Alaska Bird Conference - 2019 Program March 4-8 Fairbanks, Alaska www.alaskabirdconference.org
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Alaska Bird Conference
2019
Program
March 4–8
Fairbanks, Alaska
www.alaskabirdconference.org
Welcome to the Alaska Bird Conference!
The first Alaska Bird Conference was held in 1985 in Anchorage. It grew from the often-
expressed need for exchange of information among those in government, universities, non-
government organizations, and the private sector who are working with Alaska’s diverse and
abundant birds. The conference has been held on an approximately biennial basis ever since.
This year marks the 18th Alaska Bird Conference. The conference regularly attracts
between 150 and 200 participants reporting on their findings and new initiatives. By design,
the conference retains a familiar and friendly atmosphere, welcoming new students and
ornithologists into the field, and providing a much-anticipated gathering for those who work
with and care for Alaska’s birds.
This year’s conference is hosted by the Alaska Songbird
Institute with significant contributions from a local
organizing committee.
The Alaska Songbird Institute is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to
research, education and conservation of Alaska’s boreal
birds. Based at Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge
in Fairbanks they manage two long-term projects: the
Creamer’s Field Migration Station (1992–present) and the
Swallow Ecology Project (1994–present). These projects
have archived decades of data on the migration, timing and
productivity of Alaska’s boreal songbirds, while educating tens of
thousands of people about ecology, research, and conservation.
Learn more about ASI and how to support our work at www.aksongbird.org.
*Cover image by Pam Seiser.
2
Monday, March 4 Tuesday, March 5
Westmark Yukon Room Westmark Gold Room
9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. 8:15–8:30 a.m.
Boreal Partners in Flight & Alaska Raptor Group Introduction and welcome
joint annual meeting
8:30–9:30 a.m.
1:30–4:30 p.m. Invited speaker: Uma Bhatt
Alaska Shorebird Group annual meeting Consequence of sea-ice decline for
the earth system
5:00–8:00 p.m Uma Bhatt, University of Alaska
Celebrating Alaska’s Birds art show Fairbanks, Dept. of Atmospheric
Sciences. Uma’s research focuses
Well St. Art Gallery on climate variability and links
Transportation between Westmark and gallery among components of the
provided approx. every 30 min. by Northern Alaska climate system. Her work includes
Tour Company. Meet at Gold Room outdoor entrance. seasonal forecasting of Arctic sea
ice and drivers of Arctic tundra
vegetation change.
Field trips
Owl ski (or snowshoe) 9:30–10:00 a.m.
Tuesday March 5, 7–9 p.m.
Coffee break
Enjoy a Fairbanks winter night with a guided
owl tour and possible aurora viewing. We will
Conservation & management
listen and search for local pre-nesting owls along
Chair: Philip Martin
Fairbanks trails. This is an off-trail event and you
need to provide your own skis (or snowshoes) and 10:00 a.m.
headlamp (a few will be available upon request). Audubon Alaska’s watchlist of declining or vulnerable
Yummy hot beverages encouraged! You need to Alaska birds
provide transport, but we’ll organize carpooling as Nils Warnock & Max Goldman
best we can. Meet at Poster Session or trailhead 10:15 a.m.
(TBA). Max people: 20. Free. Using the Alaska species ranking system to identify
species of conservation concern
Behind the scenes tour of UAF museum Amanda Droghini, Rachel Kelty, & Paul Schuette
Wednesday March 6, 5:30–6:30 p.m.
10:30 a.m.
Get an inside tour of the UAF Museum with Jack Eiders and sea ice: Spectacled Eider winter surveys past,
Withrow and their collection of birds. This is a present and future
special tour that only Alaska Bird Conference Daniel Rizzolo, Kate Martin, Neesha Stellrecht, Bryan
attendees get to enjoy. You need to provide Daniels, William Larned, David Safine, & Julian Fischer
transport, but we’ll organize carpooling as best we
can. Max people: 10. Free. 10:45 a.m.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) for wintering Aleutian
Terns? Surveys, assessments and conclusions from coastal
China, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
Falk Huettmann
11:00 a.m.
