The roselaari subspecies of Red Knot is one of the rarest shorebird populations breeding in North America, based on a the current population size estimate of 17,000 individuals (Carmona et al 2013). As a result of suspected declines,the roselaari subspecies has been designated as threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada and was petitioned for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to not conduct a full status review for listing was based on the lack of substantial information identifying threats and population trends (USFWS 2011). The apparent low population size coupled with the scarcity of information on many demographic and ecological variables (e.g., vital rates, population trends, connectivity among breeding and non-breeding locations, and threats and stresses influencing individuals throughout the annual cycle) resulted in the listing of the Calidris canutus roselaari subspecies as a species of greatest conservation concern in the Alaska Shorebird Conservation Plan Version III (Alaska Shorebird Group 2019). The objectives of the Red Knot breeding ecology study is to investigate the breeding ecology of the Red Knots (Calidris canutus roselaari) on the Seward Peninsula, and establish a foundation for collaboration with other institutions looking to investigate short-term questions. The objectives specifically involve: 1) Individually marking Red Knots for resightings on the breeding and nonbreeding grounds, 2) Resighting previously marked birds to estimate apparent survival, 3) Investigating brood survival, brood reduction, and chick growth over time, 4) Investigating initiation dates and nest survival over time, 5) Collecting blood and feather samples for on-going genetic and stable isotope studies, 6) Collecting blood to assess prevalence of active avian influenza virus (AIV) infection, and 7) Testing methods of altering hatch date to answer questions about trophic mismatch. Location information is collected through the use of geolocators deployed on adult Red Knots breeding in Nome, AK.
