Editing Pacific loon (section)

== Conservation ==
The Pacific loon population is currently increasing and is spread over a wide range of approximately 15,700,000 square kilometers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/en|access-date=2020-10-06|website=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species}}</ref> Current efforts of conservation are focused around loon population monitoring and maintaining accurate counts of populations and breeding behaviors. A recent in depth study of the Pacific loon population in the Western Alaskan [[Arctic]] found that the population of the birds there is actually ~1.5-2.0 times larger than previous [[Surveillance aircraft|aerial surveillance]] had indicated. The study indicated potential encroachment upon the [[National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska|National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska]] (NPRA), one of the Pacific loons primary [[Habitat|breeding grounds]], by natural gas and oil companies as a potential threat to Pacific loons.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schmidt|first1=Joshua H.|last2=Flamme|first2=Melanie J.|last3=Walker|first3=Johann|date=2014|title=Habitat use and population status of Yellow-billed and Pacific loons in western Alaska, USA|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/90008469|journal=The Condor|volume=116|issue=3|pages=483–492|doi=10.1650/CONDOR-14-28.1|jstor=90008469|s2cid=84904494|issn=0010-5422}}</ref>

One harmful [[Pollutant|environmental pollutant]] to the Pacific loon population is heavy metals like mercury, which can be observed in their habitat as a result of legacy [[mining]] in the areas the loons migrate through and hunt in. It has been shown that elevated levels of mercury in the environment poses a significant health risk to avian [[piscivore]]s like the Pacific loon.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jackson|first1=Allyson|last2=Evers|first2=David C.|last3=Eagles-Smith|first3=Collin A.|last4=Ackerman|first4=Joshua T.|last5=Willacker|first5=James J.|last6=Elliott|first6=John E.|last7=Lepak|first7=Jesse M.|last8=Vander Pol|first8=Stacy S.|last9=Bryan|first9=Colleen E.|date=October 2016|title=Mercury risk to avian piscivores across western United States and Canada|url= |journal=Science of the Total Environment|language=en|volume=568|pages=685–696|doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.197|pmc=5461577|pmid=26996522|bibcode=2016ScTEn.568..685J}}</ref> Mercury is up-taken by small fish which is a primary source of food in a loon's diet. When a loon eats the fish it will incorporate the mercury from the fish into its body, which can cause adverse health effects.

Additionally, it has been shown that nest visits from researchers and capture events can have a significant impact on the [[survival rate]]s within Pacific loon nests. When investigators capture Pacific loons while they are breeding or [[Egg incubation|incubating]] eggs regardless of how close they are to the nest at the time of capture, the survival rates of the eggs decrease.<ref name=":1" /> This is most likely due to the fact that Pacific loons nest in a traditionally remote part of Western Alaska and are not typically accustomed to human interaction of any form. The lowered survival rate of the loon's offspring when a parent is captured or the nest is visited indicates that the population could face severe consequences from encroaching human contact.

Reports also exist of Pacific loons ingesting polluted plastic, a problem that is becoming an increasingly high concern among avians in Canada and across the globe. Luckily, the diving [[foraging]] behavior of loons keeps them at a relatively low risk of death from overconsumption of plastic, as most of the polluted debris exists floating on the surface of the water rather than in the depths.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Provencher|first1=Jennifer F.|last2=Bond|first2=Alexander L.|last3=Mallory|first3=Mark L.|date=March 2015|title=Marine birds and plastic debris in Canada: a national synthesis and a way forward|journal=Environmental Reviews|volume=23|issue=1|pages=1–13|doi=10.1139/er-2014-0039|issn=1181-8700|doi-access=free}}</ref>