While the "State of the Birds" report released today is national in its scope, migratory birds know no borders, and a number of the species and ecosystems highlighted in the analysis make Alaska their home for a portion of the year.
Among the species identified as "Birds in Trouble" are Spectacled and Steller's eiders (the Alaska-breeding population of the latter may be no more than a few hundred birds) and the short-tailed albatross, all of which are listed under the Endangered Species Act, as well as both marbled and Kittlitz's murrelets. The report notes that Kittlitz's murrelet is one of the species whose decline is probably a result of climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.
Learn more about climate change ; in this case tied to changes in the ocean environment and glacial melting which likely affect these birds? ability to find food.
More generally, the report notes that 38% of arctic nesting shorebirds are thought to be in decline, and that two thirds have been identified as species of conservation concern, despite the fact that there has been an overall increase in breeding bird populations in the arctic. The seeming contradiction is largely due to increases in populations of geese and of most large gull species across North America. (Further complicating the picture, the latter are also identified as predators, particularly of the eggs and young of other bird species.)
Alaska's old growth forests and boreal forest ecosystems are both listed as habitats of concern, facing the challenges of a changing climate, resource use, and energy production.
On the plus side, a number of America's waterfowl species, many of which come to Alaska to breed and nest, have undergone significant increases over the last 40 years, and our bald eagles have never faced the threats that once had our national symbol listed under the Endangered Species Act in the Lower 48.
In Alaska, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with many partners in bird conservation, including the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Geological Survey, Ducks Unlimited, the National Audubon Society, a wide range of Alaska Native organizations, and the Nature Conservancy. We look forward to their continued assistance in meeting the challenges outlined in today's announcement, and thank them for their past contributions, without which the conservation successes highlighted in this report wouldn't have been possible.
