Western Yellow-billed Loon Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Parklands
Flamme M, Miller SD , Mizel J . Western Yellow-billed Loon Monitoring in the Arctic Network of National Parklands. 2012. National Park Service
The enabling legislation of the parks specifies protection for bird habitats and populations for all 5 Arctic Network of Alaska Parklands (ARCN). Under ANILCA [Section 201(8)], BELA must protect habitat for internationally significant populations of migratory birds and CAKR must provide specific protections for bird habitat and populations. In addition, several international treaties, federal laws and initiatives provide protections for migratory birds and require action by NPS (Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Endangered Species Act, North American Bird Conservation Initiative). The Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii) is a species of concern with a global population estimated at 16, 650-21,000 (Fair 2002, Earnst 2004). The breeding range is restricted to large lakes (>7 hectares) (North and Ryan 1989) in the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska north of the Brooks Range, in western Alaska on the Seward Peninsula including Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA), and in Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR). Yellow-billed Loons are poorly documented in these parklands and population estimates in these areas represent a small percentage of the total population. In 2005, results from aerial surveys conducted in and around BELA and CAKR generated population estimates for Yellow-billed loons and nests of 418 (90% confidence range = 314-521) and 85 (90% confidence range = 56-115), respectively (Mallek et al. 2005). The portions of the northern and central Seward Peninsula strata including BELA accounted for 76% (319) of the total Yellow-billed Loon population estimate and 76% (65) of the total nest estimate. In CAKR, the Yellow-billed Loon population and nest estimates accounted for 5% (22) and 4% (4) of the total, respectively. Due to its small population size and restricted distribution, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently evaluating a petition to list this species as Threatened or Endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Contaminants studies of many loon species have been ongoing in Alaska. As a piscivorous species, Yellow-billed Loons are top predators in lake ecosystems. They are harvested for human subsistence and are of concern because they may bioaccumulate contaminant loads (i.e. mercury, PCPs) (Schmutz pers. com. 2008). In addition, they may be indicators of water quality and may provide insight into the movement of marine-derived nutrients and shifts in riparian or coastal communities in ARCN.
- Type
- Project
- Authors
- Flamme, Melanie; Miller, Scott; Mizel, Jeremy
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- BELA , CAKR
- Keywords
- Aerial Survey, Alaska, Bering Land Bridge, Cape Krusenstern, Egg, Gavia adamsii, Monitoring, National Park, Nesting, Population, Productivity, western yellow-billed loon
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Birds
Program
Products
- Loon occupancy dynamics in Western Arctic Parklands, Alaska, 2011–2018
- Yellow-billed loon monitoring protocol for the Arctic Network: Protocol narrative version 1.0
- Monitoring yellow-billed loons in Alaska: ARCN Inventory and Monitoring Network, data quality standards
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 1: Preparations for Field Season
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 2: Field iPad Set up, Version 1.0
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 3: Training, Version 1.0
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 4: GPS Setup, Version 1.0
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 5: Equipment Lists, Version 1.0
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 6: Flying Surveys, Version 1.0
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 7: Data Collection, Version 1.0
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 8: Data Downloading and Backup, Version 1.0
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 9: Data QA/QC and Formatting, Version 1.0
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 10: Data Analysis, Version 1.0
- NPS Yellow-billed Loons Monitoring Data Management Procedures
- Certified Dataset: Loons Monitoring in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA) and Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Alaska, 2005 - 2023
- Collaborative Conservation of the Rare Alaskan Yellow-billed Loon
- Yellow-billed Loon Resource Brief
- Aerial Yellow-billed Loon Surveys in Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska
- ARCN Yellow-billed Loons Protocol Development Summary
- Western Alaska Yellow-billed Loon Survey-2005
- Western Alaska Yellow-billed Loon Survey - 2005: Lakes greater than 7 hectares with centers in plots on the Seward Peninsula and Cape Krusenstern areas of Alaska
- Western Alaska Yellow-billed Loon Survey 2007
- Habitat use and population status of Yellow-billed and Pacific loons in western Alaska, USA
- Dataset: 2007 Yellow-billed Loon Survey in Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska
- Dataset: 2011 Yellow-billed Loon Survey in Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska
- Dataset: 2013 Yellow-billed Loon Survey in Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska
- Dataset: 2016 Yellow-billed Loon Survey in Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska
- Dataset: 2017 Yellow-billed Loon Survey in Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska
- Dataset: 2018 Yellow-billed Loon Survey in Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska
- Dataset: 2019 Yellow-billed Loon Survey in Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska
- Dataset: 2023 Yellow-billed Loon Survey in Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska
- Bering Land Bridge Lake Classification, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2012-2016
- Data processing and reporting R scripts for the National Park Service, Yellow-billed loons monitoring program