Admiralty Island Research Articles

Admiralty Island in St Petersburg: The Beginning of Development and the First Census of Households

Admiralty Island in St Petersburg: The Beginning of Development and the First Census of Households

Independent validation of downscaled climate estimates from a coastal Alaska watershed using local historical weather journals.

Downscaling coarse global and regional climate models allows researchers to access weather and climate data at finer temporal and spatial resolution, but there remains a need to compare these models with empirical data sources to assess model accuracy. Here, we validate a widely used software for generating North American downscaled climate data, ClimateNA, with a novel empirical data source, 20th century weather journals kept by Admiralty Island, Alaska homesteader, Allen Hasselborg. Using Hasselborg’s journals, we calculated monthly precipitation and monthly mean of the maximum daily air temperature across the years 1926 to 1954 and compared these to ClimateNA data generated from the Hasselborg homestead location and adjacent areas. To demonstrate the utility and potential implications of this validation for other disciplines such as hydrology, we used an established regression equation to generate time series of 95% low duration flow estimates for the month of August using mean annual precipitation from ClimateNA predictions and Hasselborg data. Across 279 months, we found strong correlation between modeled and observed measurements of monthly precipitation (ρ = 0.74) and monthly mean of the maximum daily air temperature (ρ = 0.98). Monthly precipitation residuals (calculated as ClimateNA data - Hasselborg data) generally demonstrated heteroscedasticity around zero, but a negative trend in residual values starting during the last decade of observations may have been due to a shift to the cold-phase Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Air temperature residuals demonstrated a consistent but small positive bias, with ClimateNA tending to overestimate air temperature relative to Hasselborg’s journals. The degree of correlation between weather patterns observed at the Hasselborg homestead site and ClimateNA data extracted from spatial grid cells across the region varied by wet and dry climate years. Monthly precipitation from both data sources tended to be more similar across a larger area during wet years (mean ρ across grid cells = 0.73) compared to dry years (mean ρ across grid cells = 0.65). The time series of annual 95% low duration flow estimates for the month of August generated using ClimateNA and Hasselborg data were moderately correlated (ρ = 0.55). Our analysis supports previous research in other regions which also found ClimateNA to be a robust source for past climate data estimates.

Cetaceans of the Northern Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea1

There is little known about cetaceans in the waters of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Here we present findings from the first two sets of cetacean sighting and acoustic surveys conducted within the Admiralty Island group in the northern Bismarck Sea. More than 1,000 cetaceans were sighted during our boat-based surveys–the most common being spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris), followed by pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata), short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). The relative group size of spinner dolphins was different between years with group sizes in 2010 being significantly lower (median = 15, range = 2–50) than those recorded in 2013 (median = 50, range = 5–100). The presence of large aggregations of spinner dolphins (including calves) as well as sightings of Vulnerable sperm whales suggest the northern Bismarck Sea as an area of conservation importance for cetaceans. Our surveys also provide useful baseline data for a variety of marine protected area planning processes and management initiatives that are ongoing in PNG.

Reconciling molecules and morphology in North AmericanMartes

Molecular investigations recently resurrected the Pacific marten (Martes caurina) as a species distinct from the American pine marten (M. americana). Previously, 2 hybrid zones for these species were identified, 1 in the northern Rocky Mountains and another on Kuiu Island off the coast of Southeast Alaska. We test the molecular perspectives on species status and hybridization using geometric morphometrics to characterize size and shape differences between North American marten species from 6 genetically defined populations: M. americana from interior Alaska, insular M. caurina from Admiralty Island in Southeast Alaska, M. caurina from Colorado, the 2 previously identified hybrid populations, and a third suspected hybrid population on neighboring Kupreanof Island. We found significant differences in shape supporting the designation of 2 morphological species, with M. caurina exhibiting a broader cranial shape and shorter rostrum. We also found significant size differences between species, and also between insular and mainland populations of M. caurina. Morphological intergradation of M. americana and M. caurina in both insular and mainland hybrid zones identified potentially admixed individuals in 2 of the 3 examined contact zones. Under the general lineage concept, our results support specieslevel classification of both M. americana and M. caurina and suggest that hybridization is geographically limited in scope or may not be effectively detected with morphometrics.

