Researchers in Anchorage are working to crack a tough nut in the form of a beak deformity affecting a large portion of black-capped chickadees and other birds in parts of Alaska, including the Kenai Peninsula. <\/p>\n
At the Anchorage-based Alaska Science Center, which is under the umbrella of the U.S. Geological Survey, four experts have been assigned to the Beak Deformities Project. Research on the deformities, which take several forms but are mainly categorized as an overgrowth of the beak, has been ongoing since 1999. According to the U.S. Geological Survey website dedicated to the project, Alaska has seen a dramatic uptick in the deformities in the last 10 years, most notably in black-capped chickadees.<\/p>\n
In fact, since studies began, researchers \u201chave … identified more than 2,000 deformed black-capped chickadees in Southcentral Alaska \u2014 the highest concentration of such abnormalities ever recorded in a wild bird population anywhere,\u201d according to the website. The abnormalities are estimated to affect about 6.5 percent of black-capped chickadees and about 17 percent of northwestern crows, which are found throughout Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n
Like human fingernails, birds\u2019 beaks grow continually throughout their lives and are worn down by eating and other habits. In black-capped chickadees and other birds affected by the deformity, the beaks simply grow at a rate too fast for the birds to keep up with. The deformed beaks can manifest in an overgrown top beak curved down or to the side, a beak in which the top and bottom halves are crossed, a gap between the upper and lower beak and a beak that has grown so much the tip has broken off.<\/p>\n
While studying captive chickadees, researchers have found that rapid keratin production appears to be the main mechanism of the problem, with some of the affected birds showing keratin growth at more than twice the normal rate, said Caroline Van Hemert, one of the researchers assigned to the project.<\/p>\n
Van Hemert said chickadees affected by the abnormal beaks are also found to have higher mortality rates, mostly because difficulties grooming and getting food makes it harder for them to survive cold weather.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt certainly does take its toll after the more extreme weather,\u201d Van Hemert said.<\/p>\n
Fish & Wildlife Biologist Todd Eskelin with the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge has helped Van Hemert and other Alaska Science Center staff from Anchorage collect bird samples locally. Researchers then branched out to other birds and visited Seward, Soldotna, Valdez and Homer in addition to the refuge. They also took a look at crows on a portion of Bridge Access Road, Eskelin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically, when they first started out they were focusing on the black-capped chickadee,\u201d he said. \u201cThey found that the birds themselves were too small to get the materials they needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Researchers have found the growth abnormalities in several other bird species, including common ravens, black-billed magpies, Steller\u2019s jays, woodpeckers, red-breasted nuthatches and more. The overgrowth only appears to affect adult birds, which is leading researchers to believe that, if the deformities are passed down through genetics, they are latent and do not appear until the birds reach adulthood.<\/p>\n
Possible causes include genetic abnormalities, nutritional deficiencies, contaminants, disease and parasites. Research to pinpoint the exact cause more closely is ongoing, Van Hemert said. The team is has determined that diet is most likely not a major cause for the problem and will be moving on to use genetic testing to see if the cause could be a virus. They will not be using genetics to research if the problem is actually hereditary for the moment, she said.<\/p>\n
Since the small size of the chickadee samples made testing difficult in the past, it is pertinent for researchers to go back and re-test for certain pathogens or viruses that could be causing the deformities, Van Hemert said. None of the known viruses for chickadees have been identified as the cause, so searching for an emerging one is the next step, though Van Hemert said viruses are naturally hard to detect because they are so small.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of a needle in a haystack,\u201d she said. \u201cYou kind of need to know what you\u2019re looking for with a contaminant.\u201d <\/p>\n
The black-capped chickadee population appears fine for now, as a major problem with a bird species would result in a noticeable decline in the species, Eskelin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not seeing that kind of decline and there\u2019s annual variation that would cloud any minor decline,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Things like harsh weather conditions during the bird\u2019s nesting period and other environmental factors that change from year to year will contribute to that general population variation, Eskelin said.<\/p>\n
The deformity does make it harder for the birds to get food. Bruce and Pamela Manley, who live on the Kasilof River, have seen the struggles caused by bad beaks firsthand. <\/p>\n
The pair noticed a black-capped chickadee with the telltale curved beak and asked their friend and photographer, Cooper Landing resident Ben Romig, to snap a picture of it, Pamela Manley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe (the bird) comes here all the time,\u201d said Bruce Manley. \u201cI built a little bird stand about three feet outside of our window and we have a variety of birds. … I had noticed that particular bird a few weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chickadee has to turn its head sideways in order to pick up pieces of bird food that fall from the feeder onto the snow, he said. Given the bird\u2019s handicap, it appears to be well fed and has reappeared at the Manleys\u2019 feeder often over the last few weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see him about every day, some days more often than not,\u201d Bruce Manley said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been feeding them all winter, and they\u2019re good and healthy and fat.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chickadee is also able to use its deformed beak to pull pieces of food out of the actual feeder before eating it, he added. The bird enthusiast has also spotted one that appeared to have a crossed beak, but said it has not come over to the feeder like the first chickadee.<\/p>\n
Eskelin said that while there hasn\u2019t been a noticeable decline in the black-capped chickadee population on the peninsula, the problem is worth taking seriously.<\/p>\n
It could be an indication of a larger, more far-reaching problem, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one thing to take from it is really that whether it be a climate change issue, or something that\u2019s happening in our forest … but whatever that condition is, it is a good indicator that we\u2019re in a climate change and we should be watching for these kinds of things,\u201d Eskelin said. \u201cIt should kind of be a red flag for people that they\u2019re potentially serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Hemert said climate change isn\u2019t something her team is considering as a major factor right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this point we have no evidence to suggest that it\u2019s related to climate change,\u201d she said, adding that \u201cit is concerning to see birds that are clearly struggling and unhealthy, and we don\u2019t know why.\u201d <\/p>\n
To report a sighting of a bird with a deformed beak, visit the Alaska Science Center website at alaska.usgs.gov.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Megan Pacer is a reporter for the Peninsula Clarion. She can be reached at megan.pacer@peninsula.com. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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