A Publication of the Pacific Soabird Group Volume 21 Number 1 Dedicated To The Study And Conservation Of Pacific Seabirds And Their Environment The Pacific Seabird Group (PSG) was formed in 1972 out of a need for better communi- cation among Pacific seabird researchers. The Group coordinates and stimulates the field activities of members involved in research and informs its members and the general public of conservation issues relating to Pacific seabirds and the marine environment. Group meetings are held annually and the PSG publication. Pacific Seabirds, is issued biannii- ally. Current activities include involvement in seabird sanctuaries, coastal surveys, . seabkd/fisheiies interactions, and legislation. Policy statements are issued on conserva- tion issues of critical importance. Although PSG ’s primary area of interest is the west coast of Nb^ America and adjacent areas of the Pacific Ocean, it is, hoped that, seabird enthusiasts in other parts of the wprld will join aiid participate in PSG. PSG is a rnerabef of the, U. S. Section of the International Council for Bird Preservation. Anntial dues for membership are $20 (individual and family); $13 (student, undergraduate and graduate); and $450 (Life Membership, payable in five $90 installments). Dues are payable to the Treasurer, whose address in on the back coven , , Pacific Seabirds % Tht Pacific Seabirds (ISSN 0740-3371) is published twice a year, in the spring ^d fall, and contains news of interest to PSG niembers, including regional seabird research and ' conservation ne^s and absfracts of papers presented at the annual meeting. Pacific^ Seabirds is not an outlet for ttie results of scientific research; however, articles and shorter items on seabird conservation, seabird research activities, and other topics related to the objectives of PSG are welcome. All materials should be submitted to the Editor or the Chair of the Publications Committee. Back issues of xhtBuHetin or Pacific Seabirds may ' be ordered from the Treasurer: please remit $2.50 each for issues of Vols. 1-8 (4974-1981) ~ and $5.00 each for issues of VoL 9 ^d later, . . ^ ^ : : Permanent Address . ^ . Pacific Seabird Group, c/o Point Reyes Bird Obsemtoiy ' - ' 4990 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, CA 94970 • ,, , . : . Donations- " . ' ThePacific Seabird Group is anonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the State of California. Contributions to the Pacific Seabird Group qualify for tax deductions under n?c Section 501(c)(3). . ' , . : , ^ Pacific Seabirds A Publication of the Pacific Seabird Group Dedicated to the study and conservation of Pacific seabirds and their environment Volume 21 Spring 1994 Number 1 4 Banding Thick-billed Murres Tony Gaston and Garry Donaldson share their experience on banding Thick-biiled Murre chicks. 6 Were G. N. Lawrences' "Californian" Sea- birds Collected During the Gold Rush? Casual labeling may have lead to faulty conclusions. 16 PSG Honors Kark Kenyon PSG presents its first "Lifetimel Achievement Award." 17 PSG Goes to Japan: Part 2 Harry Carter telts more about his trip to Japan with Leah DeForest. 2 Forum 8 PSG News 22 Conservation News 27 Regional Reports 34 Book Review 35 Abstracts 53 Bulletin Board Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Printed on recycled paper Forum Forum Hard Knocks for the Pribilof Fox Paula A, White, 2547 Crescent Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93105 Several times in the past few years I have been approached as a member of PSG and asked what seabird research I am involved in. To each inquiry I have replied the same, *T study foxes on the Pribilof Islands.” Because the Pribilofs are famous for their seabird colonies, it is often assumed that my research in some way directly relates to birds. Although this is not the case, current events on the Pribilof Islands are casting foxes in a role more important than ever to the seabirds. Fox diet on the Pribilofs in- cludes seabirds. Viable populations of birds and foxes have persisted on thePribilofs for centuries, including the past 200 years of human habitation on the islands. Now, de- velopment of the Pribilofs as a commercial fishing center presents a dire threat to sea- bird colonies in the form of rat introduction. Development threatens the foxes in differ- ent ways. However, the destinies of foxes and birds remain linked. Arctic foxes are indigenous to the Pribilof Islands, having immigrated during sporadically occurring ice conditions over the last several centuries. The earliest Rus- sians to visit the Pribilof Islands found large numbers of arctic foxes which they harvested along with the northern fur seals. Infiequent fox immigration over the ice probably still occurs, although changing climatic conditions have decreased the like- lihood of such movements. The isolation period has been sufficient to alter morphol- ogy to the extent that Pribilof foxes are currently considered a distinct subspecies (Alopex lagopus pribilof ensis). In 1981, when the taxonomic status of arctic foxes occupying Bering Sea islands was re-ex- amined, the Pribilof foxes were the only populations found to represent a legitimate subspecies. By contrast, arctic foxes on St. Matthew, Hall, and St. Lawrence islands move freely across pack ice each year, and showed no significant differences from mainland populations. While the status of arctic foxes as na- tive to thePribilofs is well documented (see “Alaska's Alien Animals” PSG Bulletin 2 Vol. 20 No. 2), public opinion of Pribilof foxes is undeservedly low. Since the begin- ning of my research in 1988, appreciation for this population has remained unfavor- able or has in fact deteriorated due to the increased attention given to the declining populations of many of Alaska’s seabirds and newly revitalized efforts to eradicate non-native predators from important sea- bird nesting areas. The largest single threat to the foxes is the tumultuous change accompanying the economic restructuring of the islands. The development of the Sl Paul and St George harbors as commercial fishing centers is an issue that will affect all wildlife species on thePribilofs. The accompanying potential for rat introduction is grave. Averting this disaster and the resulting permanent, detrimental effects on the seabirds is of the utmost concern for the USFWS, who already have rat prevention measures in place in the harbors. In addition, work continues on a “First Strike” emergency response strategy to deal with rat-infested shipwrecks. How- ever, the USFWS and the !^bilovians aie counting on the foxes to provide an addi- tional lineof defense should rats slip through the harbor safeguards. Outside of the har- bors, foxes represent the only immediate response againstrat introduction from ship- wreck at this time. Although foxes are not capable of eradicating established rat popu- lations, they do control rodent numbers and could possibly prevent rats from becoming established by killing initial escapees. Accelerated developmentof the islands threatens the foxes in a number of ways. Due to the long isolation of the Pribilof foxes, disease exposure and therefore resis- tance is likely very minimal. Although it is possible that diseases could naturally reach the islands from infected foxes crossing the ice, the biggest disease threat to island foxes is contact with non-native species. Although dogs are not allowed on the Pribilofs, they are not uncommon aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea and have been known to jump ashore from vessels at dock. The new breakwaters allow docking of more and larger vessels. Additional prob- lems stem from the transient fishing fleet and human behavior on the docks. Foxes growing up on the breakwaters quickly grow used to human contact, and in some instances become dependent on human food. Even with new, tougher restrictions on dogs coming ashore, some foxes readily boani docked vessels looking for handouts of food. House cats are kept as pets on both Sl P aul and Sl George Islands and are also present on ships. It was not until the 1990s that vaccinations were required for cats brought to the Pribilofs. Requiring proof of vaccination for pets aboard visiting vessels is unrealistic, ^ile contact between foxes and domestic animals is womsome, rats may repre^nt a more serious disease threat thmi dogs or cats. The consequences of introduced disease could be catastrophic to the fox population. There are other, more insidious threats as well. Indiscriminate shooting and unlim- ited trapping threaten populations that are genetically isolated. Ironically, much of the Pribilof fox mortality occurs at the hands of people unaware of the population ’s origins, who believe they are helping to restore the island ecosystem by killing foxes. While canid populations are usually capable of withstanding some harvesting, arctic foxes may respond to high levels of mortality in unanticipated ways. The arctic fox popula- tion throughout Fennoscandia (Finland, Norway, Sweden) was historically numer- ous and sustained commercial harvesting for several centuries. However, in the 1 920s the population crashed due to overharvest- ing. Since then, despite sixty years of com- pleteprotection,fox numbers have remained so low that thepopulation is currently threat- ened with extinction. Other factors, includ- ing changing climatic conditions and shifts in species composition (fewCT wolves, more red foxes), may have contributed to the decline. However, despite experimental ma- nipulations aimed at increasing the arctic fox population, numbers remain critically low. Eradication of introduced arctic and red foxes from the Aleutians and other islands throughout Alaska should be strongly supported as one of the most effec- tive and comprehensive approaches to sea- bird conservation available. However, it is essential that visitors to the Pribilofs (arm- chair travelers included) recognize Pribilof foxes not only as an indigenous species, but as an endemic subspecies as well— a unique feature of the Pribilof Islands, Arctic foxes are efficient predators and opportunistic scavengers. Their diet on the Pribilof Islands includes seal carrion, sea- birds and their eggs, fish, invertebrates, land birds, and the St. George Island lem- Pacific Seabiuds • VoL. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Fonjm ming. While seabird enthusiasts may flinch at the sight of an auklet or murre egg in a fox’s jaws, it should be remembered that arctic foxes constitute a natural part of the Pribilof ecosystem. This small, genetically isolated fox population is vulnerable to overharvesting and disease. Regulatory agencies responsible for managing this population must address these legitimate threats to the Pribilof foxes and instigate necessary conservation measures. Educa- tion of Pribilof residents and island visitors is essential to helping foster an appreciation for the native foxes. In turn, foxes might help to protect these precious islands from rat infestation. Hopefully, through such concerted effort and commitment, we will ensure the survival of the Pribilof fox. Pacific Seabirds Marks a Change in Style John Piatt, Chair Members of PSG will note many changes in the style of this edition of the “bulletin.” First is a name change form Pacific Seabird Group Bulletin to Pacific Seabirds. This marks a change not only in title but also in the content of the publica- tion and reflects the evolution of the Pacific Seabird Group itself. The Bulletin served for many years as a way for members to keep in touch with each other, describing their current work (Regional Reports), vari- ous PSG activities, and short news items of note. All these functions continue, but in recentyears we have included more techni- cal notes and papers that report on current research of interest to members. In this volume we are beginning to formalize this trend with new section titles and a format we hope to use consistently in the foresee- able future. Pacific Seabirds (PS) is not becoming a full-fledged journal, although we are adopting a journal style to some degree. All articles and other contributions to PS will be reviewed by one or more members of the PS Editorial Committee (Steve Speich, Martha Springer, George Divoky, John Piatt, Scott Hatch), and, if necessary, sent out to other PSG members for additional review. We want to improve the caliber of articles in PS, but we don’t want to slow the procedure down too much by an extensive review process. Members are encouraged to send submissions to the Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 technical editor at any time. Pacfic Sea- birds is NOT a venue for publishing data you could not publish anywhere else, items likely to have a narrow audience, or dated research results (e.g., “Diets of Seabirds at My Study Site, 1979-1983”). We WOULD like to receive short items relating to re- search and conservation. Submissions should be about timely issues (e.g., die- offs, breeding failures) that will alert mem- bers to recent events in the seabird world; short review articles that would be of wide interest to PSG members; recent conserva- tion or research news; useful techniques for seabird research; comments and qiinions on recent issues; humorous notes; publica- tion reviews; and announcements. We would also appreciate new graphics, espe- cially line drawings of seabirds. We look forward to seeing more submissions from PSG members. Please let any one of us on the Editorial Committee know how you feel about the changes or if you are inter- ested in being more involved in helping produce Pacific Seabirds. P.S. Look for an “Instructions to Authors” page in the fall issue of Pacfic Seabirds. PSG Apologizes for Ommission PSG inadvertantly left out the following table from Lance Tickell’s Alabatross At- las, published in the Fall 1993 issue of the Bulletin. The editorial staff apologizes to Dr. TickeD for the ommision. 1 Prince Edward Island 11 Campbell Island 2 Crozet Islands 12 Antipodes Islands 3 Amsterdam & St Paul Islands 13 Bounty Islands 4 Kerguelen Islands 14 Chatham Islands 5 Heard & McDonald Islands 15 Diego de Almagro Island 6 Macquarie Island 16 Diego Ramirez & Ildefonso Islands 7 Tasmanian offshore islands 17 Falkland Islands 8 New Zealand & offshore islands 18 South Georgia 9 Sanres & Solander Islands 19 Tristan da Cunha 10 Auckland Islands 20 Gough Island Table 1. Breeding locations of southern hemisphere albatrosses. Articles BANDING THICK-BILLED MURRE CHICKS Tony Gaston, Canadian Wildlife Service, 100 GamelinBlvd.,Hull, Quebec, K1 A OHS and Garry Donaldson Dept, of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa Ontario, KIN 6N5 Over the past 15 years, the Canadian Wildlife Service has banded approximately 40 000 Thick-billed Murre chicks in the eastern Canadian Arctic. During the course of this work, we have gained a lot of expe- rience on When and how to do it. Obviously, as most Thick-billed Muires breed on steep cliffs, the banding usually involves the use of ropesand othersafety devices. We do not want to pose as experts in that area and we strongly recommend that anyone attempt- ing to band Thick-billed Muires employ experienced climbers. No amount of ad- vice will replace experi^ce in that depart- ment This article deals only with the non- safety aspects of the work. We hope that other murre banders can benefit from our experiences. The first thing that must be recognised about banding Thick-billed Murres is that, if it involves climbing within the colony, some egg or chick mortality will occur. This is something that has to be very seri- ously considered in any banding project, especially if the intention is to band hun- dreds, or thousands of chicks. The possible benefit of the information obtained must be weighed against the cost Our strategy has been to minimize losses and to shift them as far as possible towards late-laid eggs, as these tend to have a lower chance of surviv- ing than those laid earlier. In the best-run operations under ideal conditions one can achieve losses of only a few percent of eggs and chicks. If the timing or the weather is wrong, losses can be much higher. We regard 5% as the upper limit of accqjtability. Problems arise in banding murre chicks from the following sources: (1) eggs and chicks may become chilled during the course of banding; (2) they may be knocked off ledges; and (3) chicks may panic and ini- tiate premature "fledging” The latter phe- nomenon can be the most harmful to the banding effort, as it involves the largest chicks and hence those most likely other- wise to survive to leave the colony. The loss of chicks after they have been banded af- fects any subsequent analyses that involve rates of recovery. Premature fledging behaviour gener- ally only occurs once chicks are 15 days or older. Chicks at younger ages tend to scuttle into cracks, or press themselves against the cliff with their necks tucked in, once their parent has left Only a minority of chicks, even at more than 15 days, exhibit prema- ture fledging behaviour, but once it begins, other chicks tend to be stimulated to follow suit and a mass jump-off can occur. Several chicks fledging prematurely within a short time is a clear signal that the operation must be abandoned. A premature fledger will not face the cliff, but instead wanders about the ledge with its neck extended, looking alertly from side to side. It begins to give the typical "pee-pee-pee” fledging call and may then launch itself from the cHff within a few minutes. Once a chick has formed this determination to depart, it is extremely difficult to prevent it from doing so unless its parent returns. Hence, avoiding trigger- ing this syndrome is a very important strat- egy in containing losses during banding. Another class of chicks we call “panickers”. Like the premature fledgers, these chicks will not huddle down once their parents have left, but run away from the bander, sometimes giving a scream of alarm when handled. These chicks do not attempt to jump from the ledge, but fre- quently fall off accidentally when fleeing in panic. They seem to form a relatively fixed proportion of chicks and their example is notfollowed by others to the same extentas that of the premature fledgers. Neverthe- less, it is useful to keep them quiet if pos- sible. Gently holding the mandibles closed while banding can help. To combat the various problems posed in banding Thick-billed Murre chicks we have the following suggestions: Rule #1: Get the timing right We consider that the ideal “banding window” is only open for about 7 days. It begins when the first-hatched chicks are about 14 days old, which means that the chicks in the peak 80% of laying areroughly 2-12 days old, becoming 9-19 days old by the end of the window. If banding begins earlier than this, there will be many un- hatched eggs present and some wili be knocked off in the panic departures that inevitably result from a climber appearing on the ledges. If banding continues any later, some chicks will have begun to fledge naturally and the initiation of natural fledg- ing seems to trigger the onset of premature fledging on a large scale. The type of triangular bands that we use, from Lamboumes of U.K., will stay on any chick other than one that is newly hatched. However, the standard U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bands will have to be compressed to an oval shape to stay on chicks less than about 6 days old. TheBritish sb^le of ‘ ‘seabird plias” ate good for this. We recommend starting to band as early as possible and accepting some losses of eggs if it ensures avoidance of premature fledging. If you do not start early and if rain or strong winds hold up banding for sev^al days then you may be forced to choose between overrunning the window, or re- ducing the number of chicks banded. In our view, it is better not to band at all than to accept heavy losses. Apart from the ethical considerations, the interpretation of recov- ery rates or apparent survival rates are much complicated by significant losses during banding. If you have a good knowledge ofbreed- ing schedules at the colony involved, it may be possible to take advantages of differ- ences in timing of breeding among differ- ent parts of the colony. At Coats Island, we have found that one area is consistently later than other parts of the colony and we always leave this part until last. In any case, it is wise to determine chick ages in several areas before committing to large scale band- ing. A small sample of birds, especially close to the edge of the colony, may give an unrealistic impression of overall timing, causing banding to be delayed beyond the optimum date. Rule #2: Don’t waste time The longer you spend on the cliff, the longer birds are keptaway, the longer it will take them to return after your departure, and the more likely itis that chicks will chill or fall off. Be well organized, so that you do not spend a lot of time fiddling with your gear once on the cliff. Don’t hang about takmgphotogr^)hsoradmiringtheview.Mjlti- pocket“fishOTnen’s vests” arc v^ effective in keeping your bands and tools in order. 4 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Articles Chflling can be reduced by avoiding banding on cold days, and by timing the banding period so that the sun is on the cliffs. This is especially important in the High Arctic, where air temperatures rarely exceeded 10® C. Except when in the process of hatching, murre eggs seem fairly resis- tant to chilling for periods of up to an hour, although this will depend on air tempera- ture. Never band when it is raining; chicks get chilled easOy when wet. However, they frequently crowd together in huddles which keep them much warmer than they would be separately. Very young chicks, and es- pecially those that have just hatched, are not mobde enough to join huddles and do not orient well. It is best to put them in a pocket, or inside your jacket and replace them just before leaving the ledge. If there are several very young chicks on the ledge then you probably should not be banding there yet. Heat can also be a problem in certain circumstances. Older chicks become very active when it is warm (this is trae even without disturbance). If you anticipate that most of the chicks that you will be banding will be more than 10 days old, it may be preferable to band when the sun is not on the cliff. At that age, chicks can easily withstand temperatures down to 0® C. When it is cold they are much more inclined to form a huddle once the adults have left. Panickers can sometimes be contained in these circumstances by placing them in the middle of the huddle. The presence of other, non-panicking chicks helps to calm them. Rule #3: keep the chicks together When chicks can huddle together they seem to be most quiescent They frequently do this of their own accord, piling on top of one another up to half a dozen deep. On colonies where the ledges are large, so that there are many chicks to a ledge, we adopt the following tactics. We carry with us -2 large (c. SOL) canvas bags (canvas day- packs are also good, but beware waterproof cordura). On arrival at the ledge we collect up all of the chicks and place them in one bag. As each chick is banded, it is trans- ferred to the other bag. Once all are banded, we release them onto the ledge, piling them into a comer on top of one another, all facing the cliff. Then we leave the ledge at the opposite end from the chicks. We have not had any cases of chicks suffocating in the bags. The bags must be breathable, as otherwise thechicks’ respiration condenses the inside and the chicks quickly get wet. It is amazing how swiftly the chicks sort themselves out once the adults return. Rule #4: Watch out for well-meaning adults Although many birds fly off when you arrive at a ledge, a few usually remain. Some of these may be exceptionally moti- vated broodCTS that remain on their site even when you sitright beside them. Others teeter at the edge of the ledge, hoping to return to their site, but ready lo flee in- stantly. The chicks, once their own parent has left, actively seek out other adults in the hope of being brooded. It is not uncommon to see one motivated brooder vainly at- tempting to shelter a dozen or more chicks. Where the adults have remained at their site they can be useful in holding the chicks on the ledge; such birds should not be dis- turbed. However, the adults at the edge of the ledge can pose a hazard, as their pres- ence lures chicks away from the cliff. If the ledge slopes away at the seaward edge, chicks approaching adults at the lip may be unable to retain their grip and end up sliding off. Also, in this area, many adults are constantly landing and taking off and these birds can easily knock chicks off the ledge. A good strategy is for the bander to get in position between the adults and the chicks, so that the chicks cannot see the adults. A chick hearing its parent will respond by trying to approach it, but other chicks ap- pear to respond only to the sight of an adult Rule #5: Do everything steadily, without sudden movements The murres are alarmed by things that move and especially by things that are moving above them. A bander approaching from below usually causes less disturbance than one coming from above. In particular, throwing down a coil of rope causes what seems like an inordinatepanic. Ropes should be lowered down gradually, or carried in a bag and paid out en route. Rappelling by means of spectacular leaps would probably have an even worse effect, so it is necessary to deny oneself the fun (fast rappelling is also bad for the rope). Inch down gradually, keeping firmly balanced so that no large jerks occur. If there is a good, broad ledge where you can rest somewhat away from the birds, give them time to settle on their chicks again before commencing banding. If the colony is accessible from below, a good plan of attack would be to lower a rope from above, then begin from the bot- tom and climb up. If that is not possible, climb to the bottom of the intended pitch and then band up from below. This has the advantage that, if you do not complete the section, you w01 not have to descend past banded birds the next day to finish it off. Rule #6: Broad ledges are not necessar- ily better than narrow ones Atfirst sight, abig ledge with 50or 100 chicks, seems like a perfect banding site. However, big ledges suffer from several disadvantages. If they are uneven, they may retain puddles of water. These become puddles of liquid excrementand if the chicks run into them they can get hideously mired. Those who have climbed on murre cliffs know this to be the most tragic of all sights. Also, thechickshavealotof space in which to run about and this, along with the social facilitation, tends to promote panic behaviour. On a large ledge many adults will return and call to the chicks from the edge of the ledge, making it hard for the bander to control the situation. On a small ledge, the bander can hang in his or her harness, facing the ledge, blocking it from the adults, and facing the chicks so that any attempting to jump can be intercepted. Rule #7: Be hard-hearted If a chick falls or jumps, for whatever reason, there is an immediate desire to remedy the situation. This is a natural im- pulse, but such action needs to be carefully considered. If the chick has fallen acciden- tally and if the retrieval will not involve disturbing many other birds, it should be done as quickly as possible. If the chick has clearly panicked and if it continues to show this behaviour, retrieval is probably point- less, as the chick will run off the ledge again as soon ais replaced. Likewise, a chick that has exhibited premature fledging behaviour and deliberately launched itself will rarely settle down. It appears that once the fledg- ing behaviour is "switched on” only re- union with the parent will turn it off. Some of these chicks may eventually find their parents on the sea. If you decide to climb down to fetch a chick, you may find it hard to identify once you get there, unless it is banded. Also, it may have been taken by a gull before you reach it, making the disturbance you caused Pacific Seabirds * Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 5 Articles in the process pointless. If you are climbing down to the lower ledge in any case, it is better to finish the ledge you are on, then climb down and gently lob the chick back to where it originated. This technique has frequently worked. By the time you reach the lower ledge, sufficient adults may have returned to the first ledge to keep the chick in place. Sometimes you arrive at a ledge to find that one of the chicks is already banded. Such chicks probably fell from above with- out being observed. We carry a slip of waterproof paper and a pencil stub and keep rough notes of the band numbers used on each ledge, so that chicks can be re- turned to the right ledges. Regrettably, saving fallen chicks with an immediate mercy dash is rarely the right policy, because it may make things worse, rather than better. It is worth bearing in mind that some chicks displaced acciden- tally are adopted by failed breeders (we have had several examples), so a chick not retrieved is not necessarily doomed. Also, chicks or eggs taken by gulls during the disturbance caused by banding may be com- pensated by lower predation on other sites. Glaucous Gull chicks are not insatiable and parents only forage when they have to. Were G. N. Lawrence's "Californian" Seabirds Collected During the Gold Rush? W. R, P. Bourne^ Department of Zoology, Aberdeen University, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB9 2TN, Scotland Conclusions Banding Thick-billed Murres is not for the faint of heart. The smell, the noise, the anxiety caused by wayward chicks and the physical exertion involved, combine to make it a less than relaxing experience. However, you do learn things about the birds that you can never appreciate at a distance and this can make it rewarding even before the recoveries begin to arrive. It really pays to know your colony, so that you know where to go first, which area to leave to last, what the best approach routes are and when the sun is on different areas. Tactics appropriate at one colony may be less so at others and a lot will depend on the temperature and the relative tameness of the breeders. Overall, identify- ing and using the “banding window” is probably the most vital ingredient of a successful banding campaign. One last piece of advice. If a loud “pop” signals the explosion of a last- season *s egg, stop breathing andmoveaway as quickly as possible. Military mustard gas is tame in comparison with a year-old murre egg at close range. In a recent contribution to the Auk Dave Lee (1993) summarizes the informa- tion available about specimens of the Cape Petrel Daption capense. Grey Petrel Procellaria cinerea. Brown Skua Catbaracta (skua) lonnbergi and moulting Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea reported by Lawrence ( 1 85 1 , 1 853) from CaIifomia“in the cabinet” of Nicolas Pike, and suggests that they may have been collected in the Indo-Pacific subantarctic islands instead. While I have also speculated in the past that the two petrels and specimens of Fregetta grallaria also said by Lawrence (1851-53) to come from Florida probably originated in the southern hemisphere (Bourne 1964, 1967), I was unable to suggest why they were attributed to Monterey. It is now pos- sible after more personal experience of procedures on ships to suggest some other possibilities. While some or aU of these birds could indeed have come from the subantarctic islands, this seems rather unlikely. Although at the beginning of the last century many sealers visited them (Richards 1984), the seals soon became severely reduced, and did not increase again to the extent that led to more visits by sealers including the col- lector George Gimer until later in the cen- tury (V errill 1895). While the islands were subsequently also visited by American whalers up to the United States Civil War, these normally came from New England, and like the warships and exploring expedi- tions of several nations active at that time, and the growing number of ships trading between the northern hemisphere and Aus- tralia which called there for fresh food and water, seem unlikely to have brought any birds collected hack to California. On the other hand, there was also an- other , much larger, group of ships regularly plying between California, where the birds were said to originate, through their normal range to New York, where they were re- ported, at this time, carrying the “forty- niners” from the east coast of the United States around Cape Horn to join the Cali- fornian gold rush. Judging by recent expe- rience off South America many seabirds are likely to have struck the rigging of these ships or come to their lights at night, while bored seamen and passengers were then also accustomed to “fish” for birds, orput a boat down and shoot them, when the ship becamebecalmed. The naturaHstson Cook’s expeditions (Lysaght 1959) and John Gould (1844) among others obtained scores of similar birds in such ways. Unfortunately, the collectors of those days seem to have been remarkably casual aboutlabelling their specimens, until for example it caused seri- ous problems for Charles Darwin in the Galapagos (SuUoway 1982). The most likely sequence of events to explain why birds from the Southern Ocean should have been said to originate “off Monterey” therefore appears to be as fol- lows. Lawrence may have asked Pike who was leaving for California, or Pike may have asked some correspondent who was going there, to collect some birds. Whoever collected the birds preserved some stray specimens at unrecorded places during the passage around South America, and then packed them up off Monterey shortly be- fore the ship arrived in California where they were likely to be busy , and left them on board to be brought back on the return voyage with a hasty covering note headed “off Monterey.” In consequence, as with the F. grallaria said to come from Florida, Lawrence assumed that they must actually have been collected off Monterey. A similar sequence of events may also explain a number of other old reo)rds of seabirds from unlikely places, including the similar attribution to Monterey of the type of the Swallow-tailed Gull Creagrus furcatus o>llected on a vessel coming from the Galapagos (Neboux 1840), the Yellow- nosedDiomedea chlororhynchos and Sooty Phoebetriafusca Albatross, Giant Petrel Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Articles Macronectes sp. and Southern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialoides all said by Audubon to have been collected by J.K. Townsend off the mouth of the Columbia River (Stone 1930), and a considerable number of other equally unlikely seabirds reported near ports elsewhere and also included for at least a time on many other national lists all around the world (Bourne 1967, 1992). I am indebted to Dave Lee for helpful comments on this note. LITERATURE CITED Bourne, WJRP. 1964. On the occurrence and nomenclature of certain petrels in North America. Bull. Brit. Om. Cl. 84:114-116. Bourne, W.RJP. 1967. Long-distance va- grancy in the petrels. Ibis 109:141- 167. Bourne, WRP. 1992. Debatable British and Irish seabirds. Birding World 5:382-390. Gould,!. 