Installation of Infiltration Gallery at Greens Creek Mine - Juneau, Alaska

The Greens Creek Mine is located on Admiralty Island, near Juneau Alaska. It is one of the nation's largest silver producers, with a projected 10-year mine life. Bedrock in the vicinity of the mine consists of relatively impermeable argillites. The only reliable water source for the mine and milling operations is the alluvium along the narrow stream bed of Greens Creek. The original source water for the mine consisted of three wells competed in the shallow alluvium of Greens Creek. However, the wells were too shallow and became ineffective in providing an adequate water supply due to freezing in the winter causing aufeis conditions and sediment production at times when the creek was experiencing high run off. In 2009 the wells were replaced with an infiltration gallery completed in the stream bed that would not be affected by the bedload movement and freezing that would damage the intakes and reduce capacity in the winter months. Estimates of the production from a bed mounted infiltration gallery were used to determine screen length and configuration in the streambed to provide a minimum of 3,800 m3/day water supply needed by the mine. A Johnson Screens, Muni-pak screen was selected as the intake to address problems that might occur with excessive stream bed erosion that occurs during large storm events and provide filtration during periods of high flow and turbidity. The main challenge during the construction phase was to maintain the 3,800 m3/day flow to the mine and mill operations while decommissioning the old well system and installing the new infiltration gallery. During construction, Greens Creek was diverted and the infiltration gallery was excavated, installed in the streambed and connected to the existing stilling well. The new system has been operational for about 2 years without problems at a capacity of 3800 m3/day with minimal drawdown in the stilling well.

U–Pb zircon geochronology from the Alexander terrane, southeast Alaska: implications for the Greens Creek massive sulphide deposit

This paper presents results of a laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – quadrapole mass spectrometer (LA–ICP–QMS) U–Pb dating study of small in situ zircon grains from samples collected in the vicinity of the Greens Creek massive sulphide deposit, on northern Admiralty Island, southeast Alaska. The Greens Creek mine is a volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit in the central portion of the Alexander Triassic metallogenic belt (ATMB) and is one of the top global silver producers despite having a dominantly mafic metavolcanic stratigraphic footwall. The stratigraphic footwall is a Mississippian mafic metavolcanic sequence with a protolith age of approximately 340–330 Ma. The first U–Pb zircon constrained chronostratigraphy for the area places the deposit near, or at, the base of the host Late Triassic stratigraphy just above an approximately 100 million year old unconformity and probably 10–15 million years older than mineralization at the Palmer and Windy Craggy deposits in the northern portion of the ATMB. The stratigraphic location of the Greens Creek deposit is atypical for a syngenetic massive sulphide deposit, and this may, at least partly, explain its unusual metal endowment. Pre-mineralization Permian U–Pb zircon metamorphic ages are consistent with published 273–260 Ma white mica ages related to the collision of the Admiralty and Craig subterranes, the basement to the ATMB. The much older age of the footwall rocks and their Permian pre-mineralization metamorphism demonstrates that though the mafic volcanic rocks are not genetically linked to the deposit, they likely influenced the style of alteration and mineralization.

Late Paleozoic assembly of the Alexander-Wrangellia-Peninsular composite terrane, Canadian and Alaskan Cordillera

