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
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.