1 844. On the family ProceUariidae, with descriptions of ten new species. Ann, Mag. Nat. Hist 13:360-368. Lee, D.S. 1993. Comments on four pre- 1853 seabirds reportedly obtained off Monterey, California. Auk 110:402- 404. Lawrence. Gbl. 1851, 1853. Additions to North American ornithology. Ann. Lyc. Nat Hist (New York) 5:117- 118,6:1-7. Lysaght A. 1959. Some eighteenth century bird paintings in the library of Sir Jo- seph Banks. Bull. Brit Mus. (Nat Hist) Hist Ser. 1(6):253-371. Neboux, M. 1840. Descriptions d’oiseaux nouveauxrecuillispendantrexpedition de la Venus. Rev. Zool. 1 840:289-29 1 , Richards, R. 1984. The maritime fur trade: sealers and other residents on St Paul and Amsterdam Islands. The Great Circle 6:24^2, 93-100. Stone, W. 1930. Townsend’s Oregon Tubinares. Auk 47:414-415. SuUoway, FJ. 1982. The Beagle collec- tions of Darwin’s finches (Geospizinae). Bull. Brit Mus. (Nat Hist) (Zoology) 43(2):49-94. Verrill, GE. 1895. On some birds and eggs collected by Mr. Geo. Comer at Gough Island, Kerguelen Island and the island of South Georgia. Trans. Conn. Acad. 9(2):430478. Policy for PSG Correspondence and Papers As PSG expands and becomes more active in seabird conservation, the organization and its members will be increasingly subjected to legal scrutiny. For this reason itis essential thatall materials produced as ‘PSG documents” (letterhead correspondence, papers, reports) be held to the highest standards possible. Other than symposia proceedings, which go through normal scientific review process, reports and lengthy papers for general distribution will now be reviewed and processed by the Technical Editor of Vacific Seabirds (currendy Steve Speich) and members of the Executive Council. All such lengthy material should be forwarded to the Editor for consideration and technical review. The PSG Chair and Executive Council will have final control over the release of such material. Members of the Pacific Seabird Group often provide comments to agencies or the public on issues of regional, national, and international significance to seabird conservation. Most of these comments are relatively brief (less than a few pages) and, if appropriate, may go out as PSG letterhead correspondence. General PSG members are strongly encouraged to prepare correspondence for distribution by PSG and provide this (as hard copy or, better yet, on disk or email) to your Regional Representative, Committee Chair or Council Member for review and signature. They will then send out the material under PSG letterhead. All such PSG. conespondence and any correspondence prepared originally by Regional Representative, Committee Chairs, or Council Members should be made available (by mail, fax, or email) for review by the Chair of PSG or, in his/her absence, by another member of the Executive Council. Usually, this requires only a 1 -2 day lead-time for short documents. In most cases, and for virtually all well-prepared documents, no comments or changes are necessary, and this process will not delay PSG correspondence (which is often done at the last hour!). In any case, this procedure ensures that the Chair and members of the Executive CouncU at least are kept apprised of all outgoing PSG correspondence and educated about issues of regional concern. The Executive Council thanks you for your cooperation. Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 7 PSG News 21st Annual Meeting— Interesting, informative, and Entertaining The 2 1st PSG Annual Meeting was held in Sacramento, California, on January 26-29, 1994. The meeting was well-attended and included a wonderful variety of presen- tations, consm^ation meetings, and social occasions. PSG would like to thank pro- fusely the Local Committee (Dan Ander- son, Ken Briggs, Harry Carter, Frank Gress, Deborah Jory, Paul Kelly, Leopoldo Moreno, and Nils Wamock) for their out- standing efforts and for facilitating a suc- cessful and enjoyable meeting. The Scien- tific Program Committee (John Piatt, Harry CartCT, Gus van Vliet, and Nancy Naslund) are likewise to be applauded for organizing an interesting program. PSG is grateful to all our co-sponsors for logistic and finan- cial support: California Fish and Game, U. S. National Biological Survey, University of California at Davis, and Sacramento State University. PSG is pleased that colleagues from Japan, Russia, Great Britain, eastern Canada, and Iceland could participate in the meetings, thereby greatly increasing the geographic scope of presentations on seabird biology and conservation beyond the usual U. S. /Canadian west coasts and Hawaii. We were particularly pleased to welcome three Japanese seabird biolo- gists — ^participants from this Pacific Rim country have been notably absent from most previous meetings. We hope the in- creasing trend for international attendance at PSG meetings continues well into the future. Highlights of the scientific program included a“Symposium on Behavior, Ecol- ogy, and Status of the Rare Alcids” (see Abstracts), which included general over- views and detailed papers on the biology of seven rare alcid species from around the Pacific Rim. The first day of the meeting also included several large-screen video presentations of seabird research, and, by all accounts, these “video papers” w^e a popular addition to the usual presentation media. Other session topics included Marbled Munelets, population dynamics, breeding biology, feeding ecology, bioge- ography, and conservation biology. Judg- ing by the high attendance throughout the meetings (and up to the very last paper!), presentations were of high caliber and in- terest Committee meetings on a variety of issues (Marbled Murrelets, Xantus’ Murielets, seabird restoration, seabird moni- toring, conservation, Baja seabirds) were also well-attended and marked by active discussion and debate. The PSG banquet on the last evening was highlighted by a Life- time Achievement Award presented to Dr. Miklos Udvardy for his contributions to the study of seabirds. The evening ended with an unusual (but lucrative) "bow-tie and i- shirt” auction, with some members literally giving the shirts off their backs to the PSG cause. In summary, the 21st Annual PSG Meeting was lively, interesting, and enter- taining. We all look forward to the next meeting in San Diego! Minutes of the 1994 Pacific Seabird Group Executive Councii Meeting The following is a summary of the proposed minutes of the Executive Council Meetings held on 25 and 27 January, 1994 in Sacramento, California. Anyone inter- ested in a complete transcript of the meet- ing should contact secretary Vivian Mendenhall. A quorum was present at both sessions. The minutes of the previous meet- ing were approved. Executive Council Matters The new bylaws were presented and will go into effect at the end of the 1994 meeting. The council voted to disband the PSG 2000 Committee. Treasurer’s Report Ken Warheit reported on financial matters of the group. He pointed out that even though we had more income than expenses, very little money is available for use because much of it goes to the endow- ment fund. He recommended raising dues by $5.00 and discussion of the pros and cons ensued. Tasker encouraged the group to raise dues in order to maintain a cushion of funds for emergencies. Coulter suggested 2 times the standard operating expenses as a good cushion. The council passed a mo- tion to raise annual dues to $20.00 with a rate of $ 13.00 per year for students subject to approval by the general membership. Other methods of increasing income sug- gested included higher fees for meetings. Piatt called for suggestions on ways in which to allocate PSG funds for support of conservation projects. Our exchange relationships with other groups were discussed and Bill Everett suggested that the Western Foundation be the official repository for journals that we get We had over 450 members last year. This year 283 people paid their dues before notices were sent out There are 49 life members and all but 4 are paid up. It was proposed to have a display and brochures lo put out at meetings of other societies in order to attract new members. Rauzon and Sharpe were assigned to make a poster and brochures. The group discussed the status of the endowment fund and how we are going to raise and spend money. Piatt proposed that we consult with aprofessional fundraiser to aid in generating enough money so we can start doing more for conservation and sup- porting students. The group was willing to spend some money to hopefully generate more money and will act on any proposals Pacific Seabjhds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 8 PSGNews to accomplish this. Members experienced in fundraising suggested that we would need to prepare a prospectus which would i) demonstrate whatPSG has done histori- cally, ii) outline plans for future projects, and iii) provide a financial statement to potential donors. Divoky expressed the concern of some members that all the life memberships are going into a fiind that can’t be used for several years more. He suggested capping the endowment fund at $50,000 instead of twice that. He also suggested allowing life members an option to put their money into a fund other than the endowment. The group discussed the mechanisms and policy for spending money. Forsell mov^ that we follow the guidelines of letting the chair consult one other person on the council before spending $500 or less, have a vote of all the officers if the amount falls between $500 and $1000, and have a vote of the entire council before spending ov^ $1000. The motion passed. Beth Flint gave the secretary’s report and suggested that if the officers all had electronic mail capability, more of the load on the treasurer could be shifted over to the secretary. Meetings Dan Andersonreported that 125 people had pre-registered so far and that they were expectingl75 by tomorrow. CalifomiaFish and Game subsidized the printing costs for the meeting. There was discussion about the costs of meetings and the advantages of less formal venues. Divoky called for some- one to track meeting costs and keep files of former meetings for each local committee to use for those who need ideas and struc- ture. Forsell mentioned that academicians fine late January a difficult time because it is the beginning of the term. Scott Hatch objected to having the meeting earlier be- cause it would be too close to the Christmas holidays. Bill Everett reported on plans for a meeting in San Diego in 1995. He said that the room costs would be high there but that it is less expensive to fly there than many other location. He described the four final- ist choices for a site and the group ex- pressed a preference for the Catamaran Hotel on Mssion Bay. The motion passed that we hold the meeting in San Diego next year; the dates of the meeting will be Janu- ary 10-13. Suggestions for the year after next include Vancouver, B.C.; Guaymas, Sonora; and Humboldt State, California. Conservation Committee Craing Harrison noted that the Conser- vation Committee report was available. He asked that the regional representatives start taking a more active role in conservation issues. The request from the Danish Orni- thological Society for funding to save the last seabirds in the Philippines was dis- cussed and the council voted to provide $1000 to the project Publications Steve Speich described his ideas for changes in the group’s publication, Divoky asked that interestsagreed they could ex- press themselves in the new forum section of Pacific Seabirds. Piatt thought that the conservation chair should at least run things by the chair and by all the officers for letters to people like the Secretary of Interior. Standing Committees The Marbled MurreletTechnical Com- mittee made the White Paper on the Status of Marbled Murrelets available to the coun- cil. Steve Speich suggested we publish it as a Technical Paper, Malcolm Coulter moved that we thank Kim Nelson for all that she has done on behalf of the committee and the murreleL The motion passed. Divoky appointed Bill Everett as head of the Xantos’ Murrelet Committee. The Xantus’ committee recommended that we petition the US Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Xantus’ Murrelet The committee will prepare the petition. Scott Hatch reported that the monitcff- ing committee meeting had been well-at- tended. The next project that people com- mitted to was to build a data set The first species done will be the Common Murre with a focus on populations, productivity, and phenology. It was suggested that we attempt to develop a Memorandum of Un- derstanding with the National Biological Survey to acquire some funding. The Baja committee was not able to meet this year. The Marine Waterfowl committee has requested that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service review the status of Eastern Harle- quin Ducks. International and Organizational Affili- ations Our Japan connection was made stron- ger with the visit of Harry Carter and Leah DeForest to Japan. The PSG will attempt to write letters supporting the funding of John Fries and Leigh Ochikubo to study in Ja- pan. Doug Forsell reported on the meeting of the Ornithological Council. Malcolm Coulterreportedonourmem- bership in ICBP (Birdlife International). Minutes respectfully submitted by Beth Flint, secretary 1993 TREASURER’S REPORT Included in this report are two anno- tated tables detailing thefinanci^ activities of the Pacific Seabird Group during the 1993 calendar year. These tables summa- rize the 1993 cash flow activities of the group, as well as our total assets as of 31 December 1993. Additional detailed and additional financial information is discussed below. Income and Expenses Our total gross income for 1993 was $39,840.66, of which $26,064.08 (65 per- cent) was generated by the 1993 ($18,399.08) and 1994 ($7,665.00) Annual Meetings. Because our annual meetings usually take place in January or February, associated income and expenses for each meeting are spread over a two year period. This meeting related income, and the ex- penses reported below are those associated with 1993 calendar year only. Complete accounting for the 1993 Annual Meeting was discussed in the 1993 Spring issue of the Pacific Seabird Group Bulletin (Vol. 20, Number 1 , p. 3 1); the accounting for the 1994 Annual Meeting is described below. Regular and Life Membership dues ac- counted for an additional $7,526.17 (19 percent) of income, while interest and divi- dend income from three accounts totaled $3, 1 1 7.47 (8 percent). Fund-raising income and sales of back issues of the Bulletin totaled $3,132.64 (8 percent). As with the total income, the majority of our 1993 expenses were associated with the annual meetings ($ 1 8,498.61 or 60 per- cent). The 1993 Annual Meeting expenses totaled $17,947.64, which was $1,596.56 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 9 PSG News CATEGORY AMOUNT Income Annual Meeting Income (excluding membership dues, donations, and sales) $19,417.50 Donations collected during meeting $2X148.00 Membership Dues collected during meeting $856.00 Sales: PSG Tote Bags $41.00 Wm. Spear Pins $1,031.00 PSG T-shirts $2,394.00 Total Income $25,786.50 Expenses Annual Meeting Expenses (hotel, catering, field trips, office supplies, etc.) $15,356.28 Sales: Wm. Spear Pins $850.50 PSG T-shirts $M20.23 Total Expenses $17,627.01 Inconr^ over Expenses Annual Meeting $4X161.22 Donations $2X148.00 Membership Dues $855.00 Sales: PSG Tote Bags $41.00 Wm. Spear Pins $180.50 PSG T-shirts $973.77 TOTAL $8,159.49 PACIFIC SEABIRD GROUP BALANCE SHEET 31 December 1993 Account 1993 1992 Assets 1993 Local Committee $2,579.85 1994 Local Committee $6,793.80 Bulletin Account $353.08 $1,601.73 Checking Account $5,560.08 $4,493.33 1 United Kingdom Savings Account $428.06 $320.69 Dean Witter— Savings $7,058.69 $7,347.02 2 Dean Witter— Endowment $45,524.91 $38,521.85 ^ Total Assets $65,718.62 $54,764.47 Liabilities & Equity 4 Liabilities $2,500.00 $0.00 Equity $63,218.62 $54,774.33 ^Total Uabilities & Equity $65,718.62 $54,774.33 ^ The United Kingdom account is managed by Mart< Tasker and is used for deposits of membership dues paid in pounds. A conversion rate of US$ 1 .00 = £0.67 was used to calculate amount in dollars. The 1 992 and 1 993 closing balances equaled £21 4.86 and £286.80, respectively. ^Total reflects actual dollar amount deposited or interest earned at the time of deposit. Deposits are made by purchasing shares, the dollar value of which fluctuates with the market. On 1 January 1 993 we had 4,056.692 shares at $9.30 per share ($37,727.23). On 31 December 1993 we had 4,799.782 shares at $9.31 per share ($44,685.97). ^Does not include the Pacific Symposium Account. See Pacific Seabird- Group Bulletin (1993: Vol. 20, Number 1) ^$2,500.00 allocated to publish the 1993 Marbled Murrelet Symposium 10 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 PSG News PACIFIC SEABIRD GROUP CASH FLOW REPORT 1 January - 31 December 1993 Category Income 1 1993 Annual Meeting (registration, etc.) $16,361.08 1993 Annual Meeting (raffle & auction) $2,048.00 2 1994 Annual Meeting (registration) $7,665.00 Fund Raising: T-shirts $2,184.00 Fund Raising: Glassware $615.94 3 Fund Raising: Slide-exchange profit $322.70 4 Gross Sales $10.00 Interest Earned (checking accounts) $102.74 Income Dividend (Dean Witter - Savings) $211.67 Income Dividend (D. Witter - Endowment) $2,803.06 5 Membership Dues $6,446.47 Life Membership $1,080.00 Totallncome $39,840.66 Expenses Bank Charges $34.05 Bulletin $4,194.08 Ornithological Council Dues $250.00 ICBP Dues $200.00 Officer's $1,830.91 1 1993 Meeting Expenses $17,947.64 2 1994 Meeting Expenses $550.97 6 Fund Raising: T-shirts $3,428.38 Fund Raising: Glassware $515.02 7 Grants $1,974.90 Taxes $5.00 Total Expenses $30,930.95 Total Income over Expenses $8,909.71 CASH FLOW REPORT Footnotes 1 Includes only the 1993 income and ex- penses associated with the February 1993 Annual Meeting. See Pacific Seabird Group Bulletin (1993: Vol. 20, Number 1) for complete financial information about the 1993 Annual Meeting. In- come excludes membership dues, dona- tions, or fund raising moneys. Expenses excludes all fund raising expenses. 2 Includes only the 1993 income and ex- penses associated with the January 1994 Annual Meeting. See discussion of an- nual meeting above for complete finan- cial information about the 1994 Annual Meeting. Income excludes membership dues, donations, or fundraising moneys. Expenses excludes all fund raising ex- penses. ^ SecPacfic Seabird GroupBulletin (1993: Vol. 20, Number 1) for complete ac- counting for slide-exchange income. ^ Sales from back issues of bulletin ^ 1993 and 1994 membership dues col- lected during 1993 (includes dues col- lected as part of 1993 annual meeting registration - number estimated because accounting did not distinguish between 1992 and 1993 payments). 6 $1,4203 of the $3,428.38 T-shiits ex- penses are associated with the 1994 An- nual Meeting 7 Japanese Muirelet initiative. So&Pac^c Seabird GroupBulletin (1993: Vol. 20, Number 2) for details. Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 11 PSG News more than the 1993 Annual Meeting non- donation/raffle income (e.g., money from registration). Fund raising activities also ran a deficit in 1993, with expenses totaling $810.76 more than income. However, be- cause fund-raising expenses usually involve the production of goods such as T-shirts, the expenses should be spread over the years in which the goods are sold. For example, $1,420.33 of the $3,428.38 fund- raising expenses were due to the 1993 pro- duction of T-shirts sold during the 1994 Annual Meeting; $1,420.33 in expenses in 1993 produced $2,394 .OOin income in 1994 (see discussion of 1994 Annual Meeting below). Pacific Seabird Group’s standard operations also ran a deficit in 1993. Stan- dard operating expenses, including the pro- duction of the Bulletin, Officer’s expenses, bank charges, taxes, and organizational membership dues (e.g., ICBP) totaled $6,5 14.04, which was $67.57 more than the income generated from membership dues. Additional income generated from the raffle and auction during the 1993 Annual Meet- ing and interest and dividends earned from our checking and savings accounts offset this deficit, and enabled PSG to fund the Japanese Murrelet Initiative (see Pacific Seabird Group Bulletin (Vol. 20, Number 2). If the income and expenses associated with the 1994 Annual Meeting are sub- tracted from the respective totals (see Cash Flow Table below), the Total Income over Expenses in 1993 was $1,795.68. Membership Year-end calculations of membership totals are somewhatmisleadingin thatmem- bership for any given year is paid over a two year period. In other words, 1993 members paid their dues over a period from late 1992 (when dues notices were first mailed) to fall 1993. Likewise, 1994 members paid their dues from December 1993 through Spring 1994 (and payments are still trickling in). Therefore, the membership dues presented in the 1993 cash flow report reflect both 1993 and 1994 memberships. As of 9 May 1994 our total paidmembership was 444,of which 45 are Life Members paid in full, 4 are Life Members not paid in full, 314 are Individu^ Members, 4 1 are Student Mem- bers, and 40 are Family Members (20 fami- lies). Of these 316 Individual and 39 Stu- dent Members, 32 and 21, respectively, joined during the 1994 Annual Meeting in Sacramento. Of the 81 members in arrears as of 9 May 1994, 47 or 58 percent joined in 1993. Finally, 54 institutions worldwide receive the PSG Bui'tenrt, of which 25 are paid subscriptions, 19 are journal exchanges, and 10 are goodwill gifts. Annual Meeting The 1994 Ix)cal Committee produced a scholarly , enjoyable, and remarkably prof- itable meeting in Sacramento. Frank Gress provided an exceptionally organized and detailed accounting of the income and ex- penses associated with this meeting, and I thank him for saving me hours of work. A detailed look at the income and expenses resulting from the 1994 annual meeting is as follows (income and expenses for this meet- ing occurred during fiscal years 1993 and 1994, and therefore wfll be reflected in both this and next year’s Treasurer’s rqx)rt): Endowment Fund On 31 December 1993 PSG owned 4,799.782 shares in the Dean Witter U.S. Government Securities Fund. At $9.31 per share, our year-end 1993EndowmentFund principle equaled $44,685.97. This is an increase of $6,958.73 over year-end 1992 ($37,727.23: 4,056.692 shares at $9.30 per share). $2,803.06 of the $6,958.73 increase was income dividend, giving us a yield of 7.43 percent on our investment Unfortu- nately, because our endowment is invested in a bond-associated mutual fund, its total value will fluctuate with the bond market, which has declined over the past several months. On 6 May 1994 Dean Witter U.S, Government Securities Fund was valued at $8.64 per share. The same 4,799.782 shares worth $44,685.97 on 3 1 December 1993 is now worth $41,470.12 - a decline of $3,215.85 or over 7 percent of the total value of the endowmenL Perhaps PSG should consider diversifying its endow- ment portfolio. Ken Warheit, Treasurer Report of the Xantus’ Murrelet Technical Committee Xantus’ Murrelets Synthliboramphus hypoleucus are small (average 167 grams) black and white alcids that breed on a few islands off the coast of Southern California and most of the islands off of the west coast of Baja California. They nest in crevices or under bushes, lay a typical clutch of two eggs and produce precocial young that go to sea within several days of hatching. During the non-breeding season, Xantus’ Murrelets typically range as far north as Northern CMfomia and at least as far south as Cabo San Lucas, Baja California. Although the species is firequently en- countered at sea, surprisingly little is known aboutits natural history or ecology. Most of the data on breeding biology comes from studies done at Santa Barbara Island, one of the smallest of the Southern California Channellslands. Up to 95% of the Xantus’ Murrelets known to breed in U.S. territory do so on Santa Barbara Island, which is controlled by theNationalPark Service and is part of the Chaimel Islands National Park. At the 1992 PSG meeting in Oregon the question was raised regarding the status of the species. Indeed, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has included the northern- most of the two races of Xantus’ Murrelet {S.h. scrippsi) as a candidate (Category 2) for the endangered species list This cat- egory includes species for which listing as endangered or threatened may be appropri- ate, but information on biological vulner- ability is not currently available to support endangered listing status. The overwhelm- ing majority of birds breeding on Santa Barbara Island are scrippsi^ but at least one either nominate race (S./i. hypoleuca) or intermediate individual has been recorded there. The taxonomy of the species is com- plex and dynamic, and not entirely clear. Since there was a great deal of concern expressed at the 1992 meeting, the PSG Conservation Committee suggested that a group of interested and knowledgeable per- sons convene to investigate the species’ status, consider pertinent issues, and report back with findings and recommendations. Thus the Xantus’ MurreletTechnical Com- mittee was bom, and has spent much of the last two years collecting data and discuss- ing a wide range of topics and questions. One of the problems facing the com- mittee was a lack of reliable population status information, especially for the Baja California breeding colonies. Although it is likely thatthe majority of Xantus’ Murrelets breed there, estimates of the population size (10,000 to 20,000 individuals) are guesses at best, and most of the breeding colonies are also inhabited by introduced predators. No studies have been done in Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 12 PSG News Mexico to assess population trends or im- pacts of feral animals. At Santa Barbara Island, Harry Carter estimated a 1992 breeding population of about 1 , 700 individuals, substantiaUyfewer than the4,400+ estimated by George Hunt’s team in the mid 1970’ s. In addition, Charles Drost’sstudies have shown that native mice annually destroy significant numbers (up to 44%) of eggs, and Bam Owls annually take large numbers of Xantus’ Murrelet adults (up to 10%) on Santa Barbara Island. The committee determined that a wide variety of other real or potential threats face Xantus’ Murrelets throughout their range, including oil spills, rat introductions, com- mercial fishing operations, loss of breeding habitat through erosion or vegetation changes, and military sonic or weapons testing (to name a few). After thorough consideration, the com- mittee concluded that sufficient informa- tion was now available to warrant an up- grade of the status of the species to either threatened or endangered. Upon their rec- ommendation at the 1994 meeting, the Ex- ecutive Council of PSG directed the commit- tee to prepare appropriate documaitation (a “listing package”) to submit to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service in the form of a formal petition to request the change in status. It is unlikely that the listing of Xantus’ Murrelet will cause the level of controversy associated with the Marbled Murrelet is- sue, and we hope that the netresult of listing will be not only much-needed efforts to answer many questions about the species’ status, but ultimately a secure future for this rare and unique seabird. William T. Everett Reportof the Seabird Monitoring Committee The Seabird Monitoring Committee now has representatives from all the in- tended regions of the North Pacific. During the year, we were pleased to recruit the cooperation of two colleagues from the Asian side. Representing China is Dr. Lu Jianjian from the Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East ChinaNormal Uni- versity, Shanghai, and from Japan we have Dr. Yuiaka Watanuki, Laboratory of Ap- plied Zoology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo. Dr. Watanuki attended the annual meeting in Sacramento, so many PSG mem- bers have already met him. The seabird monitoring database is be- coming a reality. During this past year, the Alaska contingent developed a prototype version of the database using Foxpro data management software. The system thus far consists of 11 relational files and some basic report generating routines. As a pilot effort, we entered all monitoring data from studies conducted in 18 years (since 1956) on Middleton Island, north-central Gulf of Alaska. The Middleton data probably are fairly typical in terms of quality, complex- ity, and accessibility, and diey present most of the inconsistencies and problems that arise in trying to develop a standardized data entry and retrieval system. Various members and friends of the Seabird Moni- toring Committee were able to critique and improve the system during a productive session at the Sacramento meeting. The group decided to follow up with additions to the database from around the North Pacific during the coming year. To get things rolling, we decided to focus on Common Murres, because of their wide distribution and general interest in their utility as an indicator species. Contributors from California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Russia will collate data on three parameters of murre population biol- ogy — numbers, productivity, and breeding chronology. Participants from Hawaii, Brit- ish Columbia, and Japan have offered to work with data for other species such as Red-tailed Tropiebirds, Ancient Murrelets, or Rhinoceros Auklets. Through these effects, the Committee hopes to demonstrate convincingly the value of this approach and, within the next sevoal years, to set the whole process in motion. Scott A, Hatch Report of the Marbled Murrelet Technical Committee As your new coordinator I would like to say "hello” and to remind you that the MMTC’s strength lies in the expertise and ideas of its members. I would appreciate hearing from you about tissues that need addressing, directions you would like to see the committee take, how I can best serve you as the coordinator of your committ^. Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 and any other ideas you might have. We are working to make the transition between coordinators as smooth as possible. How- ever, if you feel that you have been lost in the shuffle, please let me know. In the past, updates on research activi- ties on Marbled Murrelets have been sum- marized in this section of Pacific Seabirds. To avoid duplication, these updates will now appear in “Regional Reports.” We will save this space for interesting findings and research results. Proposed Designation of Critical Habi- tat for the Marbled Murrelet The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently requested comments on “Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for the Marbled Murrelet” (Federal Regis- ter, Vol. 59, No. 18, pp. 381 1-3824). Com- ments were submitted on behalf of PSG and the MMTC. Abrief summary of thesecom- ments follows, and copies of the full re- sponse are available upon request. Our main concerns were that 1) desig- nation of critical habitat was proceeding without full use of available information, 2) there was no attempt to designate critical marine habitat, and 3) breeding areas in federal parks and wilderness aieas, and state and private lands were not being des- ignated as critical habitat We also noted that some of the facts presented under “eco- logical considerations” were outdated or incorrect Publication and Report Updates The followingrevised versions of PSG protocols are currendy available: Methods for surveying for Marbled Murrelets in forests: a protocol for land management and research. C. J. Ralph, S . K. Nelson, M. M. Shaughnessy, S. L. Miller, and T. E. Hamer (compilers). Guidelines for collecting data at Marbled Murrelet nest trees or landing trees. T. E. Hamer (compiler). Techniques for finding tree nests of the Marbled Murrelet N. L. Naslund and T. E. Hamer (compilers). Publications of the proceedings of the 1993 Marbled Murrelet Symposium (S. Kim Nelson and Spence Sealy, editors) is moving along on schedule. The proceed- ings will be published in the second issue (1994) of Northwestern Naturalist. 