Late Paleozoic assembly of the Alexander-Wrangellia-Peninsular composite terrane is recorded by two phases of regional deformation, metamorphism, and magmatism within basement complexes of the Alexander (Craig and Admiralty subterranes), Wrangellia, and Peninsular terranes in the Canadian and Alaskan Cordillera. New secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and chemical abrasion-isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (CA-ID-TIMS) zircon U-Pb ages, whole-rock major- and trace-element and Nd-Sr isotope geochemical compositions, and geological field observations of late Paleozoic igneous rocks were used to identify the precise timing and significance of this tectonism in the Saint Elias Mountains region of southwestern Yukon and eastern Alaska. Middle to Late Pennsylvanian (301–307 Ma) igneous rocks, herein assigned to the Barnard Glacier suite, were preferentially emplaced along the Wrangellia-Craig subterrane boundary and mainly comprise syenitic plutons that intrude Paleozoic country rocks with evidence of Pennsylvanian or older (D1) deformation. We propose that Barnard Glacier suite magmatism was produced by a slab breakoff event after the consumption of a narrow backarc ocean basin and early Pennsylvanian collision between the Wrangellia-Peninsular arc and Craig subterrane passive margin. Early Permian (284–291 Ma) dioritic to granodioritic rocks, herein assigned to the Donjek Glacier suite, comprise the vestiges of an extensive magmatic system within the Craig subterrane of southwestern Yukon and southeastern Alaska. The available data suggest that the Donjek Glacier suite represents part of a short-lived, Early Permian arc that initiated along the outboard margin of the Craig subterrane–Wrangellia–Peninsular block after Pennsylvanian collision and slab breakoff. At two field localities in southwestern Yukon, Paleozoic country rocks with D1 fabrics are also intruded by sills and dikes of the Donjek Glacier suite that show evidence of ca. 285 Ma regional deformation and metamorphism (D2). Field evidence for Early Permian tectonism in the Saint Elias Mountains implies direct connections with coeval deformation and metamorphism in the Admiralty subterrane, a microcontinent in the Admiralty Island region of southeastern Alaska that developed separately from the Craig subterrane prior to the Early Permian. D2 tectonism was likely related to the entry of the Admiralty subterrane margin into the Early Permian subduction zone, which resulted in collision and final amalgamation of the Alexander-Wrangellia-Peninsular composite terrane. Our tectonic scenarios require the currently accepted configuration of the Alexander terrane (composite of the Craig and Admiralty subterranes) to have only existed after the Early Permian collision between the Admiralty subterrane and the previously assembled Craig subterrane–Wrangellia–Peninsular terrane. Biogeographic and other geological data suggest that the two-part assembly of the Alexander-Wrangellia-Peninsular composite terrane took place along a convergent margin to the north of the Cordilleran pericratonic arc terranes (Yukon-Tanana, Quesnellia, and others), in between the paleo–Pacific Ocean and paleo–Arctic Ocean realms, to the northwest of the supercontinent Pangea. The assembly of the Alexander-Wrangellia-Peninsular composite terrane might have been associated with the Early to Middle Permian subduction polarity flip recognized in the Cordilleran pericratonic realm, which led to the closure of a backarc ocean basin and Late Permian arc-continent collision along the western margin of North America.

Acroscyphus sphaerophoroides (Caliciaceae) New to Alaska and Most Northerly Report Worldwide

Acroscyphus sphaerophoroides is reported new to the lichen flora of Alaska and represents the most northerly sighting worldwide. Locations were clustered on north and south alpine ridges above Greens Creek on north Admiralty Island, southeastern Alaska.

Identification of metapopulation dynamics among Northern Goshawks of the Alexander Archipelago, Alaska, and Coastal British Columbia

Northern Goshawks occupying the Alexander Archipelago, Alaska, and coastal British Columbia nest primarily in old-growth and mature forest, which results in spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of individuals across the landscape. We used microsatellite and mitochondrial data to infer genetic structure, gene flow, and fluctuations in population demography through evolutionary time. Patterns in the genetic signatures were used to assess predictions associated with the three population models: panmixia, metapopulation, and isolated populations. Population genetic structure was observed along with asymmetry in gene flow estimates that changed directionality at different temporal scales, consistent with metapopulation model predictions. Therefore, Northern Goshawk assemblages located in the Alexander Archipelago and coastal British Columbia interact through a metapopulation framework, though they may not fit the classic model of a metapopulation. Long-term population sources (coastal mainland British Columbia) and sinks (Revillagigedo and Vancouver islands) were identified. However, there was no trend through evolutionary time in the directionality of dispersal among the remaining assemblages, suggestive of a rescue–effect dynamic. Admiralty, Douglas, and Chichagof island complex appears to be an evolutionarily recent source population in the Alexander Archipelago. In addition, Kupreanof island complex and Kispiox Forest District populations have high dispersal rates to populations in close geographic proximity and potentially serve as local source populations. Metapopulation dynamics occurring in the Alexander Archipelago and coastal British Columbia by Northern Goshawks highlight the importance of both occupied and unoccupied habitats to long-term population persistence of goshawks in this region.

Effects of the landscape on boreal toad gene flow: does the pattern-process relationship hold true across distinct landscapes at the northern range margin?

Understanding the impact of natural and anthropogenic landscape features on population connectivity is a major goal in evolutionary ecology and conservation. Discovery of dispersal barriers is important for predicting population responses to landscape and environmental changes, particularly for populations at geographic range margins. We used a landscape genetics approach to quantify the effects of landscape features on gene flow and connectivity of boreal toad (Bufo boreas) populations from two distinct landscapes in south-east Alaska (Admiralty Island, ANM, and the Chilkat River Valley, CRV). We used two common methodologies for calculating resistance distances in landscape genetics studies (resistance based on least-cost paths and circuit theory). We found a strong effect of saltwater on genetic distance of CRV populations, but no landscape effects were found for the ANM populations. Our discordant results show the importance of examining multiple landscapes that differ in the variability of their features, to maximize detectability of underlying processes and allow results to be broadly applicable across regions. Saltwater serves as a physiological barrier to boreal toad gene flow and affects populations on a small geographic scale, yet there appear to be few other barriers to toad dispersal in this intact northern region.

Geology, Geochemistry and Genesis of the Greens Creek Massive Sulfide Deposit, Admiralty Island, Southeastern Alaska

Cliff D. Taylor and Craig A. Johnson, Editors. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1763, 429 Pp., 7 plates on CD. ISBN 978-1-4113-2622-4. Available at no cost online, at >. Also available from the editor; e-mail, ctaylor{at}usgs.gov. Documentation of important

Influence of Political Opposition and Compromise on Conservation Outcomes in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska

To understand how a highly contentious policy process influenced a major conservation effort, I examined the origins, compromises, and outcomes of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA) for the Tongass National Forest. Tongass wilderness designation was among the most controversial issues in the ANILCA debate, and it faced strong opposition from influential lawmakers, land managers, and Alaska residents. To investigate the influence of this opposition on Tongass conservation outcomes, I conducted a gap analysis of Tongass reserves and a policy analysis of the ANILCA debate and traced the influence of specific interests through the amendments, negotiations, and resulting compromises needed to enact ANILCA. Overall, I found that Tongass reserves comprise a broadly representative cross-section of ecosystems and species habitats in southeastern Alaska. Redrawn reserve boundaries, industry subsidies, and special access regulations reflected compromises to minimize the impact of wilderness conservation on mining, timber, and local stakeholder interests, respectively. Fragmentation of the Admiralty Island National Monument-the most ecologically valuable and politically controversial reserve-resulted from compromises with Alaskan Native (indigenous peoples of Alaska) corporations and timber interests. Despite language to accommodate "reasonable access" to wilderness reserves, ongoing access limitations highlight the concerns of Alaska residents that opposed ANILCA several decades ago. More broadly, the Tongass case suggests that early and ambitious conservation action may offset strong political opposition; compromises needed to establish key reserves often exacerbate development impacts in unprotected areas; and efforts to minimize social conflicts are needed to safeguard the long-term viability of conservation measures.

Using ground and airborne geophysical methods to constrain geologic mapping, and identify new mineral prospective zones in southeast Alaska

Triassic Hyd Group rocks in southeastern Alaska are the most likely target for a volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit according to available information. However, because of difficult access and extensive cover, the geology in this region is not well known in detail, and available maps have necessarily been of a reconnaissance nature. Ground and airborne geophysical methods offer perhaps the most cost-effective means for improving the geological mapping, as long as the key geologic units (including the Hyd Group) can be differentiated. This appears to be possible, despite the complication of regional metamorphism which can change both magnetite content as well as resistivity of the key units. Careful selection of ground profiles in areas where the geology is well known has allowed us to develop a geophysical signatures matrix for a large section of southeastern Alaska from Admiralty Island in the north to Prince of Wales Island in the south. We used the ground geophyical signatures with the airborne geophysical data to develop a predictive geophysical model for the key geologic units, and these in turn have been used to substantially modify the earlier geologic maps. This has resulted in an increase of more than 30% in ground now known to be underlain by Triassic Hyd Group rocks, with a concomitant increase in prospective land.