The benefit of birds: ecological value and vulnerability in
the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas
Max Goldman, Erika Knight, Brianne Mecum, Ben
Sullender, Molly Zaleski, Melanie Smith, & Jon Warrenchuk
4
11:15 a.m. 2:30 p.m.
Shorebird subsistence harvest and Indigenous Implementation of Arctic PRISM surveys in western
knowledge in Alaska Alaska: What we learned about shorebird distributions
Liliana C. Naves, Jacqueline M. Keating, T. Lee Tibbitts, & on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
Daniel R. Ruthrauff Kristine M. Sowl, Stephen C. Brown, James E. Lyons, Richard
B. Lanctot, Brad Winn, Sarah T. Saalfeld, James A. Johnson,
11:30 a.m. Brian J. McCaffery, & Brad A. Andres
Sandhill Crane roosting behavior on the Delta River and
Delta Creek, Fort Wainwright, Alaska 2:45 p.m.
Kim Jochum & Justin Smith Marine-associated bird and mammal habitat use in the
Five Finger Light
11:45 a.m. Lori Beraha*
The state bird collection and the University of Alaska 3:00 p.m.
Museum: research and directions Modeling the winter habitat use and mortality risks of
Kevin Winker Cassin’s Auklets and Pigeon Guillemots in the North
Pacific
12:00–1:30 p.m. Michael E. Johns*, Pete Warzybok, Jaime Jahncke, Mark
Lunch Lindberg, & Greg Breed
Conservation & management cont. 3:15–3:45 p.m.
Chair: Dan Rizzolo Coffee break
1:30 p.m.
Birds of a feather flock together... or do they? Regional 3:45–4:15 p.m.
and temporal patterns of community composition and Invited speaker: Rick Thoman
abundance in nearshore marine birds across the Gulf of
Alaska Taking flight: accelerating climate
Heather Coletti, Robert Suryan, Dan Esler, Robert Kaler, changes in the seas around Alaska
Tuula Hollmen, Mayumi Arimitsu, James Bodkin, Thomas Rick Thoman, University of Alaska
Dean, Kimberly Kloecker, Kathy Kuletz, John Piatt, Brian Fairbanks, International Arctic
Robinson, & Benjamin Weitzman Research Center. Rick is an Alaska
climate specialist who focuses on
Habitat use translating climate change data.
1:45 p.m. 4:15–5:00 p.m.
Raptor studies for a proposed hydroelectric project in
Alaska: Application of innovative techniques Invited speaker: Coastal
Observation and Seabird
John E. Shook & Joseph H. Welch
Survey Team (COASST)
2:00 p.m. Seabird Mortality Events in the
Persistence of bird concentration areas on Alaska’s North Pacific 2013–2018
Arctic Coastal Plain
COASST is a citizen science
Benjamin K. Sullender & Melanie A. Smith
group that tracks seabird
2:15 p.m. populations and die-offs. They
Spoon-billed Sandpiper model-predictions with open train coastal residents, including
access data and machine learning: Why, how and what those in rural Alaska, to conduct
we know regular surveys of their beaches.
