Nesting birds of the Shishmaref Inlet area, Seward Peninsula, Alaska and the possible effects of reindeer herding and grazing on nesting birds
Noble RE and Wright JM. 1977. Nesting birds of the Shishmaref Inlet area, Seward Peninsula, Alaska and the possible effects of reindeer herding and grazing on nesting birds. Alaska Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit,University of Alaska. Fairbanks, AK
This report provides the results of a 1976 study performed near the Arctic River in Shishmarek Inlet to determine the effects of reindeer grazing and herding on nesting birds. Three 40-acre study plots were established within distinct habitat types: upland flat tundra, hill tundra, and tundra lake. A 15-acre study plot was also established in willow-type habitat. Territory mapping and actual nest locations were used to census breeding birds. Forty-six bird species nested over the area in which reindeer observations were recorded. More than 800 nests were estimated to have been trampled in the study area; however, available data was too limited to assign an effect to this. An annotated list of the birds observed during the 1976 nesting season is provided. Observations on weather, vegetation, reindeer behavior, and human use of wildlife are also included.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Noble, Robert; Wright, John
- Date of Issue
- 1977
- Publisher
- Alaska Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit,University of Alaska
- Units
- BELA , WIHO
- Keywords
- Arctic River, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Birds, Grazing, Nests, Rangifer tarandus, Reindeer, Serpentine River, Shishmaref Inlet, Sinyaevick River, Subsistence, Vegetation