Molecular status of the dusky Canada goose (Branta canadensis occidentalis): A genetic assessment of a translocation effort

Until recently, the dusky Canada goose (Branta canadensis occidentalis) was managedas one breeding population from the CopperRiver Delta (CRD), Alaska. Population numberson the CRD have declined precipitously over thelast three decades, due in part to changes inhabitat. In 1981, a pair of Canada geese,presumably B.c. occidentalis, wasreported nesting on Middleton Island (MID), inthe Gulf of Alaska. Numbers of Canada geese onthe island increased in the decade subsequentto a translocation of geese from CRD to MID,but it is unclear whether the increase isattributable to the translocation effort. Weused genetic data derived from three classes ofgenetic markers to clarify relationships ofCanada geese breeding in south-coastal Alaska. Geese were sampled from 5 populations: CRD,MID, Anchorage (ANC), Admiralty Island (ADM) insoutheastern Alaska, and Green Island (GRN) inPrince William Sound (PWS). Mitochondrial DNAanalyses demonstrate Canada geese from MID arenearly monomorphic for a unique haplotype fixedon GRN but not found in CRD or any otherbreeding population. Furthermore, nuclearmarkers consistently cluster MID with GRN tothe exclusion of CRD. We suggest the currentpopulation on MID is not derived from birdstranslocated from CRD, but rather that MID wasmost likely colonised by birds inhabiting otherisland habitats within the PWS. Furthermore,since geese from the CRD share mtDNA haplotypeswith geese from other breeding locales, theyapparently share recent common ancestry and/orgene flow with populations representing othersubspecies. Our genetic data raise questionsabout the validity of current management unitsof Canada geese.

The rocky road: the selection and transport of Admiralties obsidian to Lapita communities

This paper builds upon the previous work of Ambrose, Kennedy and Fredericksen on the movement of Admiralty Island obsidian by focussing on the obsidian found in sites with Lapita pottery located outside the Admiralty group of islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea. The results offer a new perspective in modelling the mechanisms of obsidian exchange and the nature of the societies that extracted and moved the obsidian. The model proposed to explain the Lapita period distribution of Admiralties obsidian goes some way to filling the gaps identified by White in 1996.

Post-glacial colonization of northwestern North America by the forest-associated American marten (Martes americana, Mammalia: Carnivora: Mustelidae).

Phylogeographic patterns were used to assess intraspecific diversification of American martens (Martes americana). Within martens, two morphological groups (americana and caurina) have been recognized, though the level of distinction between them has been debated. We examined mitochondrial cytochrome b gene haplotypes from 680 martens to explore the colonization history of the Pacific Northwest and found two clades that correspond to the morphological groups. The widespread americana clade extends from interior Alaska south to Montana and eastward to Newfoundland and New England (i.e. northwestern, north-central and northeastern North America). The caurina clade occurs in western North America, minimally extending from Admiralty Island (southeastern Alaska) south to Oregon and Wyoming. Our data indicated two colonization events for the Pacific Northwest (one by members of each clade) and were consistent with the persistence of populations throughout past glacial periods in eastern and western refugia. Due to vegetational and geological history following the past deglaciation, we hypothesize that martens of the caurina clade spread along the North Pacific Coast, and into southeastern Alaska, earlier than martens of the americana clade. Mismatch distributions for the americana clade were indicative of populations that recently experienced demographic expansion, while mismatch distributions for the caurina clade suggested that populations were at equilibrium. These clades are reciprocally monophyletic and distinctive (interclade divergence ranged from 2.5 to 3.0% (uncorrected p), whereas, intraclade divergence was < 0.7%), and two regions of sympatry have been identified. Genetic signatures of past admixture in hybrid zones may have been extinguished during subsequent glacial periods when ranges contracted. This recurrent pattern of relatively restricted western, or Pacific coastal, lineages and more widespread eastern, or interior continental, lineages exists across broad taxonomic groups and suggests a shared biogeographical history.

