RSS 1.0Biological Papers of the University of Alaska
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Vegetation in the vicinity of the Toolik Field Station, AlaskaThis publication contains a group of vegetation maps at three scales in the vicinity of the Toolik Field Station. Alaska, which is an arctic research facility run by the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The maps are intended to support research at the field station. The front side of this map sheet contains a vegetation map and ancillary maps of a 751-km squared region surrounding the upper Kuparuk River watershed, including the Toolik Lake and the lmnavait Creek research areas, as well as portions of the Dalton Highway and Trans-Alaska Pipeline from the northern end of Galbraith Lake to Slope Mountain. The reverse side shows more detailed vegetation maps of the 20-km squared research area centered on Toolik Lake and a 1.2-km squared intensive research grid on the south side of Toolik Lake (red rectangles on Map A). All the maps are part of a hierarchical geographic information system (GIS) and the Web-based Arctic Geobotanical Atlas (http:/www.arcticatlas.org/). The atlas also includes other map themes for all three areas and a previously published hierarchy of maps of the lmnavait Creek area (Walker et al. 1989: Walker and Walker 1996) (black rectangles on Map A). Photos and explanations of the geobotanical mapping units and the supporting field data and metadata can also be found on the website.
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Life in the ColdPreface; First and Corresponding Author Contact Information; An Evolutionary Framework for Studies of Hibernation and Short-term Torpor -- Gordon C. Grigg; Was Adaptive Hypothermia a Prerequisite for the Colonization of Madagascar By Mammals? -- Barry G. Lovegrove; No Evidence for Torpor in a Small African Mainland Primate: The Lesser Bushbaby, Galago moholi -- Nomakwezi Mzilikazi, Barry G. Lovegrove, and Judith C. Masters; The Origin of Mammalian Heterothermy: A Case for Perpetual Youth? -- Michael B. Harris, Link E. Olson, and William K. Milsom; Passive Rewarming from Torpor in Mammals and Birds: Energetic, Ecological and Evolutionary Implications -- Fritz Geiser, Rebecca L. Drury, Gerhard Kortner, Christopher Turbill, Chris R. Pavey, and R. Mark Brigham; Solar Radiation and the Energetic Cost of Rewarming from Torpor -- Andrew M. McKechnie and Blair O. Wolf; The Role of α-Linolenic Acid (18:3) in Mammalian Torpor -- Craig L. Frank, Wendy R. Hood, and Mary C. Donnelly; Heat Transfer in Humans: Lessons from Large Hibernators -- Dennis Grahn and H. Craig Heller; Factors Influencing the Timing of Dormancy in the Pocket Mouse,Perognathus longimembris -- Alan R. French; The Energetic State-dependency of Autumn Immergence in Eastern Chipmunks -- Murray M. Humphries and Brandon Rodgers; Seasonal Timing of Reproduction and Hibernation in the Edible Dormouse (Glis glis) -- Claudia Bieber and Thomas Ruf; Reproduction and Hibernation in Females: A Comparison of Two Sympatric Ground-Dwelling Rodents -- Eva Millesi, Ilse E. Hoffmann, Anna Aschauer, and Claudia Franceschini; How the Photoperiod Times the Annual Reproductive and Hibernation Cycles -- P. Pevet, M. Saboureau, and P. Klosen; Behaviour, Body Temperature, and Hibernation in Tasmanian Echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) -- Stewart Nicol, Christina Vedel-Smith, and Niels A. Andersen; Metabolic Diversity in Yellow-Bellied Marmots -- Kenneth B. Armitage; Metabolic Rate Reduction During Hibernation and Daily Torpor -- Fritz Geiser; How to Enter Torpor: Thermodynamic and Physiological Mechanisms of Metabolic Depression -- Gerhard Heldmaier and Ralf Elvert; Slow Loss of Protein Integrity During Torpor: A Cause for Arousal? -- Sandra L. Martin, Timothy Dahl, and L. Elaine Epperson; A Technique for Modelling Thermoregulatory Energy Expenditure in Free-ranging Endotherms -- Craig K. R. Willis, Jeffery E. Lane, Eric T. Liknes, David L. Swanson, and