PES

View All **

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

link

January 29, 2024

####                 Goose Research              

Alaska Science Center

link

January 29, 2024

####   Goose Research

Learn More

link

January 3, 2024

####                 Changing Arctic Ecosystems              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center

link

January 3, 2024

####   Changing Arctic Ecosystems

Learn More

link

September 8, 2023

####                 Wildlife Disease and Environmental Health in Alaska              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center

link

September 8, 2023

####   Wildlife Disease and Environmental Health in Alaska

Learn More

link

November 1, 2019

####                 Swan Research              

Alaska Science Center

link

November 1, 2019

####   Swan Research

Learn More

link

July 27, 2017

####                 Sea Duck Research              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center

link

July 27, 2017

####   Sea Duck Research

Learn More

link

July 27, 2017

####                 Dabbling and Diving Duck Research              

Alaska Science Center

link

July 27, 2017

####   Dabbling and Diving Duck Research

Learn More

Below are data or web applications associated with this project.

October 25, 2023

####                 Harlequin Duck Genetic Data, North America, Greenland, and Iceland, 1952-2001              

Alaska Science Center, Molecular Ecology Laboratory

June 21, 2023

####                 Data from Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) Overwintering in Three Lagoons Along the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico              

Alaska Science Center

May 8, 2023

####                 Data from Sampling for Small-Scale Geographic Variation in Salinity Along the Lower Kashunuk River, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, 1993              

Alaska Science Center

April 26, 2023

####                 Breeding Biology, Behavior, and Morphology of Emperor Geese and Other Waterfowl near Kokechik Bay, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska during 1982-1988              

Alaska Science Center

April 17, 2023

####                 Waterfowl Lead Exposure Data in Alaska and Russia              

Alaska Science Center

March 15, 2023

####                 Emperor Goose (Anser canagicus) Nest Survival Encounter History from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, 1994-2017              

Alaska Science Center

February 15, 2023

####                 Breeding Biology of Loon and Waterfowl Species on the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska during 1973-1975              

Alaska Science Center

December 9, 2022

####                 Data Supporting Studies of Brant and Other Waterfowl Disturbance Behavior, Distribution, and Diet at Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, 1985-1988              

Alaska Science Center

June 30, 2022

####                 Aerial Photo Imagery from Fall Waterfowl Surveys, Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, 2017-2019              

Alaska Science Center

October 9, 2021

####                 Point Sampling Data for Eelgrass (Zostera marina) and Seaweed Distribution and Abundance in Bays Adjacent to the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska              

Alaska Science Center

September 24, 2021

####                 Goose Migration and Egg Nutrient Allocation, Colville River Delta, Alaska, 2011-2015              

Alaska Science Center

August 24, 2021

####                 Blood Parasite Infection, Body Mass, and Survival Data from Emperor Geese (Anser canagicus), Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, 2006-2016              

Alaska Science Center, Molecular Ecology Laboratory

#### Pagination

-                Current page            1 
-                Page            2 
-  Next page›› 
-  Last pageLast » 

Below are multimedia items associated with this project.

Climate Science Champions, Season 1: Vijay Patil, Wildlife Biologist

April 11, 2022

#### Climate Science Champions, Season 1: Vijay Patil, Wildlife Biologist

link

*Wildlife Biologist Vijay Patil explores the effects of climate change and shifting seasons on Arctic-nesting waterfowl.*

Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area

April 11, 2022

#### Climate Science Champions, Season 1: Vijay Patil, Wildlife Biologist

link

#### Climate Science Champions, Season 1: Vijay Patil, Wildlife Biologist

link

*Wildlife Biologist Vijay Patil explores the effects of climate change and shifting seasons on Arctic-nesting waterfowl.*

Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area

Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska

October 31, 2019

#### Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska

link

Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska 2013.

Alaska Science Center

October 31, 2019

#### Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska

link

#### Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska

link

Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska 2013.

Alaska Science Center

A Male Spectacled Eider in Alaska

March 14, 2016

#### A Male Spectacled Eider in Alaska

link

A male spectacled eider following implantation of a satellite transmitter in the Colville River delta in June 2009. After breeding numbers of spectacled eiders, a large sea duck, declined by 96 percent at a primary breeding area in Alaska, the species was listed as threatened.

