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Chiswell Islands
The Chiswell Islands are a group of rocky, uninhabited islands, accessible only by boat or airplane, within the Kenai Peninsula Borough of Alaska in the Gulf of Alaska. These islands are 35 miles south of Seward, Alaska. They are part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and an important bird sanctuary. The area is very active seismically and evidence of this can be seen in the rugged landscape, a rough hewn landscape that has also been carved by high tides and rough seas. These island appear to rise vertically out of the sea; there are no horizontal beaches. Starfish, barnacles and other sea life that thrive in a rocky habitat are abundant. The islands are inhabited by millions of marine birds and mammals and is the location of a small rookery of endangered Steller sea lions. Every year millions of birds of various species nest on the refuge islands. Birds that nest on these islands include horned puffins, black-legged kittiwakes (which nest on the exposed rock face ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiswell Island Group, Gulf Of Alaska, 1989
Chiswell , sometimes , is a small village at the southern end of Chesil Beach, in Underhill, Dorset, Underhill, on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. It is the oldest settlement on the island, having formerly been known as Chesilton. The small bay at Chiswell is called Chesil Cove, and the beach promenade and sea wall which form Chiswell's coastal defences are a prominent feature. The village occupies much of the flat land close to sea level adjacent to the beach, and is distinguished from the adjoining village of Fortuneswell which occupies the steeper hills and streets above. At the northern entrance to the village is the 19th-century development of Victoria Square, Portland, Victoria Square, which forms a roundabout on the main A354 road onto the island. As with the other villages and settlements on Portland, Chiswell was designated as a conservation area as part of Underhill, Dorset, Underhill in 1976, as it is a place of special architectural and historic interest. The villag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steller Sea Lion
The Steller sea lion (''Eumetopias jubatus''), also known as the Steller's sea lion and northern sea lion, is a near-threatened species of sea lion in the northern Pacific. It is the sole member of the genus ''Eumetopias'' and the largest of the eared seals (Otariidae). Among pinnipeds, only the walrus and the two species of elephant seals are bigger. The species is named for the naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller, who first described them in 1741. The Steller sea lion has attracted considerable attention in recent decades, owing to significant and largely unexplained declines in their numbers over an extensive portion of their northern range in Alaska. Description Adult animals are lighter in color than most sea lions, ranging from pale yellow to tawny and occasionally reddish. Steller sea lion pups are born almost black, weighing around , and remain dark in coloration for several months. Females and males both grow rapidly until the fifth year, after which female growth slow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islands Of Alaska ...
This is a list of islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. Approximately 2,670 named islands help to make Alaska the largest state in the United States. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z See also *List of lakes of Alaska *List of rivers of Alaska * List of waterfalls of Alaska Notes USGS GNIS named islands by Borough or Census Area: References General references * {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Islands Of Alaska Islands * Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whiskered Auklet
The whiskered auklet (''Aethia pygmaea'') is a small seabird of the auk family. It has a more restricted range than other members of its genus, ''Aethia'', living only around the Aleutian Islands and on some islands off Siberia (like Commander Islands), and breeding on these islands. It is one of the smallest alcids, only the closely related least auklet being smaller. Its name is derived from the long white feathers on its face that are part of its breeding plumage. The whiskered auklet is a poorly studied species and much research needs to be undertaken on the species. It was originally described as two different species, from specimens collected at different ends of its range, however research has shown that it is a single species with clinal variation along its range. It is not thought to undertake migration, but instead attends its breeding islands year round, and has been shown to roost on land all year round, an unusual trait in the family. Whiskered auklets lay a single ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cassin's Auklet
Cassin's auklet (''Ptychoramphus aleuticus'') is a small, chunky seabird that ranges widely in the North Pacific. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Ptychoramphus''. It nests in small burrows and because of its presence on well studied islands in British Columbia and off California it is one of the better known auks. It is named for the American ornithologist John Cassin. Cassin's auklet is a small (25 cm, 200 g) nondescript auk. Its plumage is generally dark above and pale below, with a small white mark above the eye. Its bill is overall dark with a pale spot, and its feet are blue. Unlike many other auks, Cassin's auklet lacks dramatic breeding plumage, remaining the same over most of the year. At sea it is usually identified by its flight, which is described as looking like a flying tennis ball. Cassin's auklet ranges from midway up the Baja California peninsula to Alaska's Aleutian Islands, off North America. It nests on offshore islands, with the main populat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auklet