R. Mark Brigham; Sex Differences in the Response of Torpor to Exogenous Corticosterone During the Onset of the Migratory Season in Rufous Hummingbirds -- Sara M. Hiebert, John C. Wingfield, Marilyn Ramenofsky, Leah Deni, and Antoinette Grafin zu Elz; The Avian Enigma: “Hibernation” by Common Poorwills (Phalaenoptilus nuttalli) -- Christopher P. Woods and R. Mark Brigham; Shivering Thermogenesis in Birds and Mammals -- Esa Hohtola; The Impact of Social Interactions on Torpor Use in Hummingbirds -- Donald Powers; The Energetics of the Rewarming Phase of Avian Torpor -- Andrew E. McKechnie and Blair O. Wolf; Insect Cold-Hardiness: New Advances Using Gene Screening Technology -- Kenneth B. Storey and David C. McMullen; Advantages and Disadvantages of Freeze-Tolerance and Freeze-Avoidance Overwintering Strategies -- Karl Erick Zachariassen, Sindre Andre Pedersen, and Erlend Kristiansen; Live and Let Diapause: Cell Cycle Regulation During Insect Overwintering -- Savvas c. Pavlides, Kenneth A. Weir, and Steven P. Tammariello; Vertebrate Freeze Tolerance: Role of Freeze-Responsive Gene Expression -- Kenneth B. Storey; Ice, Antifreeze Proteins, and Antifreeze Genes in Polar Fishes -- Arthur L. DeVries; Overwintering in Submerged Turtles -- Donald C. Jackson; Environmental Physiology of Terrestrial Hibernation in Hatchling Turtles -- Patrick J. Baker, Jon P. Costanzo, and Richard E. Lee, Jr.; Overwintering in Tegu Lizards -- Denis V. Andrade, Colin Sanders, William K. Milsom, and Augusto S. Abe; Overwintering in Cold-Submerged Frogs -- Glenn J. Tattersall; Effect of Temperature on Regular and Modified Circannual Rhythms in the European Ground Squirrel Under Free-Running Conditions -- Radoslav K. Andjus, Marina Marjanovic, and Dragoslava Zivadinovic; The Role of the Suprachiasmatic Pacemaker (SCN) in Energy Expenditure During Hibernation of Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels -- Patricia J. DeCoursey; Does Hibernation Violate Biological Laws? -- Andre Malan; The Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Influences Energy Balance of Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels During Hibernation -- Norman E. Ruby; Pesticide Effects on Body Temperature of Torpid/Hibernating Rodents (Peromyscus leucopus and Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) -- Thomas E. Tomasi, Peta Elsken-Lacy, Jean A. Perry, and Kerry Withers; Steroidogenesis and the HPA Axis During Hibernation: Differential Expression of the StAR Protein -- Matthew T. Andrews, Meaghan M. Tredrea, and Aubie K. Shaw; A Quest for the Origin of Mammalian Uncoupling Proteins -- Marton Jastroch, Sigrid Stohr, Kerry Withers, and Martine Klingenspor; Brown-Fat-Derived and Thyroid-Hormone Thermogenesis: Mechanisms and Interactions -- Jan Nedergaard, Valeria Golozoubova, and Barbara Cannon; Alterations in Localization of Hippocampal Protein Kinase Cγ (PKCγ), but Not PKCα, -β1, or –β2, in European Ground Squirrels During Hibernation -- Eddy A. Van der Zee, Jens Stieler, Roelof A. Hut, Martin de Wilde, and Arjen M. Strijkstra; The Role of the Medial Septum in the Control of Hibernation -- Irina Yu. Popova and Yurii M. Kokoz; Proteolysis in Hibernators -- Frank can Breukelen; Post-genomic Approaches to the Mechanisms of Cold Response in Fish and Hibernating Small Mammals -- Daryl Williams, L. Elaine Epperson, Andrew R. Cossins, Jane Fraser, Weizhong Li, Sandra Martin, and Andrew Y. Gracey; Use of Suppression Subtractive Hybridization to Elucidate Novel Gene Products Related to Physiological Events in a Hibernator -- Gregory L. Florant, Chris Pittman, and Scott A. Summers; Clinical Applications and Limitations of Hypothermia -- Philip E. bickler; Hibernation in Mammals: A Model for Alzheimer-type Phosphorylation of the Microtubule-associated Protein Tau -- Thomas Arendt, Jens Stieler, Arjen M. Strijkstriam Roelof A. Hut, Eddy A. Van der Zee, max Holzer, and Woldfgang Hartig; Resistance of Livers to Cold Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury During Hibernation: Involvement of Matrix Metalloproteinase and Nitric Oxide Synthase -- Hannah V. Carey, Timothy M. Piazza, Sarah E. Davis, Susanne L. Lindell, Anna Durranis, Kieran Clarke, and James H. Southard; Anti-Proliferative Effects of Plasma from Hibernating Rodents -- Donna G. Sieckmann, Decheng Cai, Howard Jaffe, John Hallenbeck, and Richard M. McCarron; Antifreeze Proteins in Terrestrial Arthropods -- John G. Duman, Valerie A. Bennett, N. Li, L. Wang, L. Huang, T. Sformo, and B.M. Barnes; Cardiac Conduction and Resistance to Ventricular Fibrillation in Siberian Hibernator Ground Squirrel Citellus undulatus -- Vadim V. Fedorov, Rubin R. Aliev, Alexey V. Glukhov, Andrey V. Resnik, Andrey Anufriev, Irina A. Ivanova, Olga V. Nakipova, Stella G. Kolaeva, Leonid V. Rosenshtraukh, and Igor R. Efimov; The Correlation Between Akt Activity and Hibernation -- Decheng Cai, Richard M. McCarron, Donna Sieckmann, and John M. Hallenbeck; Protection from Traumatic Brain Injury During Hibernation -- Kelly L. Drew, Fang Zhou, Xiongwei Zhu, Rudy J. Castellani, and Mark A. Smith; δ-Opioid Agonists Protect the Rat Liver From Cold Storage and Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury -- Thomas L. Husted, Wen-Jian Chang, Alex B. Lentsch, Steven M. Rudich;Animal Adaptability to Oxidative Stress: Gastropod Estivation and Mammalian Hibernation -- Marcelo Hermes-Lima, Gabriella R. Ramos-Vasconcelos, Luciano A. Cardoso, Adrienne l. Orr, Patricia M. Rivera, and Kelly L. Drew.
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Glacial Geology of the Toolik Lake and Upper Kuparuk River RegionsGlaciers of middle and late Pleistocene age flowed into the upper Kuparuk map area from the west, east, and south. Glacial deposits are assigned to the Sagavanirktok River (middle Pleistocene) and Itkillik I and II (late Pleistocene) glaciations of the central Brooks Range glacial succession. During the initial (maximum) advance of Sagavanirktok River age, large valley glaciers flowed north along the Itkillik, Sagavanirktok, and Kuparuk River drainages. Moraines are massive but subdued, with heavy loess cover and broad flanks smoothed by solifluction. A subsequent less extensive advance of Sagavanirktok River age overflowed into the upper Kuparuk drainage from the west and south, forming moraines and outwash remnants that are intermediate in appearance between those of the maximum advance and the subsequent Itkillik moraine succession. Itkillik I glaciers abutted divides west, east, and south of the upper Kuparuk drainage, but overflowed those divides only locally. Their moraines are modified by weathering and erosion, but on a much smaller scale than deposits of the Sagavaniktok River glaciations. Crests are slightly flattened, with loess and vegetation cover locally absent; kettle lakes are common. The subsequent Itkillik II advance, which dates between about 25 and 11.5 ka (thousand 14C years B.P.), is marked by little-modified moraines with stony crests and steep flanks. Glacial flow patterns were generally similar to those of present-day river drainage. Two major advances of Itkillik II age took place between about 25 and 17 ka, forming extensive ice-stagnation features around Toolik Lake. A subsequent readvance is dated between about 12.8 and 11.4 ka at its type locality near the east end of Atigun Gorge. Surficial deposits of Holocene age, although less extensive than those of Pleistocene glaciation, are locally significant. They include alluvial terraces along the Sagavanirktok River, fan deposits at the mouth of the Atigun River, raised beaches and fan-delta deposits around Galbraith Lake, and local landslides and debris flows.
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The Emperor Goose: An Annotated BibliographyThis bibliography contains more than 500 published and unpublished references relevant to the emperor goose (Chen canagica). The referenced works date from the early exploration of Beringia and Alaska through the formal description of the species in 1802 to 1993.