13 News Marbled Murrelet Recovery Team The Marbled Murrelet Recovery Team has been meeting since February 1993. Members of the team include Gary MiUer (leader), USFWS; Steve Beissinger, Yale University; Harry Carter, National Bio- logical Survey; Tom Hamer, Hamer Envi- ronmental; Dave Perry, Oregon State Uni- versity; and Blaire Csuti, University of Idaho. The team began by focusing on Critical Habitat designation and its role in the recovery planning process. The draft Critical Habitat proposal was complete by USFWS staff. The team has also estab- lished a process for accomplishing the goals and objectives set by the Regional Director, written the recovery goals and objectives, and begun to write the draft Recovery Plan. The final draft plan should be ready for release this summer. Nancy Naslund, Coordinator Welcome your New MMTC Coordinator I resigned as Chair of the MMTC at the PSG Annual Meedngin Sacramento. Nancy Naslund of the USFWS is replacing me as the new MMTC Coordinator (the Chair is now referred to as Coordinator). Nancy as a M. S. degree from the University of Cali- fornia, Davis and has been working with Marbled Murrelets since 1988. She has been a member of PSG since 1981 and active in the MMTC since 1989. Please join me in welcoming Nancy as your new MMTC Coordinator. S. Kim Nelson Summary of the 1994 MMTC Meeting The Marbled MurreletTechnical Com- mittee met on 25 January, 1994, In the morning session the committee discussed the Inland Survey Protocol. A presentation on recommended changes to the protocol was presentedbySteve Courtney, JillBowl- ing, and Neal Wilkins. In addition, Mike Horton from the USFWS presented the Service’s recommendations for protocol modification. A discussion by the group followed. In the afternoon, MMTC sub- committees met to address specific proto- cols and topics of concern. Subcommittee meetings included the following groups: Inland, Education, Research Priorities, At- Sea Captive Care, and Vocalization. Nancy Naslund New Coordiinator for MMTC Kim Nelson stepped down from the chair of the Marbled Murrelet Technical Committee (MMTC) this year, after a period of major growth for one of PSG ’s most active committees. During the pe- riod that saw national attention focus on the Marbled Murrelet, Kim made sure thatPSG remained in the forefront of the discussions on the status and conserva- tion of this species. Nancy Naslund has been selected to replace Kim as the new coordinator of the MMTC; she brings to the postion a diverse background in conservation and seabird research. Nancy began working on seabirds as an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz (UCSQ where she conducted a study on the reproductive biology of Least Terns in San Francisco Bay and assisted with censusing of other waterbird colonies. Throughout the early 1980s her main interest was in rotors. She was an active member of the Preda- tory Bird Research Group at UCSC; conducting extensive studies on Per- egrine Falcons in the wild and assisting with the care of captive falcons. Among other duties, she wrote assessments for reintroduction of the BaldEaglein north- ern and central California and summa- rized habitat characteristics of the Cali- fornia Condor for the California Condor Recovery Team and the Peregrine Fund. Her experience with captive birds ex- panded with her involvement with Na- tive Animal Rescue, and Nancy has per- sonally cared for many hundreds of aban- doned chicks, as well as injured and oOed birds comprising dozens of differ- ent species. Throughout the 1980s, Nancy assisted with an on-going bird banding study at Younger Lagoon,mist- netting and banding land birds, among other things. For this project, she devel- oped and conducted a study on multi- seasonal associations between land birds and habitat characteristics. Nancy’s focus on seabirds returned in 1988, when she spent part of a season on Midway Island assisting with a study on the reproductive biology and behav- ior of Red-tailed Tropicbiri. Returning to California, she spent the summ^ studying Marbled Murrelets at inland forest sites for the US Forest Savice. From 1989 to 1991, Nancy designed and conducted a graduate research study on the breeding biology and at-sea distribu- tion of Marbled Murrelets in central California. This culminated in the completion of her M.Sc. thesis in the Department of Marine Biology, UCSC, in 1993. In 1991,Nancymovedto Alaska and worked for the U.S. Fish and Wild- life Service on studies of Marbled Murrelets on Naked Island, Prince Wil- liam Sound. These studies included in- land and at-sea surveys and document- ing nest stand and nest-tree characteris- tics. Other alcid studies she has partici- pated in include field research on Cassin’s Auklets and Murres on the Faiallon Islands (1990), Tufted and Homed Puffins in the Aleutian islands (1991-1992), Xantus Murrelet on the Channel Islands (1992), and Kittlite’s Murrelets in Alaska (1993). Nancy has been an active member of the Pacific Seabird Group since 1982, and was local chair for the 1991 PSG Annual Meeting in Monterey, Califor- nia. Nancy has been an active member of the Marbled MurreletTechnical Com- mittee (MMTC) since 1988, where she has been particularly involved with de- veloping MMTC guidelines for nest- searching and protocols forcaptivecare. She currently serves as a Science Team member for the Washington Department of Natural Resources Habitat Conserva- tion Plan. S. Kim Nelson 14 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 PSGNews Elections Committee Report Congratulations to the following newly elected officers and regional representa- tives. Thanks to all who were willing to run for an office and donate their time to the Pacific Seabird Group. Officers Chair-elect Mark Rauzon Secretary Vivian Mendenhall Regional Representatives Alaska and Russia Canada Washington/Qregon Northern California Southern California Non-Pacific United States Pacific Rim Old World Dave Irons Tony Gaston Roy Lowe Jean Takekawa Pat Baird James Lovvom Ken McDeimond Mark Tasker Mark Rauzon, Chair-elect of PSG*s Executive Council, will be program chair for the San Diego meeting in January 1995 and will assume the duties of Chair at the end of that meeting. Mark has been a PSG member since 1975 and has conducted re- search at widely scattered locations over the past two decades. He was initiated into seabird research in 1975 in Alaska as part of the federal government’s OCSEAP exer- cise. In the early 1980s Mark worked on the Hawaiian Islands as an assistant refuge manager for the Hawaiian and Pacific Is- lands National Wildlife Refuge where, in addition to many other duties, he studied the reproductive biology of tropical sea- birds. His master’s degree was obtained from the University of Hawaii with his thesis addressing the effects and eradica- tion of feral cats on Jarvis Island. In the late 1980s heretumed to the mainland where, as an environmental consultant, he has stud- ied cormorants breeding on bridges and the status and trends of wildlife in the San Francisco estuary. His continued involve- ment with Pacific Island seabirds includes research on the Hawaiian Stiltandtheprob- lems offeral cats. In addition to hisresearch and management activities Mark is an artist whose work has frequently appeared in PSG Bulletins and in the eleven popular books he has written on natural history. 1995 Annual Meeting to be held in San Diego The 22nd Annual Meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group will be held in San Diego, California on January 10-13, 1995. The meeting will include general papers and a symposium on Island Restoration and Seabird Enhancement. Symposium, papers are invited for the following topics: • Population Assessment • Predator Control • Vegetation Management • Legal Perspectives • Resource Protection/Oil Spill Prevention Planning • Oiled Bird Cleanup/Cost Effectiveness • Habitat Rehabilitation • Recolonization/Attraction Studies • Genetic Studies • Captive Breeding This symposium will address methods and strategies for restoring/reviving threatened seabird populations throughout the world , especially in Mexico, Alaska, Japan, and New Zealand. Speakers will be invited to attend from these regions. If PSG receives a grant from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to host twenty-five Mexican professionals and students, we will attempt to make training monies available to a few invited participants recognized as experts in their fields of “restoration.” The meeting will be held at the Catamaran Resort Hotel situated on Mission Bay in north San Diego. The beach is one block away and rooms have beach or bay views. Discount room rates were negotiated for the period of 9-13 January, 1995. Rates are $89 per night for a single, $99 for a double, and $15 per extra person. Almost half of the rooms come equipped with a kitchenette. Food is available at the hotel and other inexpensive eateries in the immediate vicinity. Airfare to San Diego is relatively inexpensive — ^add the delicious and inexpen- sive South of the Border cuisine and you have a working vacation that feature ocean, sun, and balmy weather. Field trips to the Anza Borrego Desert, the Salton Sea, and the Coronados Islands will make this a memorable PSG meeting. A complete announcement and call for papers will be mailed in late summer. For more details about the program, contact the program chair, Mark Rauzon, 510-531-3887. For information con- cerning logistics or volunteering, contact William Everett, chair of the local committee, 619-589-0480. Nominations Sought for 1 995- 1 996 Officers Due to the reorganization of the re- gions and subsequent election of all the regional representatives last year, nomina- tions are being sought for only three offices to serve for 1995-96 terms. These offices are Chair-Elect, Vice-chair for Conserva- tion, and Treasurer. If you are interested in becoming an officer of PSG please nominate yourself. If you would like to nominate a PSG member for one of the positions send the name and phone number of the nominee to Doug Forsell, PSG Elections Committee, 6 Arlie Dr., Annapolis, MD 21401, orphone Doug at 410-224-2732 during the day or 410- 626-8486 evenings. All nominations, must be received by 30 July. Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 15 PSG News Karl W. Kenyon Receives Lifetime Achievement Award The Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award, presented at the 1993 Annual Meet- ing of the Pacific Seabird Group, went to Karl W. Kenyon for his pioneering work on Aleutian and Hawaiian avifauna. Kenyon's contribution to Pacific seabirds spans seven decades and greatly advanced the under- standing oif the ecology of Pacific seabirds. Karl Walton Kenyon was bom in 1918 in La Jolla, California. As a youth he roamed San Diego County. He and a friend had a small boat and they caught and sold sea- food to the neighbors. His friend went on to become the famous oceanographer Townxend Cromwell. Karl and another friend collected bird eggs. He once climbed a tan eucalyptus tree to get Great Blue Heron eggs. When he was halfway up, the land owner pulled up in a fancy car and called him down. The land owner was Bing Crosby. Kenyon attendedPomonaCoUege from 1936 to 1940. He then entered Cornell University where he earned a master's de- gree studying Baltimore Oriole nest site selection. Drafted in WWH, he served as a Navy fighterpilot. Karl strafed and bombed in the Pacific theatre, supporting landings in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, as well as in New Guinea, Saipan, Guam, Rota, and Leate, Philij^ines where he was shot down and rescued at sea in 1944. In total, he flew 97 combat flights. Two events during Kenyon's youth were particularly important to him. While in school, Karl visited Pern by steamer in 1938 with his professor, who got sick and was unable to accompany Karl on his tour. Left to his own devices, he visited the seabird colonies and climbed a volcano, which nearly cost him his life. After the war, Karl bought a sailboat and sailed down the Baja coast with his friend, a feat not casually repeated even today. These two experiences seta pattern for his life’s work. Both were risky and both provided new and important data. Karl published several im- portant papers from his experiences and his impeccable field notes are invaluable today. Bing Crosby had another impact on KarTs life when he mentioned on the radio 16 that the Navy was killing albatross on Mid- way Island. Kenyon, who was working for Vic Scheffer with the Bureau of Sport Fish- eries and Wildlife, was.immediately dis- patched to the island to address the problem of birds flying into aircraft. When he ar- rived on Midway Island, the Commanding Officer asked “When do we start the kill, Karl?” The CO of the base thought Kail’s presence was a tacit go-ahead to kill the nuisance birds. To teach a lesson to the CO, Karl allowed a small kill on a triangle where the runways met. As birds were killed others kept coming in to replace them. Dead bodies were dumped at sea but floated ashore and had to be picked up from the beach. Karl then recommended moving the dunes 300 feet back from the runway in order to place the soaring birds out of harm's way. The albatross would lose altitude over dunes instead of over the runway. The work cost millions of dollars but it worked. Kenyon was one of the first biologists to document the aircrafi/bird hazard situa- tion. Other examples of his pioneering ef- forts include one of the first beached bird surveys in San Diego County, published in the Condor 1943 (K. W. Kenyon. 1943. Birds found dead on beach. Condor 45 (2), 76.) and the first observation of plastics impacting the marine environment Hepub- lished an article in the Auk in 1959 indicat- ing that Laysan Albatrosses swallow indi- gestible material (K. W. Kenyon and G. Kridler. 1969. Laysan Albatross swallow indigestible matter. Auk 86(2), 339-343.), But his most famous paper concerns the homing ability in Laysan Albatrosses. This paper, published in 1958 (K. W. Kenyon and D. Rice. 1958. Homing ability of liy- san Albatross. C(7/idbr 60(1), 3-6.), de- scribes an experiment in which albatross were flown to Pacific Rim air stations and released. The short amount of time that it took the birds to return to their nests on Midway is an oft-repeated fact in popular literature on bird movements. With Dale Rice, Kenyon co-authored the seminal woik on the breeding, distribution, and life his- tory and population of the North Pacific albatrosses and the breeding cycle and be- havior of Laysan and Black-footed Alba- trosses (K. W. Kenyon and D. Rice. 1962. Breeding distribution and life history and population of the North Pacific albatrosses. A«k 79(3), 365-386.). Kenyon was also the first to do major work on Steller’s lions, northern fur seals, and other ice seals and walrus, Alas- kan sea otters, and Hawaiian monk seals. In 1972, his paper, "Man Verses the Monk Seal," alerted the world to the plight of the monk seals (K. W. Kenyon. 1972. Man versus the monk seal. Journal of Mammal- ogy 53(4), 687-696.). He pronounced the Caribbean monk seal extinctin 1977, based Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 PSG News on extensive surveys (K. W. Kenyon. 1977. Caribbean monk seal extinct Journal of Mammalogy 58(1), 97-98.). Kenyon had three offers to move to Washington, DC but choose not to. He retired in 1973, a year after the Marine Mammal Protection Act was enacted, cit- ing too much paper work needed “yester- day.” Today he pursues conservation work and world travel. As an environmentalist, Kenyon is trying to stop the bombing of Sea Lion Rocks in Washington, a target he himselfbombed during his “top gun” years. His photographs grace many books and his ^ otter photos areparticularly weD known. His Red-legged Kittiwake photo is the sole photo in the bird skin collections at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. He is also an accomplished watercolorist and oil painter. Kenyons’ contributions have been ac- knowledged in various ways. Bogoslov Is- land features Kenyon’s Dome, a promi- nence named by G. Vem Byrd (G. V. Byrd etal. Changes in bird and mammal popula- tions on an active volcano in Alaska. M urrelet 6 , 50-62.). A subspecies of north- ern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) was named after him in 1991 by Don Wilson. Perhaps the greatest honor was bestowed by Doug Siegel-Causey. A species was named in honor of Karl because of a com- plete skeleton he collected in 1959 (D. Siegel-Causey. 1991. Systematics and bio- geography of North Pacifc shags, with a description of a new species. Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist. Occas. Pap. 140, 1-17.). The skeleton was thought to be a Pelagic Cormorant, but morphometric measure- ments found it to be smaller than all other cormorants and, thus, a new species — Kenyon’s Shag (Stictocarbo kenyoni), de- scribed in 1991. The Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Karl at the banquet by his first boss, Vic Scheffer, whose long and productive career as a marine mam- malogist includes pioneer work throughout the Aleutians in the Thirties and authoring the critically acclaimed Year of the Whale and Year of the Seal. Bill Everett and Mark Rauzon alsoprovided backgroundand com- mentary. Few have as rich and varied cre- dentials as Kenyon, so it is fitting we inau- gurate this award with him. PACIFIC SEABIRD GROUP GOES TO JAPAN: part 2 (izu islands) Harry R, Carter^ dndUah de Foresf ^National Biological Survey 6924 TremontRoad Dixon, CA 95620 U.S.A. ^3016 West 2nd Avenue Vancouver, B.C. V6K 1K4 Canada (This account of two PSG biologists ’ trip to Japan to help develop better PSG ties with Japanese biologists and to initiate joint ef- forts for the study and conservation of the very rare Japanese Muirelet is continued from PSG Bulletin 20(2): 14-17.) 23 April 1993 Mark Rauzon The renewed rumbling of the ferry indicated that we were again underway after stopping at Oshima Island. Quiet rustlings of passengers getting up to disem- bark had woken me earlier. Now, it was 06:(X) hours and it must be light outside. Time to see the famed Izu Islands, home of the J apanese Murrelet I skulked past sleep- ing bodies and slipped up the stairway. But the cold coffee dispensers and rice crackei^ beckoned before I could make it onto the deck. The dome shape ofOshima Island lay behind us and Niijima Island lay ahead. These were large, forested islands with little apparent nesting habitat for thirds, save for large cliffs along shore. I found Ueta conducting a bird survey from the upper deck. He had awakened earlier. Streaked Shearwaters were passing by con- stantly but that was it By 08:00 hours, we were joined by Leah and Hasegawa who looked as tired as I felt We passed by two smaller, rocky, unpopulated islands (Toshima and Udone) which looked more promising for nesting seabirds. Japanese Muirelets may nest there but had not been properly documented yet, we were told. They apj^ared to be somewhat accessible by boat although portions were very steep. As we approached Niijima Island, Ueta pointed out that muirelets had been found nesting at Cape Neuki (the northern tip of Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Niijima). This point looked very steep and difficult to access. We entered a small harbor cm the east side and tied up to a Icmg wharf to unload. Like Oshima, Niijima was a large island with a substantial human population. Several people, including surf- ers with boards, and inlets of materials were offloaded. Off the harbor, there were a few small islands which probably used to host nesting seabirds but no longer did due to human disturbance. I wondered how long ago these islands had been occupied. Japanese and Pelagic cormorants loosted on the pier and fed nearshore. We headed a short distance south off the east side of Niijima to Shikine Island where muirelets historically bred but could no longer be found in the early 1970’s. Shikine had also been extensively developed, including a large and well-protected harbor. Muirelets would have nested on mainland bluffs here since there were no offshoreiocks. ABIack Kite soared over the harbor. After a short stop, we continued south towards Kozushima (or Kozu Island). Off the south end of Niijima, we saw Hanshima Island, a known muirelet nesting island. This island looked like a cake with very steep sides and a more level top which looked difficult to land on. In the distance ahead, we could see Kozushima, with Tadanae Island (the muirelet colony we planned to visit) off the west side and Onbase Reef off the east side. Gus van Vliet had sent me some old notes of Jack Moyer’s (sent to Bob Storer along with collected specimens for the University of Michigan) where Moyer had found nest- ing muirelets on OnbaseReef in the 1950’s. Ueta was not aware that muirelets ever nested there. Streaked Shearwaters still passed by constantly, flying to the south- east We landed at the harbor on the west side of Kozushima at 09:30 hours. We lugged our gear off the ferry and all hopped into a very, small truck driven by a spry older man who owned the Japanese inn (or “minshuku”) where we would stay called Minshuku Mansaku-maru, after the name of the fishing boat they also operated. Kozu is well known forrecreational fishing. Many fishermen from all walks of life come here 17 PSG News to fish. They are dropped off from fishing boats onto remote peninsulae or offshore rocks where they fish with rod and reel all day. They are then picked up and returned to the minshuku for overnight. A pretty nice package deal! We wound our way up the almost empty, narrow streets until we were above the town. We were welcomed warmly by the owner’s wife at the door. Hasegawa had been coming here for years and they were old friends. We took our gear upstairs to the two small rooms we would share, covered in straw mats with mat- tresses in the closet to be pulled out for sleeping. I opened the window to an incred- ible view of Onbase Reef through a mazeof cherry blossoms. Shortly, we were ushered downstairs to breakfast In the common eating room, there was a long table already set with wonderful array of food: saba (mackerel) fish, miso soup with limpets, pickled cabbage salad, rice with raw egg and soy sauce, carrots, dried mushrooms, deep-fried tofu and tea. We were served by the owner’s wife who we were instructed to refertoas“obasan”(oraunt). The owner or “ojisan” (uncle) mended his twine nets in the next room. These were used for catch- ing flying fish. Full and refreshed, we set out spend the rest of the day exploring Kozu Island. By now, it was very windy and we would try to travel to Tadanae in the morning, l^segawa left to conduct snake work while the three of us were driven to the base of the highest hill on the island. We started up an incredibly steep path through light brush. Soon, we wa*e into a recently burnt-over area as we found ourselves climbing into the fog which obliterated our amazing view of the island, town and Onbase Reef. We pushed on to the top even though the strong wind and fog prevented birdwatching. We hiked to Sendai Pond and then decided to walk down to the east side of the island. Partway down, we entered forest but few birds were seen. Overall for the day, we saw Varied Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul. Sibe- rian Meadow Bunting, Ijima’s Willow Warbler (heard only). Jungle Crow and White-rumped Swift We ended up at the harbor on the east side and had a closer look at Tadanae. On our way back to the main town, we passed by some ancient ruins hidden in the deep forest Mr. Ueta trans- lated some inscriptions which told some- thing of how a samarai lost a captive bull. Suddenly, I realized that thepath we walked on had been u^ for many, many centuries. On our return, we went to a store to shop for food to take with us for camping on Tadanae. Both Japanese and California oranges were bought (for comparison), ramen noodles, sauce for rice and fish wieners . Passed by some caged birds (Great Tits and Bush Warblers) as we walked through the streets. For dinner at the minshuku, we had cold marinated white fish, clear soup with fish pieces, sashimi (“katsuo”) and various side dishes (or “okazu”). (Excuse my fascination with Japa- nese food but I enjoyed it so much that it made a great impression on me). We re- laxed for a short whOe before being rounded up and taken down through town and out to the Japanese bath andhotsprings or“onsen”. The men and women separated. We first washed up, followed by soaking in three different pools and trying several different shower-spray devices. By the end of this, I was red jello. I went back to get dressed but was motioned to come outside to more cement pools beside the ocean and under the stars. There, Leah languished under a small waterfall. We were both feeling like the world could not be better. I couldn’t resist a quick swim in the ocean, in true nordic tradition. Ueta joined me. Aftea:- wards, Hasegawa called to us to join him in the small pool, built on top of a the large rock. We were all unable to move, like macaques. A Streaked Shearwater cruised by in the lights. 24Aprai993 We woke up briefly to find out that it appeared too windy to go to Tadanae. After more sleep, Leah and I talked and talked about Japanese Murrelets, PSG and our Japanese colleagues. We had breakfast after Ueta and Hasegawa returned from their dawn work on Kozu. Hasegawa had brought examples of snakes for us to see including the species that preys on murrelet eggs. These ones were al^ut two feet long and much smaller than the ones on Tadanae. At breakfast, we found out that the wind had subsided enough for us to take a boat trip around Tadanae to count birds on the water and possibly attempt to go ashore. We looked at maps and discussed the work to accomplish there: 1) to find and measure snakes; and 2) to find as many Japanese Murrelet nests as possible since only one nest had been found in 1992. We scrambled to get our gear together and were whisked over to the harbor on the east side of Kozu by 09:30 hours. We stepped onto a fishing boat along with ojisan and his son. Most boats in the harbor had the same interesting design with an extended catwalk off the bow. Boats were nestled in close together, tied up with the bow pointing into the pier. People loaded and unloaded from the cat- walk. We zoomed out of the harbor at 20 knots, immediately into the swells. First, we went along the mainland shore opposite Tadanae. Large numbers were painted on the rocks to denote fishing locations. At one small rock, eight men were th^e al- ready and we dropped off one more. Then, we headed to Tadanae which actually con- sists of two main rocks. The larger rock is nearest shore, very steep-sided, contains a large arch and looks very difficult to climb, yet it had large painted numbers at several spots along shore. It was quite rocky but also covered with low green vegetation. The outer island also was steep-sided but there were decent landing spots. The seas had dropped by the time we had arrived and it was possible for us to land for about two hours! The long catwalk proved to be an excellent platform to hop off of onto the rocks above the slippery intertidal zone. The skipper’s skill was greatand we merely had to step off, although the end of the catwalk was covered in tires (for more difficultlandings). We set up our headlamps to search for nests but only one of ours worked. Climbing up the rocks, we entered the tall grass tussocks that covered most of the island and found ourselves atop a solid maze of burrows. Tadanae is primarily a colony of Streaked Shearwaters and Sooty Storm-petrels which nest over most of the island. Ueta led us to the south side of the rock where he had found only one nest in 1992. As we climbed, I could see Miyakejima Island in the distance to the south of us. And Sanbondake Reef was also visible some distance to the east of Miyake. Japanese Murrelets nesting at Sanbondake had been the subject of a i^per by Jack Moyer in the Auk in the 1950’s, the first literature I ever read about Japanese Murrelets in the mid 1970’s. He indicated that these were rare and iitde-known sea- birds that were being impacted by U. S. military bombing practices. I remember reading this article back then and hoping that this species would not go extinct While Moyer had been successful in his efforts to Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 18 PSG News protect Sanbondake, few biologists have retunied to determine how well the popula- tion is doing and whether it has recovered from decimation. We reached the rock outcropping after a difficult hike across the waist- to chest- high tussocks. Last year’s nest had been located in a deep rock crevice at the base of the outcropping. Today, it was not occu- pied. In a nearby crevice, we found only an abandoned Sooty Storm-petrel egg. We proceeded to search for other nests around the outcropping. Leah showed me a site where the grey back of a bird, possibly a storm-petrel, could be seen. She reached in to the full depth of her arm and felt not one but two eggs! Japanese Muirelet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !n!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!nn!!!!!Silentscream. She pulled out one egg to confirm her discovay. Roger. The egg was similar to an Ancient or Xantus’ murrelet which I had examined before. It had a light brown base color with small darker speckles all over. Leah gently put the egg back. The incubat- ing adult had moved back further in to the crevice but this time we could see part of the wide white head stripe on closer inspection. Words were hard to find. High fives, then Ueta followed with a bash. Baseball, the international language. Hasegawa was nearby now with a bag o’ snakes. I joined him while Ueta and Leah continued to search for Japanese Dr, Masami Hasegawa measures a large garter snake on Tadanae Island, Japan, 24 April 1993. Murrelet nests. Tliese snakes were the larger variety, 4-6 feet long. Hasegawa mentioned that they are able to reach these sizes because their entire diet is made up of seabird eggs and chicks as well as skinks. These foods were available on Tadanae all year long. However, at this time of the year, the storm-petrel chicks were too large for palpated the body of another snake (by depressing and running his thumb along its abdomen) until it regurgitated the almost complete but crushed remains of two murrelet eggshells. The extent of snake predation may be great since almost every snake examined had eggshell fragments in their regurgitations or feces. We were still busy measuring snakes when Leah softly shrieked that she had found another nest! This time the adult was clearly visible with its incredible black crest feathers flopped over the head stripes and light-colored bill. Swoon. Both this site and the last one were located in crevices at the base of rock outcroppings where it emerged from the grass tussocks. Nests were located about 40-70 cm back from and at a higher level than small (<10 cm diameter) entrance, perhaps for drainage purposes. In each case, the crevice continued farther inward. Our time was running out but Leah, having developed a successful search image, sal- lied forth to find our third nest. However, this time the nest was located halfway up a rock outcropping in a crevice that was more like a “pocket” in the rock. The bird sat motionless and was very exposed about 20 cm from the entrance. By this time, we had dis(X)vered a small shrine at the top of the rock outcropping. Ueta said that it had been placed there by fishermen to bless their catch. Somehow, I felt that it had blessed the Japanese Murrelet and other seabirds that shared this beautiful rock on the far western edge of the Pacific Ocean. We had to go and hiked back over the hill to the landing spot, still euphoric over oUr suc- hoped that our activities had not led to their later feasting on murxelets. Our success would not be worth such a cost The ride in was even faster than the ride out We didn’t see one murrelet on the water from the boat or island. By 13:30 hours, we were heading back over the hill to the minshuku. For the rest of the afternoon, we were driven around to different parts of Kozu Island by another of ojisan’s sons. He was a local official in the Kozu govem- and received some pamphlets. We then drovealong the road as far as it went, turned around and ended up at the Onsen. Again. We focused on the outside pools this time and had a wonderful discussion about co- operative research between Japanese and North American PSG seabird biologists. Snake research needed to be included along with murrelet work. We both emphasized the need for a long-term effort towards the research and conservation of the Japanese Murrelet. Dinnerconsisted of prawns, fish, relishes, marlin, vegetables, etc. Another incredible culinary delight. This time, sake (Fukuimusume) appeared as a gift from our hosts. This sake has gold flecks in it and is served at room temperatine. Kirin beer followed. After dinner, we reclined up- stairs and philosophized about our different countries and cultures. Hasegawa was very eloquent about the lack of differences be- tween peoples and sexes, reflecting the modem Japanese view. His views of con- servation were shared by us all. And so we talked and laughed and drank until late into the night. So much h^pened today... 