Martin D Robards

Wildlife Conservation Society | WCS · Center for Global Conservation

Understanding the spatial requirements of exploited wildlife species, including population density and home range size, is important for wildlife management and conservation. Wolverines ( Gulo gulo ) are hunted and trapped across the Arctic, and are vulnerable to numerous, often interrelated, threats resulting from anthropogenic changes in their en...

Global climate change has altered the timing of seasonal events (i.e., phenology) for a diverse range of biota. Within and among species, however, the degree to which alterations in phenology match climate variability differ substantially. To better understand factors driving these differences, we evaluated variation in timing of nesting of eight A...

Understanding how and where individuals migrate between breeding and wintering areas is important for assessing threats, identifying important areas for conservation, and determining a species’ vulnerability to changing environmental conditions. Between 2017 and 2020, we tracked post-breeding movements of 72 red phalaropes Phalaropus fulicarius wit...

Understanding how and where individuals migrate between breeding and wintering areas is important for assessing threats, identifying important areas for conservation, and determining a species’ vulnerability to changing environmental conditions. Between 2017 and 2020, we tracked post-breeding movements of 72 Red Phalaropes (Phalaropus fulicarius) w...

Significant progress in our knowledge of Beringian biodiversity and in the technologies available for biodiversity research has been made in the several decades since a comprehensive biogeographic synthesis of Beringian freshwater fishes was compiled and published in 1986. Further, the fish fauna of Beringia and, more broadly, of high latitude fres...

Mercury (Hg) pollution remains a concern to Arctic ecosystems, due to long-range transport from southern industrial regions and melting permafrost and glaciers. The objective of this study was to identify intrinsic, extrinsic, and temporal factors influencing Hg concentrations in Arctic-breeding shorebirds and highlight regions and species at great...

In Northwest Alaska, Inconnu (Stenodus leucichthys; Iñupiaq: Sii) are an important subsistence harvest species for rural and Indigenous Alaskans in both coastal and inland communities. For example, over 25,000 Inconnu are harvested annually in Kotzebue Sound. The migratory patterns and preferred habitats of these fish are well-documented for the fr...

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and mercury (Hg) are harmful compounds that are widely present in the environment, partly due to spills and atmospheric pollution. The presence of PFAS and Hg in the tissues of animals that are harvested by rural and Indigenous Alaskans is of great concern, yet fishes in Arctic Alaska have not previously be...

Mercury (Hg) pollution remains a concern to Arctic ecosystems. The objective of this study was to identify factors influencing Hg concentrations in Arctic-breeding shorebirds and highlight regions and species at greatest risk of Hg exposure. We analyzed 2,478 blood and feather samples from 12 shorebird species breeding at nine sites across the Nort...

The Arctic Coastal Plain is one of the most important avian breeding grounds in the world; however, many species are in decline. Arctic‐breeding birds contend with short breeding seasons, harsh climatic conditions, and now, rapidly changing, variable, and unpredictable environmental conditions caused by climate change. Additionally, those breeding...

In the Southern Chukchi Sea Region (SCSR) of the Alaskan Arctic, approximately 40% of the coastline consists of freshwater-brackish lagoons and the gravel spits that separate them from the ocean. These lagoons are important rearing, feeding, and spawning habitats for diverse fish and invertebrate assemblages composed of freshwater, diadromous, and...

Burrowing species rely on subterranean and subnivean sites to fulfill important life-history and behavioral processes, including predator avoidance, thermoregulation, resting, and reproduction. For these species, burrow architecture can affect the quality and success of such processes, since characteristics like tunnel width and chamber depth influ...

Wolverines (Gulo gulo) occupy most of the globe's Arctic tundra. Given the rapidly warming climate and expanding human activity in this biome, understanding wolverine ecology, and therefore the species' vulnerability to such changes, is increasingly important for developing research priorities and effective management strategies. Here, we review an...

Climate change is an existential threat to the vast global permafrost domain. The diverse human cultures, ecological communities, and biogeochemical cycles of this tenth of the planet depend on the persistence of frozen conditions. The complexity, immensity, and remoteness of permafrost ecosystems make it difficult to grasp how quickly things are c...

