abstracts of oral and poster presentations - Pacific Seabird Group

FISHERIES, SEABIRDS AND OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE SEA OF OKHOTSK, RUSSIAN FAR EAST: A
BASIC QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT FROM 7 YEARS OF FIELD WORK [Poster]
Falk Huettmann 1 (fffh@uaf.edu), Mike Suitor 1 , and Jana Kotzerka 2 ; 1 Institute of Arctic Biology, University of
Alaska, Fairbanks, AK USA; 2 Institute of Polar Ecology, Kiel GERMANY
The Sea of Okhotsk is an important water mass in the northwestern Pacific. It is a highly productive
zone, provides oxygen-rich deep water to the Pacific currents, and is, for large parts of the year, covered with
ice. Despite recent interest by western ecotourism and oil industry in the area, many of the seabird and sea
mammal resources are not well described to the western world. The area is already heavily used by the
international fisheries fleet. Here, we present an overview from our literature review and working seven field
seasons in the Oblasts of Kamchatka, Magadan, Sakhalin, and Kurile Islands. At these locations, extensive
coastal surveys were carried out to describe and quantify seabird communities and their habitat. We present
percentages of gull species and age class distributions in roosting flocks, migration patterns, seabird species
located in coastal waters, and coastal predators. Our findings contribute to the biodiversity information of this
extensive region and suggest that fisheries play a large role in shaping the ecosystem. Additional potential
threats exist, such as offshore oil development, plastic pollution, and mining in watersheds. Research
suggestions are made to put this relevant, but poorly studied, location on the “international biodiversity map.”
POPULATION STATUS AND HABITAT MODELING OF MARBLED MURRELETS IN THE AREA OF
THE NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN
Mark H. Huff 1 (mark huff@r1.fws.gov), Martin G. Raphael 2 , S. Kim Nelson 3 , Sherri L. Miller 4 , Jim Baldwin 4 ,
and others; 1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, OR USA; 2 Pacific Northwest Research Station, Olympia,
WA, USA; 3 Oregon State University, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Corvallis, OR USA; 4 Pacific
Southwest Research Station, Albany, CA USA
The Northwest Forest Plan is a large-scale ecosystem management plan for federal lands in the Pacific
Northwest. Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) populations and habitat were monitored to
evaluate effectiveness of the Plan. Marbled Murrelets were sampled from boats using line transects within 8 km
of the Washington, Oregon, and northern California coastline, covering ~8,800 km 2 . From 2000–2003, the
highest population was in Washington, in the Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca, the highest density was
along the Oregon coast, and the lowest population and density was in northern California. Marbled Murrelet
population estimates did not change significantly over 4 years. We estimated that 15 years of surveys will be
needed to detect a 2% annual decrease with 95% power. We used three modeling approaches to estimate the
amount and distribution of nesting habitat: expert judgment, ecological niche-factor analysis, and logistic
regression. Most of the suitable nesting habitat on federal land is currently in reserved land allocations. Habitat
models predicted that Marbled Murrelets are more likely to nest closer to the coast and in areas topographically
cooler and flatter, with high basal area of conifer trees >75 cm DBH.
MORTALITY AND BEHAVIOR OF WESTERN SNOWY PLOVER CHICKS IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA
Susan J. Hurley* (susan.hurley@gmail.com); Department of Wildlife, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
USA
Young of ground-nesting, precocial birds are especially vulnerable to predation and human disturbance
prior to fledging, with most mortality occurring early in the period. I monitored daily survival of the federallylisted
Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) at four sites in Humboldt County, CA, during
2003 and 2004. Eighty-one percent of chick mortality occurred in the first 10 days of life. Survival rates
increased with chick age and were significantly higher for chicks reared in riverine gravel bar habitats compared
with sandy ocean beaches. The percentage of time brooding decreased with age, but even nearly fledged chicks
were occasionally brooded by adults. Faced with human approach, many young (1–10 d) plover chicks
responded by crouching and remaining motionless, whereas older (11–28 d) chicks were more likely to move
quickly away from approaching danger. Young plover chicks are particularly vulnerable on ocean beaches,
where human recreational use conflicts with conservation efforts to recover the species.