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Research advances on anadromous fish in arctic Alaska and CanadaEditor's Introduction -- David W. Norton; The Databank for Arctic Anadromous Fish: Description and Overview -- Debra K. Slaybaugh, Benny J. Gallaway, and Joshua S, Baker; An Introduction to Anadromous Fishes in the Alaskan Arctic -- Peter C. Craig; Overwintering Biology of Anadromous Fishes in the Sagavanirktok River Delta, Alaska -- David R. Schmidt, William B. Griffiths, and Larry R. Martin; Localized Movement Patterns of Least Cisco (Coregonus sadinella) and Arctic Cisco (C. autumnalis) in the Vicinity of a Solid-Fill Causeway -- Robert G. Fechhelm, Joshua S. Baker, William B. Griffiths, and David R. Schmidt; Recruitment of Arctic Cisco (Coregonus autumnalis) into the Colville Delta, Alaska, in 1985 -- Lawrence L. Moulton; Genetic Analysis of Popualtion Variation in the Arctic Cisco (Coregonus autumnalis) Using Electrophoretic, Flow Cytometric, and Mitochondrial DNA Restrictio Analyses -- John W. Bickham, Steven M. Carr, Brian G. Hanks, David W. Burton, and Benny J. Gallaway; "Noise" in the Distributional Responses of Fish to Environment: An Exercise in Deterministic Modeling Motivated by the Beaufort Sea Experience -- William H. Neill and Benny J. Gallaway; Subsistence Fisheries in Coastal Villages in the Alaskan Arctic, 1970-1986 -- Peter C. Craig; Popualtion Trends for the Arctic Cisco (Coregonus autumnalis) in the Colville River of Alaska as Reflected by the Commercial Fishery -- Benny J. Gallaway, William J. Gazey, and Lawrence L. Moulton
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A review of Arctic grayling studies in Alaska, 1952-1982Most information on studies of the Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) in Alaska came from annual progress and performance reports of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and reports of the Alaska Game Commission prepared before Alaska Statehood in 1959. Only a few reports have been published. Sport harvest, stocking, life history and population estimates are reviewed, and recommendations for further research are offered.
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Estimating moose population parameters from aerial surveysSuccessful moose management depends on knowledge of population dynamics. The principal parameters required are size, rate of change, recruitment, sex composition, and mortality. Moose management in Alaska has been severely hampered by the lack of good estimates of these parameters, and unfortunately, this lack contributed to the decline of many Alaskan moose populations during the 1970s (e.g., Gasaway et al. 1983). The problems were: (1) population size not adequately estimated, (2) rapid rates of decline not acknowledged until populations were low, (3) meaningful recruitment rates were not available in the absence of good population estimates, and (4) calf and adult mortality rates were grossly underestimated. Frustration of moose managers working with inadequate data led to development of aerial survey procedures that yield minimally biased, sufficiently precise estimates of population parameters for most Alaskan moose management and research. This manual describes these procedures. Development of these procedures would have been impossible without the inspiration, support, advice, and criticism of many colleagues. We thank these colleagues for their contributions. Dale Haggstrom and Dave Kelleyhouse helped develop flight patterns, tested and improved early sampling designs, and as moose managers, put these procedures into routine use. Pilots Bill Lentsch and Pete Haggland were instrumental in developing and testing aerial surveying techniques. Their interest and dedication to improving moose management made them valuable allies. Statisticians Dana Thomas of the University of Alaska and W. Scott Overton of Oregon State University provided advice on variance approximations for the population estimator. Warren Ballard, Sterling Miller, SuzAnne Miller, Doug Larsen, and Wayne Kale tested procedures and provided valuable criticisms and suggestions. Jim Raymond initially programmed a portable calculator to make lengthy calculation simple, fast, and error-free. Angie Babcock, Lisa Ingalls, Vicky Leffingwell, and Laura McManus patiently typed several versions of this manual. John Coady and Oliver Burris provided continuous moral and financial support for a 3-year project that lasted 6 years. Joan Barnett, Rodney Boetje, Steven Peterson, and Wayne Regelin of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game provided helpful editorial suggestions in previous drafts. Finally, we thank referees David Anderson of the Utah Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Vincent Schultz of Washington State University, and James Peek, E. "Oz" Garton, and Mike Samuel of the University of Idaho whose comments and suggestions improved this manual. This project was funded by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game through Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Projects W-17-9 through W-22-1.
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Contributions to the Science of Environmental Impact Assessment: Three Papers on the Arctic Cisco (Coregonus autumnalis) of Northern AlaskaEditor's Introduction -- D. W. Norton; An Assessment of the Colville River Delta Stock of Arctic Cisco--Migrants from Canada? -- B. J. Gallaway, W. B. Griffiths, P. C. Craig, W. J. Gazey, and J. W. Helmericks; Temperature Preference of Juvenile Arctic Cisco (Coregonus autumnalis) From the Alaskan Beaufort Sea -- R. G. Fechhelm, W. H. Neill, and B. J. Gallaway; Modeling Movements and Distribution of Arctic Cisco (Coregonus autumnalis) Relative to Temperature-Salinity Regimes of the Beaufort Sea Near the Waterflood Causeway, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. -- W. H. Neill, R. G. Fechhelm, B. J. Gallaway, J. D. Bryan, and S. W. Anderson; Notice to Authors
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The Effect of Disturbance on Plant Communities in Tundra Regions of the Soviet UnionAn Annotated List of Plants Inhabiting Sites of Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbances of Tundra Cover: Southeasternmost Chukchi Peninsula -- B.A. Yurtsev and A.A. Korobkov; An Annotated List of Plants Inhabiting Sites of Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbances of Tundra Cover in Western Taimyr: The Settlement of Kresty -- N.V. Matveyeva; A Study of Plant Communities of Anthropogenic Habitats in the Area of the Vorkuta Industrial Center -- O.A. Druzhinina and Yu. G. Zharkova
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A New Nonparasitic Species of the Holarctic Lamprey Genus Lethenteron Creaser and Hubbs, 1922, (Petromyzonidae) from Northwestern North America with Notes on Other Species of the Same GenusA new nonparasitic lamprey, Lethenteron alaskense from Alaska and Northwest Territories is described and illustrated. The holotype (No. NMC 76-614) is deposited in the National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa, Canada. The study was based on 67 metamorphosed specimens. The species, by its permanently non-functional intestinal tract and weak dentition, smaller disc and much smaller size (maximum 188 mm), is easily separable from the parasitic Lenthenteron japonicum (maximum length 625 mm) found in the same areas. It is distinguishable from nonparasitic L. lamottenii, found in eastern and southern North America, by 1) a generally weaker dentition but possessing more anterials and supplementary marginals; 2) typically with five velar tentacles as opposed to seven in L. lamottenii; 3) differences in pigmentation pattern of the second dorsal fin and a lack of dark pigmentation on the gular region; 4) smaller size in comparison to 299 mm maximum length in L. lamottenii; and 5) distinct areas of geographical distribution separated from each other by 2400 km. All three, L. alaskense, L. lamottenii, and L. japonicum have usually 66 to 72 trunk myomeres. L. alaskense, by its higher number of myomeres is separable from two other nonparasitic species: L. reissneri from Asia with less than 64 myomeres and L. meridionale from eastern tributaries of the Gulf of Mexico with 50 to 58 myomeres.
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Bibliography of the Fishes of the Beaufort SeaThis bibliography was prepared to serve as a reference base for further studies in the area, particularly as related to the impact of petroleum exploratory activities on the fish fauna. Included are all discovered references dealing with fishes of the Beaufort Sea and/or immediately adjacent regions. Streams of the arctic coast of North America have been included, since these are important to the anadromous fishes of the area. A number of Russian references containing information on the distribution, utilization, biology, etc, of Beaufort Sea species in Russian waters have also been included. Preparation of the bibliography was supported by the Bureau of Land Management through interagency agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, under which a multi-year program responding to needs of petroleum development of the Alaskan continental shelf is managed by the Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP) office. It represents the final report for Contract No. 03-5-022-56, Task Order No. 16, Research Unit No. 348, Dr. James E. Morrow, principal investigator. I acknowledge with many thanks the kind assistance and cooperation received from librarians and others at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau: National Marine Fisheries Service, Juneau and Seattle; Suzalow Library and Fisheries Library, University of Washington, Seattle; Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska, Fairbanks; and the Arctic Environmental Information and Data Center, Anchorage. In particular, I would like to thank Ms Dorothy Lunsfor, ADF and G, Juneau; Ms Patti Brommelsiek and Dr. Eugene Buck, AEIDC, Anchorage, for their help and encouragement.
