Seabird Mass Mortality Event on St. Paul,...
Transcript of Seabird Mass Mortality Event on St. Paul,...
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PaulMelovidov
AaronLestenkof
SeabirdMassMortalityEventonSt.Paul,PribilofsLaurenDivine,Co-DirectorACSPIECOJuliaKParrish,ExecutiveDirectorCOASST
EcosystemConservationOfficeIslandSentinels
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27adultTuftedPuffins
2murres8adultHornedPuffins
2juvenileTuftedPuffins
photographcourtesyofACSPIEcosystemConservationOffice
Day1– 39Carcasses,MostlyTuftedPuffins,MostlyIntact
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7CrestedAuklets
photographcourtesyofACSPIEcosystemConservationOffice
Day32– 45Carcasses,incl’inganewspecies: CrestedAuklets
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HowManyofWhichSpeciesHaveBeenFound?
photographs:adtTUPU– TringaPhotography,juvTUPU– TerrySohl,adtHOPU– LeeRentz,CRAU– CristopheGouraud,TBMU– AllAboutBirds,ArcticFox– ACSPIECO;datacourtesyofACSPIEcosystemConservationOffice;graphicsbyCOASST
292 carcassesfound87% TuftedPuffins
Ø cominginfast(daily)Ø toomanyforthefoxestoeat
85% intact
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TuftedPuffinNaturalHistory
Ø NestsundergroundinaburrowØ LaysoneeggeachyearØ Deepdiver(“flies”underwater)Ø EatssmallfishlikecapelinandsandlanceØ WintersintheNorthPacific
breedingrange
winteringrange
breeding
nonbreeding
juvenile
~6,000TuftedPuffinsbreedingonthePribilofIslands
photographs:breeding– TringaPhotography,nonbreeding– AllAboutBirds,juvenile– TerrySohl,rangemap– CornellLabofOrnithology
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SamplingBeachesonSt.PaulCOASSTregular(blue);PuffinDie-off(red)
mapcourtesyofPamelaLestenkof,ACSPIEcosystemConservationOffice
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Aug Sep Oct Nov
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
Month
Enco
unte
r ra
te (
carc
asse
s km
-1)
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● ● ●● ● ● ●
●
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All birdsPetrelsAlcidsLarids
Mean ER(±95% CI)
Shor
t-tail
ed S
hear
wat
er
Soot
y Sh
earw
ater
Nor
ther
n Fu
lmar
Fork
-taile
d St
orm
-Pet
rel
Petr
els*
Com
mon
Mur
re
Thick
-bille
d M
urre
Mur
res*
Hor
ned
Puffi
nTu
fted
Puffi
nPu
ffins
*La
rge A
lcids
*Le
ast A
ukle
t
Para
keet
Auk
let
Aukl
ets*
Small
Alci
ds*
Blac
k-le
gged
Kitt
iwak
e
Red-
legg
ed K
ittiw
ake
Kitti
wak
es*
Glau
cous
-win
ged
Gul
l
3-To
ed S
hore
bird
s*
Red-
faced
Cor
mor
ant
Unk
now
n*
010
2030
40
Other
PetrelsAlcidsLarids
Species compositionCarcass encounter rates
* species unknown
WhichSeabirdsNormallyWashUponSt.Paul?COASST“regularbeach”Data
photographs:STSH– KingfisherBayResortandFraserIsland,NOFU– Birdspix,TBMU– TrinjaPhotography;datacourtesyofCOASST,ACSPIECO;graphics- COASST
these birds
not thisbird
thesemonths
notthesemonths
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AllSpeciesCombined
TuftedPuffinsOnly
Normal
Now
HowManyxNormal?
10km 140km(!)
.22km .25km
~45x ~550x
HowOftenareBeachedBirdsFound?
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Aug - Nov Tufted Puffin Density 1975 - 2012birds km -2
00.01 - 0.650.65 - 1.191.19 - 2.83
2.83 - 28.57
/0 100 20050km
St.Paul
St.George
NorthPacificPelagicSeabirdDatabase(NPPSD)1975-2012,courtesyofJohnPiatt,USGS
WhereareTuftedPuffinsFoundontheWaterinAug-Nov?
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IceEdge – farthernorththannormal
Feb1 Feb18 Mar6 Mar23 Apr9 Apr25 May12 May29 Jun15
60
62
64
9075604020
SeaIceExtentandConcentration(%)
long.185-194lat.58-64
2016:
WhatAretheEcosystemConditions?OceanWarmingin2016
°°°°°°
°
°
°
°
°
°
°
U.S.-Russi
a
Convention Line
St. Lawrence I.
St.Matthew
I.
BeringStrait
1000m
ALASKA
Mar 30, 1976Apr 02, 2001Mar 31, 2008
Max Ice Extent
RUSSIA
M2
M4
M5
M8
BERINGSEA
50m
70-mLine
+ +
70m
100mALA
SKA Pe
n.