Falk Huettmann
*Indicates a student presentation
5
Poster session Contaminants research takes flight: emerging concerns
5:30–8:00 p.m. for Yellow-billed Loons in northern Alaska
Westmark Gold Room, appetizers and cash bar Patrick Knavel, Will Caldwell*, Sarah Swanson, Delaney
Vinson, Briana Kremer, Jenna DiFalco, Angela Matz, Debbie
Breeding biology Nigro & Melanie Flamme
Small-scale breeding site fidelity of Dusky Canada Geese
Tasha DiMarzio, Michael Petrula & Jason Schamber Sex and adrenal steroid hormones in alcid feathers
Alexis Will, Ruokun Zhou, Katherine Wynne-Edwards, &
Remote monitoring of waterbird nests: an examination Alexander Kitaysky
of effectiveness, predators, and applicability
Sarah Hoepfner*, Chris Latty & Shiloh Schulte Migration & movements
Model-prediction of Great Gray Owl distribution in
Downy dust to better inform nest fate assignments Alaska with ‘cloud computing’ tools for assessment of
Laura Makielski, Christopher Latty & Tuula Hollmén habitat
Phillip Andrews* & Falk Huettmann
Status and nest survival of Aleutian and Arctic Terns
breeding in the Kodiak Archipelago, 2016–2018 Using stable isotopes to infer migration routes of
Jill E.Tengeres, Robin M. Corcoran & Donald E. Lyons Crested Auklets
Carl Burnside*, Alexis Will & Alexander Kitaysky
Conservation & management
Hypereumelanistic Horned Grebe observed in Resolving the annual pelagic distribution of Tufted
eastern interior Alaska Puffins in the Gulf of Alaska: preliminary isotopic
Mark Bertram & Adam Grimm correlates of winter and summer marine habitat use
Kristen B. Gorman, Mary Anne Bishop & Anne L. Schaefer
Wintering assemblage of Arctic-type warblers in the
Philippines Migratory dynamics of Beringian Dunlin along the East
Kyle K. Campbell, Aurora Hoefferle, Bennett Wong & Asian-Australasian Flyway
Kevin Winker Benjamin Lagassé*, Richard Lanctot, Stephen Yezerinac,
Stephen Brown, Alexei Dondua, Chris Latty, Joe Liebezeit,
Alaska Shorebird Conservation Plan, Version III Alexander Matsyna, Ekaterina Matsyna, Rebecca McGuire,
Christopher M. Harwood, H. River Gates, James A. Martin Robards, Jon Slaght, Diana Solovyeva, Pavel
Johnson, Richard B. Lanctot & Daniel R. Ruthrauff Tomkovich, Olga Valchuk & Michael Wunder
Ruddy Duck breeding range expansion in Alaska Outreach & citizen science
Bryce Lake Sitka winter bird observation project
Increases in numbers of brood-rearing and molting Gwen Baluss, Kitty LaBounty & Matt Goff
Brant and Snow Geese on the western Beaufort Sea Mt. Everest downhill: a watershed analysis during
coast of Alaska, 1994–2017 climate change using waterbird counts from a 30-year
Robert M. Burgess, Tim Obritschkewitsch, Brian T. Person citizen science survey in Koshi River, Nepal
& Robert J. Ritchie Falk Huettmann
When the freezer breaks: will climate warming impact Arctic Refuge Virtual Bird Festival: 2018, an inaugural
the persistence of resident birds in Alaska? year
Emily Williams & Laura Phillips Allyssa Morris, Chris Latty, Brett Parks, Sara Boario, Rose
Capitalizing on a mass mortality event: archiving Primmer, Rebecca Sentner, Michelle LeBeau, Susan Culliney,
seabird genetic samples, skins, and skeletons from the Max Goldman, Ben Sullender, Kassandra Smith & Shiloh
M/V Selendang Ayu oil spill Schulte
Jack Withrow & Kevin Winker Revised principles for conducting research in the Arctic
Diet & physiology Sara Bowden, Chris Campbell, Renee Crain, Roberto
Short-term concentration of triiodothyronine increases Delgado, Martin Jeffries, Igor Kupnik, Meredith LaValley,
as a result of cooling early in the life of Siala sialis chicks Cynthia McOliver, Candace Nachman, John Pearce, Cheryl
Nathan Cagwin*, Sharon E. Lynn, Michael D. Kern & Rosa & Amina Schartup
Alexander Kitaysky
6
Wednesday, March 6 11:15 a.m.
Is geographical prevalence of beak deformities related
Westmark Gold Room
to patterns of genetic diversity in Northwestern Crows
in Alaska?
8:15–8:30 a.m. Lisa Pajot
Welcome and announcements
11:30 a.m.
Patterns in breeding population of Steller’s Eiders at
8:30–9:30 a.m. Utqiaġvik, Alaska, over a 28-year period
Invited speaker: Torre Jorgenson Nathan Graff, Micah Miller, & Neesha Stellrecht
Past and projected trends in Alaska 11:45 a.m.
habitats stressed by rapid climate Reproduction of Peregrine Falcons along the Colville
change River, Alaska
Torre Jorgenson, Alaska Ted Swem
Ecoscience. For over thirty years,
Torre has worked on ecology 12:00–1:30 p.m
and geomorphology studies
throughout Alaska, focusing Lunch
on vegetation-soil-permafrost
interactions and ecological Breeding biology cont.
impacts of human activities. Chair: Dan Rizzolo
1:30 p.m.
9:30–10:00 a.m. Evaluating methods for determining nest predators of
Coffee break Common Eiders
Wilhelm L.Wiese, Christopher J. Latty, & Tuula Hollmén
Breeding biology 1:45 p.m.
Chair: Chris Harwood Nesting study of Greater White-fronted Geese at a
10:00 a.m. new drill site in NPR-A
Not too hot, not too cold: How adaptable are Kristen Rozell, Rick Johnson, & Adrian Gall
shorebirds to variable breeding conditions?
Rebecca McGuire, Richard Lanctot, Sarah Saalfeld, Dan Migration and movements
Ruthrauff, Chris Latty, and Stephen Brown 2:00 p.m.
10:15 a.m. Movement patterns of Arctic-breeding shorebirds
Timing, breedingg propensity and chick growth of shorebirds during post-breeding and southbound migration
at an Arctic site in Alaska: Does interannual variability in Richard B. Lanctot, Sarah Saalfeld, Stephen Brown, Kyle
environmental conditions override potential mismatches? Elliot, Jean-Francois Lamarre, Christopher Latty, Rebecca
Dan Ruthrauff & Aaron Gottesman McGuire, & Daniel Ruthrauff
10:30 a.m. 2:15 p.m.
Influence of weather on reproductive timing and Linear features affect migratory movements of Golden
reproductive success in two Arctic-breeding passerines Eagles
Helen Chmura, Natalie Boelman, Laura Gough, & John Wingfield Joseph M. Eisaguirre*, Travis L. Booms, Christopher P. Barger,
Stephen B. Lewis, Carol L. McIntyre, & Greg A. Breed
10:45 a.m.
Mew Gull nesting: spatial distribution and survival in an 2:30 p.m.
urban environment on Fort Wainwright, Alasak Movements of younger cohorts of pre-breeding Golden
Garrett Savory & Emily Richmond Eagles during the breeding season in Alaska
Carol McIntyre & Stephen B. Lewis
11:00 a.m.
Spectacled Eiders on the Colville Delta, Kuparuk oilfield 2:45 p.m.
and NPR-A Movement strategies among Bald Eagles in an
Rick Johnson, Julie Parrett, Lauren Attanas, Pam Seiser, John anadromous fish system
Shook, & Bob Burgess Rachel E. Wheat & Stephen B. Lewis
7
3:00–3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 7
Coffee break Westmark Gold Room
Diet & physiology 8:15–8:30 a.m.
Chair: Brandt Meixell Welcome and announcements
3:30 p.m.
Gyrfalcon dietary plasticity in a changing tundra 8:30–9:30 a.m.
ecosystem
Devin Johnson*, Michael Henderson, David L. Anderson, Invited speaker: Chris Arp
Travis Booms, Bryce Robinson, & Cory T. Williams A story of the cold: do migratory
birds care?
3:45 p.m.
Diet and reproductive success of the Great Horned Chris Arp, University of
Owl at its northern breeding limit Alaska Fairbanks, Water and
Madison McConnell* & Knut Kielland Environmental Research Center.
Chris’ research on ice and water
4:00 p.m. balance dynamics of shallow
Characterizing Arctic shorebird chick diets with DNA lakes and surface-water interactions with permafrost has
metabarcoding documented important changes to lakes in Alaska’s Arctic.