Arctic Indigenous Peoples are among the most exposed humans when it comes to foodborne mercury (Hg). In response, Hg monitoring and research have been on-going in the circumpolar Arctic since about 1991; this work has been mainly possible through the involvement of Arctic Indigenous Peoples. The present overview was initially conducted in the conte...

Report summarizing 2018-2021 ecological investigations at five coastal lagoons near Cape Thompson, Alaska

Report summarizing 2021 coastal lagoon fisheries and aquatic ecological research and monitoring activities at Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Alaska.

In Arctic Alaska, Indigenous and rural residents depend on wild-harvested foods for sustenance and the subsistence lifestyle is integral to their culture. Marine and diadromous fishes, which often occupy coastal lagoon habitats, are relied upon for subsistence harvest, particularly Pacific salmon, whitefishes (Coregoninae), cods (Gadidae), and flou...

Rapid changes in the Arctic from shifting climate and human use patterns are affecting previously reported distributions and movements of marine mammals. The underwater soundscape, a key component of marine mammal habitats, is also changing. This study integrates acoustic data, collected at a site in the northern Bering Sea, with information on sou...

Arctic coastal lagoons are important habitats for unique assemblages of diadromous and marine fishes. Many of these fishes are vital to the food security of rural and indigenous communities. However, human impacts on coastal Arctic habitats, as well as climate change, weaken ecosystem resiliency and threaten the sustainability of fish stocks as a c...

The COVID-19 pandemic has re-focused attention on mechanisms that lead to zoonotic disease spillover and spread. Commercial wildlife trade, and associated markets, are recognized mechanisms for zoonotic disease emergence, resulting in a growing global conversation around reducing human disease risks from spillover associated with hunting, trade, an...

Behavioural trade-offs arise when animals must decide to engage in one behaviour at the expense of another, potentially to the animal's detriment. Here, we investigate the existence of such a trade-off by exploring the relative influence of two important behavioural processes, thermoregulation and predation avoidance, on resting behaviour in a cold...

Climate change is rapidly altering the composition and availability of snow, with implications for snow-affected ecological processes, including reproduction, predation, habitat selection, and migration. How snowpack changes influence these ecological processes is mediated by physical snowpack properties, such as depth, density, hardness, and stren...

Chukchi Sea coastal lagoons are important habitats for unique assemblages of fishes, including marine and diadromous taxa. These fishes represent vital food resources for Alaska Native Peoples and other rural subsistence fishers. Anthropogenic and climate change-induced effects on coastal Arctic habitats may threaten ecosystem stability and the ava...

Anthropogenic underwater noise levels have generally increased as industrial activities in the ocean have become more prevalent. Because of the central nature of sound in the lives of many marine animals, and the known and potential adverse impacts of noise, it is also gaining increased international recognition as an important global conservation...

The Arctic is changing rapidly, introducing new challenges and opportunities for animals. Rising air temperatures are driving dramatic shifts in habitat quality and availability, including increased shrub abundance, reduced pond area, and reduced springtime snow cover (Hinzman et al. 2005). In some cases, these changes have net positive effects for...

The Aleutian Archipelago and surrounding waters have enormous ecological, cultural, and commercial significance. As one of the shortest routes between North American and Asian ports, the North Pacific Great Circle Route, which crosses through the Aleutian Archipelago, is traveled by thousands of large cargo ships and tanker vessels every year. To r...

Guatemala remains one of the last countries within the Pacific Americas Flyway lacking information about migratory shorebird abundance and distribution. To quantify the abundance and distribution of wintering shorebirds along the Pacific coast of Guatemala, we conducted the first comprehensive winter shorebird survey during the boreal winter 2018–2...

Conservation status and management priorities are often informed by population trends. Trend estimates can be derived from population surveys or models, but both methods are associated with sources of uncertainty. Many Arctic-breeding shorebirds are thought to be declining based on migration and/or overwintering population surveys, but data are lac...

Describing the behaviors of free-living animals is broadly useful for ecological and physiological research, but obtaining accurate records for difficult-to-observe species presents a considerable challenge. Tri-axial accelerometers are increasingly used for this purpose by exploiting behavioral observations from accelerometer-carrying animals to p...

