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Migrant shorebird use of Akimiski Island, Nunavut: a sub-arctic staging site

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Abstract

Determining the importance of stopover and staging areas to migrating shorebirds (Aves: Charadriiformes) is essential if such habitats are to be successfully protected. Migration chronology, species composition, length of stay, body condition, and estimated total abundance of shorebirds during spring and fall migratory periods of 2008 and 2009 were documented on Akimiski Island, Nunavut, Canada. Fourteen shorebird species were observed during spring point counts and 18 during fall. Semipalmated (Calidris pusilla) and White-rumped (C. fuscicollis) Sandpipers comprised about 80 % of all individuals observed. A greater number of species and individuals were observed during fall than spring in both years. Radio-transmitters attached to juvenile Semipalmated and Least (C. minutilla) Sandpipers indicated highly variable lengths of stay ranging up to 26 days in both species (Semipalmated Sandpiper averaged 6.5 ± 2.67 days, n = 12; Least Sandpipers averaged 7.25 ± 3.79 days, n = 8). In 2009, Semipalmated Sandpipers captured and weighed later in the season were significantly heavier than those captured earlier suggesting that this species is refueling while on Akimiski Island. A fall migration seasonal density of 5,267 (2,193–8,341) shorebirds/km2 was estimated given a residence probability (i.e., the probability of an individual being present in consecutive counts) of 0.906 ± 0.181. Assuming similar habitat value and shorebird density, an extrapolation of the seasonal plot density of 5,267 birds/km2 to the total 192 km2 mudflat habitat on Akimiski Island yields an estimate of 1,011,264 (421,098–1,601,429) shorebirds during fall migration, making Akimiski Island of Hemispheric importance as a staging site for migrant arctic-breeding shorebirds.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Guy Morrison and Ken Ross of Environment Canada for providing the aerial survey data. This research would not have been possible without the help of field assistants Ben Walters, Danica Hogan, Andrée Messier, Shane Pratt, Gabriel Foley, Katie Walker, and Mitchell Beck. We would also like to thank Tyler Hoar, Jean Iron, and Mark Peck for assistance in the field on Akimiski Island. Financial support for this study was provided by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP), the Symons Trust Fund for Canadian Studies, and the International Polar Year (IPY) ArcticWOLVES Project (INAC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental and Life Sciences Department, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9J 7B8, Canada

    Lisa A. Pollock & Erica Nol

  2. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Trent University, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9J 7B8, Canada

    Kenneth F. Abraham

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  1. Lisa A. Pollock
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  2. Kenneth F. Abraham
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Correspondence to Lisa A. Pollock.

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Pollock, L.A., Abraham, K.F. & Nol, E. Migrant shorebird use of Akimiski Island, Nunavut: a sub-arctic staging site. Polar Biol 35, 1691–1701 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1211-6

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