Danielle Gerik, Richard B. Lanctot, Kirsty E. Gurney, Sarah
T. Saalfeld, & J. Andrés López 9:30–10:00 a.m.
4:15 p.m. Coffee break
The interactive effects of temperature and organic
contaminants on embryo development in shorebirds Special session– Loon ecology & conservation
Ella Lunny*, Kirsty Gurney, Dan Ruthrauff, & Christy Chair: Mel Flamme
Morrissey
10:00 a.m.
4:30 p.m. Genetic diversity among four loon species nesting in
How will climate change affect the nutrient Arctic Alaska
dynamics of goose forage in the Arctic? Barbara J. Pierson, George K. Sage, Meg C. Gravley, Jolene R.
Brandt W. Meixell & Paul L. Flint Rearick, Brian D. Uher-Koch, Joel A. Schmutz, Melanie Flamme,
Angela Matz, Debbie Nigro, Dave Evers, & Sandra L. Talbot
4:45 p.m.
Modeling wind exposure: implications for Common 10:15 A.M.
Eiders nesting along the Arctic coastal plain Population genetics analysis of Yellow-billed Loons nesting
Elyssa Watford*, Christopher Latty, & Tuula Hollmén in western Arctic North America
Sandra L.Talbot, George K. Sage, Barbara J. Pierson, Meg C.
Gravley, Brian Uher-Koch, Joel Schmutz, Angela Matz, Debora
Public lecture: Cole Nigro, & Melanie Flamme
Sartore
7:00–9:00 p.m. 10:30 A.M.
UAF Murie Auditorium eDNA metabarcoding analyses of loon (gavia)
distribution and diet
Building the National Damian Menning, Melanie Flamme, Trey Simmons, Brian
Geographic Photo Ark Uher-Koch, Joel Schmutz, & Sandra Talbot
Creating portraits of an
estimated 12,000 species of 10:45 A.M.
birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, Similar, but different: use of marine resources by
amphibians and invertebrates from around the globe sympatrically breeding Red-throated and Pacific Loons
before they disappear– get people to care while Daniel Rizzolo & Joel Schmutz
there’s still time. 11:00 A.M.
This free public lecture is brought to you by Alaska Territory retention of Pacific and Yellow-billed Loons
Bird Conference 2019 & Arctic Audubon Society. breeding in northern Alaska
8 Brian D. Uher-Koch, Kenneth G. Wright, & Joel A. Schmutz
11:15 A.M. 2:45 P.M.
Occupancy and habitat use of loon populations in Arctic Connecting people throughout the East Asian-
and western Arctic Alaska Australasian Flyway with coordinated outreach
Jeremy Mizel, Melanie Flamme, Debbie Nigro, Cindy Hamfler, Casey T. Burns
Angela Matz, Tamara Zeller, Nikki Guldager, Josh Schmidt,
Stacia Backensto, Sarah Swanson, & Jared Hugey 3:00–3:30 P.M.
11:30 A.M. Coffee break
Yellow-billed Loon occupancy of breeding territories near
new oil development Special session– Boreal wetland birds
Rick Johnson, Ann Wildman, Alex Prichard, Julie Parrett, & Chair: Katie Christie
Caryn Rea
3:30 P.M.
11:45 A.M. Recent trends in boreal wetland-associated birds
Seasonal survival of Yellow-billed Loons breeding in Alaska and beyond
Joel A. Schmutz, Jeffrey S. Fair, Kenneth G. Wright, Christopher Colleen M. Handel, Katie Christie, & John R. Sauer
R. DeSorbo, Daniel M. Mulcahy, Daniel J. Rizzolo, Brian D.
Uher-Koch, Barbara J. Pierson, and David C. Douglas 3:45 P.M.
Influence of wetland context on the distribution and
abundance of boreal birds
12:00–1:30 p.m Sabre Hill* & Audrey Taylor
Lunch
4:00 P.M.
