ARVIAT - A pair of Arviat students had the chance to take part in a project aimed at getting an accurate count on the number of Arctic-breeding shorebirds this past month.

Results from surveys conducted on migration routes show that nearly 80 per cent of Canadian shorebird species are in decline, including most Arctic-breeder populations.

The ability to address and reverse population declines is hindered by the lack of knowledge about the birds and their habitats.

There is little or no information about breeding distribution or density for Arctic-breeding species.

The Arctic Shorebird Monitoring Program will estimate the population of most breeding shorebird species across the Arctic, produce maps of distribution and abundance of shorebirds and identify highquality habitats for each.

These initiatives will help implement the Northern Shorebird Conservation Strategy, as well as co-ordinate and implement the Arctic shorebird monitoring segment of PRISM (Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring).

Of the 42 shorebird species that breed in Canada, 31 breed regularly in the NWT and Nunavut, including plovers, sandpipers, red knots, phalaropes, whimbrel and the Hudsonian godmit.

Jennie Rausch, a shorebird technician with the Canadian Wildlife Service, is part of a team led by shorebird biologist Vicky Johnston.

Rausch spent a week in Arviat delivering student programs at John Arnalukjuak high school and Qitiqliq middle school, before heading out on the land for two weeks.

Once Arviat was completed, the researchers spent another two weeks in Baker Lake.

Rausch said the reason for the visit was to see what types of shorebirds were inhabiting the area.

"We wanted to determine their species, see if we could spot any nests and find out where the majority of them are located," said Rausch.

"We need to know how many shorebirds there are to start, before we can know why the numbers are declining.

"Another survey will be conducted in about 15 years to see how much the population has declined and if that trend is continuing.

"If so, we hope to learn if it's a slow or rapid decrease, and what things are contributing to the decline."

Some species are more apt to be in danger than others.

Rausch said birds like the red knot, which only breeds in High Arctic locales such as Ellesmere Island, could be in a lot of trouble if change occurs.

"Many shorebirds near Arviat are very similar to those north of Inuvik.

"The Mackenzie Delta is one of the areas predicted to see the greatest effect from global warming.

"If some species only breed north of Inuvik and around Arviat, and Inuvik sees a lot of change, the only place they'll have left is Arviat.

"It will be interesting to see if things change a lot, if the birds can figure out where the different pods of good habitat are that are still left."

People would notice a big change in the insect world if there were a large drop in the number of Arctic shorebirds, as the birds are bug eaters.

A dramatic drop could also seriously affect the food chain, as shorebirds are a prime source of food for foxes, wolves and birds of prey during years the lemming or siksik populations are down.

These are but a few of the facts students Rochelle Illnik and Greg Gibbons may have learned while helping on the project.

Gibbons said he enjoyed the survey, which he found to be a great learning experience that paid well.

"I decided to get involved because the pay was really great and I wanted to know more about the birds," said Gibbons.

"What I found most enjoyable was getting to know the names of the birds in English because before the project, I only knew most of them by their Inuktitut names.

"It was also pretty cool learning how to find the shorebirds' nests."

Rausch will be writing reports on data the team gathered, and hopes to do follow-up visits to Arviat and Baker this coming spring.

She said she hopes the team's presence in the communities combined with school programs will raise awareness on the shorebirds.

"There's not much traditional knowledge on the birds because they're not a hunted species that people eat.

"So it would be nice to see communities respond to knowing more about them.

"We began this program in 2000, and it will take another eight or nine years to finish because we plan to go everywhere in the Arctic.

"We're about halfway done and once finished, we'll begin all over again so we can start comparing what happened during that 15 years."