An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (auk), from Proto-Germanic *''alkǭ'' (sea-bird, auk). The family contains 25 extant or recently extinct species that are divided into 11 genera. Apart from the extinct great auk, all auks can fly, and are excellent swimmers (appearing to "fly") and divers, but their walking appears clumsy. Several species have different English names in Europe and North America. The two species known as murres in North America are called guillemots in Europe, and the species called little auk in Europe is referred to as dovekie in North America. Description Auks are superficially similar to penguins, having black-and-white colours, upright posture, and some of their habits. Nevertheless, they are not closely related to penguins, but rather are believed to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tufted Puffin
The tufted puffin (''Fratercula cirrhata''), also known as crested puffin, is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk family (Alcidae) found throughout the North Pacific Ocean. It is one of three species of puffin that make up the genus ''Fratercula'' and is easily recognizable by its thick red bill and yellow tufts. Description Tufted puffins are around in length with a similar wingspan and weigh about three quarters of a kilogram (1.6 lbs), making them the largest of all the puffins. Birds from the western Pacific population are somewhat larger than those from the eastern Pacific, and male birds tend to be slightly larger than females. They are mostly black with a white facial patch, and, typical of other puffin species, feature a very thick bill which is mostly red with some yellow and occasionally green markings. Their most distinctive feature and namesake are the yellow tufts ( la, cirri) that appear annually on birds of both sexes as the sum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-legged Kittiwake
The black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' as ''Larus tridactylus''. The English name is derived from its call, a shrill 'kittee-wa-aaake, kitte-wa-aaake'. The genus name ''Rissa'' is from the Icelandic name ''rita'' for this bird, and the specific ''tridactyla'' is from Ancient Greek ''tridaktulos'', "three-toed", from ''tri-'', "three-" and ''daktulos'', "toe". In North America, this species is known as the black-legged kittiwake to differentiate it from the red-legged kittiwake, but in Europe, where it is the only member of the genus, it is often known just as kittiwake. Range and distribution The black-legged kittiwake is a coastal bird of the arctic to subarctic regions of the world.del Hoyo, J; Elliott, A; Sargatal, J (1996). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol. 3''. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 622–62 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horned Puffin
The horned puffin (''Fratercula corniculata'') is an auk found in the North Pacific Ocean, including the coasts of Alaska, Siberia and British Columbia. It is a pelagic seabird that feeds primarily by diving for fish. It nests in colonies, often with other auks. It is similar in appearance to the Atlantic puffin, its closest relative of the North Atlantic, but differs by a "horn" of black skin located above the eye, present in adult birds. Etymology The binomial name of this species, ''Fratercula corniculata'', comes from the Medieval Latin ''fratercula'', meaning “friar”; their black-and-white plumage resembling the robes of monks. ''Corniculata'' means “horn-shaped” or “crescent-shaped”, in reference to the black horn above the bird's eye. The vernacular name ''puffin'' – puffed in the sense of swollen – was originally applied to the fatty, salted meat of young birds of the unrelated species, the Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus''), formerly known as the "M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barnacle
A barnacle is a type of arthropod constituting the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in erosive settings. They are sessile (nonmobile) and most are suspension feeders, but those in infraclass Rhizocephala are highly specialized parasites on crustaceans. They have four nektonic (active swimming) larval stages. Around 1,000 barnacle species are currently known. The name is Latin, meaning "curl-footed". The study of barnacles is called cirripedology. Description Barnacles are encrusters, attaching themselves temporarily to a hard substrate or a symbiont such as a whale ( whale barnacles), a sea snake ('' Platylepas ophiophila''), or another crustacean, like a crab or a lobster (Rhizocephala). The most common among them, "acorn barnacles" ( Sessilia), are sessile where they grow their shells directly onto the substrate. Peduncul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Lions At The Chiswell Islands National Wildlife Refuge
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, as well as certain large, entirely landlocked, saltwater lakes, such as the Caspian Sea. The sea moderates Earth's climate and has important roles in the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles. Humans harnessing and studying the sea have been recorded since ancient times, and evidenced well into prehistory, while its modern scientific study is called oceanography. The most abundant solid dissolved in seawater is sodium chloride. The water also contains salts of magnesium, calcium, potassium, and mercury, amongst many other elements, some in minute concentrations. Salinity varies widely, being lower near the surface and the mouths of large rivers and higher in the depths of the ocean; however, the relative proportions of dissolved salts vary li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
