Arctic Shorebirds in North America: A Decade of Monitoring

6. SOUTHAMPTON AND COATS ISLANDS

113 Abstract. As part of the PRISM effort to generate arctic-wide estimates of shorebird populations, we conducted surveys on Southampton and Coats Islands, Nunavut, Canada, in June and July of 2004 and 2006. We surveyed 53 12-ha plots rapidly on foot, and recorded 310 breeding pairs of shorebirds . We conducted intensive nest searching on an additional 12 12-ha plots, and identified the nests or territories of 46 shorebirds. Our estimates suggest that approximately 880,000 shorebirds inhabit Coats Island and the southern 63% of Southampton Island. The most abundant species were Semipalmated Sandpiper, Red Phalarope, and Dunlin. We also report briefly on a study we conducted on the habitat preferences of loons. Key Words: arctic, Coats Island, Dunlin, monitoring , Nunavut, population size, PRISM, Red Phalarope, Semipalmated Sandpiper, shorebirds, Southampton Island. CHAPTER SIX Southampton and Coats Islands Paul A. Smith, Victoria Johnston, and Jennie Rausch Smith, P. A., V. Johnston, and J. Rausch. 2012. Southampton and Coats Islands. Pp. 113–126 in J. Bart and V. Johnston (editors). Arctic shorebirds in North America: a decade of monitoring. Studies in Avian Biology (no. 44), University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. S horebird populations across North America appear to be in a state of widespread decline. In particular, 19 of 26 species that breed in the North American arctic show signs of decline (Morrison et al. 2006, Johnston and Bart, chapter 1, this volume). This situation clearly warrants attention, yet our ability to respond is hindered by a poor understanding of basic parameters such as population size, distribution, and habitat relationships. To fill these knowledge gaps, Canada has embarked on a collaborative effort with the United States to census shorebirds across the continent. The objectives of the Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM) are described in Johnston and Bart (chapter 1, this volume). Here we present the results of Arctic PRISM surveys undertaken between 2004 and 2006 at Southampton and Coats Islands, Nunavut, Canada. Habitat relationships, distributional information , and population estimates are provided for the region as a whole. Breeding ecology data are presented from intensively surveyed plots on both islands. We also present the results of a targeted survey for Pacific and Red-throated Loons (for scientific names, see Appendix C). Finally, we discuss our results in light of current knowledge of shorebird population sizes, and give recommendations for improving PRISM surveys in the future. STUDIES IN AVIAN BIOLOGY NO. 44 Bart and Johnston 114 METHODS Study Area The study area, defined as Region 4 in the PRISM sampling scheme (Bart et al., chapter 2, this volume ), encompasses all of Coats Island and the southern 63% of Southampton Island, Nunavut (Fig. 6.1). The northern portion of Southampton Island, along with the Melville Peninsula and the Wager Bay area, comprise PRISM Region 5, and will be surveyed separately. Coats Island lies at the north end of Hudson Bay, with an area of approximately 5,500 km2 . Exposed outcroppings of Precambrian metamorphic rock dominate the northeast corner, while the remainder of the island is composed primarily of lowland tundra and exposed Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks (Heywood and Sanford 1976). Smaller areas of upland heath tundra and raised beach deposits are also common across the island. Southampton Island, at the mouth of Hudson Bay, has a total area of approximately 41,000 km2 , though only the southern 26,000 km2 of the island are included in PRISM Region 4. This portion of the island consists of extensive tracts of coastal lowland tundra, with large expanses of unvegetated sedimentary rock farther inland. Raised beach deposits that resulted from (ongoing) isostatic uplift following the retreat of the Pleistocene ice sheets are common (Innes et al. 1968). A PRISM camp was established in 2003 at East Bay, Southampton Island (63°59⬘N, 81°40⬘W), but work in this season was complicated by poor weather and logistical difficulties, and few useful data were collected. All Southampton Island data presented here were collected between 13 June and 10 July 2004. Two camps were established at 63°44⬘36⬙N, 82°00⬘30⬙W and 63°44⬘10⬙N, 84°01⬘07⬙W (Fig. 6.2). Work at Coats Island was conducted from 2 June to 21 July 2006 at a camp located at 62°51⬘06⬙N, 82°29⬘04⬙W (Fig. 6.3). Weather data were recorded at the Coats Island camp with a Davis Vantage Pro weather station. At the Southampton Island camp, we used weather data from the Environment Canada weather...