The Peregrine Fund initially organized the "Gyrfalcon and Ptarmigan in a Changing World," conference in 2011 that gathered researchers from around the world to discuss issues facing these species - primarily climate change. From there they joined a collaboration with Alaska Department of Fish and Game and established the Gyrfalcon and Tundra Conservation Program that was focused on understanding how climate change is affecting Gyrfalcons and their prey - and how those effects are likely to change with time. The first field season on the Seward Peninsula was in 2014 when Bryce Robinson (Boise State University) started his master's research project on Gyrfalcon diet where he demonstrated a district prey switch from primarily ptarmigan to Arctic ground squirrels corresponding with the time period when ptarmigan lay eggs and become more cryptic. I was the second graduate student (Boise State University) and I found that nest sites that protected nestlings from weather increased breeding success and decreased the amount of time adults spent at the nest. I also found that early breeding Gyrfalcons have higher breeding success than late breeders - and that trend is true to more than just breeding success. Then Devin Johnson (PhD, UAF)) created a great tool for quantifying raptor diet from a blood sample using dietary stable isotopes and revealed differences in the diets of Arctic raptors under variable conditions. Lastly, Michaela Gustafson (Master's student, Boise State University) created a predictive tool to predict abundance of important Gyrfalcon prey species - Willow Ptarmigan, Rock Ptarmigan, and Arctic Ground Squirrels. I also just started my PhD, where I am studying the effects of weather and landscape change on all of the Arctic raptors as well as establishing a statistical model to combine ADFG's helicopter surveys with survival data to precisely understand and predict population changes among raptor populations. The overall goal is to maximize the utility of those data while trying to minimize the cost! We also collaborate with Cornell University to understand Gyrfalcon disease ecology and Boise State University to delve into the Gyrfalcon's genome to understand its genetic vulnerability to climate change and understand the amount of genetic variation that exists in the population.
1. Determine how climate change affects the Arctic raptor guild as an ideal model system to better understand how global climate change will affect raptor populations around the world.
2. Delineate the impacts of climate change on Arctic ecosystem structure and function by conducting hypothesis-driven research focused on an effective indicator species, the Gyrfalcon.
3. Advance raptor conservation and understanding of Arctic ecology by publishing impactful research.
4. Broaden our impact by establishing and maintaining effective partnerships and collaborations to share expenses and build a team with diverse skillsets.
5. Follow the directive by the Biodiversity Working Group of the Arctic Council (CAFF) to maintain our long-term monitoring of Arctic raptors on the Seward Peninsula to track population changes.
