Reports
Arctic
Coastal Plain Aerial Breeding Waterfowl Survey
An aerial breeding waterfowl
survey has been conducted each spring on the Arctic coastal plain of Alaska since
1986. Survey transects were 400 meter wide strips, oriented east-west, and systematically
placed every 19 kilometers over the wetland habitat. The survey procedures are
similar to the North American Waterfowl Breeding Population Survey. All waterbirds
observed within 200 meters of each side of the aircraft were recorded by the pilot/observer
on the left side and the observer on the right side. Different sets of transects
were flown in different years to collect waterfowl locations over a larger portion
of the survey area. Population estimates were made by expanding the density of
each species observed in the sampled area by the total survey area. Annual population
estimates allowed us to calculate trends for each species. Maps of the relative
density for most species have been created. In 2007, we combined the arctic coastal plain survey and the north slope eider survey into 1 new redesigned survey that will be conducted annually instead of the 2 separate surveys.
Click on the link below to view
the project report.
Aerial Breeding Pair Surveys
of the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska - 2012 (pdf)
