Title: Relationships between boat harbors, fish processing, contaminants, disease and wintering Steller's Eiders and Harlequin Ducks
When: 1 March 2005
Who: Paul Flint (USGS)

Researchers from US Geological Surveyās Alaska Science Center have examined sub-lethal exposure of wintering sea ducks to petroleum products, PCB's and other pathogens.
Recently, Steller's eiders and harlequin ducks wintering in the vicinity of Unalaska, AK have been dying, and exposure to disease agents is a likely contributing factor to these deaths.
Steller's eiders and harlequin ducks, along with other seaduck species winter throughout the Aleutain Islands, but it is unknonwn whether this problem is occuring in areas other than Unalaska Island.
Paul talked about the recent decrease in fitness of seaducks in Unalaska and is trying to determine if seaducks are showing up unhealthy or if there is something in Unalaska that is making them unhealthy.