Observer Accuracy and Precision in Aerial and Foot Survey Counts of Pink Salmon in a Southeast Alaska Stream

Within- and between-observer variability and bias in aerial and foot survey estimates of spawning abundance of pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha were determined for survey counters from Chaik Bay Creek on southern Admiralty Island, Southeast Alaska, in 1992–1994. Multiple counts of pink salmon escapement in predetermined sections of the creek were made. At the same time, a mark–recapture experiment was performed to estimate the actual number of pink salmon and chum salmon O. keta. Observer counting abilities were also examined by using computer images that simulated aerially observed fish; four object types aggregated at predetermined numbers were tested. Observers tended to undercount the actual number of salmon present, and accuracy decreased nonlinearly with an increase in actual salmon escapements. On average, observers counted between 25% and 68% of the salmon present. Correction factors determined for each observer can be used to reduce bias in estimates of total abundance and make counts comparable between observers. Comparison of relative biases of observers making aerial surveys in both 1993 and 1994, years of nearly equal pink salmon abundance, suggested that learning occurred during the study.

Review: Bear Man of Admiralty Island: A Biography of Allen E. Hasselborg, by John R. Howe and Allen E. Hasselborg

Book Review| February 01 1998 Review: Bear Man of Admiralty Island: A Biography of Allen E. Hasselborg, by John R. Howe and Allen E. Hasselborg Bear Man of Admiralty Island: A Biography of Allen E. HasselborgJohn R. HoweAllen E. Hasselborg Peter Coates Peter Coates Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Pacific Historical Review (1998) 67 (1): 134–135. https://doi.org/10.2307/3642079 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Peter Coates; Review: Bear Man of Admiralty Island: A Biography of Allen E. Hasselborg, by John R. Howe and Allen E. Hasselborg. Pacific Historical Review 1 February 1998; 67 (1): 134–135. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/3642079 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentPacific Historical Review Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1998 The Pacific Coast Branch, American Historical Association Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Individual Distinctiveness in Brown Bears, Ursus arctos L

AbstractIndividual brown bears, Ursus arctos, behave differently from each other. Consistent behavioural differences suggest that each bear has its own distinct personality. On Admiralty Island in south‐eastern Alaska, we collected longitudinal data during three years of summer salmon runs on seven individual brown bears that could be recognized from year to year. Bears fed on vegetation and on salmon along a tidal creek. Ratings of individual bears by observers on different aspects of behaviour, comparisons of behavioural frequencies, and long‐term observations of individual activities served to assess personality differences. Individual bears varied in five ways: 1. Some bears were lively, animated and playful in social situations and during solitary activities such as travelling or fishing. Other bears' movements and general demeanour seemed dull and humourless; 2. Some bears were irascible, others socially uninvolved and unreactive; 3. Some bears were expert at fishing but others fished ineptly; 4. Some bears were confident with other bears but others lacked confidence in social situations; 5. Some bears were often active and alert. Others rested more frequently and for prolonged periods.

Ethnoarchaeology, museum collections and prehistoric exchange: Obsidian‐tipped artifacts from the Admiralty Islands

Abstract Although ethnography has played an important role in the development of archaeological theory and method, it is limited by the short time‐scales employed and the lack of attention to material culture. Historical studies of museum collections can help overcome these difficulties. By monitoring changes in the efficiency of production of Admiralty Island spears and daggers over the past 120 years, one can observe the effects of economic transformation from noncommercial, reciprocal exchange through to modern day market trading. Contrary to predictions, changes in raw material inputs, craftsmanship, simplification and standardization are not all unidirectional. The results of the case‐study indicate that efficiency is a good indicator of exchange type, but archaeologists also need to understand the specific cultural contexts that shape the particular consumer demands.