Dream Job: Studying the Wildlife Wonders at the Arctic Refuge
Dr. David Payer is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ecologist who directs the work of six biologists (and up to a dozen summer employees) at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A native of Wilbraham, Massachusetts, Payer earned a B.S. and a doctorate in veterinary medicine at Cornell University. He was a veterinarian in 1989 when he answered a call from the National Park Service to help assess wildlife damages caused by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. “I had always been drawn to wild places, but Alaska offered a completely different order of wildness, and I was hooked,” he explained. Payer earned a master’s in wildlife science at Oregon State and a Ph.D. at the University of Maine. He began working at the Arctic Refuge in 2001. The staff is based 225 miles away in Fairbanks and travels to the refuge to conduct studies.
Q: When people think of the Arctic Refuge, the first species that comes to mind for most of them is the caribou. What is the latest on the Porcupine caribou herd?
A:First, I always like to make it clear that the herd’s name does not mean that these caribou have quills; the name comes from the Porcupine River, which they must cross on their annual migrations between the refuge coastal plain and wintering areas to the south. We try to do a census every three years. We do this by taking aerial photos, and the time window for doing so is very small. We need to take the photographs in late June when they have finished calving and are found in large groups sometimes numbering into the tens of thousands. If the weather doesn’t cooperate during those few days, you’re out of luck. Our latest count comes from 2001, when we estimated that the herd numbered 123,000. [Researchers were able to take photos this summer, but the analysis was not complete at press time.]
Q: Interest in the Arctic Refuge’s polar bears is growing, mainly due to global warming. What are you seeing?
A:On the coastal plain, mothers and their cubs emerge from their dens in late March. We don’t have precise data on cub production during the past winter, but the U.S. Geological Survey is studying this population. Recent trends are definitely troubling. We’re seeing weight loss, reduced cub survival, some drownings in open water, and even cannibalism.
Q: You mentioned open water. I assume that there is more open water due to global warming.
A:That appears to be the case. Climate change is amplified at higher latitudes, and we’re seeing an alarming retreat of sea ice and a thinning of the ice pack. This is especially serious for polar bears, which generally hunt for seals from the ice. The offshore changes also mean greater coastline erosion, and that could hurt shorebirds. In the western Arctic, shrubs seem to be overtaking tundra, and the tree line is creeping north. These changes are rapid, in geological time, and they will likely affect the wildlife in ways we can’t foresee.
Q: Muskoxen are distinctive residents of the Arctic Refuge. How are they faring?
A:These Ice Age survivors disappeared from Alaska in the late 1800s, for reasons not fully understood. By the way, in the Inupiaq language, their name is “omingmak,” meaning “the animal with skin like a beard.” They were reintroduced in the Arctic Refuge in 1969 and 1970, and the population grew rapidly, to perhaps 475. As their numbers increased, so did their range. In 1999 the refuge’s population began to decline. We aren’t sure why, but the possibilities include adverse weather, predation, and disease.
Q: Are there any noteworthy population trends for other species at the Arctic Refuge?
A:Dall sheep are still recovering from the unusually cold winter in 1992. Snow geese, on the other hand, are up. This is an extreme climate, and many of the species found here are at the edge of their range, so even small or temporary changes in the conditions can have major effects on their numbers.
Q: The Porcupine caribou herd treks some 400 miles each spring to calve on the coastal plain, and there are many other noteworthy wildlife facts. What impresses you most about Arctic Refuge wildlife?
A:I’m fascinated by the variety of strategies that animals have evolved to deal with the extreme seasonality of the Arctic. Selecting the most impressive is tough, but I’d say it’s the migration of the bar-tailed godwit, a large shorebird that flies non-stop to New Zealand in the fall. This is a trip of about 7,000 miles. To top it off, the fledglings go separately and end up in the same place. Other animals stay and hibernate, like ground squirrels and grizzly bears. A few remain active all winter, like muskoxen and ptarmigan. And then there are the polar bears, which either go into snow dens to give birth or head north onto the pack ice for the winter!
Q: What makes you so enthusiastic about your job?
A:I am grateful to have the opportunity to work in such a beautiful and unspoiled place with such incredible wildlife. I work with top-notch, dedicated people in the Fish and Wildlife Service. The work that we do offers physical challenges, and there is a constant sense of discovery and adventure. Each spring, as the summer research season approaches, I get very excited. The interest and support of the public is both gratifying and humbling; it’s really what keeps us going.
Q: Have you had any close calls in the refuge?
A: I’ve certainly found myself close to grizzlies, and it’s a breathless moment, to be sure. But it’s such a privilege to be in the presence of an animal like that. It is great to know that the grizzlies still roam freely. One of my favorite memories involves being up on a ridgeline in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range on a rainy, foggy day. My colleague and I saw a beautiful wolverine headed our way, and we moved behind a rock. He came within a few feet of us and then stopped. He stared at us, and we watched the rain running off his fur. Then he turned and loped off, stopping from time to time to look back, no doubt wondering what we were.