MooringmapandseaiceextentdatacourtesyofPhyllisStabeno,PMEL,NOAA
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WaterColumn – warmerthannormal
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015-2.0
02.04.06.08.0 Depth-AveragedTemp@M2(degC)
WhatAretheEcosystemConditions?OceanWarmingin2016
MooringtemperaturedatacourtesyofPhyllisStabeno,PMEL,NOAA
BottomTemperature – warmerthannormal
2000 2005 2010 2015-2.0
0
2.0
4.0
6.0 BottomTemp@M4(degC)
nocoldpoolontheBeringSeaShelf
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WhatAretheEcosystemConditions?OceanWarmingin2016
SeaSurfaceTemperatureAnomaly - 31Oct2016
SSTdatafromabove:OIv2AVHRRonly;below:NCEPOIv2,bothcourtesyofNateMantua,NOAA
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WhatAretheEcosystemConditions?lowerqualitypreyforyoungpollock(andCrestedAuklets?)
Zooplankton:dominatedbysmallcopepods
Spring2016
Fall2016
ZooplanktondatacourtesyofStephaniZador,ElizabethSiddon,IvonneOrtiz– EcosystemConsiderationsPresentationatBSAIGroundfishPlanTeamMeeting,14Nov2016
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Summary– WhatWeKnowSeabirds:Ø allareAlcids(murres,puffins,auklets)Ø mostareTuftedPuffinsØ bothfish-eaters(puffins,murres)andplankton-eaters
(CrestedAuklets)Ø livebirdsareveryclosetoshoreØ carcassesareunder-weight,starvingØ eventisstillhappeningØ geographicextentisunknown
OceanConditions:Ø BeringSeaiswarmerthannormal,lessice,nocold
poolØ zooplankton(copepods)aresmallerthannormal,
lowerqualityfood
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Biologists at the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Tribal Government Ecosystem Conservation Office (ACSPI ECO) have counted nearly 300 beached seabird carcasses on the island since October 17, 2016. The species found are mostly tufted puffins, but horned puffins, murres, and recently, crested auklets have been found. The current encounter rate (carcasses/kilometer) of puffin carcasses in the past three weeks is more than 350 times the normal rate based on surveys conducted at St. Paul over the past ten years (2006-2015) according to the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) and ACSPI ECO.
Because only a fraction of birds that die at sea will become beached, and even fewer counted prior to removal by scavengers, the report of nearly 300 seabirds (adults and juveniles) washed up on four monitored beaches at St. Paul Island raises concern. The U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in Madison, WI performed necropsies to determine cause of death of eight of the Pribilof beached puffins. All puffins showed severe emaciation. At this time, no pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites have been identified and the current cause of death of seabirds at St. Paul Island appears to be starvation. These results are similar to murres examined during the 2015-2016 Alaskan seabird die-off.
USFWS Alaska Migratory Bird Management 1011 E. Tudor Rd. Anchorage AK 99503 1-866-527-3358 (phone) [email protected] November 2016
What’s Happening?
What Do We Know?
Are we seeing the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Pribilof Islands Seabird Die-off
Carcasses recovered from North Beach, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands by Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Tribal Government Ecosystem Conservation Office (ACSPI ECO). Photo credit: ACSPI ECO.
The causes of the seabird starvation, both of murres and puffins, is unknown but may be linked to changes in prey distribution or abundance due to above average sea surface temperatures (SST). Abnormally high SST were recorded in the Bering, Beaufort and Chukchi Seas in October 2016, as well as record low levels of Arctic sea ice extent. Report sick or dead birds to: • 1-866-527-3358 or email [email protected] • Time & Date • Exact location (latitude/longitude, length of beach) • Type of bird (species name or group e.g., murre, puffin, etc.) • Estimated number of birds • Photos
Participate in monitoring efforts on your local beaches The Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) can connect you with existing citizen science survey teams and provides training in how to identify birds and collect high quality data that are shared with researchers and resource management agencies. Visit www.coasst.org to learn more or contact COASST at 1-206-221-6893 or email [email protected].
Why Are They Starving?
What Can I Do?
alsocheckout:LEOwebsite:www.leonetwork.org;COASSTwebsite:www.coasst.org;NationalGeographic:news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/11/tufted-puffis-die-off-bering-sea-alka-starvation-warm-water-climate-change/
USFWSPutsOutaBulletinontheSt.PaulSeabirdDie-off
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WhatYouCanDo
CollectobservationsandposttotheLEONetwork.
Becometrainedinamonitoringprotocol aspartofBeringWatchandcollectregularmonthly(givenweather)data.Ø joinCOASSTØ attendtheCOASST-BeringWatchtrainingatAFE