Use of wetland habitats by birds in the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska

Book · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:6287279

Derksen, D V; Rothe, T C; Eldridge, W D

Distribution, abundance, and use of wetland habitats by migratory birds were studied at two interior and three outer Arctic Coastal Plain sites in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) in 1977 and 1978. Comparative data were collected in the same years from a Beaufort Sea coastal site near Prudhoe Bay. Species composition of breeding birds varied between sites, especially between coastal areas and sites near foothills of the Brooks Range. Seasonal fluctuation in population densities were common with numbers greatest in June during breeding and August during migration. Population densities also differed between sites, perhaps due to variation in wetland composition and ratios of water cover to upland tundra. Use of wetlands by loons, waterfowl, and shorebirds was quantified to assess relative values of seven classes of freshwater habitats. Wetlands with emergent Arctophila fulva were used most by these water birds. Breeding birds were especially dependent upon wetlands with emergent hydrophytes, although they used various types of wetlands during different activities and life stages. Most broods were found in wetlands with A. fulva, which afforded protective cover and substrate for aquatic invertebrates used as food by water birds. Wetlands and lakes without emergents were generally less attractive to breeding birds, but were especially important to molting geese. Based on water bird distribution and densities and their dependence on Arctic Coastal Plain wetlands in NPR-A, petroleum exploration and production activities onshore and in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas may have significant adverse effects if not closely regulated and prohibited in some areas.

• OSTI ID: 6287279
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020900* -- Petroleum-- Environmental Aspects
520100 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALASKA
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
BIRDS
COASTAL REGIONS
ECOSYSTEMS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
EXPLORATION
FEDERAL REGION X
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HABITAT
LAND USE
MINERAL RESOURCES
NAVAL PETROLEUM RESERVE
NORTH AMERICA
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
POPULATION DENSITY
PRODUCTION
RESERVES
RESOURCES
SPECIES DIVERSITY
USA
VARIATIONS
VERTEBRATES
WETLANDS