25 April 1993 Up at 04:45 hours but Ueta had left without us to conduct passerine surveys. We knew we wouldn’t we travelling to Tadanae today bo:ause the wind had rattled our windows all night long. Breakfast was at 07:30 hours when Ueta returned. Today was a day off. Ixah and I spent the morning talking and planning about Japanese Murrelet research plans for the future. We walked into town for lunch and to look around. The waves and wind were blowing directly onshore from the west. Big swells separated us from Onbase Reef. The waves cess. Up to five Black Kites and two Jungle Crows had watched us at these nests. We Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 ment The Izu Islands are actually part of the snakes to eat, and the Streaked Shear- the City ofTokyo but, due to their isolation, watershadn’tstartedtobreedyetThus,the they are largely governed by individual snakes were feeding only on skinks and island governments. We visited their of- murrelet chicks and eggs. He showed me fices, were welcomed officially to Kozu three murrelet chicks that had been force- regurgitated from a single snake. Th^, he 19 PSG News were rolling into harbor and slopping over the breakwaters. Boats were being shaken up and nervous fishermen roamed the piers. We wandered through the shops and dis- covered that, later in the year, Kozu is also a mecca for sunbathers and surfers. The beginning of the summer season begins with Golden Week (the largest annual holi- day in Japan) which started only a week or so from now. So, the empty streets were a temporary facade. We were fortunate to be seeing these wonderful islands before they became inundated with people. On our return to the minshuku, we found that the regular house bath was set up for us. This bath consisted of a very deep and large tub filled to the brim with hot water. It felt loo good. Dinner was excellent: sliced spicy beef, fish, relish, rice, soup, etc. We were joined by Ojisan, his two sons, and two local fishermen. Ojisan was surprised to hear that I liked Nato at breakfast (gooey, fermented beans). Obasan was happy that we enjoyed her food so much. The fisher- men told us that Japanese Muirelets can be seen diving at night from the lights of the squid fishing boats near the islands. We asked if any were ever caught in squid nets. They said some were caught in flying fish nets. “How many?” we asked. **Not enough to worry about” they answered. Somehow I doubted this statement. We discussed tomorrow’s plans. Hasegawa had to return to Tokyo on the ferry at 1030 hours. Since it looked unlikely that we would be able to land, the three of us would at least try to take a boat trip around Tadanae and Onbase Reef to count any munelets on the water and to examine habitats at Onl«se Reef. We’d have our gear ready to leave at 05:30 hours. 26 April 1993 The wind was down but the swells were up. We waited all rooming until conditions improved and went directly to Tadanae. Obasan was not very comfortable about our going to the island under these weather conditions. Once it was clear that we were on our way, she produced a small doll and handed it to Leah. The local tradition was that it was good luck for women to travel in pairs on boats. The goddess of the ocean, being female, would be jealous of a single woman on board. Now fuUy equipped, we headed out in confidence. This time, we landed more Leah de Forest near the entrance to a Japanese Murrelet nest on Tadanae Island, Japan, 26 April 1993. precariously on the southeast side near the camp site so we wouldn’t have to carry our gear across the island. The tent was set up, equipment stored and lunch consisted of ramen noodles on a butane stove. First, we searched the main rock outcropping area that we had investigated earlier. All three nests were still attended, much to our relief. Could it be that muirelets only nest in rock crevices? We decided to check other rock outcroppings. I found our fourth nest high upon theexposedsouthwestem point Only now could I admit my fhistration of not having found a nest in our earHer trip. This nest was located on the leeward side of the rocky peak in a small rock crevice that seemed almost too small to house a nest The entrance was about 6-7 cm wide and narrowed to about 4-5 cm, a short distance back where the bird sat incubating two eggs. There were many other crevices on the point but no birds were found. Certain sites under large boulders were too deep to be checked. Steep cliffs on the southeast side were not checked. We hiked over to the northeast part of the island to search other rock outcroppings. On the way over the grass tussocks, we discovered a snake which force-regurgitated two murrelet eggs. All we found at these outcroppings were some gull pellets that contained storm-pe- trel and possiblemurreletremains. Perhaps there are only a few nests on Tadanae, we thought Ueta started searching in a ridge area covered in grass butriddled with rocks and burrows. He found our fifth nest in a crevice formed by several rocks with a tunnel covered partly with grass. The nest chamber, with an adult incubating two eggs, was located under a larger rock. With this knowledge, he then found the sixth nest nearby in a soil burrow within a rocky area. He felt one egg and a bird moved farther inward. These discoveries convinced us that murrelets could be nesting anywhere on the island, including burrows through- out the grass tussock area. It would require a great deal of effort to find all nests on Tadanae. Satisfied with our nest-finding suc- cess, we decided to inspect possible nesting habitats on other parts of the island. We climbed over to the northwest part of the island where we encountered some brush which did not appear to be usedfor burrow- ing. Our daylight was ruiming out so we went to the cliff tops opposite the other island to have a closer look at Japanese Comjorants nesting on the cliffs that we had seen at a distance from the boat At least three nests were visible although only one appeared to be incubated by an adult and two others were attended butempty. At camp, we were still cooking ramen when we saw our first S treaked Shearwater arrive at 18:42 hours. By 19:15 hours, storm- petrels and shearwaters were abundant and vocal. The first Japanese Murrelet was heard at 19:35 hours. We decided to split up to obtain some idea of the numbers of murrelets vocalizing from 22:00-22:30 hours atdifferentareas on Tadanaeatnight Leah remained at the camp area where she estimated about 50f birds using the bowl behind the tent. Heavy activity occurred from about 20:45-21:15 hours. I went to the main rock outcropping where the first three nests had been found and estimated about 20 birds detected in this area. Seven birds landed nearby but stayed on open rocks. None were heard landmg by known nest sites. One was captured by hand and did not have a brood patch. I had high vocal activity early on but then it tapered off. It was difficult to move about at night amidst the tussocks without crashing burrows and stepping on the hoards of adult and fledg- ling Sooty Storm-petrels that fluttered like large grounded butterflies in front of my feet These storm-petrels were about as 20 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 PSG News large but not as dark as Black Storm-petrels Fd handled in southern California. In a large crevice, I found a Streaked Shearwa- ter with a flashlight What selective value could those exquisite markings have? Meanwhile, Ueta had gone over to the northwest part of the island where he had found nests earlier in the day. He heard about 50 birds and had seen 24 birds on the ground spread over the small valley above theoriginal landing spot After22: 19 hours, he noticed that birds were no longer calling on the colony and were calling only from the water. We were all amazed to have so much activity. Clearly, there were more murrelets using the island than we had imagined. We rendezvoused at the camp and attempted to catch a bird for photo- graphs. Activity picked up and we heard several birds landing on the slopes of the bowl. We caught 2 birds (without brood patches) and took a few pictures before releasing them. Trying to sleep that night was impos- sible. This experience had been so excit- ing, WTiat an incredible opportunity and a special moment in our lives. Other than Moyer, we ware perhaps the only North Americans that had ever seen the nests of and live-handled these rare Japanese trea- sures. For that matter, not many Japanese have had this chance. Isn’t it curious that we tend to better appreciate these mysteri- ous creatures when they become rare and when we can personally experience them? . Isn’t this one of PSG’s missions: to inform the world about these fragile and fantastic wonders of the Pacific so that they will be protected without every human on earth feeling as much for them or being as close to them as we were at this moment? Afr. Mutsuyuki Ueta points to a Japanese 28 AprU 1993 Murrelet nest on Tadanae Island, 26 April 1993 Up at 06:CX) hours. The wind was down. Grabbed our binoculars and camera 27 April 1993 and rushed to the boat. It took about 20 minutes from the east harbor to Onbase Up at 06:30 hours. We packed our gear Reef. The wind was about 5-10 knots with while breakfast (rice soup) was cooking a moderate swell. When we arrived, they and had everything down by the water at told us that it was the wrong tide for land- 08:30 hours. Pick up was scheduled for ing, even though there were fishermen on about 10:00- 1 1 :00 hours. We hiked back the rocks on the far side of the reef. So we over to where Ueta had seen birds on the craised around the reef to examine habitats slopes to search for more nests. No luck, and to count any murrelets on the water. Perhaps these birds were largely non-breed- Onbase Reef was composed of two island ing? Waiting at the landing, we saw a groups. The southwest group was smalls juvenile Peregrine Falcon pass overhead, and had two steep peaks covered in nesting About five Black Kites and 10-15 Jungle Black-tailed GuUs. The northeast group Crows hovered and flew near the top of the was larger and had three small scree fields island. The boat arrived as planned and we at the bases of small bowls on the northwest travelled around the north side of the side. These scree fields contained some Tadanae towards Kozu. We photographed larger bouldors. These locations were de- both of the rocks at Tadanae and mainland scribed in Moyer’s detailed notes to Storer cliffs at Kozu as we passed by. Aftor in the 1950’s as habitats where he found 30- throwing a few fish overboard to attract 40 Japanese Murrelets nests. We drove some Black-tailed Gulls, we stopped sud- around the islands and headed back in. denly. Ojisan poured some sake into the Our going-away breakfast consisted of water and threw out more fish parts in a salted fish (almost like kippers), rice with special offering to the sea. The wind was raw egg and soy sauce, pickled cabbage and increasing now and our trip to Onbase Reef seaweed soup. AH packed up, we said our was canceled. We crawled inside and goodbyes to Obasan who seemed like our sloshed our way back to the harbor. aunt at this point We drove to the ferry and After a welcomed tea at the minshuku, headed off back to Tokyo. Tliis time, we we walked into town for lunch, errands and departed firom theeast harbor which took us phone calls. We didn’t have to ask about right past Tadanae for a last look. About 3 the onsen. They just took us there and kmpastTadanae,Ispottedourfirstmurrelets picked up our completely relaxed bodies a on the water. We counted flocks of one, few hours later. We flopped down for a nap ten, three and one birds, totalling 15 before another wonderful meal of sashimi, murrelets from the east side of the ferry, hamburger, relishes, soups, rice, etc. We They were all located in the same general relaxed afterwards with sake and beer. We area. Moyer had described these “feeding presented Obasan withaPSG totebag which she immediately countered with a towel ^ inscribed with the boat’s name. We also on page examined the fish-shaped kite that her grandson had made for a special upcom- ing event. Tomorrow we would return to Tokyo. There was only one last chance for a trip to Onbase Reef in the morning. Japanese Murrelet captured by hand at night on Tadane Island, 26 April 1993 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 21 Conservation News Consen^ation News Craig Harrison, Conservation Editor The Federal Endangered Species Act and Seabirds The Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-44) can be a powerful weapon to protect species that the federal government has designated as endangered or threatened. The ESA employs a number of techniques to preserve endangered and threatened species, including land purchase by the government, the implementation of conservation programs by federal agen- cies, and the prohibition of various govern- ment and private actions that harm listed species. The current list of endangered and threatened species, which is revised annu- ally to account for changes announced in the Federal Register during the preceding year, is to be found in the Code of Federal Regulations, 50 CJF.R. §17.1 1. It contains fourteen seabirds (Table 1). The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service can amend the federal list through notice-and-comment rulemaking. A proposed rule to list, de-list or down-list a species must be published in the Federal Register. After considering public comments, FWS publishes its final determination in the Federal Register. FWS Table 2. Candidate Endangered and Threatened Seabirds^ Species Category Harcourt’s Storm-Petrel 2 Harlequin Duck 2 Xantus’ Murrelet 2 Elegant Tern 2 ^56 Federal Register 58804-12 (November 21, 1991) also publishes lists of candidate species that it may propose to list as endangered or threatened (Table 2). The ESA requires aU federal agencies, not just those such as FWS whose mandate is conservation, to carry out programs to conserve listed species. Loss of breeding habitat is the root cause of the endangered status of most island-dwelling creatures, and many activities that cause such losses are directly undertaken or indirectly autho- rized by federal agencies. Such activities fall within the ambitof the statute. The ESA also provides for the designation of critical habitat (areas deemed to be essential to the conservation of a species), and FWS’ pro- posal in January 1994 to designate critical habitat for marbled murrelets will be the first designation for any seabird. A species is considered endangered if it is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A species is considered threatened if it is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. The goal of the ESA is to allow each species to recover to the point that it does not need special protection and can be re- moved from the list. Recovery plans are intended to describe specific management actions that may be necessary to allow the species to recover. FWS has issued some recovery plans for seabirds, but the Pacific Seabird Group has rarely if ever had an opportunity to comment on a draft plan. A recent review of over 300 recovery plans (Tear et al.. Science 262:976-77, 1993) criticizes the biological goals in many re- covery plans as being insufficient to insure survival. The stamte forbids “taking” endan- gered species, which is broadly defined to encompass harassment, harm, pursuit, c^ ture, collection, shooting, and killing. Just as important, the regulations define “harm” to include significant modification or deg- radation of habitat. As the State of Hawaii has twice learned to its chagrin in Palila v. Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (western states) may enjoin state actions that degrade the feeding, roosting, or nest- ing habitat of an endangered species. The prohibition against significant modifica- tion of the habitats of endangered species has been called into question by a March 1994 D.C. Circuit decision in a suit brought by nmhti'm\jsce>sis,SweetHomeChapterqf Communities for a Great Oregon v. Inte- rior Department. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that FWS’ “harm” regula- tion is limited to “the direct application of force” against an animal and that, for ex- ample, FWS cannot proMbit logging near marbled murrelet nest sites as a “taking” merely because habitat has been modified. The extreme differences between the two circuit courts might persuade the U.S. Su- premeCourt to review and decide the Swecr Home case. The ESA does allow an endangered or threatened species to be taken pursuant to a permit if the taking is incidental to the carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity such as forestry, clearing land or fishing. However, no incidental take permit may be issued without the submission of a conser- vation plan, which must include means to mitigate the hami caused by the taking of an endangered species. Table 1. Endangered (E) and Threatened (T) Seabirds^ Species Status Range Short-tailed Albatross E Entire, except USA Abbott’s Booby E Entire Bermuda Petrel (Cahow) E Entire Andrew’s Frigatebird E Entire Audouin’s Gull E Entire Relict Gull E Entire Marbled Murrelet T CA,OR,WA Brown Pelican E Pacific coast Galapagos Penguin E Entire Daik-rumped Petrel E Hawaii Newell’s Shearwater T Entire California Least Tern E Entire Least Tern E USA Roseate Tern E Atlantic coast of North America T Remainder of range ICJFJi. § 17.11 (1993) 22 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 * Spring 1994 Conservation News Hie ESA is up for reauthorization in the current Congress and has become in- creasingly controversial. One proposal would require blind peer scientific review of the listing process and direct FWS to give greater priority to conserving distinct species. It would also, according to its spon- sors, ‘‘create a mandatory and viable recov- ery process not present in the current act" The Endangered Species Coalition counters that this ^proach would deny protection until the species is on the v^ verge of extinction. Some organizations are mailing reams of paper to solicit funds to strengthen the Act One brochure depicts a bald eagle, red wolf, Florida panther, p^egrine falcon, piping plover, and Guadaloupe fur seal in its request for money. The brochure fails to mention that each of those creatures is already listed, biologists and managers are actively working on their recovery, and there is no genuine threat that they will lose the protection of the ESA. A goal of some organizations is to amend the ESA to list immediately hun- dreds of invertebrate species. This would accelerate FWS* recent trend to list crea- tures such as the prairie mole cricket in Oklahoma, the blind cave isopod in Vir- ginia, Hungerford’s crawling water beetle in Michigan, and the Delhi sands flower- loving fly in southern California (a subspe- cies). Those who lobby Congress to bring hundreds if not thousands of invertebrates under the protection of the ESA should depict those creatures on their fund raising appeals and defend their views openly. If the federal government embarks on a mas- sive listing of invertebrates, the ESA will become much more difficult to enforce. Focusing on invertebrates will drain human and financial resources away from what is available for the conservation and manage- ment of birds and mammals. Providing insects the same protection as grizzly bears, short-tailed albatrosses, and marbled murrelets fuels the growth of the “wise use” movement because it undermines public confidence in government's ability to set conservation priorities. Some conservationists espouse egali- tarian views and deride setting priorities based on “charismatic megafauna” Virtu- ally no one, however, behaves as if all species are equal. Individuals draw their own lines, but in the continuum of life forms from mammals, birds, and fish through plants, insects, flatworms, fungi. amoebas, bacteria, viruses, and polypep- tides virtually everyone establishes prefer- ences when the time comes to write a check or volunteer for a weekend of work. Recov- ering the hundreds of birds and mammals already listed will require enormous public and private funds and the focused efforts of biologists and managers for decades to come. Because the global number of spe- cies of insects (1-2 million) greatly exceeds the global number of species of mammals (4,000) and birds (9,000), changing the focus of the ESA to include invertebrates has tremendous implications that must be carefully considered and honestly debated. SEABIRD CONSERVATION 1994 The Pacific Seabird Group worked on the following seabird conservation issues during the past year. Members who have information about issues that may benefit from PSG involvement or who wish to review documents and to assist the Conser- vation Committee in drafting PSG letters should contact me. LExxon ValdezOH SpDI (EVOS) Resto- ration During the past two years, PSG has sent at least ten letters commenting on restoration plans and annual work plans that the EVOS trustee council prepared. The long-delayed draft EVOS restoration plan, which will establish long-term goals and priorities for the billion dollar trust fund, will not be available until late June. A final restoration plan is scheduled to be released during October 1994. Jim King, one of PSG’s founders, continues to serve as the conservation member of the EVOS Public Advisory Committee. The trustee council recently adopted a PSG proposal and funded the removal of foxes from Chemabura and Simeonof is- lands to restore those seabird colonies. PSG has given the trustee council a list of islands from which rats and foxes should be re- moved and a list of seabird colonies that should be purchased. We are working with Old Fbrbor Native Corporation to persuade the trustee council to purchase the corporation’s seabird islands near Sitkalidak Strait, Kodiak. PSG has been concerned that the trustee council has not always used the very best science in making restoration decisions. To improve this situation, we suggested re- Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 cently that the trustee council consult with PSG to obtain lists of potential peer review- ers of restoration proposals and reports. We are happy to report that the chief scioitist has begun to do so. The 1994 annual work plan seems to limit seabird restoration to common munes, black oystercatchers, harlequin ducks, marbled murrelets and pigeon guillemots. The trustee councU is ignoring the damage done to other seabirds such as cormorants, tufted puffins, black-legged kittiwakes and ancient murrelets. Moreover, the trustee council continues to define the oil spill area very narrowly, ignoring the migratory na- ture of seabirds. PSG has written the trustee council that common murres are probably linked genetically linked throughout their range in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. We have also noted that banding studies of alcids show that substantial num- bers of young birds prospect for breeding sites long distances from their natal colony. Colonies that are beyond the trustee council’s definition of the oD spill area include birds that can recolonize damaged colonies. For this reason, PSG will con- tinue to challenge the trustee council’s highly questionable assumption that sea- birds outside a narrowly defined spill area were not damaged. H. Threatened and Endangered Seabirds A. Harlequin Duck In 1993, PSG sent copies of a report entitled “The Status of Harlequin Ducks in North America” to FWS and the Canadian Wildlife Service, and asked those agencies to investigate the status of the harlequin duck. We understand that there may be grounds to file a petition to declare the eastern population of the harlequin duck as endangered or threatened. B. Marbled Murrelet In January 1994, FWS proposed criti- cal habitat for the threatened marbled murrelet in the Pacific Northwest The Marbled Murrelet Technical Committee filed comments on this proposal in April. C. Xantus’ Murrelet At PSG’s annual meeting in Sacra- mento, the Executive Council directed the Xantus’ Murrelet Technical Committee to prepare the necessary documentation to file a petition to declare the Xantus’ muirelet endangered or threatened. PSG has informed FWS and the California Department of Fish & Game that a petition may be filed lat^ this year, and has scheduled a meeting with 23 Conservcation News biologists and agency staff to exchange information on the status of this species. D, Harcourt’s Storm-Petrel {Oceanodroma castro) FWS still has not decided whether to declare the Hawaii populationofHarcourt*s Storm-Petrel endangered, although a peti- tion was filed five years ago. FWS has conducted surveys of this species in Ha- waii, and found a few additional areas where birds can be found. In 1990, the population was estimated to be one hundred pairs (Hanisdn, Telfer and Sincodc, ‘Elepaio 50:47-51), but may be larger. E. Dovekie In March 1993, an individual peti- tioned FWS to list the Aladrn breeding population of the dovekie as endangered. Because the population of dovekies in the North Atlantic is in the lens of millions, FWS denied the petition (58 Federal Regis- ter 37699-701, July 13, 1993). m. Mexican Seabird Conservation The interest in seabird conservation in Mexico has increased greatly, in part due to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). PSG will sponsor a symposium and workshop on the restoration of island biodiversity in Baja California and the Sea of Cortez at San Diego in January 1995. At that meeting, PSG will form a Committee to address research and conservation issues in Baja California. In February 1994, we applied to FWS fora grant to support travel expenses and accommodations for Mexi- can biologists, students and wDdlife agency officials to attend PSG’s symposium and workshop. PSG has recently asked FWS to estab- lish a program to identify all seabird colo- nies in western Mexico whose populations are limited by alien predators and to re- move those predators by the year 20CK). We also wrote the Federal Neotropical Migra- tory Bird Conservation Committee lastsum- mer to volunteer PSG assistance regarding seabirds. We learned that federal funds are available from theU.S.-MexicoJointCom- mittee for Wildlife Conservation and urged several PSG members to apply. We con- gratulate BemieTershy forreceivingagrant to restore seabird colonies on Ascunsidn and San Roque islands. We continue to work with the Interna- tional CouncO for BirdPreservation (ICBP) to secure funds to remove alien predators from Isla Claridn and North Coronado Is- land. ICBP asked the House Appropria- tions Committee again this year to appro- priate funds for this work during the com- ing fiscal year, which would allow Xantus’ murrelets, Townsend’s shearwaters and ashy storm-petrels to resume normal br^d- ing. IV. Alien Predators on Seabird Colonies PSG continues its efforts to persuade FWS lo remove predators from seabird colonies throughout the Pacific. In early 1993, we wrote Department of the Interior Secretaiy Babbitt and asked for his support to remove alien predators from Alaskan seabird islands. As reported in the fall 1993 edition of the VSG Bulletin, the Secretary’s response was evasive. We recently wrote FWS ’ Alaska Regional Director and a^ed the Service lo develop a comprehensive plan to remove predators from Alaskan seabird islands. Webelieve that ifFWS had such apian, the EVOS trustee councilmighl fund its implementation. The regional director’s response, however, was luke- warm. PSG may ask the trustee council for funds that would enable PSG to develop a comprehensive plan, which we would pro- vide to FWS and to the trustee council PSG reviewed the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge’s environmental assessment entitle ‘Proposed Emergency Use of Brodifacx)um and Bromethalin to Prevent Accidental Introductions of Rats from Shipwrecks on Islands in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.” We agreed with FWS that any effects of local- ized use of those chemicals on non-target species would be very minor compared to the risks that rats might colonize a new island. V. Amendments to Migratory Bird Treaty Act PSG has worked with the National Audubon Society in advising a congres- sional committee on a draft Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1994. This legislation would fully implement the US A-Japan and US A-Russia migratory bird treaties. It may direct FWS to remove predators from ref- uge islands and to develop non-game man- agement plans for migratory birds, includ- ing seabirds. The bill also may ask FWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service to report lo Congress concerning the take of seabirds in commercial fisheries in theU.