Alaska Science Center

March 14, 2016

#### A Male Spectacled Eider in Alaska

link

#### A Male Spectacled Eider in Alaska

link

A male spectacled eider following implantation of a satellite transmitter in the Colville River delta in June 2009. After breeding numbers of spectacled eiders, a large sea duck, declined by 96 percent at a primary breeding area in Alaska, the species was listed as threatened.

Alaska Science Center

Snow Goose near the Colville River, northern Alaska

June 15, 2015

#### Snow Goose near the Colville River, northern Alaska

link

Snow Goose near the Colville River, northern Alaska.

Alaska Science Center

June 15, 2015

#### Snow Goose near the Colville River, northern Alaska

link

#### Snow Goose near the Colville River, northern Alaska

link

Snow Goose near the Colville River, northern Alaska.

Alaska Science Center

Northern Pintail

February 10, 2008

#### Northern Pintail

link

The USGS conducts surveillance and research nationwide on wildlife diseases that could be harmful to domestic animals and humans.

Ecosystems, Alaska Science Center

February 10, 2008

#### Northern Pintail

link

#### Northern Pintail

link

The USGS conducts surveillance and research nationwide on wildlife diseases that could be harmful to domestic animals and humans.

Ecosystems, Alaska Science Center

Below are publications associated with this project.

October 14, 2023

####                 Evaluation of breeding distribution and chronology of North American scoters              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Alaska Science Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

October 12, 2023

####                 Dispersal of juvenile Barrow’s goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica) mirrors that of breeding adults              

Alaska Science Center

July 25, 2023

####                 Status of spectacled eiders (Somateria fischeri) on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, 2022—Testing and updating predictive models              

Alaska Science Center

May 27, 2023

####                 Climate change and coastal wetland salinization: Physiological and ecological consequences for Arctic waterfowl              

Alaska Science Center

November 6, 2022

####                 Effects of mass capture on survival of greater white-fronted geese in Alaska              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

September 3, 2021

####                 Growth of greater white-fronted goose goslings relates to population dynamics at multiple scales              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

August 26, 2021

####                 Negligible evidence for detrimental effects of Leucocytozoon infections among Emperor Geese (Anser canagicus) breeding on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

November 9, 2019

####                 Temporal variation in genetic structure within the threatened spectacled eider              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Molecular Ecology Laboratory

February 28, 2019

####                 The black brant population is declining based on mark recapture              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

February 25, 2019

####                 Spatial distribution of band recoveries of black brant              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

December 20, 2018

####                 Non‐linear effect of sea ice: Spectacled Eider survival declines at both extremes of the ice spectrum              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

September 7, 2018

####                 Spring temperature, migration chronology, and nutrient allocation to eggs in three species of arctic‐nesting geese: Implications for resilience to climate warming              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

#### Pagination

-                Current page            1 
-                Page            2 
-                Page            3 
-                Page            4 
-                Page            5 
-                Page            6 
-                Page            7 
-                Page            8 
-                Page            9 
- ...
-  Next page›› 
-  Last pageLast » 

Below are news stories associated with this project.

BBL Data in Publication: Band Recoveries in Black Brant

April 11, 2019

####   BBL Data in Publication: Band Recoveries in Black Brant

A recently published scientific article uses USGS Bird Banding Laboratory records to evaluate hotspots of Black Brant band recoveries.

Read Article

Scientists at the USGS Alaska Science Center have conducted research on waterfowl species (ducks, geese, and swans) in Alaska since the 1970s. Because Alaska is an international crossroads of migratory bird flyways, with millions of birds from Asia and North America breeding in Alaska each summer, USGS research has also taken place in adjacent countries (Russia, Japan, Canada, Mexico) and in the lower 48-states and Hawaii.