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Variations in the Skull of the Bearded SealFourteen measurements taken on 260 skulls are described and analysed using variance, covariance, reduced major axes, and discriminant functions. No sexual variation is found. Changes in relative growth with age are demonstrated and discussed. Skulls from the Atlantic adult population are shown to be significantly larger than those from the Pacific in most dimensions. An important exception, nasal breadth, is significantly smaller. Differences in the regression coefficients between the Atlantic and Pacific populations are probably not significant, but some differences in position of the regression lines are highly significant. The results are compared with those of some previous authors and the boundaries between the populations considered. The recognition of E. b. nauticus for the Pacific population is justified.
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Studies of Birds and Mammals in the Baird and Schwatka Mountains, AlaskaIn 1963 a joint University of Alaska-Smithsonian Institution crew worked at five locations in the Baird and Schwatka mountains in northwestern Alaska, conducting an ecological reconnaissance and faunal and floral inventory. Standard methods of observation and collection were used. Camps in the Kobuk drainage were located in the Redstone River valley and at Walker Lake, both on the margin of the taiga. The Noatak valley was represented by one camp each in the lower, middle, and upper reaches of the river, all in tundra. A summary of pre-1963 ornithological work in the region is presented. Significant records of distribution and/or breeding were obtained for the following birds: Podiceps grisegena, Anas platyrhynchos, Aythya valisineria, Histrionicus histrionicus, Melanitta perspicillata, Mergus merganser, Aphrizia virgata, Bartramia longicauda, Actitis macularia, Tringa flavipes, Phalaropus fuficarius, Lobipes lobatus, Larus hyperboreus,Xema sabini, Sayornis saya, Nuttalornis borealis, Eremophilia alpestris, Tachycineta thalassina, Riparia riparia, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, Phylloscopus borealis, Dendroica petechia, Leucosticte tephrocotis, Zonotrichia atricapilla, Calcarius pictus; and the mammal, Spermophilus undulatus. Good series of Cletihrionomys rutilius (350) and Microtus miurus (147) have been deposited in the University of Alaska Museum. Severe doubt has been raised regarding the validity of the standard three-night trap grid for population estimation under wet conditions in arctic areas.
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Birds of the North Gulf Coast - Prince William Sound Region, AlaskaThe North Gulf Coast - Prince William Sound region of Alaska, phytographically, lies at the northern limit of the Sitka Spruce-hemlock coastal/subalpine forests of the Pacific Coast; it includes approximately 178,500 km2 and a shoreline of approximately 8,500 km. Fourteen habitats are utilized by birds: tundra; shrub thickets; hemlock-Sitka Spruce forests; bogs; mixed deciduous-spruce woodlands; marshes; lacustrine waters; fluviatile waters; cliffs, bluffs, and screes; moraines, alluvia, and barrier islands; beaches and tidal flats; rocky shores and reefs; inshore waters; and offshore waters. Two hundred nineteen species of birds have been recorded in the region, 111 of which are primarily water-related. Status, abundance, habitat, and seasonal occurrence are discussed in the annotated list of species. The geographic location and restrictive topography of the region make it a spectacular corridor for millions of migrating birds. In spring millions of Pintails, Dunlins, Western Sandpipers, and Northern Phalaropes move through the region, as do tens of thousands of Whistling Swans, Snow Geese, Knots, and Sanderlings. Fall concentrations of White-fronted Geese and Sandhill Cranes may exceed 100,000's. Species with notably large summering populations include Trumpeter Swans (several hundred breeding pairs), Bald Eagles (1,800-2,000 breeding pairs), Aleutian Terns (150-250 breeding pairs on Copper River Delta), Marbled Murrelets (probably millions), and Kittlitz's Murrelets (probably a few 100,000's). Significant range extensions reported include Yellow-billed Loons (fairly common in winter), Pink-footed and Pale-footed shearwaters, Brandt's Cormorants (breeding), Red-faced Cormorants (breeding), Steller's Eiders (winter), Bristle-thighed Curlews (migrant), Bar-tailed Godwits (migrant), Crested Auklets (winter), and northernmost wintering populations of waterfowl (Canada Geese, Gadwalls, Pintails, Green-winged Teals, American Widgeons) and shorebirds (Surfbirds, Black Trunstones, Dunlins, and Sanderlings). Some unexpected species reported include Skua, Anna's Hummingbird, Purple Marin, Yellowthroat, Common Grackle, and White-throated Sparrow.
