Presentation Abstract
Marine birds are often viewed as good ecological indicators because they are relatively well studied and time-series data are often available, our understanding of their population biology is often extremely high, some species are tightly linked to their prey resources and, as upper trophic predators, they offer an integrative view of the dynamics at lower levels of the food web. In 2014, at-sea abundance and trends of the rhinoceros auklet, pigeon guillemot, marbled murrelet and scoters were collectively selected by the Puget Sound Partnership as indicators of the health of the Puget Sound marine food web. Long-term trends for these species are mixed with some species exhibiting relatively stable populations (e.g., rhinoceros auklet) and others are decreasing (e.g., marbled murrelet). In the absence of additional information, it is difficult to identify population change drivers. Fortunately, ongoing research by U.S. and Canadian academic and governmental researchers and citizen scientists (e.g., COASST, Puget Sound Seabird Survey, and Guillemot Research Group) are providing new insights into both population distributions and changes in population abundance. Specifically, these efforts have: (1) identified hotspots of species distributions, (2) evaluated the role of contamination, plastics and disease on population health, (3) evaluated the relative influence of various marine factors on population distribution and abundance, and (4) provided critical measurements of bird vital rates, measurements that are key to understanding population changes.
Session Title
Transboundary Monitoring of Marine Birds and Mammals in the Salish Sea
Keywords
Vital Sign, Marine birds, Research, Monitoring
Conference Track
SSE7: Monitoring: Species and Habitats
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE7-631
Start Date
4-4-2018 1:30 PM
End Date
4-4-2018 1:45 PM
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
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.)
Subjects – Names (LCNAF)
Puget Sound Partnership
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
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Evaluation Salish Sea marine bird Indicators with insights from recent research by professional and citizen scientists
Marine birds are often viewed as good ecological indicators because they are relatively well studied and time-series data are often available, our understanding of their population biology is often extremely high, some species are tightly linked to their prey resources and, as upper trophic predators, they offer an integrative view of the dynamics at lower levels of the food web. In 2014, at-sea abundance and trends of the rhinoceros auklet, pigeon guillemot, marbled murrelet and scoters were collectively selected by the Puget Sound Partnership as indicators of the health of the Puget Sound marine food web. Long-term trends for these species are mixed with some species exhibiting relatively stable populations (e.g., rhinoceros auklet) and others are decreasing (e.g., marbled murrelet). In the absence of additional information, it is difficult to identify population change drivers. Fortunately, ongoing research by U.S. and Canadian academic and governmental researchers and citizen scientists (e.g., COASST, Puget Sound Seabird Survey, and Guillemot Research Group) are providing new insights into both population distributions and changes in population abundance. Specifically, these efforts have: (1) identified hotspots of species distributions, (2) evaluated the role of contamination, plastics and disease on population health, (3) evaluated the relative influence of various marine factors on population distribution and abundance, and (4) provided critical measurements of bird vital rates, measurements that are key to understanding population changes.
