A. Status of the Spectacled Eider - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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. take of Spectacled Eiders. In addition, recreational hunting for Common and King eiders may occur within Spectacled Eider range during the open season. Law enforcement agents in the Bering Strait region should routinely monitor sea duck hunting activity to determine whether either incidental or deliberate take of Spectacled Eiders is occurring. AlO.3. Ran collecting eider eggs for avicultural purposes within Spectacled Eider nng.nngc..~ The Service stopped issuing permits for any avicultural egg collecting within Spectacled Eider nesting range in 1994, following cases where aviculturalists illegally collected Spectacled Eider eggs. This ban should be continued until Spectacled Eiders recover. AlO.4. Investigate incidental take by commercial fisheries. Information is needed to determine whether incidental take in gill nets or from striking lighted fishing vessels is occurring, as indicated by anecdotal reports. If so, it will be important to document where and how often it occurs, how many birds are involved, and what can be done to reduce or eliminate this take. Take may be documented with observer or voluntary reporting programs. For federally-regulated fisheries this should be part of the section 7 consultation process. Potential overlap in range between Spectacled Eiders and fishing operations should also be mapped. If incidental take is documented, discussions should be held with participants in the involved fisheries to identify means for reducing or eliminating the take. All. Investigate the extent of international trade. Russian scientists have expressed concern about Spectacled Eider egg collection and subsequent trade to European markets. The extent of this trade and its impact on the AR population should be investigated, and Spectacled Eiders should be nominated for inclusion in the CITES appendices, if appropriate. (Task may be accomplished with task A3). A12. Reduce predation on Spectacled Eiders and their eggs at selected sites A12. 1. Initiate control of foxes in selected Spectacled Eider nesting habitats. Predation by foxes varies substantially from year to year and may at times have a substantial effect on eider productivity. Reducing fox densities on restricted nesting areas where fox immigration is naturally limited (e.g., islands and “island-like” habitats surrounded by rivers) is practical. Given Spectacled Eider population declines, creating fox-free nesting locations may provide a reservoir of high eider productivity to sustain local populations. These sites are not expected to be sufficient to reverse widespread population declines. Yet, establishing at least a few pockets ofhigh reproductive success could maintain a core eider population while research on other recovery obstacles is completed and before other, more extensive, management actions can be implemented. Suitable sites should be identified on the YKD and possibly the NS, and fox control initiated and its effects evaluated annually. Local residents should participate in decisions about fox control and its implementation (e.g., with trapping), where possible, as specified under the Memoranda ofAgreement (task A4.1; also see related tasks Gl and G2). 52
. : A12.2. Initiate control of Glaucous Gulls in selected Spectacled Eider nesting habitats Predation by Glaucous Gulls may at certain times and in some areas be an important factor in the high post-hatch mortality of eider ducklings on the Yukon Delta. A recent study on the YKD suggested that gulls nesting in the Hazen Bay area did not feed on eider ducklings. It may be possible to temporarily reduce local gull populations by destruction of nests or similar means. Suitable sites should be identified on the YKD and possibly NS. Control should not be initiated without more evidence that predation is a problem. Local residents should participate in decisions about gull control and its implementation, where possible, as specified under the Memoranda of Agreement (task A4. 1; also see related tasks All.3, G4 and GS). A12.3. Investigate and. if feasible, implement mechanisms to reduce artificial food sources to reduce predator numbers on Spectacled Eider nesting grounds. Artificial food sources such as garbage handouts, open landfills and fish processing wastes may be sustaining populations of eider predators above historical levels. The direct effects of waste food availability on predator populations have not been documented; however, reducing artificial food sources may benefit Spectacled Eiders by lowering the local carrying capacity for predator populations (primarily large gulls and foxes). The Service, other agencies, and local communities should work together (see task A4. 1) to investigate and, if feasible, implement mechanisms for reducing waste availability to wildlife in Spectacled Eider range. This concern should be addressed in section 7 consultations, where appropriate. A13. Conduct experimental translocation of both wild and captive-reared eiders to assess the feasibility of this method for recolonizing vacated areas. Ifcurrent population trends continue, Spectacled Eiders will reach critically low numbers on at least the YKD within the next few decades. Translocation experiments should be completed before translocation or captive rearing and release become necessary, so that translocation could- be implemented efficiently should the need arise in the future. Experiments with similar species such as King Eiders may be appropriate. Translocation between populations should not be initiated until distinctiveness ofthe populations is evaluated (task H2.). A14. Maintain a captive flocks program to support the recovery effort for Spectacled Eiders Captive flocks would be used for studies of physiology, body condition, and contaminants effects, and for documentation of plumage sequences, development of non-lethal diet sampling techniques, development of captive propagation techniques, and other studies. The Service should work cooperatively with the International Species Information System and Captive Breeding Survival Group to maintain an up-to-date data base of all captive Spectacled Eiders worldwide. The Service also should develop a protocol for handling sick or injured birds found in the wild. Criteria are needed for determining whether or not birds found incapacitated in the wild should be transported to a rehabilitation center or treated in the field, and whether they subsequently should be released, sent to a captive rearing facility, or sacrificed for necropsy and analysis. (Initiated 1994) 53
