JWM: Are black brant numbers going up — or down?
To judge by the annual surveys, black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) are on the upswing. After years of decline, aerial counts along their migration routes — ...
Arctic
House committee advances bill to limit Arctic refuge drilling
Last week, the House Natural Resources Committee advanced legislation that would prohibit oil and gas exploration and development along the coastal plain of the ...
Lake core samples reveal impact of overhunting on seaducks
Decades of sediment built up deep under Arctic ponds can reveal the size of past seabird populations and how harvesting has impacted their numbers over the decades. ...
Overabundant snow geese graze through shorebird habitat
Since the 1970s, the midcontinental population of Arctic snow geese (Chen caerulescen) has been increasing, now exceeding 15 million individuals. At the same time ...
Bill would limit drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The House Natural Resources Energy and Mineral Resources subcommittee held a hearing last week on The Need to Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal ...
Predictions of less snow may be bad news for ringed seals
Using environmental conditions projected for ringed seals (Pusa hispida) in the Arctic, researchers found there may be less snow, which can spell bad news for the ...
Previously unknown contaminants found in polar bears
It’s hard to look for something when you don’t know what you’re looking for. That is what researchers faced when they tried to find contaminants in polar bear ...
Shorebird declines likely due to climate change
Climate change may be the main reason behind a great decline in shorebird populations around the world, researchers found. After looking at 38,191 nests of 111 ...
Skipping the layover, Arctic geese opt for a direct flight
Rather than using their historical migratory stopovers, Barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) have begun making nonstop journeys from the Netherlands to their Arctic ...
Study finds polar bears aren’t so wasteful when walking
With declines in sea ice that polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the arctic require to subsist, researchers have seen accounts of bears traveling farther north. But ...