Chukchi Sea coastal lagoons are important habitats for unique assemblages of fishes, including Coregoninae species. These fishes represent vital food resources for subsistence fishers. However, anthropogenic and climate change-induced effects on coastal Arctic habitats may threaten ecosystem stability and the availability of resources. Given these...

We measured spatial and temporal patterns of ambient noise in dynamic, relatively pristine Arctic marine habitats and evaluate the contributions of environmental and human noise sources. Long-term acoustic recorders were deployed around St. Lawrence Island and the Bering Strait region within key feeding and migratory corridors for protected species...

Eight coastal lagoons in and around Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Cape Thompson, Alaska were sampled for zooplankton diversity and abundance during 2017-2018 field visits by Wildlife Conservation Society crews. Water quality and chemistry were also assessed and related to zooplankton findings. Zooplankton from 75 samples were sorted taxono...

We review the current law and practices associated with DR&R for oil infrastructure on Alaska's North Slope.

Declines in Arctic sea ice cover are influencing the distribution of protected endemic marine mammals, many of which are important for local Indigenous Peoples, and increasing the presence of potentially disruptive industrial activities. Due to increasing conservation concerns, we conducted the first year-round acoustic monitoring of waters off Gam...

Ungulates are an important source of food for Wolverines (Gulo gulo), especially in winter when scavenging on carcasses is a primary means of obtaining food. However, Wolverines are also known to prey on ungulates. We followed fresh tracks of Wolverines pursuing Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) on six occasions on the tundra of northern Alaska in 2011,...

Wolverines (Gulo gulo) are relatively abundant on the North Slope of Alaska, an Arctic ecosystem dominated by tundra habitats that run north from the Brooks Range across a wide coastal plain to the Beaufort Sea. The region contains a range of potential Wolverine prey species, including ungulates (Caribou [Rangifer tarandus], Moose [Alces americanus...

Breeding bird response to habitat rehabilitation after anthropogenic disturbance has received little attention in the Arctic. The North Slope of Alaska is an important breeding ground for many populations of migratory birds and has also supported major oilfields since the late 1960s. The most obvious impacts of industrial development to nesting bir...

Accidental introductions of rodents present one of the greatest threats to indigenous island biota, especially seabirds. On uninhabited remote islands, such introductions are likely to come from shipwrecks. Here we use a comprehensive database of shipwrecks in Western Alaska to model the frequency of shipwrecks per Aleutian and Bering Sea island, t...

Arctic lagoons support a variety of fish, bird and marine mammal species, as well as subsistence fisheries that are critical to local food security along the Chukchi and Beaufort sea coasts. In summer 2015, diet samples from seven lagoon fishes were non-lethally collected in three lagoons along the Northwest Alaska coastline. Using these samples, w...

Lagoons provide critical habitats for many fishes, including whitefishes, which are a mainstay in many subsistence fisheries of Arctic Alaska rural communities. Despite their importance, little is known about the overwintering habits of whitefishes in Arctic Alaska due to the challenges associated with sampling during winter. We developed a habitat...

Global changes in climate, connectivity, and commerce are having profound impacts on the Arctic environment and inhabitants. There is widespread recognition of the value of incorporating different worldviews and perspectives when seeking to understand the consequences of these impacts. In turn, attention to local needs, perspectives, and cultures i...

Seasonal declines in breeding performance are widespread in wild animals, resulting from temporal changes in environmental conditions or from individual variation. Seasonal declines might drive selection for early breeding, with implications for other stages of the annual cycle. Alternatively, selection on the phenology of nonbreeding stages could...

The Arctic is experiencing rapidly warming temperatures, increasing predator abundance, and diminishing population cycles of keystone species such as lemmings. However, it is still not known how many Arctic animals will respond to a changing climate with altered trophic interactions. We studied clutch size, incubation duration, and nest survival of...

Seasonal declines in breeding performance are widespread in wild animals, resulting from temporal changes in environmental conditions or from individual variation. Seasonal declines might drive selection for early breeding, with implications for other stages of the annual cycle. Alternatively, selection on the phenology of nonbreeding stages could...