Migratory connectivity of a declining shorebird:
1:30–2:00 p.m.
tracking technologies reveal migratory pathways,
Invited speaker: Nancy Fresco primary stopovers, and wintering locations of adult
Publicly available data tools to track Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)
climate change Laura McDuffie*, Katie Christie, Jim Johnson, & Audrey
Taylor
Nancy Fresco, University of Alaska
Fairbanks, Scenarios Network for 4:15 P.M.
Alaska + Arctic Planning. Nancy’s Neotropical migrant bird habitat assessment, Fort
focuses are on developing effective Wainwright, Alaska
collaborations, linking SNAP data Justin Smith, Garrett Savory, & Kim Jochum
to the needs of stakeholders, and interpreting the results of
complex modeling efforts. 4:30 P.M.
Shorebird abundance estimates on military lands in
interior Alaska
Outreach & citizen science
Ellen Martin, Kim Jochum, Calvin Bagley, & Paul F.
2:00 p.m. Doherty, Jr.
The Alaska Swallow Monitoring Network: “dispersing”
across the state
Tricia Blake, Melissa Cady, Audrey Taylor, April Harding Scurr, Banquet & awards
& Alex Rose 6:30–9:00 p.m.
2:15 P.M. Westmark Gold Room
Piloting community science: monitoring murre Keynote speaker: Cole Sartore has been assisting
reproductive success in Savoonga, Alaska his father, photographer Joel Sartore, build the
Jennifer Curl, Punguk Shoogukwruk, & Alexis Will Photoark for 12 years. The Sartores hope to
capture a brief moment within each species life,
2:30 P.M.
to tell its story, and to inspire awareness and care
The Denali Avian Youth Mentoring Program: fostering
life-long connections with Alaska’s National Parklands for the incredible beauty in Earth’s biodiversity.
through place-based science learning The PhotoArk team has already traveled to 40
Emily Williams, Carol McIntyre, & Laura Phillips countries and predict it will take 25 years to
complete their mission.
*Indicates a student presentation 9
Friday, March 8
Westmark Yukon Room
Workshop: Unmanned aerial systems in wildlife research & conservation
9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
• What are the capabilities of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS, aka drones)?
• What types of data can a UAS provide?
• What regulations apply to the operation of a UAS in Alaska?
• How have UAS been used in ornithological research?
• How are the images obtained by a UAS turned into data?
The answers to these questions and more will be covered during this one-day workshop. Offered in
collaboration with the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI), topics covered will
include current platforms and payloads, as well as approaches to data processing.
Applications to research on wildlife and wildlife habitats, with a focus on bird studies, will be presented by
researchers with extensive experience with UAS technology.
ACUASI is a world-class research center for unmanned aircraft systems that provides integration of unique
payloads and support for mission within government and science communities, with a special emphasis on the
Arctic and sub-Arctic.
Registration is $50 and participation is limited.
Featuring speaker: David Bird
David Bird is an Emeritus Professor of Wildlife
Biology at McGill University and Director of the
Avian Science and Conservation Centre In addition
to his extensive background in ornithology, he
is also an expert in the application of UAVs to
wildlife research and conservation.
He is also the Founding Editor of a newly
launched peer-reviewed publication, the Journal of
Unmanned Vehicle Systems and sits on the board
of Unmanned Systems Canada, an organization
dedicated to the use of unmanned vehicles.
10
Notes
11Alaska Bird Conference Sponsors
Thank you for your support!
USGS- Alaska Science Center, US Fish & Wildlife Service, BLM-Arctic District Office, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, ConocoPhillips
Alaska, National Park Service-Arctic Network Inventory & Monitoring Program
In memory of
Susan J.Watson
BLM-Alaska State Office, City of Fairbanks Hotel-Motel Discretionary Fund, Arctic Audubon Society, Audubon Alaska, Delcourt Aviation,
Alaska Airlines, Zeiss, In memory of Susan J. Watson
Institute of Arctic Biology, ABR, Inc., Ducks Unlimited Alaska, Kinross/Ft. Knox,Wildlife Conservations Society, Northern Alaska Tour Company
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