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). TheU.S. Department of the Interior may withdraw a solicitor’s opinion issued during the Carter administration and declare that Interior will enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty Act throughout the 200-mile EEZ, not just the 12-mile territorial PSG has written Secretary Babbitt and urged him to with- draw the solicitor’s opinion and to declare a new Interior policy regarding the acL VI. Seabird Conservation in the Philip- pines PSG gave the Dansk Omitologisk Forening (Danish Ornithological Society) a$l,000grantin partial support of aproject to conserve tropical seabirds in the Sulu Sea. The project is a joint venture among many organizations to attempt to save the last s^bird colonies in the Philippine, a nation of some 10,000 islaiwls. Beside PSG, British Petroleum Company, theU.S. Section of the International Council for Bird Preervation, and the Hawaii Audubon Society are supporting part of the project’s $26,000 in costs. The project will begin in June 1994. The work is taking place in the Tubbataha Marine Park, Sulu Sea. Among the project’ s many objectives is the training of 15-20 Filipinos in seabird biology and conservation, including employee of uni- versities, foundations, the Department of Environment and Natural Reource and the Philippine Coast Guard. Beside foster- ing PSG’s conservation goals, this project is an opportunity to become known to pro- fesioni ornithologists in the Philippine. Some project biologists may join PSG and some PSG members may have an opportu- nity to work on seabirds in the Philippine. Vn. Marine Sanctuary Program We continue to monitor the National Marine Sanctuary program. A site evalua- tion list for future marine sanctuarie is long overdue. PSG again wrote NOAA in early 1994 tosupportamulti-siteandmulti- reource sanctuary in Hawaii that would provide comprehensive protection for a marine ecosystem, including seabirds. Spe- cifically, PSG supports expanding the proposed Hawaiian Islands National Ma- rine Sanctuary to protect seabirds offshore North Kauai and the Northwestern Hawai- ian Islands. NOAA and the State of Hawaii may propose a single-species hump-backed whale sanctuary that would provide little additional protection for whales, which the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act already protect. PSG also asked FWS lo complete its study on the benefits of a marine sanctuary off- shore the Hawaiian Islands National Wild- Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 24 Conservation News life Refuge. The 1984 masterplan for this refuge required such an evaluation, but FWS has never begun one. Vni, Restoration Plan for Nestucca Oil Spill, Washington With the assistance of George Divoky, PSG reviewed and commented on FWS’ draft Restoration Plan for the Nestucca oil spill in the State of Washington. We said that the plan is a reasonable expenditure of a modest sum ($50,000/year for ten years) of restoration funds. It includes (1) improv- ing habitat for seabirds on Destruction Is- land by removing rabbits; (2) educating boaters regarding disturbance to seabird colonies; (3) delineating seabird mortality from netfisheries; and (4) monitorihg Com- mon Muire attendance at Washington colo- nies. IX. Management of the National Wild- life Refuge System PSG commented on the draft environ- mental impact statement for the manage- ment of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys- tem. This plan that ^fects some of the most important seabird colonies in the USA is being revised for the first time in almost 20 years. PSG stated the plan: (1) placed too much emphasis oh master plans (which are easily ignored) and not enough emphasis on refuge-specific regulations (which have the effect of law); (2) over-emphasized building visitor centers; and (3) should al- low more public involvement in ranking new refuge land purchases. SEABIRD CONSERVATION IN MEXICO During the last few years there has been an increasing interest in the seabird resources of Baja California and the Gulf of California. This is not surprising, consider- ing that the area is vast and harbors many interesting and unusual species. Some of these are abundant and some are relatively rare, but few have received the intense study similar to that directed towards other Pacific coast seabird meccas such as Alaska or the Faiallon Islands. Indeed, Baja Cali- fornia is the only region on the west coast of North America for which there has been no concerted effort to inventory seabird colo- nies and populations. At the same time, concern is growing regarding the conservation of Baja CalifOT- nia seabirds. Many if not most of Baja’s seabini breeding islands have had introduc- tions of non-nadve animals such as cats, goats, pigs, and dogs. Rats have likely also established footholds at many of these is- lands. The often devastating results of such introductions are weD-known and need not be recounted here. Fortunately, there has also been a dra- matic increase in Mexican seabird biolo- gists in Baja California in the last decade. Energetic and concerned indigenous re- searchers are currently working out of uni- versities and other institutions throughout the region, including Ensenada, La Paz, Guaymas, and even Mexico City. One of the goals of the 1995 PSG meeting in San Diego will be to draw as many Mexican researchers as possible to a workshop/sym- posium on se^ird population restoration and protection, in hopes that slate of the art technologies can be transferred and applied to islands of Baja California that are much in need of such attention. During the last year PSG has been considering additional ways to assist the Mexicans in research and conservation ac- tivities. Funding has always been difficult to obtain, either within Mexico or within the U.S to do work in Mexico. The impend- ing implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) may pro- vide a means to solve this problem. A joint international effort could be the best way to tap this source. At the 1994 PSG meeting in Sacramento an exploratory Baja California Seabird Committee meeting was held to examine the possibilities and perhaps es- tablish a foundation upon which a coopera- tive program could be built. One of the goals that was discussed was producing a master plan for the conser- vation of Baja California seabirds. This international effort, under the auspices of PSG, would seek funds to undertice sev- eral tasks. First would be the summary of currently available information on seabird status, distribution, and abundance. Identi- fication of survey and re^arch needs would be the natural outgrowth of such a study. Assessment of threats such as the impacts of introduced predators would also be made. The ultimate product of the project would be a prioritization of conservation needs based on species and colony status, levels of threat, and feasibility. Action plans, bud- gets, and time lines would then be devel- oped. A well-researched proposal to carry out the masterplan recommendations, spon- sored by PSG and including well-known Mexican and U.S. biologists, would likely be well-received and stand a good chance of being funded by governmental agencies or private conservation organizations. This approach could also serve as a model for similar international cooperative projects. The Pacific Seabird Group has an excellent reputation, and perhaps this is another way we can use and extend our collective exper- tise to benefit the resource. Wearecurrently discussing these ideas with our Mexican colleagues, and so far they have been enthusiastically received. By the 1995 meeting we hope to have a working group established arid start seek- ing funding for development of the master plan. WilliamT. Everett PSG Goes to Japan Continued from page 19 ' areas” near Miyakejima where local con- centrations of birds could be found near shore. We repeated our stops returning to Tokyo. Strewed Shearwaters accompa- nied us all the way. We dircus^ coopera- tive research at length. Itwas evening when we reached the docks, carried our heavy gear through the rain to the subway, passed through the lighted stations and sleepily hiked back to Per’ s house. Ueta had stopped at an earlier station to switch to another subway line. (To be continued. A follow up cooperative research trip between PSG and Japanese biologists occurred in early April 1994. Biologists Harry Carter, PSG Chair John Piatt, John Fries and Leigh Odukubo trav- elled to several nesting islands of the Japa- nese Murrelet along with Japanese re- searchers.) Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 25 Canservation News National Biodiversity Information Center Work began in March to draft a pro- posal for a National Biodiversity Informa- tion Center. According to Peter Jutro, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the center will promote the use of standard- ized methods for collecting and managing data on biodiversity. Tbe center will not maintain data on species, but rather will connect those seeking data to appropriate faedities. Other federal agencies involved include the U.S. Department of Agricul- ture, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. State Department, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Science Foundation. The center is intended to complement the Na- tional Biological Survey, which was estab- lished in October 1993. NAS Laments Inaction on Scientific Misconduct The National Academy of Science (NAS) issued a statement in Febmary to remind institutions to hold scientists to the highest ethical standards. Recent rulings in disciplinary cases imply that investigators may pursue only clear-cut cases of outright fraud and plagiarism. In response, NAS states “as members of the professional re- search community we should strive to de- velop and uphold standards that are broader than those addressed by the governmental regulatory and legal fiamework for dealing with misconduct in science.” NAS, along with the Institute of Medicine and the Na- tional Academy of Engineering, suggested that the fedaal government establish a board to help define misconduct and other ques- tionable practices in science. A recent extensive survey of scientists on miscon- duct concluded that instances of miscon- duct may be more common than previously thought Mink Ravage Seabird Colonies in Scotland The October 1993 Newsletter of Britain’s The Seabird Group included an article by J.CA. Craik entitled “Notes from the War Zone.” Craik describes the whole- sale destruction of West Scotland’ s ground- nesting and cavity-nesting seabirds by mink, including gulls, terns, cormorants, eiders and black guillemots. Unlike many preda- tors that generally kill only what they eat, a mink will hide as many eggs as it can, usually all eggs in a colony if there are less than 1(X) clutches. Later in the season, a mink will cache as many chicks as it can, as many as 1(X) in a single colony. Because mink will take up nearpermanentresidence in a colony, they can cause all adults to desert. Mink are spreading in West Scotland, causing seabird colonies to relocate to mink- free areas. In many instances, this has resulted in the establishment of larg^ colo- nies. Whole populations ofseabirds can be severely reduced by mink, and Craik in- creasingly encounters ghost seabird colo- nies. He concludes “the crucially damag- ing feature of mink predation, of gulls and terns at least, is that breeding is largely disrupted year after year so that steady mortality of adults from other causes can lead to a decline in numbers.” League of Conservofion Voters, Environnnental Report Card The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has assessed the environmental per- formances of the Ointon administration and Congress. It rated President Clinton with an overall grade of “C-h” because he is “not working up to his potential.” LCV gave Clinton an “A” for political appoint- ments, a “B” for policy initiatives, a “C-” for delivery of environmental proposals and a “D+” for his environmental budget The LCV gave most of the members of Congress a failing grade. Regionally, the LCV rated members of Congress from New England as the most pro-environment and members from the Rocky Mountain region the least One should be skeptical of rqwrt cards by any organization. It is often difficult to assess objectively governance issues, and LCV’s seemingly objective numerical rankings are often gerrymandered by its selection of issues. For example, Clinton’s “D+” for his environmental budget reflects a lack of funding for municipal sewage treatment plants. From PSG’s perspective, the healthy budgets for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the National Biological Survey and theNationalPark Service would warrant a much higher grade. Moreover, the regional disparities in congressional voting records are no surprise. Representa- tives from Rocky Mountain states, whose economies depend on the use of land will never enthusiastically tighten restrictions on federal lands in their states. Repies^ta- tives from New England^ wh^e the fed^ government owns little land, have a “free” vote when they restrict land use on the residents of states half a continent away. The LCV is comprised of the lobbyists from non-profit organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Wil- derness Society that would lose their tax- exempt status (and much of their budgets) if they endorsed political candidates. LCV can be viewed as a somewhat aggressive means by which some non-profit organiza- tions circumvent the tax laws and partici- pate in electoral politics. 26 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Regional Reports Regional Reports PSG members are urged to send irformation on their activities to their regional representatives. Addresses and phone numbers of regional representatives are listed on the back inside cover of each issue of Pacific Seabirds. CANADA PACIFIC COAST - The Pacific and Yukon Region of the Canadian Wildlife Service, in collaboration with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada has funded a Wildlife Chair at Simon Fraser University. The appointment of Fred Cooke, previously known mainly for his studies of arctic geese, has produced a flurry of activity on seabirds, with the junior chair, Ian Jones, about to establish a long-term program to study auk population dynamics at Canada’s most important sea- bird colony. Triangle Island. Over the next decade, the Simon Fraser/CWS team hope to study the breeding biology and demography of Cassin’s Auklets, Rhi- noceros Auklets, Tufted Puffins, and Common Murres, First priority is being given to Cassin’s Auklet, which has re- ceived relatively little attention in Canada, especially considering that half the world population breeds here (half a million pairs on Triangle Island alone). Ian plans to band several thousand this year, as well as study productivity, chick growth, and food. As part of that program, Yolande Morbey, a graduate student of Ron Ydenberg’s, will be carrying out a study of factors affecting age at departure for Cassin’s Auklet chicks. A prefabricated research station is being landed on the island and assembled this spring and should provide working and living space for up to six people. With this major program underway on Cassin’s Auklet. both Anne Harfenist of C.W.S. and the Laskeek Bay Conservation Society will be carrying out studies in- tended to complement the work at Triangle Island. Anne will study breeding and sur- vival at Frederick Island, a colony about one order of magnitude smaller than Tri- angle Island (90, (XX) breeding pairs), while theL.B.C.S. will study Cassin’s Auklets at Reef Island, another order of magnitude smaller (2000 pairs). Anne wiO also be helping Gary Kaiser with the scheme to eradicate rats from Langara Island, where the population of Ancient Murrelets has been reduced by more than 90% over the past several decades. Gary will be running a trial eradication on the small Lucy Island, adjacent to Langara Island, this year. Elsewhere in Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), several agencies are combining to monitor and control raccoon damage on seabird colonies. Parks Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and the B.C. Parks Service will all be monitoring for the presence of raccoons on important colonies within their area of operation. Simulta- neously, the B.C. Wildlife Branch will be testing different methods of raccoon con- trol. A general strategy for dealing with the situation in the long term is being devel- oped at present Activities relating to Marbled Murrelets continue in British Columbia, with Alan Burger (University of Victoria) carrying out forest and at-sea surveys to determine habitat use, including a collabo- ration with Parks Canada to monitor Marbled Murrelet use of coastal waters adjacent to the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island. Alan is also maintaining regular boat surveys of offshore waters on the west coast of Vancouver Island as far as the edge of the continental shelf and contin- ues with his previous studies of diving behaviour in auks. His student, Sharon DeChesne (University of Victoria) is con- tinuing her studies of Marbled Murrelet vocalizations. Andy Derocher, of the B.C. Forest Service and Gary Kaiser (C.W.S.) will be studying Marbled Murrelet habitat use and demography in Theodosius Inlet, a project in which the Simon Fraser team are also involved. Meanwhile, John Kelson, Irene Manley and others involved in the Clayquot Biosphere Programme will continue to study forest and at-sea habitat around Clayquot Sound. Vicki Friesen and colleagues at the Royal Ontario Museum, in coUaboration with John Piatt (National Biological Sur- vey), continue to investigate the phyloge- netic relationships among the Alcidae, in- cluding ihtBrachyramphus murrelets. They have found that the Long-billed Murrelet {B. marmoratus perdix) merits full species Pacific Seabirds * Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 status. They are now investigating the ex- tent of genetic isolation among local popu- lations of Marbled Murrelets. The Straits of Georgia continue to re- ceive plenty of attention from the Canadian Wildlife Service and Simon Fraser Univer- sity, with a multidisciplinary project on marine and inter-tidal environments. As part of that programme Rob Butler (C.W.S.) and Colin Clarke (Simon Fraser) are developing a dynamic programming model of shorebird migration on the Pacific coast. Ken Morgan is carrying out surveys of marine birds at sea in the area and Ian Goudie (C.W.S.) is continuing studies of moulting Harlequin Ducks. Terry Sullivan (Univ. British Columbia) is com- pleting a M. Sc. on growth rates of Double- crested Cormorants. Rob Butler andKees Vermeer (C.W.S.) are jointly producing a report on the estuaries of the Strait of Geor- gia. Kees is also editing a collection of papers on the marine environments around Haida Gwaii, for which Ken Morgan is writing the account of marine birds. Kees win shortly be ietiiing,buthe will remain in his current position as a **Scientist Emeri- tus”. John Elliot will be running the peri- odic monitoring programme for contami- nants in B.C. seabirds again this year, col- lecting the eggs of connorants, petrels and Rhinoceros Auklets. In Haida Gwaii, the Laskeek Bay Con- servation Society will be continuing their studies of Ancient Murrelet demography, and Marbled Murrelet distributions and monitoring seabird numbers in Hecate Strait Material on the Ancient Murrelet studies to date are being crmtributed to the P.S.G. Seabird Monitoring Database. ARCTIC - Data on arctic seabird colonies accumulated by the Canadian Wildlife ser- vice since 1970 is currently being inputinto the Seabird Colony Registry, prior to the creation of a gazeteer for the area. Ibis project is being coordinated by David Nettleship (C.W.S. Atlantic Region), with contributions from Tony Gaston (C.W.S.- HQ) and Gilles Chapdelaine (S.CP.,Que- bec Region). In northern Hudson Bay, Tony Gaston, Christine Eberl (C.W.S.) and Garry Donaldson (University of Ottawa) are continuing studies of Thick-billed Murre population dynamics at the colo- nies on Coats and Digges islands. Mark Hipfner (Univ. Ottawa) will be studying chick growth and age at departure as part of 27 Regional Reports the same project In the western Arctic, Lynne Dickson (C.W.S., Yellowknife) is continuing sur- veys of breeding densities of King Eiders on Victoria and Banks islands. A program to census seabirds in southern Foxe Basin, organized by Ilya Storm, may go ahead if funding is forthcoming. GREAT LAKES - During 1994 Hans Blokpoel and Gaston Tessier (C.W.S., Ontario Region) intend to publish two more volumes of their 5-volume senes “Adas of Colonial Waterbirds nesting on the Great Lakes, 1989-1991”. Their first volume, dealing with Canadian Lake Superior, was published in 1993. They have submitted projects on the conservation of colonial waterbirds for funding by the Great Lakes Action PIan,buias yetno funding decisions have been made. ATLANTIC - In Newfoundland, John Chardine is continuing studies of the breed- ing biology and feeding ecology of Atlan- tic Puffin, Black-legged Kittiwake, and large gulls at Witless Bay, especially with reference to the breeding failures experi- enced by surface f^ers since 1990. As part of tins work, Jan Neuman and Heidi Regehr are both completing M. Sc. projects on kittiwakes and Mike Rod way is doing the same on the puffins. Vanessa Rodregues is currently carrying out a project on the turnover rates of seabird corpses on beaches; part of a continuing research and monitoring program on beached birds. John is also monitoring hunter effort in the annual “turr” hunt and modelling the effects of changes in regula- tions on populations and harvest levels. Bill Montevecchi (Memorial Univer- sity) is continuing studies on the trophic relationships and feeding ecologies of NW Atlantic seabirds. Prey harvest of gannets (17th year). Common Murres (with Pierre Ryan,C.W.S.) and Atlantic Puffins (with Janet Russell, Mike Rodway) at several islands are being compared with fisheries and oceanographic data. Findings indicate delays in the inshore migration of pelagic prey and shifts in pelagic food webs, with more cold-water and fewer warm-water prey since 1990. These changes are associ- ated with recentbreeding failures of Black- legged Kittiwakes on Great (with Heidi Regehr), Baccalieu (with Jill Casey) and Funk islands and at Cape St. Mary’s (with Fyzee Shahood). Fish plant closures in Newfoundland have increased {H'essure on other seabirds from predatory gulls. To- gether with a change to offshore dumping of offal, these factors have led to a decline in local gull populations that will probably continue. Tony Gaston Washington/Oregon WASHINGTON - Urich Wilson, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Wash- ington Coastal Refuges Office in Sequim, will continuing his annual photographic census of breeding cormorants and Com- mon Murres on the outer coastand in the strait of J uan de Fuca, including Protection and Smith islands. He also conducted more intensive breeding surveys and studies on land and by boat at Protection and Smith islands, with emphasis on cormorants. Pi- geon Guillemots,RhinocerQS Anklets, and Tufted Puffins. Other species surveyed by Ulrich included Peregrine Falcons (May- June), Brown Pelicans (September), Brant (October-May), waterfowl in the Dunge- ness/Sequim Bay area (October-May). Louise Vicencio and Mike McMinn (USFWS) Nisqually NWRC will continue rudimentary seabird colony surveys by boat in the San Juan Islands during the summer. They will also conducted surveys of Brown Pelicans in Grays Harbor (September-Oc- tober), shorebirds in Grays Harbor (April, August, and November). Don Williamson (USFWS) Willapa Bay NWR, is conducting Snowy Plover surveys during the summer and monthly waterfowl surveys in the fall. Don is also continuing the Brant surveys at Willapa Bay. Julia Parrish, Institute of Environmenal Studies at the University of Washington, will continue here colony stud- ies at Taioosh Island for the 5th year. Her work with Common Murres, recently funded by USFWS (Washington Field Of- fice), has concentrated on population levels and productivity as well as interactions with predators. Mary Mahaffy (USFWS). Puget Sound Estuary Program, and George Divoky are continuing to work with Pi- geon Guillmots in Puget Sound. They will be banding adults and chicks in natural and artifical nests, installing additional nest boxes, and documenting nesting chronol- ogy and success. Mary MahalTy and Camille Bennett are continuing their radio telemetry study of Surf Scoters as part of a study to evaluate and monitor the relation- ship between contaminants and scoters near Tacoma. Dave Nysewander, Janet Stein, and Matt Nixon (WDW) are continuing their seabird/wateibird study under the auspices of the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Project In addition to boat work, aerial surveys will be flown in July, January and February covering all inland marine wat^s and shorelines of Washington state. They will also be continuing to document adult/ juvenile ratios for Marbled Murrelets in the study area. Bill Ritchie and John Pierce (WDW) are coordinating the state program to moni- tor seabird/fisheries interactions. The study area is the North Puget Sound area from the San Juan Islands to the Canadian border. They will be intensively monitoring the gill net fishery that targets Frazer River Pink and Sockeye Salmon stocks and the Chi- nook and Chum Salmon fishery. In addi- tion to monitoring incidental take of sea- birds in gill nets they will be conducting seabird surveys amid the fishing activity. Under the Habitat Conservation Plan- ning program the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has contract with the WDW to conduct Marbled Murrelet habitat studies and identification on the outer Olympic Peninsula and in Southwestcomer of the state. Projectleader Janet Anthony, and biologists Eric Cummins and Janet Hardin (WDW) will be describing habitat quality by looking at forest structure and distance fi-om sail wa- ter. The DNR project coordinator is Lenny Young. Terry Wahl and others will continue to gather and analyze data on seabird occurence off the outer coast of Washing- ton for the 23rd consecutive year. Anyone interested in participating can contact Terry at (206) 733-8255. Jean Cross will conduct daily obser- vations of Marbled Murrelets on a freshwa- ter lake in July repeating her 1993 work. OREGON - Jan Hodder and students at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology will be continuing their study of the nesting success of Pelagic Cormorants at the OIMB colony in SunsetBayatCapeArago. 28 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Regional Reports Buffer Zone Established at Three Arch Rocks Following the advise of the Or- egon Ocean Policy Advisory council. The Oregon State Marine Board voted on March 17, 1994 to institute a 500’ seaional bufferzonearound Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge lo- cated near Tillamook, Oregon. A co- operative study by ODF&W and USFWS during the spring/summer 1993 documented 167 wildlife distur- bances events caused by aircraft and watercraft. The wildlife disturbance data col- lected in 1993 was essential to the decision making process. The vessel closure zone, which will occur annu- ally from May 1 to September 15, is the first closure zone to be established in Oregon’s marine waters and is one of only a few anywhere on the Pacific coast. Posters, signs and brochures will be distributed to educate the pub- lic about the closure. In addition, ODF&W and the USFWS will con- duct a follow-up study to monitor the relative successes or failures of the closure. With nearly a quarter of a million nesting Common Murres, this is the largest breeding site for this specie south of Alaska and contains the only breeding site for threatened Steller Sea Lions on north coast of Oregon. This was the 22nd consecutive year that this colony has been studied. A cooperative study by the Oregon Depaitmentof Fish and Wildlife (ODF&W) and the U. S. Fish and Widlife Service (USFWS) wiU conducted again this year at Three Arch Rocks NWR from mid-May to mid-September 1994. Participants in the study will included Susan Riemer and Robin Brown (ODF&W), and Dave Pitkin and Roy Lowe (USFWS). This years’ study will be a follow-up investigation to the 1993 study documenting human distur- bances to breeding seabirds and Steller Sea Lions using refuge rocks. This year, a 500’ buffer zone (closure) is in effect and educa- tional efforts will be conducted to prevent entrance into the closed waters around the refuge. Roy Lowe and David Pitkin of the USFWS - Oregon Coastal Refuges office will be continuing annual seabird monitor- ing projects in Oregon in 1994. Activities include aerial photographic surveys of all Common Murre and Brandt’s and Double-crested Cormorant colonies on the Oregon coast Nesting attempts by Pelagic Cormorants at 17 Oregon coast colonies near Newport will be monitored again this year. The beached bird mortality study on 7.1 km of beach located between SealRockandAlseaBayin Lincoln County, Oregon will continue from June through September. This is the ninth consecutive year of this study. The eighth annual aerial survey of Brown Pelicans along the Or- egon and Washington coasts is plarmed for mid-September if funding allows. This survey is a cooperative effort with Roy Lowe, David Pitkin, Nancy Morrissey (OCR), Mary- Jo Hedrick (ODF&W) sur- veying Oregon, and Ulrich Wilson, Louise Vicencios and Mike McMinn (USFWS- Nisqually NWRC) surveying Washington. Spring and fall aerial surveys of Aleutian Canada Goose use of Oregon coastal rocks is also continuing. In an effort to develop a more inte- grated approach to managing natural re- sources in the State of Oregon, the USFWS Portland Field Office recently reorganized their program into ecoregion teams. One of the new teams formed will address Oregon’ s coastal ecoregion. Team members bring a variety of experience and expertise to the coastal ecoregion team such as environ- mental contaminants, endangered species, forest ecosystem management, informa- tion and outreach, regional planing, and Federal permits and projects. Over the next few months, the team will be identifying resource priorities in the coastal ecoregion and developing strategies and projects for managing natural resources. The Portland Field Office will likely receive funds in 1995 foriestoiation projects, some of Which could be used in the coastal ecoregion. The Portland Field Office encourages input from PSG members concerning resource prob- lems and needs within the Oregon coastal ecoregion. Please contact Colleen Henson at (503) 231-6179. Robert Pitman , with the assistance of Oregon Coastal Refuges, is continuing a long term study of the reproductive biology of Leach’s Storm-Petrels on Saddle Rock, Oregon. Banding of storm-petrels was Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 initiated here in 1979 and has continued annually. To date a total of 5,567 birds has been banded, including 2,761 adults and 2,806 chicks, and 145 recaptures have been obtained. Robert Loeffel and Don and Sara Brown are continuin g their long-term , year- round beached bird mortality study on 7.4 km of beach just south of Newport,Lincoln County, Oregon. This study is now in the 17th consecutive year. In the summCT of 1994, the 22 known Marbled Murrelet tree nests in Oregon will be monitored for reuse by S. Kim Nelson's group (Oregon Cooperative Wild- life Research Unit). To locate new nests, they will climb trees in areas where land- ings are observed or eggshells found. The tree climbing project initiated in 1993 (see abstract from 1993 PSG Annual Meeting, this issue of Pacific Seabirds) will be con- tinued on a limited basis. Roy Lowe Northern California A more complete regional report of members’ activities will appear in the next issue of Pacific Seabirds, An update on some recent conservation issues follows. AlamedaNaval Air Station in the north San Francisco Bay region is one of several naval bases in California slated for closure. This site supports several unique and valu- able seabird resources, including the only significant California Least Tern nesting colony north of Santa Barbara. This colony consistently produces six to ten percent of all tern chicks in the state. The island break- water supports a key roost site for Brown Pelicans. The largest Caspian Tern breed- ing colony (over 2000 birds) and the second largest Western Gull breeding colony in central and northan California are also found there. There is concern by the local environmental and scientific community about the fate of this site since many op- tions are being discussed about reuse of the site. PSG recently sent a letter to the East Bay Conversion and Reinvestment Com- mittee urging that these seabirds and the habitats that support them be protected as a state or federal wildlife area. A symposium was held in March 1994 describing the biological resources of the site. Speakers included Steve Bailey, Deborah Jaques 29 Regional Reports ' II i-9: fil Strong, and Barbara Massey, among oth- ers. Significant media and public reaction has surrounded a recent proposal to con- duct a study on global warming using sonar in the Point Sur area and Hawaii. Sound generators, located at a depth of 800 m, would emit 195-decibel pulses of low fre- quency for 20 minutes every 4 hours for several years. Receivers would be located in New Zealand. The study would be con- ducted by the Scripps Institute. Most con- cerns have focused on potential impacts to marine mammals, e.g., whales, pinnipeds, and dolphins. The initiation of the study has been delayed so that an environmental as- sessment can be completed. Public hear- ings are ongoing in California and Hawaii. TheU. S.Fishand WildlifeService, Ventura Office, has been aimed to the upcoming environmental assessment process. Sal Chinnici and Ray A. Miller (Scotia Pacific Holding Company) will be survey- ing for Marbled Murrelets at 34 survey sites, containing approximately 289 sta- tions. They will also be experimenting with a "cluster” survey technique with radio communication between observers in an attempt to track murrelets at potential nest stands. In addition, they will be utilizing ground search techniques for nesting evi- dence at approximately 26 sites. Jean Takakawa Southern California Pat Baird continues her work on foraging ecology of California Least Terns under a U.S . Navy grant with Tim Burr and Jerry Boggs. Four of her students will be present- ing papers on this research at the combined AOU/COS A^^OS meetings in Missoula this summer. She also found that the combined forces of the University, USFWS, Calif. Fish and Game, Calif. State Parks and the EPA could not convince the FAA that one- ounce LeastTems from a soon-to-be colony 500 feet below the flight path of jets atL.A. International airport were not a flight haz- ard. So the colony, decoys, sound system, and nascent sand dunes, et al. were dis- mantled by the county late in 1993. A search is on for a new site, Alan Baldridge is continuing long term interests in distribution and abundance of seabirds, both breeding and migrant, in the Monterey Bay region. He retired from Hopkins Marine Station in 1993 but his interest and committment there continue. Robert Brownell is continuing to work on marine mammals and is able to watch seabird migration out his window of the Southwest Fisheries Center in La Jolla. Slader Buck directs various endan- gered species projects at Camp Pendleton. Donna Brewer continues her round- the-world cruise with her husband on their sailboat Currently she is somewhere in the South Pacific. Douglas Cheeseman is currently teaching at DeAnza College, but he is tak- ing next fall off while he and wife lead an expedition to Antarctica for 70 people. Seven more spaces are available. It is a 29- day trip from Argentina to the FaMands (Malvinas), South Georgia, the Antarctic Peninsula, and back to Argentina. Cost is $7500 plus airfare (Nov. 21- Dec 19 1994). Doug continues to give slide talks on rainforest destruction, and he regularly leads trips on ecotourism. His banding station at Saratoga in oak woodland habitaiis on hold at present, but he would like to get back to it eventually to continue his population studies on passerines. Wife Gail runs birdathons, is on the environmental action committee of Audubon, is leading two tours to Africa, and is trying to reschedule the Rwanda trip. Charlie Collins continues to manage various U.S. Navy grants monitoring re- productive success of California Least Terns. Healso continues his work on Scrub Jays on Santa Cruz Island. Mary Beth Decker is working on pe- lagic distribution at frontal structures around the Pribilofs. She has beenworking on an- otherprojecton decadal change in dietand reproduction of seabirds at the PribUofs. Her other interests are foraging ecology of auklets in the western Aleutians, and look- ing for a job (she is finishing her PhD by Decembo* 1994 