Event Title

Status and Trends of the Salish Sea's Marine Birds

Presentation Abstract

Seabirds are often used in ecosystem monitoring programs not only because they are ubiquitous, conspicuous and charismatic but also because they are relatively well studied, time-series exist for many species, and because some species are tightly linked to their habitats, prey resources, or climatic/oceanographic conditions. The marine bird community of the Salish Sea is composed of over 70 species that are relatively abundant and highly dependent upon marine resources but their relative abundance changes dramatically throughout the year. During the summer months, the Salish sea seabird community is dominated by locally breeding birds including gulls, alcids, and cormorants. However, during the period between late-fall and early spring there is nearly a four-fold increase in abundance and the community becomes much more diverse with the influx of ducks, mergansers, grebes, and others. To help set the stage for a broader discussion about the mechanisms responsible for seabird population trends, we present a broad overview of seabird population trend patterns for this complex community using provincial, state and non-governmental monitoring data sets covering the past 5-20 years depending on the effort. We will present abundance trends by residency (local breeder, migrant, over-wintering), diet, and habitat use (nearshore, pelagic). Trends are complex with a few over-wintering species like scoters and loons exhibiting declines and local breeders monitored during the nesting season exhibiting no significant trend or increases. These trends appear to vary geographically with some variation among monitoring programs.

Session Title

Session S-04D: Marine Birds and Mammals of the Salish Sea: Identifying Patterns and Causes of Change - I

Conference Track

Species and Food Webs

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)

Document Type

Event

Start Date

1-5-2014 8:30 AM

End Date

1-5-2014 10:00 AM

Location

Room 611-612

Genre/Form

conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Sea birds--Monitoring--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Indicators (Biology)--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Geographic Coverage

Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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COinS
 
May 1st, 8:30 AM May 1st, 10:00 AM

Status and Trends of the Salish Sea's Marine Birds

Room 611-612

Seabirds are often used in ecosystem monitoring programs not only because they are ubiquitous, conspicuous and charismatic but also because they are relatively well studied, time-series exist for many species, and because some species are tightly linked to their habitats, prey resources, or climatic/oceanographic conditions. The marine bird community of the Salish Sea is composed of over 70 species that are relatively abundant and highly dependent upon marine resources but their relative abundance changes dramatically throughout the year. During the summer months, the Salish sea seabird community is dominated by locally breeding birds including gulls, alcids, and cormorants. However, during the period between late-fall and early spring there is nearly a four-fold increase in abundance and the community becomes much more diverse with the influx of ducks, mergansers, grebes, and others. To help set the stage for a broader discussion about the mechanisms responsible for seabird population trends, we present a broad overview of seabird population trend patterns for this complex community using provincial, state and non-governmental monitoring data sets covering the past 5-20 years depending on the effort. We will present abundance trends by residency (local breeder, migrant, over-wintering), diet, and habitat use (nearshore, pelagic). Trends are complex with a few over-wintering species like scoters and loons exhibiting declines and local breeders monitored during the nesting season exhibiting no significant trend or increases. These trends appear to vary geographically with some variation among monitoring programs.