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SPECTACLED EIDER RECOVERY PLAN Team
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LITERATURE CITATION U.S. Fish and W
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE RECOVERY P
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TABLE OF CONTENTS DISCLAIMER PAGE 1
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LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Breeding
Page 12 and 13: A. Status of the Spectacled Eider R
Page 14 and 15: ) a) j~ 25000 0 2 220000 C ~15000 ~
Page 16 and 17: B. Causes for Decline and Obstacles
Page 18 and 19: Increasing interest in avicultural
Page 20 and 21: Other conservation measures include
Page 22 and 23: D. Natural History of the Spectacle
Page 24 and 25: Figure 4. Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta loc
Page 26 and 27: DEL?A RUSSIA SPECTACLED EIDER RANGE
Page 28 and 29: helicopter surveys in the Prudhoe B
Page 30 and 31: geographic populations, because imm
Page 32 and 33: Figure 8. Study sites and land stat
Page 34 and 35: their diseases (e.g., Schiller 1954
Page 36 and 37: E. Distinct Population Segments The
Page 38 and 39: A final consideration involves info
Page 40 and 41: Trend data are analyzed to inform w
Page 42 and 43: Figure 10. A hypothetical posterior
Page 44 and 45: thresholds are not “magic numbers
Page 46 and 47: Criteria for Reclassifying from Thr
Page 48 and 49: Criteria for Delisting from Threate
Page 50 and 51: The final aspect ofSpectacled Eider
Page 52 and 53: concordance in their descriptions o
Page 54 and 55: data on both levels and effects oft
Page 56 and 57: implicated. In the absence of histo
Page 58 and 59: . - currently small size of the YKD
Page 60 and 61: implementation of the Memoranda ofA
Page 64 and 65: . AlS. Produce a handbook summarizi
Page 66 and 67: . Bl.4. 1.3. Develop visibility cor
Page 68 and 69: B2. 1.1. Implement YKD satellite tr
Page 70 and 71: . Appendix Ill). Since epidermal ag
Page 72 and 73: . feasible if post-fledging staging
Page 74 and 75: presumed that their activities have
Page 76 and 77: contaminants within Spectacled Eide
Page 78 and 79: limited ability to withstand additi
Page 80 and 81: surface after a year and is no long
Page 82 and 83: . The reproductive stages (eggs, yo
Page 84 and 85: is inadequate to sustain “normal
Page 86 and 87: ___________ 1967. The geese of the
Page 88 and 89: Dementev, G.P., and N.A. Gladkov (e
Page 90 and 91: ___________ 1 964a. Observations on
Page 92 and 93: Nelson, E.W: 1887. Report upon natu
Page 94 and 95: ________ P.R. Wade, R.A. Stehn, and
Page 96 and 97: Robert M. Platte, Migratory Bird Ma
Page 98 and 99: KEY Task Duration and Costs TBD - T
Page 100 and 101: TASK 324.2 I 12.4.1 .2 PRIOR- — 2
Page 102 and 103: TASK I — [37 E12 EI.3 fTYU —PRI
Page 104 and 105: TASK PRIOR- Dj ITYU — — A12.3 2
Page 106 and 107: — TASK U — 135.2 PRIOR- TASK DE
Page 108 and 109: TASK U PRIOR- ITY U TASK DESCRIPTIO
Page 110 and 111: TASK PRIOR. U — DS.3 3 TASK DESCR
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The final risk factor is the effect
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This PVA will treat two population
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Both aerial surveys are conducted a
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0.2 0.15 -j i 4 0.1 0 -I 0.05 0.08
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emaining before the population reac
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) critical population size; and (2)
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40%. The population growth rate cri
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Table 1-2. Results of simulation wh
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Hilborn, R. and C.J. Walters. 1992.
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APPENDIX II TECHNICAL DETAILS OF TH
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The likelihood function for the par
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initial sample. Then the O~ were re
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LU ~0.8 z -J ~0.6 I-ET1 w107 480 m1
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LITERATURE CITED APPENDIX LI De la
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where x = age. The fertility rate i
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of older females: (1) older females
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RESULTS Solutions for single cause
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0.1 0.08 ~0.06 4 0 0.04 0. 0.02 0 0
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growth rate. Perhaps this can be mo
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decline, by far the fastest way to
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LITERATURE CITED APPENDIX In Bailli
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APPENDIX IV SPECTACLED EIDER RECOVE
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APPENDIX V COMMENTS RECEIVED ON DRA
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A. Status of the Spectacled Eider - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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