at Univ. Cal at Irvine. Bill Everett is continuing his work on seabird reproductive success on the Coronado Islands (including Black and Leach’s storm petrels and Brown Peli- cans) He is helping supervise students for CICESE from Ensenada: one working on a project of Laughing Gulls, Black Skim- mers, Gull-billed, Least and Elegant terns nesting at the mouth of Colorado river. Another long-term study on Laysan Alba- trosses on Guadalupe Island. Bill is still spearheading the effort to prepare a pack- age proposing endangerged species status for Xantus’ Murrelet. Mike Horn and his students, from California State University FuU^ton, are studying the foraging ecology of Black Skimmers at Bolsa Chica. Lloyd Kiff (Wesem Foundation for Vertebrate Zoology) is supervising Walter Wehtje (who recently received a Master’s from UCLA) for a contract on the cleanup of the Mcgrath Beach oil spilL Walter is monitoring Least Terns and Snowy Plo- vers for both breeding and nonbreeding seasons at Mcgrath and Ormond beach^. Lloyd was able to reorganize his entire library after the January earthquake that knocked all his bookshelves over. Judith Latta Hand and Sheila Mahoney are organizing a workshop on Women in Ornithology (Missoula Mlon- tana joint AOU/COS/WOS). The work- shop is scheduled for 6/21/94 at 1pm. The introductory paper is by Dr. Marcy Lawton: *‘Aie there gender-based differ^ccss in how men and women do science?” A series of panels will explore problems and give potential solutions. Judith continues to write fiction (historical novels) with strong fe- male protagonists . Kathy Keane continues her work on monitoring Least Terns at the San Pedro colony and Batiquitos Lagoon. Pete Major continues to monitor mi- grating seabirds at Palos Verdes. Barb Massey "keeps threatening to retire” but is still worldng for Charlie Collins on a U.S. Navy project on banding of California Least Terns, Pat Mock continues his studies on seabird abundance and distribution in San Diego Bay. Steve Reilly has been working with Bob Pitman and Lisa Ballance attheSouth- west Fisheries Center, studying seabirds in the eastern tropical Pacific. They have been looking at distribution and abundance pat- terns and how they change with time. An- other facet of their research is the flocking dynamics of seabirds that feed over tunas and dolphins. Lisa Ballance is looking into the flight energetics of several tropical spe- cies, as well as the physiological correlates of community structure. She and Bob have several papers in the works on feeding ecology of various species Dark-rumped Petrels. They are most interested in how the petrels go about locating and securing Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 30 Regional Reports food, but they are also gathering data on foraging associations of seabirds with sub- surface species. John Warriner is working for PRBO on their Snowy Plover project with Gary Page and Lynn Stenzel. Paula White has been working with endemic subspecies of arctic foxes on the Pribilofs and is now working on public education regarding them. She has helped develop educational materials for a sum- mer camp for native children and has been successful in placing fox information in the regular curriculum in the public schools there. She has also been educating tourists about the foxes, which were not left over from fur farms in the 1930’s as many people used to believe. Pat Baird Non-Pacific United States At the DuBois campus of Pennsylva- nia State University, Christopher Haney has finished two reports on field work con- ducted at the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, last summer, along with Alexandre Golovkin (Institute for Nature Protection and Re- serves, Moscow) and Mikhail Flint (P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences). One report deals with diel mass fluctuations in auklets dur- ing incubation. The other is a brief sum- mary of ecosystem research at the Pribilof Islands, conducted jointly by Russian and American scientists and submitted to the Circumpolar Seabird Bulletin edited by Kent Wohl. Along with Sam Wainright, Rutgers University Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Chris also participated in ongoing stable isotope studies of the struc- ture of terrestrial and marine food webs, including seabirds, in the eastern Bering Sea. Along with Pat Wainright, of the same institute at Rutgers, Chris provided samples for studies of population genetics in alcids and kittiwakes. Chris was recently elected Research Associate at the North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, wh^e he and David S. Lee are preparing the species account for Black-capped Pe- trel in the Birds of North America project Chris and David are also researching ana- lytical methods that evaluate the efficiency of marine bird surveys. Chris and Stewart MacDonald,retired from the OttawaNatu- ral History Museum, have nearly completed the Ivory Gull account for Bircfr of North America. At the Nationai Biological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, in Lau- rel, Maryland, JeffSpendelow has begun a 5-year study on modeling regional sur- vival, movement, and recruitment rates in declining avian met^pulations. As part of this research, Jeff will continue to coor- dinate a long-term met^pulation study of Roseate Terns nesting in Massachusetts and New York. Jeff and his co-investiga- tors presented earlier results at the sympo- sium “Recent advances in the biology, con- servation, and management of Roseate Terns” held at the Colonial Waterbird Society’s meeting in France. In 1994, they will begin analyzing data on postfledging survival, natal-site fidelity, dispersal, and regionalrecruitmentin this metapopulation of Roseate Terns. They also hope to get additional data from colonies in the Gulf of Maine. At the Biosystematic Parasitology Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Ag- riculture, Eric Hoberg is working on projects dealing with systematics, coevolu- tion, and historical biogeography of para- site assemblages among marine birds. In- clude! is an assessment of biodiversity with respect to ecological and phylogenetic diversity, and the use of parasites as eco- logical indicators. Current studies involve (1) acanthocephalan parasites of shags in the Aleutian Islands, (2) helminths of alcids and larids in the North Pacific Ocean and Sea of Okhotsk, (3) cestodes among munes, and (4) relationships of cestodes among major orders of seabirds. At the University of Nevada at Reno (UNR), Margaret Rubega, in a postdoctoral position with Lew Oring, is beginning research on the limits and devel- opment of salt-tolerance in chicks of recurvirostrid waders. They will examine the tolerance of fresh to hypersaline water by chicks at different ages, in terms of salt excretion, energy costs, and growth and development under both captive and wild conditions. Their goal is to determine ef- fects of progressive wetland salinization on the reproductive success of waders, and thereby develop water quality standards for reserves and mitigation wetlands, especially those supplied with second-use water. In other inland work at UNR, Chris Eiphick is studying effects of different management regimes on use of California ricefields by aquatic birds during winter. Specifically, Chris is determining how different hydroperiods (depth and duration of flood- ing) affect bird use, foods (invertebrates and grains), and foraging behavior, and how these parameters vary between man- aged and natural sites. Longer-tmn goals include studies of local movements and turnover rates of shorebirds using flooded ricefields during winter, and landscape- scaleeffects of the rapid increaseof flooded land in California’s Central Valley. Doug Forsell, with the Chesapeake Bay Estuary Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is in the third year of censusing marine birds in the Bay using aircraft and a Global Positioning System (GPS) to reference each sighting. Results show that Chesapeake Bay is an important wintering area for scot^, Oldsquaws, Red-throated Loons, and gulls. At the University of Wyoming, Clayton Derby and Jim Lovvom continue their research on the impacts of Double-Crested Cor- morants and White Pelicans on trout stocked in the North Platte River. In sum- mer 1993, cormorants ate mainly suckers, longnose dace, and fathead minnows from arrival in spring until trout were stocked in early July, after which they ate mostly trout until migrating south in the fall. Lack of trout in the cormorantdiet from arrival until stocking suggests that overwinter mortality of stocked trout might be important in lim- iting their recruitment to catchable size classes. Diet studies will be extended to pelicans in summer 1994. JimLoworn Pacific Rim A Laysan Albatross attraction project was kicked off on Kaohikaipu Island, a state seabird sanctuary off of Oahu’s Makapu Peninsula on December 17, 1993. Adult and chick decoys and a sound system were arrayed on the island by principal investigators Drs. Stephen Kress and Ri- chard Podolsky. Assisting with the field work were project supervisor Scott Hall, Hawaii Audubon volunteer coordinator Steve Carter, and staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The project goal is to restore an albatross breeding colony near Oahu. Natural recolonization on the main island has met with dismal success due to Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 31 Regional Reports hazing atairports; predation from cats, dogs, and mongoose; and disturbance by humans. Scott Hall and Steve Carter success- fully established a volunteer cadre to moni- tor die project from nearby SeaLifeParkon the Oahu coast For nearly a month no albatross were seen in the vicinity. Eventu- ally, however, a single bird was sighted flying over the island, and within days it landed on the island. Since January there have been regular sightings of Laysans landing on the island. As many as four birds have been sebn at one time. The project appears to be successful at attracting sub- adult birds that have been prospecting at various sites around Oahu in recent years. USDA Animal Damage Control per- sonnel have collected eggs from airfields on Oahu where albatross pose a strike risk to aircraft. Five eggs were successfully incubated by Dr. Causey Whittpw. Sea Life Park is raising these chicks to fledging age, when they will be placed on Kaohikaipu Island. Plans are to continue the project earlier in the breeding season next year in hopes of attracting breeding birds. The vessel grounding on Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge reported in Octo- ber resulted in the release of the following estimates of pollutants: 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 2,500# ammonia gas, and 500 gallons of lubricating oil. No impacts to seabirds have been recorded during three trips to the atoll since the grounding. The Fish and Wildlife Service feels confident that rats have not been reintroduced as a result of the grounding. However, exten- sive damage was caused to the reef at the atoll. The proposed rule to list the Short- tailed Albatross (Diomedea albatrus) as endangered will be revised in response to new information compiled by the Alaska Natural Heritage Program in their report: “Status Report on the Short-tailed Alba- tross”. Additional infonnation on the status of the Band-rumped Storm- petrel was re- cently submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wild- life Service to bolster the evidence of threats to the population. Recent work from Vol- cano National Park on Hawaii has shown predation (probably by cats) to be a major source of chick mortality for the endan- gered Dark-rum ped Petrel in areas of suspected band-ramped colonies. In addi- tion, recent preliminary results from ge- netic work on the Dark-ramped Petrel on Maui has shown no apparent interchange between the Hawaiian and Galapagos popu- lations. The World Wildlife Fund-US EPA directed survey of global contamination by organohalogen compounds (OHCs) began thefirstof two years of intensive field work and specimen collections for analyses in November, 1993 (FY -94) at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The study is being headed by James P. Ludwig, SERE Group, Ltd. Midway was chosen as a site expected to be the furthest from known point-sources of OHCs in the northern hemisphere, and surrounded by the largest dilution reservoir in the biosphere. Here it was expected that seabirds should have minimal contamina- tion and that albatrosses, with their wide ranging feeding habits, would sample the greatest proportion of the oceanic surface possible. Further, having simultaneous ac- cess to many known-age birds of the two species of albatrosses (Laysan and Black- footed) at different positions in the trophic structure would allow trophic level com- parisons, and could hint at the more impor- tant pollution pathways in this very large marine ecosystem. A pilot study in FY-94 has demon- strated the utility of non- destructive sam- pling protocols that use blood samples gath- ered from banded known-age birds as a basis to assess contamination exposure in wild seabirds. The contaminant-sensitive biological markers of thyroxine, vitamin A, and inducible P450-1A2 enzymes are be- ing used to measure the effects of contami- nant loading on the biochemical responses of individuals which have their contami- nant loadings measured in blood sera si- multaneously. Contaminants are being measured in adult and chick blood sera, eggs of both species, and a variety of tissues obtained from wing-injured birds that are opportunistically salvaged. Five top-level scientific laboratory groups from New Zealand,HoUand, Sweden,US Woods Hold Oceanographic Institution, and Germany have joined with the Michigan State Uni- versity Pesticide Research Center/John Giesy analytical team to probe the more difficult state of the art techniques of en- zyme analysis, xeno-estrogenic effects of contaminants and their metabolites, mecha- nisms of contaminant transport in the birds, the presence/absence of particular enzymes that detoxify contaminants, and very exact- ing congener-specific OHC analyses. A few laboratory results have been returned thus far. Dioxin-like contaminants (measured as TCDD-Equivalenls) are present in both species, albeit at relatively low levels. Eggs of Laysans are very close to published no-effect levels, but black- foots are more than 2x above known no- effect levels. Albatross chicks have levels of dioxin-like compounds and DDT group compounds equivalent to non-Great Lakes nesting Bald Eagles, but adults are 2-5 fold more contaminated than their chicks. Eggs ofboth species collected in December, 1992 had surprisingly elevated levels of DDT group compounds including 30-35% par- ent DDT, indicating the continuing high use of these hazardous OHCs worldwide. Plastics ingestion continues to be a very significant problem for nestling alba- trosses, with a sample of dead large chicks found to have mean burdens of 32 grams/ bird in 1993, compared to <2 g/bird in 1966. Some population-wide biological effects may be emerging in the eggs as thinning or some other mechanism that compromises shell quality. These observa- tions suggest significant xeno-estrogenic impacts on individuals. Deformed and ab- normal chicks have been documented and rates of chick abnormalities are about one- tenth those measured in Great Lakes larids, as are the TCDD EQs. Ecologically, soft- bodied ticks that infest albatrosses are cur- rently having a population explosion at Midway which may complicate interpreta- tion of results. This research is continuing in the re- mainder of FY-94, and another field season will follow in FY-95. Detailed work is beginning on the biochemical mechanisms of these contaminants, especially those that may be xeno-estrogens. SERE staff plan to attend the upcoming SETAC meeting in Denver and the 1995 meeting of PSG to present papers detailing the results of the pilot study and first full year of field/labo- ratory work. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service coop- erative education student, Nanette Seto, will be completing her two-year study ex- amining the effects of rat predation on the 32 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Regional Reports reproductive success of Bonie Petrels at Midway Atoll in June. In 1994, after the failure of a fiber-optic scope during her first season, she used a camera system consist- ing of a small CCD camera with light emit- ting diodes attached to a small monitor to examine burrow contents. Preliminary re- sults show that rat predation appears to be most prevalent during the egg stage of the nesting petrels. With the exception of one study site, areas baited with rodenticide resulted in higher reproductive success than areas with no control efforts. Seto also estimated the current population of the Bonin Petrels at Midway. She conducted two procedure: capture-recapture and di- rect burrow counts. She will assess the estimates resulting from the two proce- dures and determine which produces the most accurate estimate, while creating the least disturbance and requiring the mini- mum amount of labor. University of Hawaii Doctoral Candi- date, Vanessa Gauger is continuing her field studies of Black Noddies on Laysan Island. Vanessa has studied Black Noddies at Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals, and Heron Island, Australia. Vanessa is investi- gating the significance of successive clutches in the species and the role this may play as a mechanism for exploiting years of favorable weather and food availability. Her prior work at Tern Island revealed that approximately 40% of the pairs raised two successful broods annually. This phenom- ena is rare in seabirds and she did not find noddies nesting successively in Australia. Principle Investigators David Ainley and Richard Podolsky (PRBO Interna- tional Biological Research) are continuing work on a project entitled: Ecological As- pects of Breeding and Mortality in NeweU’s Shearwaters and Migration of Surprising Numbers of Dark-rum ped Petrels on the Island of Kauai, Hawaii. The project is funded by the Electric Power Institute with cooperation from the State of Hawaii and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Richard Podolsky submits the follow- ing summary of the project to date: Field work commenced in early May 1993 and continued fuU-time until termina- tion in mid November 1993. Time was invested in three major activities: develop- ment of the capacity to investigate demo- graphic parameters of Newell’s Shearwa- ter on the island of Kauai (no small task following hurricane Infld); gathering of data on reproductive success of the Kalaheo colony; and gathering of information to evaluate the State of Hawaii’s Save our Shearwater Program (SOS). The reproductive performance of Newell’s Shearwatersin the Kalaheo colony during 1993 was the poorest compared to 5 years of monitoring in the mid 1980’s con- ducted by T. Telfer. However, a high pro- portion of burrows were occupied, mostly by non-breeders. Reasons for the low re- productive success and/or high incidence of non-breeders include effects of the 1992 hurricane (less tree and fern covct leading to increased predation by owls or heatstress of burrow occupants) or effects of a signifi- cant ENSO on the food web during 1993. Results in the colony were consistent with the lowest fallout of fledglings y etrecorded in the SOS program. Rat predation may also be an important factor affecting the reproductive performance of the shearwa- ters. We observed a significant in-shore movement of Dark-rumped Petrels each evening into the upper reaches of Wainiha Valley along Kauai’s north shore (a high of 1055 individual on one evening in May). Assuming that about 1/16 of the breeding population may arrive on a given night during incubation (May) these observa- tions indicate a population much larger than the few heretofore estimated. We detected at least three “new” colo- nies of Newell’s Shearwaters in our search for colony sites at which we could conduct our studies. A total of nine adult Newell’s Shear- waters were captured and banded at or in their burro ws; none were previously banded , either in SOS or in the work that had been carried out in the colony during the early 1980’s. We observed a significant spring/sum- mer fallout Between 1 1 May to 29 July we found 22 dead Newell’s Shearwaters along the road mostly between Kealia and Waialua. Two were found by unlighted power lines. Some of these were the same as the 27 records compiled by USFWS. On the basis of autopsy, at least 8 of the 27 were breeding adults and the remainder were sub-adults. Three of the 27 had been previ- ously banded in the SOS program. This ratio of banded to unbanded (1 in 10) is unexpectedly high and indicates that a sig- nificant number of the birds marked (res- cued) in SOS may subsequently die as a result of collisions in later years. During the autumn fallout we set up routes that we drove 2-3 times per night looking for dead and live shearwaters. On 41 circuits, we encountered 69 Newell’s Shearwaters. Although access to unlighted power lines is limited, we found 4 shearwa- ters along a 4 km stretch near Pdipu. We found that 36% of all birds encountered were dead compared to 9% of birds re- ported dead each year in the SOS data We marked all dead birds found; none were turned into SOS indicating a much higher mortality that indicated by SOS (which is not set up to measure mortality). Recent Publications of Interest Gales, Rosemary. 1993. Cooperative mechanisms for the conservation of alba- tross. Australian Nature Conservation Agency. Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. 132pp. Murray, T.E., Bartle, JA., Kalish, SJR., and PR. Taylor. 1993. Incidental capture of seabirds by Japanese southern bluefin tuna longline vessels in New Zealand wa- ters, 1988-1992. Bird Conserv. Intemam. 3:181-210. Ken McDermond Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 33 Books Book Review Status and Conservation of Seabirds. Sub- titles: Ecogeography and Mediterranean Action Plan. Aguilar, J.S.,X.Monbailliu, & A. M. Peterson (Eds.)- 1993. Proceedings of the 2nd Mediterranean Sea- bird Symposium Calvia, 21-26 March 1989. Published by the Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO/Birdlife) in conjunction with MEDMARAVIS, the Mediterranean Sea- bird Association, and with the Balearic Ornithology Group. 386pp. ISBN84-604- 6710-4. Price 2,500.(X) Pesetas. Available from SEO, Facultad de Biologia, 28040 Madrid, Spain. — The MEDMARAVIS association aims to coordinate the work of marine ornithologists interested in the study and conservation of seabirds in the Medi- terranean area through its symposia held every fourth year. Calvia, on Majorca of the Balearic Islands (Spain) was the site of this symposium, significantly, because these islands have the impact of thousands of tourists from western and northern Europe swarming there during the winter, endan- gering the still extant seabird habitats. The meeting must have been well at- tended since 32 papers and 12 posters by a total of 73 authors are presented in this volume. The bulk of these came from Italy, Spain and France. The presence of del- egates from Greece, Malta, Bulgaria, Ukraine and the Canary Islands, further the presentations of researchers fix>m the Brit- ish Isles, Germany and Switzerland, re- minding us that the Black Sea is but an extension of the Mediterranean Sea, that Mediterranean seabirdsrangeas far asNorth Atlantic islands off Africa, and that some are winter guests from Northwestern Eu- rope. Most papers are written in good English with Spanish summaries, the few exceptions are in Spanish with English summaries. In the first chapter 14 papers deal with status and distribution (with good maps) of breedingpopulations of apetrel, a shearwa- ter, a shag and of 10 species of larids. In case of some endemics, such as Adouin’s Gull {Larus adouinii), the whole world population is assessed and mapped. Note- worthy are two papers by Ukrainian seabird researchers, I. Chemichko and V. Siokhin, of the Black Sea and its bay, the Sea of Azov. The former reports on peculation size and distribution of larids, the latter on factors influencing trophic levels and popu- lation structure of the same gulls and terns. Next, six papers report about post-nup- tial distributions. Most interesting for us is W. R. P. Bourne’s succinct account of the distribution of birds at sea in the Mediterra- nean area. Besides his own voyages, he summarizes, with detailed species accounts, the almost half-century of observations by the Royal Naval Bird-Watching Society and by various merchant navies of several nations. His conclusions are worth reading (and following up) by pelagic observers of all seas and oceans. Among other conclu- sions, he found that in summer the Mediter- ranean is a poor feeding area for pelagic birds because its water becomes stratified with a warm upp^ lay^. Birds move out or concentrate in turbulent areas with food- rich upwellings. Satellite position-fixing with simultaneous temperature readings enabled the charting of seemingly haphaz- ard pelagic feedingconcentrations over such local upwellings, especially along the rim of the continental shelf. Plumes of turbu- lent fresh water discharged by major estu- aries also attract pelagic sea-birds. The next seven papers deal with eco- logical research on certain species. The last chapter, on habitat conservation, includes a summarizing account (by editor X. Monbailliu of France and J. Sultana from Malta) with a list and map of all protected areas (over 80 sit^) of the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins, and the 25 most important unprotected localities with colo- nies of vulnerable or endangered species. What we usually call resolutions at our plenary meetings this symposium accom- plished with an ** Action plan.” In three languages (Spanish, English and Catalan, each on six pages) all the detailed needs of urgent ccmservaiional measures are enu- merated with a plea to all countries in- volved, but commendation is also given to the governments of Italy, Lebanon, Mo- rocco and Spain for their proposals of cre- ating new seabird havens in the form of national parks or nature reserves. We wish to this strong international group success with their undertakings. I recommend this symposium volume as an important source booktoall seabiidresearchers and all coastal and pelagic conservationists. — MDE. Udvardy, Departrmnt of Biological Sci- ences, California State University, Sacra- mento, California 95819, USA. Books received; Wetlands in Danger: A World Conserva- tion Atlas by Patrick Dugan. Oxford Uni- versity Press: October 28, 1993. ($35.00; 200 pp; illus.; ISBNO- 19-520942-7) A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali by John MacKinnon and Karen Phillipps. Oxford University Press: August 26, 1 993. ($85.(X) cloth; 489 pp; color plates; ISBNO- 19- 854035-3). 34 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Abstracts Abstracts from the 1 994 Annual Meeting 1 POPULATION ESTIMATES OF MARINE BIRDS IN LOWER COOK INLET, ALASKADURING JUNE 1993. Beverly A. Agler, Steven J. Kendall, Pamela E. Seiser, and David B. Irons, Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska 99503. We surveyed marine birds in lower Cook Inlet, Ala^ (LO) during June 1993, using small fast boats to traverse 411 tran^ts. On the randomly-placed 2 nm transects, we recorded 53 bird species. Using a ratio estimator, we counted an estimated 798,042 + 195,555 birds in LCI, approximately twice the population esti- mate from a July 1993 survey of Prince William Sound (PWS). We stratified the Inlet into 3 strata: shoreline, coastal, and pelagic. We observed an estimated 37334 + 13,863 birds in the shoreline stratum, 254,976 + 172,127 birds in the coastal stratum, and 505,733 + 99,995 birds in the pelagic stratum. The most common species group seen in LCI was alcids (38.1%), consisting of 55.5% murres, 22.0% puf- fins, 2.9% guillemots, and 19.1% Brachyramphus murrelets. The second most common species groups were procellariiformes (20.7%), and gulls (16.2%). The species composition of LCI was very different than that observed dur- ing a similar survey of PWS in July 1993. The most common species groups in PWS were murrelets (42.9%) and gulls (31.4%). Some of these differences are due to the oceanographic characteristics of the two areas. Several major species groups ap- peared to be associated with a large oceano- graphic gyre. 2 SEABIRD AFFINITIES TO PER- SISTENT HABITAT VARIABLES IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. Sarah G. A//en,Naa Park Serv., 600 Harrison St, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94107; and David G. Ai>i/^,PointReyes Bird ObsCTv., 4990 Shore- line Hwy., Stinson Beach, CA 94970. Persistent habitat relationships of ma- rine birds are of interest to resource manag- ers and scientists because of the multitude of critical issues germane to the marine environment, including oil spills and fish- eries interactions. A geographic informa- tion system (GIS) is a powerful tool for analyzing spatial relationships. Our objec- tives were to 1) map seabird distribution and abundance in central California based on at-sea surveys, 1985-1992, 2) character- ize the ecological relationships between distribution, abundance and envircmmen- tal variables by a) simple map overlay with GIS and habitat variables such as bathym- etry and breeding sites, and, b) multivariate analyses, 3) develop and test species-habi- tat relationship models with at-sea data collected in 1992, and 4) apply models to resource management issues. Results indi- cate that seabirds displayed strongest af- finities for distance to shelf-break, distance to the nearest breeding site or landfall, and depth. Sea surface temperature was a sig- nificantfactor for some nearshore and mid- shelf species, particularly during ENSO years. Species distinctly segregated along distance and depth gradients, although as- sociations varied annuaUy. A few species displayed strong affinities for specific lo- cations such as Cordell Bank. When tested with 1992 field data, models adequately characterized the distribution of species for which there was a large number of sightings in 1992. 3 FLIGHTENERGEnCS OF FREE- RANGING RED-FOOTED BOOBIES. Lisa T. Ballance, SW Fisheries Science Center, 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037. I studied flight energetics of free-rang- ing Red-footed Boobies {Sula sula) on Johnston Atoll in the central Pacific using doubly labeled water to measure field meta- bolic rate (FMR), an open, flow-through system to measure oxygen consumption (resting metabolic rate orRMR), and activ- ity recorders to monitor foraging behavior at sea. During the period of FMR measure- ment, birds spent an average of 49% of the time brooding and 51% of the time forag- ing at sea. Of the time at sea, 84% was spent in flight. Mean FMR of nine adults with a mean mass of 1070 g was 1224 kJ d'^. Mean RMR of eight adults with a mean mass of 1039 g was 34.8 kJ h'^. The power required for flight for six adults with a mean mass of 1014 g was 68,1 kJ h“^, less than one-third of the predicted value based on aerodynamic theory. Cost of transport averaged 1.5 kJ km"^, a value 36% of that predicted from aerodynamic equations. Differences between measured and pre- dicted values are likely due to two factors not accounted for by aerodynamic theory: flight behavior patterns of seabirds on the open ocean, and subtleties of wing mor- phology. Clearly, much more data are needed in order to understand the striking flight proficiency of this species. 4 RADAR TRACKING OF MARBLED MURRELETS ON VANCOUVER ISLAND, BRITISH COLUMBIA. Alan E. Burger and Sharon B.C, Dechesne, Dept, of Biology, Univer- sity of Victoria, Victoria, B.C. V8W 2Y2. We used a modified high-frequency marine radar to track Marbled Murrelets flying overthe forest habitatin 1993 (Furuno KR810D,9410MHz, 10Kw,2Mantenna). Radar had limited value in comparing rela- tive densities of murrelets in different habi- tats, because a significant proportion of the birds evaded radar detection among trees and behind hills. On average the radar de- tected 1.65 times the numba: of detections recorded by human observers using the standard protocol,butat some sites humans recorded more detections than radar. The timing of activity peaks in dawn surveys was similar for radar and human observers. All-night radar watches at full-moon and new-moon showed that murrelets w^ ac- tive over the forest only at dusk (low level of activity) and dawn (lots of activity). The mean flight speed of the murrelets was 66 km h'l (SD = 14; range 30-100, N = 46), and was not significantly affected by cir- cling or turning. 