Overview
Every year since 1981, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico work together to count Pacific black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) along their Pacific Coast wintering areas in Baja, Mexico, California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. This survey, known as the Pacific Flyway Brant Survey, happens every year between January-February and involves coordinated teams counting birds from airplanes and from the ground. In Alaska, the USFWS Migratory Bird Program conducts the survey aerially, counting brant within the lagoons and bays of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge/State Game Refuge complex and the nearshore waters of Sanak Islands.
The main goal of our survey is to track how many Black Brant spend their winters in Alaska each year. Our count numbers are combined with counts from the rest of their wintering range, and together the information is used to establish harvest limits for the species. In addition to providing data for Black Brant harvest limits, our survey also helps detect distributional shifts in the winter brant population – documenting the impacts 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 (as the population shifts north to increasingly ice-free areas). During this survey we also document the distribution and abundance of other waterbird species, like Emperor Geese and Steller’s Eiders, as well as other waterbird and mammal species encountered during the survey.
Importance of this Work
Collaboration and cooperation with other governments, agencies, and NGOs is essential to the conservation of the Pacific Black Brant, a harvested migratory bird species. Izembek Lagoon is of international importance to this species. The lagoon holds the largest single stand of eelgrass in the world and the largest bed of seagrass along the Pacific Coast of North America. Up to 40% of the total Pacific Black Brant population overwinters in Alaska because of the plentiful eelgrass, their main food source. The Pacific Black Brant population is connected and dependent on healthy eelgrass communities, as are a diversity of species, like Pacific herring, sea otters, harbor seals, to name a few. Rising sea levels, warmer water temperatures, increased storm activity, and ocean acidification are all ways climate change can impact the health of Izembek’s eel grass communities. These effects could result in less eelgrass beds, something that has already been documented in their Northern Mexico wintering range. These climate change effects could ultimately lead to population declines for the Pacific Black Brant. Additionally, birds in search of food may shift their migration patterns, something we can track and document directly with this survey.
Actions We All Can Take
Adhering to harvest limits and hunting regulations. Stewardship of our harvested species takes all of us. Making sure you follow the annual harvest limits set by biologists is critical to make sure hunting isn’t negatively impacting a species’ population. By setting and following sustainable harvest, we can ensure that hunting is not an additional stressor to Pacific Black Brant’s population. Harvest limits are a controlled way to prevent overexploitation of a species and ensure hunting remains a balanced activity alongside other efforts addressing threats Pacific Black Brant face.
Learn More
https://www.fws.gov/story/pacific-black-brant-migration-and-what-they-can-teach-us
https://www.fws.gov/project/eelgrass-abundance-and-productivity-monitoring
https://www.fws.gov/project/adaptive-harvest-management
https://www.fws.gov/story/how-hunting-seasons-and-limits-are-set-waterfowl
