Alaska may support between 5,000 and 7,500 Hudsonian Godwits,
10-15% of the global population of this enigmatic species (Gill
and Tibbitts 1999). Non-breeding concentrations of > 100 birds in Alaska
are limited primarily to Carter Bay, Cook Inlet, and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
(Seppi 1995, 1997; Gill
and Tibbitts 1999, McCaffery and
Harwood 2000). Because the level of genetic differentiation among the three
major breeding populations is one of the highest reported for any species of bird
(Haig et al. 1997), the effective population
size of the Alaskan breeders may be considerably lower. This would be exacerbated
if the Alaskan sub-populations are similarly isolated; the degree of gene flow
among Alaskan sub-populations remains to be determined (McCaffery
and Harwood 2000). The breeding distribution is poorly known, both in Alaska
and Canada, and the non-breeding grounds and spring migration routes used by Alaskan
breeders are unknown (McCaffery 1996,
McCaffery and Harwood 2000). The very low breeding densities and patchy distribution
of Hudsonian Godwits within apparently suitable habitat render both research and
monitoring problematic (McCaffery and
Harwood 2000, Elphick and Klima 2002).
