Land - Waterfowl |
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Roads | Permafrost | Tundra | Rivers | Waterfowl | Caribou One indication of Arctic change is a northward shift in the range of different animals. For example, ring neck ducks were not observed in Old Crow Flats, located in northwestern Canada, until the 1980's. Shown below are ring neck duck populations over time. The population increases may indicate a northward shift of this species.
Breeding productivity of the Black Guillemot colony on Cooper Island, Arctic coast of Alaska, has been exceedingly low in recent years. The earlier and increased retreat of the pack ice, and its associated Arctic Cod, during the nestling period has resulted in the death of the majority of guillemot chicks. Parent birds provisioning their young have had to turn to nearshore demersal fish, such as sculpin, which are not abundant near the island. While in past years, parent guillemots frequently fledged two young per nest, no guillemot pairs were able to raise more than one young in 2003 or 2004. The Cooper Island Guillemot colony has been able to remain at approximately 150 pairs due to the immigration of recruits from other colonies.
The subarctic Horned Puffin, rare in northern Alaska before the late 20th century, has continued to increase at Cooper Island with four pairs breeding in 2004 and an additional eight to ten nonbreeders. Puffins compete with guillemots for nest cavities and will displace guillemot eggs and kill guillemot chicks. In 2004 one third of the 180 guillemot nestlings were killed by prospecting Horned Puffins. The combination of low prey densities and loss of chicks to prospecting puffins has resulted in exceedingly low breeding productivity in 2002-2004. |
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