5 STATUS OF SEABIRDS AT BOGOSLOFISLAND, ALASKA, SITE OF A RECENT VOLCANIC ERUP- TION. G. Vernon Byrd, Alaska Maritime NWR, 2355 Kachemak Bay Dr., Suite 101, Homer, AK 99603. Bogoslof Island in the southeast^ Bering Sea has changed size and shape substantially during 5 eruptions since it firstrose from the sea in the late 1700s. The most recent event was in 1992 when a new dome was built adjacent to the northern end of the island. Food limitations, instead of limited nesting habitat, have been suggested as a cause for population declines and re- Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 35 Abstracts productive failuresofkittiwakes (Rissa spp.) and murres {Uria spp.) elsewhere in the southeastern Bering Sea. Thus the newly avatiable habitat at Bogoslof may provide an opportunity to evaluate whether food, or habitat, has been limiting. Restricted use of the new dome suggests that birds are not nest-site limited. If food is plentiful in the area, but nest sites have been scarce, the new dome should be rapidly occupied by: 1) adults shifting from other areas, 2) prog- eny recruiting from breeding populations at Bogoslof and Fire islands or elsewhere, or 3) adults associated with the colonies but previously unable to nest due to lack of sites. Brief surveys in 1993 indicated a few kittiwakes, murres and tufted puffins {Fratercula cirrhata) were present on the still-steaming dome. Additional surveys are planned for 1994 to evaluate occupancy rates. 6 BREEDING POPULATION SIZE AND DISTRIBUTION OF XANTUS’ MURRELETS {Synthliboramphus Aypo/eiic«s)INSOUTHERNCALIFOR- FilK, Harry R. Carter and Gerard /. McChesney, National Biological Survey, 6924 Tremont Road, Dixon, CA 95620, In 1991 , we le-surveyed 15 colonies of the Xantus’ Murrelet and estimated about 1,760 breeding birds in the Channel Is- lands, southern California. Higher num- bers had been estimated in 1977 (range=4,374- 10,000) using different tech- niques. Most birds (88% of the CA popula- tion) nested in the Santa Barbara Island area. Nests were located mainly in crevices within sleep slopes or on the surface under shrubs. Eggshell fragments were found in 29% of 1,421 potential nest sites (PNS) counted during large-scale searches mainly after the breeding season. PNS were ad- justed to determine breeding population size using site occupancy correction factors developed during the breeding season. Very small colonies occurred in the northern Channel Islands where birds nested in scat- tered pairs either on small offshore rocks or in sleep cliffs. Prince Island (off San Miguel Island) hosted 150 breeding birds (9% of the CA population) and was the second largest colony. At small colonies, popula- tion estimates were based mainly on noc- turnal vocalizations, eggshell fragments in crevices and historical estimates. 7 APPROACHES TO DETERMIN- ING BAG LIMITS AND HUNTING SEASONS FOR MURRES IN NEW- FOUNDLAND. John W. Chardine, Cana- dian Wildlife Service, P.0, Box 21276, St John’s, NF, Canada AlA 5B2. Recently a legal mechanism to regu- late the murre hunt in Newfoundland was identified, with the result that a bag limit and shorter hunting season are now in place. In this paper I describe the approach taken to determine these new hunting restric- tions. Data on harvest levels and hunter preferences were obtained from nine murre harvest surveys conducted between 1977 and 1990, and a survey of hunter opinion conducted in 1988. A population model estimating the effects of harvest levels on murre populations was constructed. The model predicted a sustainable harvest at 50% of current levels, which range from 600,000 to 900,000 birds annually. Sev- enty-four percent of hunters surveyed (n=1224) requested a daily bag limit of 20 birds/person or less. Preferred hunting sea- sons followed a north-south pattern with the majority of hunters in the north opting for Sep-Oct-Nov or Oct-Nov-Dec and those in the south opting for Jan-Feb-Mar. Data on the frequency distribution of daily bag size and the monthly trend in the number of murres harvested in each of three murre hunting zones was used to model the effects of varying bag limit and season length on harvest reduction. Finally, bag and posses- sion limits, and zone-specific hunting sea- sons were determined such that the target harvest reduction was achieved while at the same time accommodating hunter prefer- ences. 8 SURVEY OF PIGEON GUILLEMOT COLONIES IN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND, ALASKA, Mary B. Cody and Gerald A, Sanger, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Coastal and Marine Bird Project, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503. We found 184 Pigeon Guillemot colo- nies in May and June 1993 during a survey of 98% of Prince William Sound’s (PWS) shoreline; most were previously unknown. We found no guillemots at the sites of 14 former colonies, but we found new colo- nies within a few km of eight of these. Southwestern PWS, with 4 1 % of the shore- line, had 62% of the guillemots, while east- ern PWS, with 24% of the shoreline had 10% of the guillemots. The Naked Island area, with only 2.5% of the shoreline, had 27% of all guillemots. Half of the guillem- otsthroughoutPWS were at22 major colony clusters. We counted a total of 3,028 guillemots, including 1,012 that were unassociated with colonies. Our count is at the low end of a Sound-wide estimate of 3,000 to 4,900 guillemots from pelagic and shoreline surveys by anotherprojectin July 1993. The PWS guillemot population re- mains depressed compared with a high of 15,000 in the 1970’s. Counts atoiledNaked Island have declined steadily since the spill, but numbers are also depressed in unoiled areas of PWS compared with the 1970’s. Reasons are unclear, bat besides the oil spill killing birds outright, reduced food availability and increased predation are implicated. Most PWS guillemots nest on National Forest land. Protection of impor- tant colonies may enhance population res- toration. Studies on predation prey usage and are needed, and non-lethal predator control may be warranted. 9 AN OVERVIEW OF THE IWRB/ Malcolm C. Coulter, P.O. Box 48, Chocorua, New Hampshire 038 17. The Specialist Group on Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills (SIS) is an international group working for the conservation of these birds: 21 stork species, 25 ibises and 6 spoonbills. I wish to share with PSG mem- bers, the scope and depth of our involve- ment for greater understanding and cck^ eration. We work under the auspices of IUCN~The International Unionfor the Con- servation of Nature (lUCN) which includes all specialist groups from elephants to sea- birds/storks to butterflies. All bird special- ist groups also work undo* ICBF (now BirdLife International). All bird groups are not included, although seabirds have a spe- cialist group under David Duffy as Chair. All wetland bird groups also work under the auspices of tholntemational Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau (IWRB). We have two chairs: Koen Brouwer (the Netherlands) and myself; about 25 coordi- nators in different parts of the world, no staff and minimal support from our parent groups. Our membership includes about 9(X) people worldwide who are involved with these birds. We workto increase coop- eiation and coordination among conserva- ICBP/IUCN SPECIAUST GROUP ON STORKS, IBISES AND SPOONBILLS. Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 36 Abstracts donists and researchers. We continuously the breeding populadon from 10 pairs in review theconservadon status of these birds. 1972 to 220 pairs in 1989. Most of this We also maintain a complete bibliography increase was due to immigradon. While and library for these birds; and provide annual survivorship of breeding birds aver- bibliographies and copies of ardcles to aged89percentfortheperiod 1980 to 1988 people involved in conservation. We also it dropp^ to an average of 8 1 percent from areinvolvedinconservationeffortsofbirds 1989 to 1993. Survival in the year before of critical concern: e.g.. Oriental Crested the 1993 breeding season was only 70 per- Ibis, Greater Adjutant Stork, Waldrapp Ibis, cent This increase in mortality has resulted Oriental White Stork, and American Wood in the breeding population declining from Stork. 220 pairs in 1989 to 150 pairs in 1993. A coincident decline in the number of 10 VOCALIZATIONS OF THE nonbreeders at the colony also occurred, MARBLED MURRELET: POTEN- from approximately 200 in the late 1980s to TIAL FOR INDIVIDUAL RECOGNI- fewer than 30 in 1993. A shortage of breed- TION. Sharon B,C. Dechesne, Dept of ing birds in 1993 was indicated not only by Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, vacancies in previously occupied nest sites B.C. V8W 2Y2. but also by widowed site owners that did Individual vocal-recognition has been not attract mates, widowed established found in many colonial seabirds. Recogni- breeders abandoning nest sites to breed at don potential in these birds has been attrib- adjacent sites, and one instance of a single uted to structural and/or temporal differ- male pairing with two females at adjacent ences in the calls. The Marbled Murrelet is sites. Some predation by Snowy Owls and not colonial, but individual recognition Peregrine Falcons occurs during the breed- would be advantageous in pair-bond main- ing season but most mortality apparently tenance. I will briefly compare the occurs during the nine months the birds are murreleds calls to other related species and away from the colony. Diminished survival considerpotentialinfluencesoftheirunique may be region wide since immigration to nesting strategy. I used a Sony TCD-3 the colony has greatly decreased. DAT, Stewart Electronics UDP-1 pream- plifier, AKG CIOOOS microphone for the 12 ANNUAL SURVIVAL OF recordings and analyzed with the Kay PREBREEDING THICK -BILLED Elemetric’s CSL (Model 4300). From re- MURRES BANDED ON COATS IS- cordings of birds on the water, the temporal LAND, N ORTHWEST TERRITORIES, aspects of the calls are highly variable, CANADA. Garry Donaldson, Dept, of however, the structural aspects have more Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, potential for stereotypy (a brief comparison Ontario, KIN 6N5; and Tony Gaston, Ca- will be made to calls in the forest and at the nadian Wildlife Service, lOOGamelin Blvd., Caren Range nest). From this initial inves- Hull, Quebec, K1 A OHS. dgadon, some call types may have suffi- Annual survival rates based on breed- ciently stereotypical structure that they ing birds accurately estimate mortality for could be used to discriminate among indi- only a portion of the overall life cycle. The viduals, however, grading of calls (eg. keer survival of prebreeding cohorts in long to alternate) within a series complicates the lived species is genaally thought to be location of potential cues for individual lower. The Thick-billed Murre {Uria recognition. At this early stage, this method lomvia) colony on Coats Island offers an is viable in limited circumstances, but I excellent opportunity to address questions hope to develop techniques whereby this of survival as banding has been carried out method could be applied more broadly. there annually since 1984. Survival esti- mates from banding data are generally based 11 DECREASED SURVIVAL AND on one of two approaches: either recovery REDUCED COLONY SIZE IN BLACK of hunted individuals or the resighting of GUILLEMOTS IN NORTHERN living individuals over a period of time. ALASKA. George J. Divoky, Institute of Recovery data were analyzed using the Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, program SURVIV while resightings were Fairbanks, AK 99775. analyzed with SURGE. A model holding Creation of nest-sites at the Cooper survival rate constant but allowing for in- Island Black Guillemot colony increased ter-year variation in recovery or resighting Pacific Seabirds •You 21 No. 1 • Swung 1994 probabilities gave the best fit to our data. Both approaches generated survival prob- abilities suggesting the survival of young murres, aged two to six years, from Coats Island is probably lower than that of adults greater than six years. 13 VIDEO TAPING ALCID CHICKS IN ARTIFICIALBURROWSATTHE SEATTLE AQUARIUM. Barbara K. Douma and Mary Carlson, The Seattle Aquarium, Pier 59, Waterfront Park, Se- attieWA 98101. Since 1991, the Seattle Aquarium has successfully bred Tufted Puffins in c^tiv- ity. Although the eggs were infertile, in 1991, 1992 and 1993 a pair of Rhinocaos Auklets also laid an egg in an artificial bunow. In 1993, a high resolution camera with infrared light was installed in an arti- ficial breeding bunow of a Tufted Puffin. This allowed us to observe the incubation, hatching, post-hatch care, feeding and early development of a Tufted Puffin chick. This presentation describes the breeding pro- gram, equipment used and presents ex- cerpts from the hundreds of hours of video tape collected. In addition, the staff has conducted research projects with the Alcid population and is interested in entertaining research proposals from the Pacific Seabird Group. 14 BREEDING ECOLOGY OF XANTUS* MURRELET ON SANTA BARBARA ISLAND, CALIFORNIA. Charles A. Drost, Colorado Plateau Re- search Station, Box 5614, Northern Ari- zona University, Flagstaff, AZ 8601 1. Nest effort and success of Xantus’ Murrelets {Synthliboramphus hypoleucus) have been studied over a 12-year span at two sites on Santa Barbara Island in the southern California Channel Islands. Nest success (nests with at least one chick suc- cessfully leaving the nest) varied from 27- 75 %. Minimum productivity ranged from 0.3- 1.1 chicks/pair. Bam Owls preyed heavily on adult murrelets in some years. Predation reduced nest success, but did not have a consistent effect on numbers of nesting pairs. Island deer mice preyed on untended muxrelei eggs, taking from less than ten to fifty percent in different years. High mouse predation was linked to lower nestsuccess, and lowerproductivity. Warm- water episodes over the 12-year period ap- peared to directly affect murrelet nesting 37 Abstracts effort and possibly timing of nesting, pre- sumably through effects on food supply in surrounding waters. However, the warm water periods may have indirect effects as weD, as heavy rainfall during these times leads to high deer mouse numbers and, subsequently, high bam owl numbers. De- spite a variety of negative influences, murrelet numbers during this 12-year time- span have been remarkably stable. 15 INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN PHENOLOGY AND BREEDING SUC- CESS OF COMMON MURRES IN CALIFORNIA. Jeremy Eddy. William J. Sydeman. and Nadav Nur. PRBO, 4990 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, Cali- fornia 94970. We evaluated individual variation in breeding phenology and reproductive suc- cess in a sample of approximately 70 color- banded Common Muiies on Southeast Faralion Island, California over a 8 year period (1986 - 1993). Ikying dates were determined by daily observations or back- dated from exact hatching dates using a mean incubation period of 32 d (Ainley and Boekelheide 1990). Standardized devia- tions (anomalies) were estimated by adding (or subtracting) an individuals ’s value from the grand population mean generated from an independent sample of observations taken for unbanded pairs (n=~100) in the general vicinity of the banded birds. Re- sults showed that about 20% of the indi- viduals consistently laid eggs earlier than the population mean, while another 20% consistently laid late; a third set of birds was variable about the population average. Breeding success, however, was not corre- lated with individual anomalies in laying dates. Age-stmcture of the population may explain some of these results, but variation in bird “quality” is also indicated. 16 WINTER DISTRIBUTION OF WESTERN AblD CLARK’S GREBES. Ruth Anne Elbert. University of California, Davis, CA, 95616. The winter distribution of western grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark’s grebes (A. clarldi) was examined using Christmas Bird Count data. The two species were grouped together for theanaly- sis because they were often grouped to- gether in the counts. To assess variation in winter distribution, I examined data for the past fifteen years from aU count points in western North America where Aechmophorus were counted. An index of birds per total party hours was used to analyze the data. Aechmophorus specie winter mainly along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico, with some as far inland as central Texas. Clark’s grebes are usually found only in southern counts. The winter distribution of Aechmophorus was highly variable from year to year. The greatest concentration oi Aechmophorus {^\most 2 Sl western) was found in the Vancouver Is- land/Puget Sound area. Some other areas showed extreme year-to-year fluctuations in birds^arty hours. I hypothesize that Aechmophorus are highly keyed to prey availability, going where prey are easily accessible, and moving on when they are no longer available. Another important factor in winter distribution is weather. Many birds are found at inland lakes of high altitude. If lakes freeze over, the birds must move on. 17 XANTUS’ AND CRAVERI’S MURRELETS: A SYNOPSIS OF THEIR BIOLOGY. William T. Everett. Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zool- ogy, 439 Calle San Pablo. Camarillo, CA 93012; and Dun W. Anderson. DepL Wild!, and Fish. Biol., Univ. of California, Davis, CA 95616. Xantus’ Murrelet Synthliboramphus hypoleucus and Craveri’s Murrelet 5. craveri are similar diminutive alcids with relatively small populations and limited distributions. Xantus’ Murrelets breed on islands off the coast of Southern California and the west coast of Baja California. Both species nest in crevices or under bushes, lay a typical clutch of two eggs and produce precocious young that go to sea within several days of hatching. Diets for both species include small pelagic fish and ma- rine invertebrates. During the non-te*eed- ing season, Xantus’ Murrelets typically range north to northern California (and as far as Washington) and south to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California (and as far as Gua- temala). Although there are few available data, it appears likely that varying numbers of Craveri’s Murrelets remain in the Gulf of California during the winter, depending on oceanographic conditions. Approximately 1,700 Xantus’ Murrelets breed at Southern California colonies. No precise estimates for the Mexico populations of Xantus’ Murrelets are available, but they could in- clude up to 20,000 pairs. The population of Craveri’s Murrelet could be as high as 5,000 pairs, but detailed data are unavail- able. Both species face a variety of threats, including destruction of adults, eggs, and young by native and introduced predators. Oil spills and other pollutants may also pose significant threats to local popula- tions. 18 TIMING, MAGNITUDE, AND SYNCHRONY OF TROPICAL SEA- BIRD BREEDING IN RELATION TO ADECADE-LONG CUMATE EVENT IN THE CENTRAL NORTH PACIFIC. Elizabeth N. Flint. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hawaiian/Pacific Islands National Wildlife RefugeComplex,P.O.Box50167, Honolulu, Hawaii 9^50. I examined seabird data collected year- round for 13 years at Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals, to quantify variation in breeding in terms of magnitude, timing and synchrony. All eggs of nine species were counted at intervals equivalent to their in- cubation periods to estimate total eggs laid per year and describe their temporal distri- bution. Reproductive success was also measured tifroughout the period for 3 spe- cies. These time s^ies were compared with time series of physical and biological oceanographic data, as synthesized by Polovina etaL (Fisheries Oceanography, in press), which describe a large scale cli- matic event that occurred during the period of 1975 to 1 988. This event caused a greater mixed layer depth and possibly more nutri- ent input into the euphoric zone. Time se^ ries of reproductive success rates in Red- footed Boobies and Red-tailed Tropicbirds show declines of 30% to 50% that corre- spond with declines in productivity over a rangeof trophic levels since the early 1980’s. Patterns of synchrony and mean Julian date of laying showed striking parallels among species throughout the years, despite their ecological differences, but did not obvi- ously reflect the climatic event 19 UNUSUAL MARBLED MURRELET NEST DISCOVERED IN SOUTHEAST ALASKA. Cheri Ford. Thome Bay Ranger District Tongass Na- tional Forest Thome Bay, AK 99919; and Mike Brown. Ketchikan Area Supervisor’s Office.TongassNationalForest, Ketchikan AK 99901. In July 1993, a ground-level Marbled Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 * Spring 1994 38 Abstracts Muneletnestwas discovered in old-growth Patterns of vegetation were investi- forest in the Log Jam Creek drainage of gated on Sand Island at Midway Atoll with northern Prince of Wales Island in south- the objective of elucidating seabird habitat eastern Alaska. On 23 July, an unidentified use in an extremely disturbed environment bird was flushed from the top of a cliff and Fifty-eightplots were sampled across seven closer inspection resulted in the discovery vegetation types (six exotic and one na- of an egg. On 27 July, the nest was visited live). In each plot data were collected on and an incubating adult Marbled Murrelet seabird abundance and diversity and on was observed. The nest was located on a nine environmental variables. Principal platform of moss on top of three intertwin- components analysis and locally- weighted ing roots of a western hemlock. The tree regression performed on these data reveal was located at the top edge of an l 1 m high associations between nesting seabird spe- cliff. This nest was unusual because it ap- cies and three composite variables. For peared to have two separate natures. When example, nests ofred-tailedtropicbirds were approached from up slope, it was at ground predicted to be most abundant in plots with level, although the platform was on tree dense, unmaintained shrubby vegetation roots. When approached from down-slope, far from buildings and other structures, it appeared to be in the overstory canopy. Environmental conditions in the exotic Casuarina forest that dominates Sand Is- 20 LOW LEVELS OF PETROLEUM land appear to provide nesting habitat for a FOULING SUPPRESS SEX HOR- high diversity of seabird species, although MONES AND REPRODUCTION IN the only species found in high abundance BREEDING MAGELLANIC PEN- are arboreal nesters: black noddies (A/iomj GUINS. Gene S. Fowler, Dept, of Biology , minutus) and white terns (Gygisalba). Com- 609 N. College Ave., Claremont, Califor- parison of Midway’s seabird community nia 9171 1 USA with that of other Northwestern Hawaiian Petroleum fouling has many deleteri- Islands reveals the extent to which ous consequences for marine vertebrates, Midway’s seabird habitat has been altered ranging from increased energy expenditure by human activities. The results of this to die death of the organism. I studied study raise questions that must be consid- circulating levels of reproductive and ered in the restoration and management of adrenocortical hormones in Magellanic seabird habitat at Midway and on other penguins that were lightly covered with highly disturbed islands, petroleum following a marine oil spill off the Patagonian coast, and in a non-oiled 22 A MOLECULAR INVESTIGA- control group. Levels of luteinizing hor- TION OF EVOLUTIONARY RELA- mone, androgens and estradiol, but not TIONSHIPS WITHIN THE ALCIDAE, progesterone, were lower in oiled penguins Vidd Friesen,Allan Baker, DepL Omithol- than non-oiled control birds. Corticoster- ogy. Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, one was higher in oiled than control fe- Ontario MSS 2C6, Canada; and males, but did not differ and were basal in Nat Biol. Survey, 101 1 E. Tudor Rd„ An- males. Few of the pairs with an oiled part- chorage, AK 99503, U.S.A. ner later established nests with eggs. Even To clarify evolutionary relationships low levels of oil fouling in Magellanic within the Alcidae, we compared nude- penguins appear sufficient to interfere with otide sequences of 1045 base pairs of the reproduction. Oiled penguins that were held mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and elec- captive for washing had elevated levels of trophoretic profiles of 38 allozyme loci corticosterone, and appeared to be stressed among all 22 extant species. Phylogenetic both by captivity and by the washing pro- analysis grouped species into six distinct cess. lineages that correspond closely to tribes. The Dovekie (AUe) was allied with the 21 PATTERNS OF VEGETATION auks, and the murres(C/riuspp.) were sister AND NESTING SEABIRDS AT MID- species. Pigeon (Cepphus columbd) and WAYATOLL,NORTHWESTERNHA- Spectacled (C. carbo) guillemots were WAHAN ISLANDS. Holly Freifeld, De- closely related, in contrast with their mor- paitment of Geography, University of Or- phological divergence. The Long-billed egon, Eugene, OR 97403. Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus perdix) was genetically most divergent of Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 the brachyiamphine murrelets, and clearly merits full specific status. Synthliboramphine murrelets comprised two distinct lineages: i) Xantus’ {Synthliboramphus hypoleucus) and Craveri’s murrelets (S, craven; both fcu-- merly genus Endomychura), and ii) An- cient (5. antiquus) and Japanese murrelets (S. wumizusume), Cassin’s Auklet {Ptychoramphusaleuticus) was genetically most distinct of the auklets. The Parakeet (Cyclorrhynchus psittacula) and Aetfda auklets were closely allied, although rela- tionships among these species were not clear. The Rhinoceros Auklet {Cerorhinca monocerata) was most divergent of the puffins, and Atlantic and Homed puffins were closely related. Auklets and puffins fornied sister groups. Population genetic studies are required to clarify genetic af- finities among several of the murrelets, auklets and guillemots. 23 POPULATION GENETICS AND THE CONSERVATION OF RARE SEABWDS.VicHFriesenmdAllanBaker, Dept Omiihology,Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6, Canada- Understanding the extent to which ge- netic variation is distributed among colo- nies (i.e. genetic structure) is critical for designing successful conservation policies for rare or endangered seabirds. If birds from different colonies are genetically dis- tinct, then loss or decimation of a colony may reduce the species’ genetic resources and thus its long-term viability. Protection of numerous colonies from throughout the breeding range would therefore be essen- tial. Furthermore, some colonies may con- tain larger proportions of a species’ genetic resources, so should be assigned higher conservation priorities. Finally, mainte- nance of a minimum population size may be crucial to the species’ survival. This size refers to the effective population size, i.e. the number of individuals contributing to the species’ gene pool, and may be one or two orders of magnitude lower than the census size. Recent technological advances in population genetics enable quantifica- tion of genetic structure, genetic variation, and effective population size, and are po- tentially indispensable for the design of viable conservation programs. A recent study of population genetic stracture of murres {Uria spp.) illustrates several of these techniques. Population genetic stud- 39 Abstracts ies may also lead to the ‘discovery’ of new or cryptic species, such as the long-billed murrelet {Brachyramphus marmoratus perdix), 24 IMPACT OF PREDATION BY RACCOONS ON SEABIRDS BREED- ING IN HAIDA GWAII (QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS), BRITISH COLUMBIA. Anthony J. Gaston^ Cana- dian WUdl. Serv., 100 Gamelin Blvd., Hull, Quebec K1 A OHS. Raccoons were introduced into the Haida Gwai archipelago in the 1940s and have spread throughout the main islands, feeding especially in the inter-tidal zone. Where they have invaded seabird colony islands they have had an adverse impact on breeding populations. Research at East Limestone Island showed that 75% of An- cient Murrelets kiUed by predators were victims of raccoons.* Production of chicks iBrom the colony was adversely affected. At Helgesen Island the populations of Ancient Murrelets and Rhinoceros Auklets have been reduced by 80% since 1986 and Cassin’s Auklets have been almost wiped out These data suggest that burrow nesting auks cannot coexist for long with raccoons. Without intawention, seabird populations in Haida Gwaii seem likely to decline voy substantially. Plans for meeting this threat are described. 25 EFFECTS OF GULL PREDATION AT A DECLINING THICK-BILLED MURRE COLONY. Grant Gilchrist, Dept of Zoology, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4. Many thick-billed murre colonies in Greenland have experienced severe pecu- lation declines. Although recent restric- tions on hunting and salmon gill-net fisher- ies have been implemented to reduce adult mortality, murre colonies have not recov- ered. Gull predation may provide a proxi- mate mechanism to explain this observa- tion. Glaucous gulls are the primary preda- tor of thick-billed murre eggs and chicks in the eastern arctic. Murres nesting together on cliff ledges collectively defend against attack by striking gulls with their beaks. Gulls are most successful when they attack low nesting density sites on broad ledges, while foraging on foot. Thus, gull preda- tion should have a greater impact at declin- ing colonies where low nesting densities may be common. To test this hypothesis, I compared murre nesting densities and gull foraging ecology at two separate murre colonies. The first was an expanding colony located on Coats Island, C^ada, studied in 1989-1992. The second was a declining colony located in the Upemavik region of Greenland studied in 1993. At Coats, gulls avoided contact with murres when stealing eggs and preferred to attack murres located on the periphery of nesting groups. They also preferred to attack from the air when windy conditions enhanced their maneu- verability in flight and enabled them to reach narrow ledges where murre defense was less effective. At the declining Upemavik colony: 1) gulls foraged prima- rily on foot on broad low-density ledges regardless of wind conditions, 2) a greater proportion of murres bred on nest sites vulnerable to gull predation, 3) gulls took more eggs, and, 4) there were more breed- ing gulls present 26 COSTS OF REPRODUCTION IN BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES Rissatridactyla, Gregory Golet David B. Irons, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, 1011 East Tudor Rd., Anchorage, Alaska 99503, We conducted an experiment to deter- mine if there were costs of reproduction associated with chick rearing in the Black- legged Kittiwake. We colored-banded adults on about 5(K) nests and removed the eggs from randomly selected nests so that about half the adults raised young and half the adults did not raise young. Following the manipulation, adult attendance and body condition were studied at control and ma- nipulated nests. Survival and fecundity were measured the following year. Late in the chick-rearing period, adults from control nests were significantly lighter for their size, although body condition was reduced in both groups relative to the preincubation level. Adults that raised chicks had signifi- cantly lower survival than adults that did not raise chicks (0.898 vs. 0.953), suggest- ing that attempting to raise chicks may reduce life expectancy by 54% (assuming age-constant mortality). The year after the manipulation, no differences were found in average laying date and clutch size, be- tween the manipulated and control birds. These results suggest thatreproductivecosts may be expressed via a physiological mechanism in which reproductive stress imposes a degeneration in body condition, thereby reducing survival and potentially future fecundity. 27 IMPLICATIONS OF FASTING AND SHORT-TERM MASS LOSS IN PLANKTON-FEEDINGAUKLETS AT THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS, ALASKA. Alexandre N. Golovkin,Ros, Inst of Nature Conserv. and Reserves, Znamenskoye - Sadki,P.O. VILAR, Moscow 1 13628,Rus- sia; and J. Christopher Haney, The Penn- sylvania State University, DuBois, PA 15801. During fasting paiods corresponding to incubation shifts (ca. 24 hrs). Least Auklets lost mass at 0.4-0.8 g/hr. Total mass loss as a function of initial body mass (TML) ranged from 10.0-21.0% (x = 15J2i:2.2%;n=45). Body mass loss not due to gut evacuation (BMLIranged from 2,4- 18.3%. BML did not differ between the firstand second 12-hr fasting intervals, and there were no significant differences in rat^ of BML across three age/breeding classes (subadults, adults with, and adults without prior breeding experience). TML in Parakeet Auklets ranged from 7.5-15.9% (x= 1 1.7+1 .9%; n= 16). In contrast toLeast Auklets, BML in Parakeet Auklets was lower (5.9-10.4%), it varied significantly between the first and second 12-hr fasting intervals, and there was an interaction be- tween fasting interval and initial capture time within individuals. Time of day buff- ered BML in Parakeet Auklets caught dur- ing raid-morning and late evening (but not late afternoon), most likely a consequence of recendy-completed foraging trips just prior to capture. Short-term mass fluctua- tions rival the magnitude of mass loss that occurs immediately after incubation in alcids, i.e., the “pre-programmed anorexia” thought to be adaptive in reducing ener- getic costs of flight during chick-rearing. 28 A STATISTICAL MODEL OF HABITAT SUITABILITY FOR THE MARBLED MURRELET. Thomas E. Hamer, Hamer Environmental, 615 State St, Sedro Woolley, WA 98284; WilliamP, Ritchie, Washington Department of Wild- life, 6(X) N. Capitol Way, Olympia, WA 98504; and Charles W. Turley, Wash. DepL Nat Res., P.O, Box 47001, Olympia, WA 98504. 