Breeding Bird Surveys at Alexandra Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut (1980-2008)
Date
2010-09
Authors
Trefry, Sarah A.
Freedman, Bill
Hudson, James M. G.
Henry, Gregory H. R.
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Abstract
Long-term monitoring of bird populations in the Arctic is of considerable interest as this area
is experiencing rapid climate warming; however, multi-decadal studies in the Canadian High Arctic
are rare. Over five summers between 1980 and 2008, we conducted breeding bird surveys by walking
transects and mapping territories in a periglacial lowland on east-central Ellesmere Island,
Nunavut. In all survey years, snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), Lapland longspur (Ca !carats
lapponicus), and Baird's sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) were the most abundant species. Over the study
period, the assemblage of breeding bird species appears to have changed little, except for an
increase in Lapland longspur. In the summer of 2008, we also compared two techniques for censusing
territories. We found that spot-mapping, a simple and cost-effective method, produced similar
results to the more labour-intensive active-flushing. Spot-mapping is therefore suitable for
conducting bird surveys in northern locations where the vegetation is short, the terrain is flat,
and the visibility is extensive. In the coming years, it will be important to continue monitoring
Arctic birds to determine how climate change is affecting their breeding populations.
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Citation
Trefry, Sarah A., Bill Freedman, James M. G. Hudson, and Gregory H. R. Henry. 2010. "Breeding Bird Surveys at Alexandra Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut (1980-2008)." Arctic 63(3): 308-314.