Caspian Terns Hydroprogne caspia have expanded their range in the Eastern Pacific, including southern areas of Alaska, over the past several decades. In 2015, we discovered a pair of Caspian Terns on a small gravel island within Krusenstern Lagoon in Cape Krusenstern National Monument and monitored their breeding status until they successfully fled...

Arctic Alaska is an important breeding ground for many migratory bird populations. A variety of factors associated with industrial development may impact nesting birds in this region, including increased nest predator populations associated with anthropogenic nesting and perching sites and the availability of anthropogenic food sources. We tested t...

The relationship of wolverines (Gulo gulo) to persistent spring snow (PSS) may be obligate at the den-site scale but this relationship has yet to be examined at this scale. Our objective was to detect snow at the den-site scale in late May using low-altitude aerial photography in wolverine denning habitat both in the Rocky Mountains of western Unit...

Many shorebird populations have declined, and mapping habitat use during the non-breeding period and determining timing of use have become increasingly urgent for conservation. This study provides the first detailed location information on the complete migration cycle for the subspecies of Dunlin Calidris alpina sakhalina breeding in Chukotka, Russ...

As the permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon pool will be increasingly vulnerable to decomposition, combustion, and hydrologic export. Models predict that some portion of this release will be offset by increased production of Arctic and boreal biomass; however, the lack of robust estimates of net carbon balance increases the risk of fur...

The continued development of maritime transportation around the world, and increased recognition of the direct and indirect impacts of vessel activities to marine resources, has prompted interest in better understanding vessel operations and their effects on the environment. Such an understanding has been facilitated by Automatic Identification Sys...

As both the societies and the world in which we live face increasingly rapid and turbulent changes, the concept of resilience has become an active and important research area. Reflecting the very latest research, this book provides a critical review of the ways in which resilience of social-ecological systems, and the ecosystem services they provid...

Polycentricity is a governance system in which there are multiple interacting governing bodies with autonomy to make and enforce rules within a specific policy arena and geography. These governance authorities interact with others at similar scales horizontally and within nested scales vertically. Multiple governance units have been suggested to pr...

This book synthesizes and reviews the evidence in support of seven generic principles for enhancing the resilience of ecosystem services, i.e. the capacity of a social–ecological system to sustain a desired set of ecosystem services in the face of disturbance and ongoing change. Although some principles are better established than others, there is...

The Bering Strait, separating the North American and Asian continents, is a productive social–ecological marine system that is vulnerable to increasing maritime traffic. In other parts of the world, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), an agency of the United Nations, has designated similar marine systems as a Particularly Sensitive Sea A...

Commercial vessel traffic through the Bering Strait is increasing. This region has high biological and cultural significance, to which commercial shipping poses several risks. For this environment, these risks include ship strikes of whales, noise disturbance, chronic pollution, and oil spills. Indigenous Chukchi, Iñupiaq, St. Lawrence Island Yupik...

The Arctic is changing rapidly in ways that fundamentally affect the region’s ecosystems and societies. The Arctic Resilience Report (ARR) uses resilience as an integrative concept and model to aid systemic understanding of the Arctic, including the cumulative impacts of a diverse suite of interconnected changes. This chapter describes the backgrou...

The Arctic is changing rapidly in ways that fundamentally affect the region’s ecosystems and societies. The Arctic Resilience Report (ARR) uses resilience as an integrative concept and model to aid systemic understanding of the Arctic, including the cumulative impacts of a diverse suite of interconnected changes. This chapter elaborates on the defi...

Changes in sea-ice conditions have direct bearing on ice-associated species such as Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens), an important species for coastal Alaska Native subsistence. We explore the dynamic relationships among sea ice, walrus, and subsistence hunting between 1952 and 2004 at three northern Bering Sea villages � Diomede, Gambe...

The warming that has occurred globally is amplified at high latitudes (ACIA 2005), such that many areas of the Arctic are warming twice as rapidly as the global average (Hinzman et al. 2005; IPCC 2007; Fig. 40.1). Mean annual air temperature in Interior Alaska has increased by 1.3°C during the past 50 years (Shulski and Wendler 2007) and is project...