Strong evidence for two disjunct populations of Black Scoters Melanitta americana in North America

Wildfowl
By: , and 

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Abstract

Black Scoters Melanitta americana were marked with satellite transmitters on Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America to examine continental-scale population delineation. Scoters marked on the different coasts did not overlap at any stage of the annual cycle, suggesting that birds in the two regions could be monitored and managed as separate populations: 1) an Atlantic population, which winters along the Atlantic coast and Great Lakes and breeds from northeast continental Canada westward to the Northwest Territories, and 2) a Pacific population, which winters along the Pacific coasts of Alaska, British Columbia and the Pacific northwest states, and breeds in western Alaska. Range maps for Black Scoter could reflect these distributions revealed by satellite telemetry. Our data provide new information on the distribution of Black Scoters in North America, which can be used to improve the design of future surveys.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Strong evidence for two disjunct populations of Black Scoters Melanitta americana in North America
Series title Wildfowl
Volume 71
Year Published 2021
Language English
Publisher Wildfowl Journal
Contributing office(s) Alaska Science Center Biology MFEB, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Description 14 p.
First page 179
Last page 192
Country Canada, United States
State Alaska
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