Biogeography of Birds in Alaska’s National Parks
Project ID: J8W07080003
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Partner Institution: University of Alaska Anchorage
Fiscal Year: 2008
Initial Funding: $174,979
Total Funding: $174,979
Project Type: Research
Project Disciplines: Biological
National Park: Alaska Region
Principal Investigator: Gotthardt, Tracey
Agreement Technical Representative: DeBruyn, Terry D.
Abstract: Recent data indicate that wild birds can be carriers of the highly pathogenic Asian H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI), substantiating concerns that migratory birds may distribute the virus around the globe. Alaska represents a unique crossroads where migratory flyways from Asia and North American overlap and was identified as the most likely location that HPAI would first occur in North America if introduced by wild birds. A basic yet important step that may aid with the identification or prediction of areas where H5N1 birds may arrive in Alaska National Parklands is to assess the types and amount of information already in existence. The University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Natural Heritage Program (AKNHP) proposes to collect and summarize disparate information from various parks’ avian research and monitoring efforts (e.g., breeding bird survey data, individual field research, wildlife observations databases) for 29 avian species recognized by the Alaska Interagency HPAI Bird Surveillance Working Group (2006) as having the highest potential of contacting the H5N1 virus and bringing it to Alaska, along with others of specific interest. AKNHP will collect information on the distribution, abundance, date, seasonal timing of occurrence, and habitat associations within Alaska’s National Parks for each of the target species and will summarize these data in an Access/ArcGIS linked database using standardized protocols.
Deliverables: