Nest-site characteristics and habitat selection of shorebirds breeding in northwest Alaska
Petterson J. 1992. Nest-site characteristics and habitat selection of shorebirds breeding in northwest Alaska. National Park Service. Cruz Bay, USVI
Nest-site characteristics and habitat selection were studied during 1991-1992 for shorebirds nesting in northwestern arctic Alaska. Ninety three nests of ten different shorebird species were quantified. Nesting densities varied between habitat types, with dwarf ericaceous shrub tundra (DEST) being the most productive both years. Significant differences were found between years in the abundance of shorebird species nesting within the DEST habitat. Semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) were the most abundant shorebird in 1991, but least abundant in 1992. Conversely, western sandpiper (Calidris mauri), dunlin (Calidris alpina), and red-necked phalarope (Phalaropus lobata), were more abundant on DEST habitats in 1992 than 1991. Cover types and vegetation structure differed between nests and random sites and between nest cups and immediately surrounding habitat for dunlin, western sandpiper, semipalmated sandpiper, and red-necked phalarope. Interspecific differences in nest-site vegetation physiognomy were summarized by the first two factors of a principal components analysis, which accounted for 41 and 21% respectively, of the variation in the data. Species were portrayed within two axes which represented a gradient according to cover type, and vegetation density, height, and heterogeneity.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Petterson, J
- Date of Issue
- 1992
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- CAKR , WEAR
- Keywords
- Alaska, Animal Studies, Birds, Birds (Aves), Breeding, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Habitat, Habitat Selection, IAR, nesting studies, Nests, Northwest, Shorebirds
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Birds