Full Description
Each year shorebirds from North and South America migrate thousands of miles to spend the summer in the Arctic. There they feed in shoreline marshes and estuaries along some of the most productive and pristine coasts anywhere. With so much available food they are able to reproduce almost explosively; and as winter approaches, they retreat south along with their offspring, to return to the Arctic the following spring. This remarkable pattern of movement and activity has been the object of intensive study by an international team of ornithologists who have spent a decade counting, surveying, and observing these shorebirds. In this important synthetic work, they address multiple questions about these migratory bird populations. How many birds occupy Arctic ecosystems each summer? How long do visiting shorebirds linger before heading south? How fecund are these birds? Where exactly do they migrate and where exactly do they return? Are their populations growing or shrinking? The results of this study are crucial for better understanding how environmental policies will influence Arctic habitats as well as the far-ranging winter habitats used by migratory shorebirds.
Contents
Foreword Susan K. Skagen, Paul A. Smith, Brad Andres, Garry Donaldson and Stephen Brown Part 1: Introduction 1. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Victoria Johnston and Jonathan Bart 2. METHODS Jonathan Bart, Victoria Johnston, Paul A. Smith, Ann Manning, Jennie Rausch and Stephen Brown Part 2: Regional Reports 3. SHOREBIRD SURVEYS IN WESTERN ALASKA Brian J. McCaffery, Jonathan Bart, Catherine Wightman and David Krueper 4. NORTH SLOPE OF ALASKA Jonathan Bart, Stephen Brown, Brad Andres, Robert Platte and Ann Manning 5. YUKON NORTH SLOPE AND MACKENZIE DELTA Jennie Rausch and Victoria Johnston 6. SOUTHAMPTON AND COATS ISLANDS Paul A. Smith, Victoria Johnston and Jennie Rausch 7. PRINCE CHARLES, AIR FORCE, AND BAFFIN ISLANDS Victoria Johnston and Paul A. Smith 8. SMALL-SCALE AND RECONNAISSANCE SURVEYS Jonathan Bart, Brad A. Andres, Kyle Elliott, Charles M. Francis, Victoria Johnston, R.I.G. Morrison, Elin P. Pierce and Jennie Rausch Part 3: Methodology 9. AERIAL SURVEYS: A WORTHWHILE ADD-ON TO PRISM SURVEYS, ESPECIALLY IN THE INTERIOR? Kyle H. Elliott and Paul A. Smith 10. SURVEY METHODS FOR WHIMBREL Lisa Pirie and Victoria Johnston 11. TIER 2 SURVEYS Lisa Pirie, Victoria Johnston and Paul A. Smith 12. ARCTIC PRISM TIER 3 - PROGRESS NOTES FROM THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES-NUNAVUT BIRD CHECKLIST SURVEY Lindsay A. Armer, Craig S. Machtans and Brian T. Collins 13. DESIGN OF FUTURE SURVEYS Jonathan Bart and Paul A. Smith Part 4: Synthesis 14. SUMMARY Jonathan Bart and Paul A. Smith 15. PRIORITIES FOR FUTURE PRISM SURVEYS Jonathan Bart, Victoria Johnston, Jennie Rausch, Paul A. Smith and Brian McCaffery 16. LITERATURE CITED Appendices A. OTHER METHODS FOR ESTIMATING TRENDS OF ARCTIC BIRDS Jonathan Bart, Stephen Brown, R. I. Guy Morrison and Paul A. Smith B. REGIONAL DENSITY ESTIMATES C. COMMON, SCIENTIFIC AND ABBREVIATED NAMES FOR SPECIES INCLUDED IN THE VOLUME Index