**Return to Ecosystems >> Terrestrial Ecosystems**

**The main objectives of the USGS Alaska Science Center waterfowl research program are to:**
                                - Identify and fill gaps in our knowledge about the ecology of waterfowl species in Alaska
                                - Quantify the drivers of population trends of waterfowl populations in Alaska and throughout their annual cycle
                                - Provide science information to Department of Interior management agencies and others for decision making regarding waterfowl disease, population delineation, and species of conservation concern

### Waterfowl Research by Species

View Media Details

                                - Sea Duck Research
                                - Dabbling and Diving Duck Research
                                - Goose Research
                                - Swan Research

###  

 

### Study Area

### Contacts

#### John M. Pearce, Ph.D.

##### Associate Center Director for Ecosystems

Alaska Science Center

jpearce@usgs.gov

907-786-7094

### Explore Search

                      - Birds
                      - Migration and Corridors
                      - Migratory Birds
                      - Ecosystems
                      - Wildlife and Terrestrial Species
                      - Waterfowl
                      - Biology
                      - Ecosystems
                      - Wildlife & Terrestrial Species
                      - migratory birds
                      - Arctic PES

View All **

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

link

January 29, 2024

####                 Goose Research              

Alaska Science Center

link

January 29, 2024

####   Goose Research

Learn More

link

January 3, 2024

####                 Changing Arctic Ecosystems              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center

link

January 3, 2024

####   Changing Arctic Ecosystems

Learn More

link

September 8, 2023

####                 Wildlife Disease and Environmental Health in Alaska              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center

link

September 8, 2023

####   Wildlife Disease and Environmental Health in Alaska

Learn More

link

November 1, 2019

####                 Swan Research              

Alaska Science Center

link

November 1, 2019

####   Swan Research

Learn More

link

July 27, 2017

####                 Sea Duck Research              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center

link

July 27, 2017

####   Sea Duck Research

Learn More

link

July 27, 2017

####                 Dabbling and Diving Duck Research              

Alaska Science Center

link

July 27, 2017

####   Dabbling and Diving Duck Research

Learn More

Below are data or web applications associated with this project.

October 25, 2023

####                 Harlequin Duck Genetic Data, North America, Greenland, and Iceland, 1952-2001              

Alaska Science Center, Molecular Ecology Laboratory

June 21, 2023

####                 Data from Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) Overwintering in Three Lagoons Along the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico              

Alaska Science Center

May 8, 2023

####                 Data from Sampling for Small-Scale Geographic Variation in Salinity Along the Lower Kashunuk River, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, 1993              

Alaska Science Center

April 26, 2023

####                 Breeding Biology, Behavior, and Morphology of Emperor Geese and Other Waterfowl near Kokechik Bay, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska during 1982-1988              

Alaska Science Center

April 17, 2023

####                 Waterfowl Lead Exposure Data in Alaska and Russia              

Alaska Science Center

March 15, 2023

####                 Emperor Goose (Anser canagicus) Nest Survival Encounter History from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, 1994-2017              

Alaska Science Center

February 15, 2023

####                 Breeding Biology of Loon and Waterfowl Species on the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska during 1973-1975              

Alaska Science Center

December 9, 2022

####                 Data Supporting Studies of Brant and Other Waterfowl Disturbance Behavior, Distribution, and Diet at Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, 1985-1988              

Alaska Science Center

June 30, 2022

####                 Aerial Photo Imagery from Fall Waterfowl Surveys, Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, 2017-2019              

Alaska Science Center

October 9, 2021

####                 Point Sampling Data for Eelgrass (Zostera marina) and Seaweed Distribution and Abundance in Bays Adjacent to the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska              

Alaska Science Center

September 24, 2021

####                 Goose Migration and Egg Nutrient Allocation, Colville River Delta, Alaska, 2011-2015              

Alaska Science Center

August 24, 2021

####                 Blood Parasite Infection, Body Mass, and Survival Data from Emperor Geese (Anser canagicus), Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, 2006-2016              

Alaska Science Center, Molecular Ecology Laboratory

#### Pagination

-                Current page            1 
-                Page            2 
-  Next page›› 
-  Last pageLast » 

Below are multimedia items associated with this project.