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Studies on Alaskan FishesA New Species of Salvelinus from the Brooks Range, Northern Alaska; Statistical Analyses of Discrete Morphology in Northern Populations of the Fish Genus Salvelinus; New Distributional Records of Liparids and Description of a New Species from Alaska; Behavior of the Arctic Grayling, Thymallus arcticus, in McManus Creek, Alaska
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Taxonomy and Ecology of the Inconnu, Stenodus Leucichthys Nelma, in AlaskaA taxonomic and life history study of the inconnu was carried out on populations from the Kobuk, Chatanika, and upper Yukon Rivers, and Selawik, Alaska. Data on 24 morphological measurements and 11 meristic counts show little difference among: 1) males and females; 2) young and older inconnu; and 3) fish from the upper Yukon River, Chatanika River, Selawik, and Kobuk River in Alaska and the Ob River, USSR. Based on close agreement of these counts and measurements, the inconnu in Alaska is designated as Stenodus leufifhthys nelma (Pallas). For arctic fish, the inconnu exhibits a rapid growth rate. Growth rates for males and females are similar, but females live longer than males. Alaskan inconnu become sexually mature quite late in life (for Selawik males, 9 years; females, 10 years). Spawning behavior is described. Spawning occurred in the Kobuk River above Kobuk the last days of September at water temperatures betwen 1/4 and 4.6 C. Older inconnu are mainly piscivorous while the younger fish feed on invertebrates and fish. The least cisco, Coregonus sardinella, was the main food item of the Selawik inconnu. The estimated catch in Northwest Alaska in 1965 was between 34,200 and 37,000 fish, 85% of which were taken for subsistence.
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The Biology and Taxonomy of the Burbot, Lota Lota Leptura, in Interior AlaskaBased upon the high peduncle ratio, the pattern of its geographic variation, and the high vertebral and pyloric caecal numbers, the burbot in Alaska is considered subspecifically different from the southeastern North American burbot. The sub-specific name Lota lota leptura Hubbs and Schultz is accepted. A regression equation is given for back-calculating the previous lengths of the burbot at each age from the diameter of the corresponding ring of the otolith. Burbot grow slower but larger and live longer in Alaska than in many other areas. Specimens as long as 99.5 cm and as old as 24 years of age were caught. Most of the burbot in interior Alaska probably die before age 15. Male burbot have a shorter life span and grow more slowly in their later age than do females. The length and weight relationship changes seasonally and is related to the liver and gonad weights. The growths of liver and gonad are interrelated. Growth of the burbot in weight is also discussed. The reproductive habits of burbot are reviewed. In interior Alaska, the burbot mature at age 6 or 7 when the fish reach a length of 40 to 50 cm. Spawning takes place around February. A 1,230 g burbot produces abut 738,500 eggs. Summer food habits of burbot, and a point allotment method used in stomach analysis are described. The burbot eat mostly young burbot and sculpins. Young burbot eat mostly invertebrates, mainly Plecoptera. Young burbot seem to feed more intensively than do the adults.
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Birds and Mammals of the Pitmegea River Region, Cape Sabine, Northwestern AlaskaThe results of four summers study from 1957 to 1960 on the interrelationships and distribution of the vertebrate fauna along the Pitmegea River at Cape Sabine in northwestern Alaska are presented. The geologic background, climate, soils, vegetational types and land utilization are discussed. Five major plant communities are described and used to analyze the distribution of birds and mammals. These communities are Barrens, Upland Meadows, Wet Meadows, Marshes and Shrub Types. Ninety species of birds were recorded of which 55 species nested within the Pitmegea drainage. Twenty-three species of mammals were reported. Evidence of reproductive activity, local abundance and distribution and ecological interrelationships are presented. Particular emphasis is placed on microtine rodents and their predators. Evidence for a population irruption in the Tundra Vole (Microtus oeconomus) in 1959 is reported.
