Micah Miller

• PhD
• Waterbird Scientist; Director of Loon and Arctic Programs at Biodiversity Research Institute

Wetlands in Arctic tundra support abundant breeding waterbirds. Wetland types differing in area, depth, vegetation, and invertebrate biomass density may vary in importance to birds, and in vulnerability to climate change. We studied availability and use of different wetland types by prelaying females of four species of sea ducks (Mergini) breeding...

Arctic lowland tundra is often dominated by wetlands. As numbers and types of these wetlands change with climate warming, their invertebrate biomass and assemblages may also be affected. Increased influx of nutrients and dissolved organic matter (DOM) from thawing peat may alter the relative availability of organic matter (OM) sources, differential...

Understanding dietary nutrient sources is fundamental to conserving sensitive species, especially as climate change alters food web dynamics. Migratory species that depend on both marine and terrestrial habitats face unique challenges , as the locations and quality of resources in the two realms may respond quite differently to environmental change...

Climate change and increasing industrialization in the Arctic call for the collection of reference data for assessing changes in contaminant levels. For migratory birds, measuring and interpreting changes in trace element burdens on Arctic breeding areas require insights into factors such as sex, body size, or wintering area that may modify pattern...

During late winter (March) in the Bering Sea, levels of Se in livers and Cd in kidneys of spectacled eiders Somateria fischeri were exceptionally high (up to 489 and 312 mu g g(-1) dry mass, respectively). Comparison of organ and blood samples during late winter, early spring migration, and breeding suggests that the eiders' high Se and Cd burdens...