Climate Science Champions, Season 1: Vijay Patil, Wildlife Biologist

April 11, 2022

#### Climate Science Champions, Season 1: Vijay Patil, Wildlife Biologist

link

*Wildlife Biologist Vijay Patil explores the effects of climate change and shifting seasons on Arctic-nesting waterfowl.*

Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area

April 11, 2022

#### Climate Science Champions, Season 1: Vijay Patil, Wildlife Biologist

link

#### Climate Science Champions, Season 1: Vijay Patil, Wildlife Biologist

link

*Wildlife Biologist Vijay Patil explores the effects of climate change and shifting seasons on Arctic-nesting waterfowl.*

Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area

Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska

October 31, 2019

#### Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska

link

Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska 2013.

Alaska Science Center

October 31, 2019

#### Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska

link

#### Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska

link

Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska 2013.

Alaska Science Center

A Male Spectacled Eider in Alaska

March 14, 2016

#### A Male Spectacled Eider in Alaska

link

A male spectacled eider following implantation of a satellite transmitter in the Colville River delta in June 2009. After breeding numbers of spectacled eiders, a large sea duck, declined by 96 percent at a primary breeding area in Alaska, the species was listed as threatened.

Alaska Science Center

March 14, 2016

#### A Male Spectacled Eider in Alaska

link

#### A Male Spectacled Eider in Alaska

link

A male spectacled eider following implantation of a satellite transmitter in the Colville River delta in June 2009. After breeding numbers of spectacled eiders, a large sea duck, declined by 96 percent at a primary breeding area in Alaska, the species was listed as threatened.

Alaska Science Center

Snow Goose near the Colville River, northern Alaska

June 15, 2015

#### Snow Goose near the Colville River, northern Alaska

link

Snow Goose near the Colville River, northern Alaska.

Alaska Science Center

June 15, 2015

#### Snow Goose near the Colville River, northern Alaska

link

#### Snow Goose near the Colville River, northern Alaska

link

Snow Goose near the Colville River, northern Alaska.

Alaska Science Center

Northern Pintail

February 10, 2008

#### Northern Pintail

link

The USGS conducts surveillance and research nationwide on wildlife diseases that could be harmful to domestic animals and humans.

Ecosystems, Alaska Science Center

February 10, 2008

#### Northern Pintail

link

#### Northern Pintail

link

The USGS conducts surveillance and research nationwide on wildlife diseases that could be harmful to domestic animals and humans.

Ecosystems, Alaska Science Center

Below are publications associated with this project.

October 14, 2023

####                 Evaluation of breeding distribution and chronology of North American scoters              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Alaska Science Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

October 12, 2023

####                 Dispersal of juvenile Barrow’s goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica) mirrors that of breeding adults              

Alaska Science Center

July 25, 2023

####                 Status of spectacled eiders (Somateria fischeri) on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, 2022—Testing and updating predictive models              

Alaska Science Center

May 27, 2023

####                 Climate change and coastal wetland salinization: Physiological and ecological consequences for Arctic waterfowl              

Alaska Science Center

November 6, 2022

####                 Effects of mass capture on survival of greater white-fronted geese in Alaska              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

September 3, 2021

####                 Growth of greater white-fronted goose goslings relates to population dynamics at multiple scales              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

August 26, 2021

####                 Negligible evidence for detrimental effects of Leucocytozoon infections among Emperor Geese (Anser canagicus) breeding on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

November 9, 2019

####                 Temporal variation in genetic structure within the threatened spectacled eider              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Molecular Ecology Laboratory

February 28, 2019

####                 The black brant population is declining based on mark recapture              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

February 25, 2019

####                 Spatial distribution of band recoveries of black brant              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

December 20, 2018

####                 Non‐linear effect of sea ice: Spectacled Eider survival declines at both extremes of the ice spectrum              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

September 7, 2018

####                 Spring temperature, migration chronology, and nutrient allocation to eggs in three species of arctic‐nesting geese: Implications for resilience to climate warming              

Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

#### Pagination

-                Current page            1 
-                Page            2 
-                Page            3 
-                Page            4 
-                Page            5 
-                Page            6 
-                Page            7 
-                Page            8 
-                Page            9 
- ...
-  Next page›› 
-  Last pageLast » 

Below are news stories associated with this project.

BBL Data in Publication: Band Recoveries in Black Brant

April 11, 2019

####   BBL Data in Publication: Band Recoveries in Black Brant

A recently published scientific article uses USGS Bird Banding Laboratory records to evaluate hotspots of Black Brant band recoveries.

Read Article