40 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Abstracts There has been little research effort to quantify and desoibe the within-stand for- est structural characteristics that are associ- ated with occupied stands. We used logistic regression and analyzed 38 forest structural variables to develop a predictive model for the binary dependent variable which was defined as occupied and unoccupied stands. The model results gave a predicted prob- ability of occupancy with an accuracy rate of 74.2%. The probability of occupancy of a stand was positively related to percent slope, total number of potential nest plat- forms, stem density of dominant trees, mean dbh of western hemlock, and the moss coverage on the limbs of dominant trees. The probability of occupancy was nega- tively related to stand elevation, canopy closure, and lichen coverage on the limbs of dominant trees. The number of platforms available in a stand, and the cover of moss on tree limbs, were the most important variables used to predict occupancy. De- tection rates and the percent of occupied stands declined sharply with an increase in elevation over 1,067 m, and for stands >63 km from saltwater. Land management ac- tivities that reduce the: (1) number of plat- forms/ha; (2) composition of low elevation conifers; (3) moss cover on tree limbs; (4) stem density of dominanttrees; or (5) canopy closure, will reduce the quality of a site as nesting habitat for murrelets. 29 THE VANISHING ACT OF CRESTED AUKLETS: WHY THE AP- PARENTSCARCITYATSEA?/.CMs- topher Haney, The Pennsylvania State University, DuBois, PA 15801. Relative to Parakeet and Least auklets. Crested Auklets seem uncommon during ship-board surveys in the northern Bering Sea. But when birds in flight are combined with birds on the sea surface, numbers actually exceed values generated from colony sizes of the three plankton-feeding auklets. Up to 76% of Crested Auklets offshore are commuting versus only 47% of Least Auklets. Crested Auklets depart colonies in large groups which disperse during foraging; L^t Auklets commute in small groups which aggregate on the ocean surface. Crested Auklets from western St Lawrence Island disperse seaward in nar- row vectors, flying into southwesterly or northeasterly winds on outbound flights, converging along the coastline during in- bound flights. AlargerproportionofCrested Auklets in flight at any given time suggests: 1) they travel further from colonies, or 2) they fly longer linear distances among more foraging sites during a single trip than Least Auklets. Crested Auklets’ preference for large, aggregated prey (euphausiids) in- stead of small, dilute prey (copepods) may enable it to allocate more of its activity budget to aerial searches prior to feeding. Based on flight speeds of 68-82 km/hr and two provisioning trips/day/adult, extended linear distances (550-650 km/trip) and large foraging radii (275-325 km/trip) make a substantial portion of the northern Bering Sea accessible to Crested Auklets during chick rearing. Aerial segments of breeding seabird populations should not be ignored in foraging models. 30 IMPACT OF INTRODUCED RATS ON THE BREEDING ANCIENT MURRELETS {Synthliboramphus antiquus) OF L ANGARA ISLAND AND THE FEASIBILITY OF RAT ERADI- . CATION. Anne //flT/emsr, Canadian Wild- life Service, Delta, B.C. V4K Rowley H. Taylor, 22 Waterhouse Sl Nelson, New Zealand; and Gary W. Kaiser, Canadian Wildlife Service, Delta, B.C. V4K 3Y3. A 1 993 survey of the ancient murrelet colony on Langara Island, B.C., indicates that the breeding population has declined by approximately 40% over the last five years and is now probably less than 10% of its historical size. The colony now covers only 50 % of the area used by breeding murrelets in 1988. The primary cause of the colony decline appears to be predation on eggs and adults by Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus). These rats were introduced to Langara in the 1950’s. We adapted New Zealand’s successful strategy for rat eradi- cation on small offshore islands to Langara Island (3,200 ha). The program uses the anti-coagulantbrodifacoumandshouldpose minimal risk to non-target species. The operation will involve bait stations laid along a 100 x 100 m grid to cover the entire island. Stations will be checked every two to four days for approximately six weeks, at which point the rats should all be dead. The major threat to long-term success of the project is the risk of re-introduction of rats to the island. 31 A SEABIRD MONITORING DA- TABASE FOR THE NORTH PA- CIFIC— WHAT, WHY, AND HOW. Scott A, Hatch, National Biological Sur- vey, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503. Seabird monitoring is the accumula- tion of time series data on any aspect of seabird distribution, abundance, demography, or behavior. A survey of past and ongoing effort reveals that upwards of 5,(XX) observations on seabird population parameters are available from North Pa- cific colonies, and new data are accumulat- ing steadily. Much of this information is not readily accessible, which suggests the need for a consolidated database and a distribu- tion system that places data in the hands of researchers and resource managa^ on a timely basis. Potential uses of this database include: (l)detectionandgeographicanaly- sis of trends, (2) hypothesis-testing using correlation or concordance procedures, (3) analysis of means and variability in seabird life table statistics, and (4) evaluation of the scope and effectiveness of the monitoring program in the North Pacific. There are three main obstacles to achieving the goal of a comprehensive database on seabird monitoring: (1) professional competition and mistrust, (2) ethical issues concerning the ownership and distribution of unpub- lished data, and (3) constraints of time and money among those who would need to participate. The PSG Seabird Monitoring Committee believes these obstacles aresur- mountable and that the benefits of a com- prehensive database for seabird monitoring can be realized within the next few years. 32 KLEPTOPARASmSM AND PRE- DATION OF BLACK GUILLEMOTS (Cepphus grylle) BY GULLS IN THE GULF OF MAINE. D. Lindsey Hayes, National Biological Survey, 101 1 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 995(B. Kleptoparasitism, the behavior in which a parasite steals food procured by a host of the same or another species, is especially common among some groups of seabirds. On Great Duck Island, Black Guillemots, returning to the colony with food in their bills to feed their chicks, are often intercepted by kleptoparasitic Her- ring Gulls {Larus argentatus) or predatory Great Black-backed Gulls (X. marinus). Interactions between guHs and guOlemots were monitored during the 1991-92 breed- ing seasons. In 1992, 99% of all kleptoparasitic interactions involved adult Herring Gulls (88% by solitary Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 41 Abstracts kleptoparasites). Three distinct kleptoparasitic tactics were used: 1) lunge- jump, 2) rush (fly or run), and 3) aerial pursuit. Predation by a single pair of Great Black-backed Gulls was probably respon- sible for most adult guillemot mortality in one study plot Gulls of both species were observed feeding on the carcasses of fledg- ling guillemots. Kleptoparasitism provides Herring Gulls with a suppleriient^ source of food from a minimal investment of en- ergy. Their success rate is about 20%. Most of the gudlemots on Great Duck Island probably can bear current rates of kleptoparasitism. Young guillemots in their nests are relatively safe firom natural preda- tors, but adults and fledglings are suscep- tible to predation by gulls. Predation may significantly affect the provisioning rates at some guillemot nests. 33 ECOLOGY OF RHINOCEROS AUKLETS ON ANO NUEVO ISLAND, CALIFORNIA. Michelle Hester, William J. Sy deman, and ElizabethB. McLaren, PRBO, 4990 Shore- line Highway, Stinson Beach, GA 94970. Human habitation and occupancy has disturbed seabird breeding habitat on Ano Nuevo Island (ANI) over the past two cen- turies. Rhinoceros AuMets, extirpated from California in the late 170Cfe, recolonized ANI in 1986. In 1993, we initiated a resto- ration project for this species on ANI. This work complements ongoing restoration and protection studies on Southeast Farallon Island (SEFI). As part of the program we installed 40 nest boxes on ANI and re- moved human debris from nesting habitat. We monitored nest boxes and natural bur- rows weekly for occupation from April through August Twenty-five percent of the nest boxes were occupied by nesting Rhinoceros Auklets. Nesting phenology on ANI was about 2 weeks later than on SEFI. Productivity in nestboxes was slightly lower than on SEFI with roughly 35% of the pairs producing independent offspring. Dietary studies indicated that anchovies were an important prey item in 1993, although other fish, notably California Sardines were docu- mented as well. A total of 75 apparently occupied sites was tallied, but some of these were used by non-breeding birds. The population has increased in recent years and is recovering from oil spill mortality (-1500 were killed or debilitated in the 1986 Apex Houston), 34 FACTORS AFFECTING PROVI- SIGNING RATES OF NESTLING THICK-BILLED MURRES AT COATS ISLAND, N.W.T. Mark Hipfner, Dept of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontano KIN 6N5; and Anthony J. Gaston, Canadian Wildl, Serv., 1 00 Gamelin Blvd., HuU, Quebec K1 A 0H3. The rate at which parents provision their chicks has been cited as a potential tool in monitoring feeding conditions, and hence environmental changes. We exam- ined the rate at which Thick-billed Mune chicks were provisioned at Coats Island, N.W.T. in several years to assess variation among years and the effects of time of day and chick age. We found that provisioning rates varied significantly among years. When rates were high, therc was a two- peaked daily pattern of deliveries, with one peak early in the morning and another in late afternoon. This pattern was less clear when feeding rates were lower. When years were combined, feeding rates increased with chick age up to about 15 days and then decreased, but this pattern was not found in every year. We suggestthatinter-year varia- tion is mainly caused by differences in the availability of food, but that variation with age is adapted to chick growth require- ments. 35 DIETARY RANGE AND FORAG- ING HABITATS OF A BREEDING COLONY OF TERNS AND SKIM- MERS AT THE BOLSA CHICA ECO- LOGICAL RESERVE. Michael H, Horn, Wendy E. Lo^er, Patricia A. Cole and Jacqueline F. Wilson, Dept, of Biological Science, California State University, Ful- lerton 92634. Within the last several years, Caspian, Elegant, and Forster’s terns and the Black Skimmer have colonized one of the two nesting islands at the Bolsa Chica Ecologi- cal Reserve in Orange County, California. This natural invasion, numbering as many as 5,000 adult birds per breeding season, has greatly reduced nesting space for the endangered California Least Tern. In 1992, we began a long-term study of foraging patterns and food web structure in this newly formed guild of nesting seabirds. Weekly collections of fish prey dropped on the island by the four colonizing species during the 1992 nesting season revealed that this assemblage feeds in freshwater and estuarine habitats as well as in coastal marine locations. Of the 40+ fish species identified from the dropped samples. North- ern Anchovy and Pacific Sardine were the most abundant marine prey items, whereas Topsmelt was the most common estuarine prey species and Mozambique Tilapia, an exotic q>ecies, the most prevalent freshwa- ter fish in the samples. A quantitative model of spatial and temporal use of habitats and prey is an expected eventual outcome of our research. 36 DOESFLUCTUATINGASYMME- TRY IN WHISKERED AUKLET (Aethia pygmaea) ORNAMENTS RE- VEAL INDIVIDUAL QUAUTY? /unL. Jones, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6 CANADA. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) refaa to small deviations from bilateral symmetry that result from genetic or environmental stresses on individuals. FA has been in- voked as a possibly important mechanism by which sexual ornamentation could re- veal individual mate quality and thus be favored by sexual selection in a viability- indicator process. Whiskered Auklets have the most elaborate facial ornamentation of any seabird, and the form of their ornamen- tation appears to be ideal for revealing FA. I obtained right and left side measurements of facial ornaments of 197 Whiskered Auklets at a breeding colony at Buldir Is- land, Alaska in 1992 and 1993. As in other putative sexually selected traits, ornament size varied highly among individuals, was repeatable within individuals and between years, and exhibited FA. However, tests of the sexual selection hypothesis failed to confirm the prediction of a negative rela- tionship between FA and ornament size, although several ornament measures were correlated with body condition. Thus while Whiskered Auklet ornaments may reveal quality, there was little evidence that FA plays a role in sexual selection in this spe- cies. 37 CANADA’S FIRST ACTIVE MARBLED MURRELET NEST. Paul H. Jones, 3563 West 32nd Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. Canada, V6S IZl; and Sharon Dechesne, Dept of Biology, Uni- versity of Victoria, Victoria, B.C. V8W 2Y2. The first active nest of a Marbled Murrelet {Brachyramphus marmoratus) in fFic Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 * Spring 1994 42 Abstracts Canada was found in an old-growth Yellow 39 COMPARISON OF THREE CON- territoriesin spring initiated breeding. Over- Cedar at an FIRMED AND TWO PROB ABLE all, about 50% of birds nested The com- altitude of llOOm on the Caren Range, MARBLED MURRELET NESTS plete clutch of the Spectacled Guillemot South-western British Columbia. This was FOUND ON PRIVATE COMMER- contains two eggs, the mass and size of a first for this tree species and a record for CIAL TIMBERLAND IN NORTHERN which are considerably larger than those of altitude also. The nest was found by four CALIFORNIA. Steven J. Kems, Wild- other species in the genus Cepphus. Possi- observers on August 7, 1993 in the Caren land Resource Managers, P.O. Box 102, bly becauseof this, theSpectacled Guillemot sub-alpine remnant SOOha old-growth for- Round Mountain, CA 96084; and Mark has a longer period between laying of the est which is threatened by logging. A chick Freitas y WildlandResource Managers,P,0. first and second egg (mean of 7 d). Incuba- estimated to be 1 6 days old when the nest Box 102, Round Mountain, CA 96084. tion lasts for 27 d and hatching less than 24 was found was observed by three observers Three confirmed and two probable h. Growth and development patterns of until it left the nest 14 days later. High-8 marbled murrelet nests have been located Spectacled Guillemot nestlings are similar video, and still photographs were taken of on The Pacific Lumber Company lands in to those of the Black Guillemot (C. grylle), the chick. Sketches were also made of the Humboldt County, California. Two con- Nestlings spend about 35 d in the nesL I adults feeding the chick. Nesting, flight firmed nests were found in Coast Red- found that in 45% of nests, both young behavior and vocalizations are described, woods {Sequoia sempervirens) and one was survived until fledging; something not pre- Afterthechick departed the tree was climbed found in a Douglas-fir {Pseudotsuga viously observed for this species. The most and eggfiagments,theeggmembrane, down menziessii). All three nests were evidenced important prey fed to chicks were benthic and a small fish removed from the nest. The by well developed fecal rings and eggshell fish: Cottidae (44% by number) mdPholis Canadianfind is remarkable for the number fragments being found on the forest floor. pictusiXi^o).Ammodyteshexcq)teruSy^Qng of broad daylight flights as well as the The two probable nests were both in red- with G/mne/is spp., Trig/ops spp., A/ecrrior number of feedings. The average number woods and evidenced by eggshells and tree alectrolophus were also taken. The stom- of feedings per day was seven with four platforms. Nest support structure differed achs of adult birds collected near the island taking place after sunrise. Most of the fish for each nest. One nest was positioned contained crustaceans: Sabinea spp., fed to the chick were Pacific Sandlance. against the trunk ofa redwood tree and was Sclerocrangon spp. {Macrura) as well as The find may influence forest practices in supported by the confluence of two rela- fish: Pholis spp. and Triglops spp. Indi- British Columbia. tively small limbs. Nest substrate consisted vidual Spectacled Guillemots differ in the of scattered thin clumps of moss. The sec- food they bring back to their chicks, even 38 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ond nest, also in a redwood, was on a larger between members of a pair. Composition TRANSECT LENGTH AND NUM- limb, located at a wide spot where the limb of prey species was v^ constant for each BERS OF BIRDS AND POPULATION had a broken offbranch. Nest substrate here individui bird. Average daily feeding rates ESTIMATES ON MARINE BIRD SUR- consistedofneedlecastandlitter.Thethird rangedffom 12.5 fish/d at the beginning of VEYS,StevenJ,Kendall,BeverlyA.Agler, nest was located against the trunk of a the chick-rearing period to 15.3 fish/d at the Pamela E. Seiser, mdDavidB. Irons. U.S. Douglas fir on a single moss covered limb. end. A captive chick had an estimated total Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird One probable nest was on a flat area against energy intake of 729 kJ/d (calculated ifom Management, Anchorage, Alaska 99503. the trunk at the confluence of three limbs, food intake) with a growth rate of 13.04 g/ Marine boat surveys were done in Cook The second probable nest was on a wide d. I estimated that energy requirements Inlet, Alaska in 1993 to estimate popula- spot of a limb. Nest trees, nest structure, (according to oxygen consumption rate tions of seabirds and marine mammals, and nest locations are compared. measures) were 497 kJ/d, or 68J2% of the Estimateswerecalculatedfiromcountsdone total energy intake. Efficiency of biosyn- on randomly-selected transects. We exam- 40 BREEDING BIOLOGY, FEEDING thesis (daily gain in body mass / daily food ined the difference in population estimates ECOLOGY AND GROWTH ENER- intake) was 10.9%. and confidence intervals using 2 different GETICS OF THE SPECTACLED transect lengths. Our survey area was di- GUILLEMOT {Cepphus carbo). 41 POPULATION STATUS AND vided into 3 strata: pelagic, coastal and Alexander S. Institute fOT Bio- BREEDING BIOLOGY OFTHESPEC- shoreline. Pelagic transects and most of the logical Problems of the North, Magadan, TACLED GUILLEMOT. Alexander Ya. coastal transects were 2 nm long. Data for Russia; and Department of Ecology and KondratyeVy Institute for Biological Prob- the 2 nm transects were recorded in 1 nm Evolutionary Biology, University of Cali- lems of the North, Russian Academy of segments, allowing us to compare popula- fomia, Irvine, CA 92717. Sciences, Magadan, 685000 Russia, tion estimates from 2 different transect I studied the breeding biology of Spec- The Spectacled Guillemot {Cepphus lengths. If the estimates were similar, we tacled Guillemots on Talan Island (north- carbo) breeds on the mainland and islands could increase our sample size, thus de- em Sea of Okhotsk) during summer, 1987- throughout the Sea of Okhotsk and Japan creasing our variance in future surveys by 1989. About 35-40 individuals breed on the Sea. In the southern part of their breeding doing transects of shorter length. Math- island. Birds arrived at the colony in early range Spectacled Guillemots are generally ematical and practical aspects of using 1 Mayand departed in mid-September. Breed- resident. Wintering areas are known from versus 2 nm transects will be discussed. ing densities appeared to be limited by the inshore waters of Sakhalin Island, the feeding conditions in spring. It seems that southern Kuril islands, and around J^an. only those pairs with individual feeding The total population of Spectacled Guillem- Pacific Seabirds * Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 43 Abstracts ots has not been accurately censused, but we calculate that it is close to 1CX),000 individuals. On Talan Island in the northern Sea of Okhotsk, Spectacled Guillemots ar- rive on the nesting grounds in late April to early May. The nesting period is extended, and non-incubated eggs have been found from 13 June to 18 July. The incubation period is about 26-32 days. Chicks remain in the nest for 30-36 days, and fledge in the second part of August Only a few guillem- ots remain on the nesting grounds by early September. Chick diets contain Polychaeta (1.5%), Triglops spp. (70.0%), Pholidae (8.5%), other fishes (9.0%), and unidenti- fied invertebrates (1 1 .0%). The main preda- tors of Spectacled Guillemots include foxes, guUs, owls, and Peregrine Falcons. An im- portant source of natural mortality at nest- ing colonies is heavy rainfall brought by sfrong storms. Negative human impacts include oil pollution of shallow coastal areas, and human disturbance at breeding sites. There is evidence for degradation of nesting colonies and an overall decline in Spectacled Guillemot populations, espe- cially in the southern part of their range. 42 PREY SELECTION BY THE SLATY-BACKED GULL ON TALAN ISLAND, SEA OF OKHOTSK. Luba F. Kondratyeva, Institute for Biological Prob- lems of the North, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan, 68500 Russia, The diet and foraging strategies of Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus Stejneger) were studied on Talan Island, which supports one of the largest aggrega- tions of breeding seabirds in the Russian Far East The main part of the diet of Slaty- backed Gulls on Talan Island is comprised of adult seabirds, their chicks, and their eggs. Prey preference was evaluated using Ivlev’s Elective Index (E), which is calcu- lated from the % composition of i-th prey species available (Pi) and % composition of the i-th species in the diet (Ri), where E=(Ri-P0/(Ri+Pi)- Positive E (from 0 to +1) suggests a ‘‘preference” for the i-th prey, and negative E (from 0 to -1) suggests “avoidance” of the i-th prey. Slaty-backed GuUs showed a positive preference for (E=0.9) - Ancient Murrelet Synthliboramphus antiquus and Parakeet Auklel Cyclorrhynchus psittacula; and for (E=0,5) Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla and the murres Uria aalge and C/. lomvia; none of which are overly abundant on the island. Slaty-backed Gulls showed a negative preference for Homed Puffin Prater cula corniculata (E=-0.4), and Tufted Puffin Lunda cirrhoia (E=-0.2), and for the most abundant species on the island. Crested A\MttAethia cristatella (E=-0.4). 43 FOREST AND AT-SEA STUDIES OF MARBLED MURRELETS IN CLAYOQUOT SOUND, B.C*, 1993. Irene Manley, John Kelson, Tucker Bay Road, Lasqueti Island, B.C. VOR 2J0; Stephanie Huges, and Kevin Jordan, Box 67, Tofino, B.C. VOR 2Z0. From April to August 1993 we con- ducted at-sea surveys and forest studies of Marbled Murrelets in Clayoquot Sound, B.C. We examined 30 sites in hemlock mix, spmce mix, and cedar mix forests. Activity was monitored once per month in May, June, and July. Habitat was measured using 30 X 30 m vegetation plots at each site. Of 1574 detections, 5.78% were occupied be- haviors that occurred at 22 of the 30 sites. Occupied detections were positively corre- lated with the total basal area (r=0.73) and average tree diameter (r=0.59) of the plots. Ninety six trees were climbed at these sites resulting in discovery of one nest An addi- tional nest was located elsewhere above eggshell fragments found on the ground. A third year of at-sea surveys of Clayoquot Sound counted 2776 birds in 353 km^ com- pared to 4500 birds in 1982 and 2704 birds in 1992 (both in 293 km^). 319 km of shoreline was surveyed for juveniles from July 2 to August 17. Juveniles accounted for 10.4% of the 395 murrelets on these surveys and were found consistently in the same areas of coastline, usually within 50 m of rocky shoreline in or near kelp. 44 DISTRIBUTION AND ABUN- DANCE OF SEABIRDS ON MONTEREYBAYDURINGTHE1992- 93 EL NINO. John Mason, Jim Harvey, and Patience Browne, Moss Landing Ma- rine Laboratories, Moss Landing, CA 95039. The Monterey Bay area, California, recently designated aNational MarineSanc- tuary, is a unique habitat for seabirds due to its location along the Pacific fly way and abundant food resources. The bay is cur- rently experiencing an El Nifio, which may potentially attract seabirds from less abun- dant food areas. Thirteen random and 11 fixed strip transects were conducted from April 1992 to October 1993 in Monterey Bay. There was no significant difference in mean number of the four most abundant seabirds (Sooty Shearwaters, gull species. Common Murres, and Western Grebes) between fixed and random transects. Sooty Shearwaters (arriving in late May and leav- ingin OctobCT) had the most variable counts, whereas, gulls and Common Murres (year- round residents) had the least variable counts. Greatest numbers of birds occurred in late summer when thousands of Sooty Shearwaters (151/square km) occupied the bay. Arriving in fall. Western Grebes, loon species, and Surf Scoters occurred almost exclusively in the north-eastpait of the bay. Cormorant species occurred primarily within 5km of shore throughout the bay. Continued counts of seabird abundance in the bay will be necessary to determine potential effects of the 1992-93 El Nifto. 45 EFFECTS OF NEAREST NEIGH- BOR INTERACTIONS ON TIMING OFBREEDING AND BREEDING SUC- CESS IN COMMON MURRES {Uria aalge), Elizabeth B, McLaren and William J. Sydeman,PRBO, 4990 Shoreline High- way, Stinson Beach, California 94970. We studied the relationship between breeding parameters (egg-laying dates and fledging success) and nearest neighbor dis- tance in a single study plot located within a large, stable colony of Common Murres (Uria aalge) On Southeast Farallon Island, California from 1990-1993. We evaluated neighbor interactions on different spatial scales: (1) among birds in physical contact with one another (“physical neighbors”), (2) among a focal bird and its four nearest breeding neighbors (“proximate neigh- bors”), and (3) among birds grouped to- gether by physical characteristics of the study plot C‘tier neighbors”). There was considerable year-to-year variation in synchrony of murres at all spatial scales, however the differences were not signifi- cant We found a slight tendency towards synchrony as spatial scale decreased. Birds were more likely to breed synchronously with physical neighbors than with proxi- mate, tier, or colony neighbors. Reproduc- tive success was strongly related to the degree of synchrony exhibited among proxi- mate neighbors. These results may provide a means of ass^sing the effects of a major oil spill on Common Murres and other highly colonial seabirds. Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 44 Abstracts 46 MONITORING OF SEABIRD during the breeding season for 4-5 years. POPULATIONS AND PRODUCTTV- The density of the old-growth tree cover ITY IN WESTERN ALASKA, 1989- and presence of redwood trees were posi- 1991. Vivian M, Mendenhall, U.S. Fish lively related to mean murrelet detection Wildl. Serv., Anchorage, AK 99503; levels. Old-growth tree density was also a Donald E. Dragoo and Arthur L. Sowls, significant variable for predicting observa- U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Homer, AK 99603; tions of occupied behaviors. To identify Ada C. Fowler, National Biol. Surv., An- patterns of activity associated with land- chorage, AK 99503; Lisa Haggblom, U.S. scape features and habitat characimsdcs. Fish Wildl. Serv., Dillingham, AK 99576; we surveyed stations placed at 400 m intor- Edward C. Murphy, Univ. Alaska, vals within the large contiguous stands of Fairbanks, AK 99775; mdBrianE. Sharp, old-growth redwood in state and federal 2234 NE 9th, Portland, OR 97212. parks in California. We found an effect of In a joint project of the U.S . Fish and elevation and topography on theproportion Wildlife Service and Minerals Manage- of stations with observations of occupied ment Service, we monitored populations behaviors highest in majcff drainages, and productivity of kittiwakes (Rissa spp.) and murres(£/n<3Spp.) at six colonies in the 48 ISLAND FORMATION AND Bering and Chukchi Seas: St. George Is- WHITE PELICAN NESTING HABI- land, CapePeirce, S L Matthew Island, Bluff, TAT PROTECTION: A GEOGRAPHIC Little Diomede Island, and Cape Thomp- INFORMATION SYSTEMS AP- son. Diets were also monitored at several FROACH.LeopoldoAMorenoandDaniel sites. Methods were standardized to facili- W. Anderson, University of California, tate comparisons among colonies and years. Davis, C A 95616. Most populations have been stable since In California, the American White Peli- 1984 or earlier at colonies (5 of the 6) where can (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) breeds in we could analyze trends by comparison Clearlake reservoir and Sheepy Lake both with earlier data. Exceptions were a long- located in the Klamath Basin, along the term decline in red-legged kittiwakes at St. Califomia-Qregon border. During the early George and recent mod^ate declines in 1900’s the Klamath Basin was “reclaimed” two species at St Matthew. Productivity by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USER) (particularly of kittiwakes) fluctuated dur- for irrigation projects. Clearlake reservoir ing the study, probably in association with is one of the main sources of irrigation diet Mean productivity differs greatly water in the area and thus its water levels among colonies in western Alaska; causes vary along with water demand for agricul- appear to include food resources and possi- tore and cattle ranching. In Clearlake the bly predation. For meaningful interpreta- location of white pelican colonies varies tions of seabird trends, we need not only with the availability of nesting islands, statistically sound monitoring studies, but which in turn are formed by water level also careful selection of sites (representa- fluctuations. The timing of island forma- tive of larger populations), regular, fre- tion and their availability is cmcial for the quent observations (at least every 3 years), success of breeding white pelicans espe- and supporting data on resources and life cially during egg-laying and incubation, history. when the colony is most vulnerable to pre- dation by coyotes or trampling by cattle. 47 the RELATIONSHIP OF Water levels in Clearlake have been moni- MARBLED MURRELET ACTIVITY tored by the USER since 1910 and, in any LEVELS AND BEHAVIORS WITH given season projections for water levels HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS OF for each month are available. In coordina- FOREST STANDS IN CALIFORNIA, tion with the USER and the U.S. Fish and Sherri Miller and C. John Ralph, Redwood Wildlife Service (USFWS) digital maps of Sci. Lab., Areata, CA 95521. Clearlake have been developed using a We compared relationships between Geographic Information System. By corn- stand size, structure and landscape charac- bining seasonal wat^ level projections with teristics with murrelet presence, activity the digital maps it is possible to predict where levels and types of behaviors. Detection and when nesting islands may become con- numbers were standardi 2 ^ for seasonal nected to land, allowing the USFWS to plan variation using three sites surveyed weekly in advance the use of predator deterrents. Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Shong 1994 49 BROWN NODDIES ON CAYO NOROESTE, CULEBRA, PUERTO RICO: WHAT HAPPENED IN 1990? RalphD, Morris, Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, OnL L2S 3A1; and John W. Chardine, Canadian WildIifeService,P.O. Box21276, St. John’s, NF, Canada A1 A 5B2. In 1990,Brown Noddy (Arwityjto/id«j) adults nesting on Cayo Noroeste, Culebra, Puerto Rico were delayed in their daytime arrival at the colony and in egg-laying. The head-bill length, body mass and condition ofbreeding birds that returned in 1990were within the normal annual variation estab- lished for earlier years. However, whereas in earlier years about 90% of banded birds alive the previous year returned in the fol- lowing year, in 1990 only 68% of birds present in 1 989 did so. None of the noddies that failed to return in 1990 has been seen through June 1993. We considered sev^ causes for the reduction in the proportion of previous breeders who returned in 1990 including a higher incidence of non-breed- ing, movement to other breeding sites, and death of the missing birds. We conclude that those failing to return were directly or indirectly killed by Hurricane Hugo during passage in September 1989. Wereportshifts in patterns of nest-site and mate fidelity as a direct result of this mortality and predict a long-term impact on age-structure of breeders at the colony. 50 POPULATION STATUS AND RE- PRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF COM- MON MURRES AT BLUFF, ALASKA, 1975-1991. Edward C. Murphy, Institute of Arctic Biology, Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-0180. Numbers and reproduction of Com- mon Murres {Uria aalge) at Bluff, Alaska were studied in 1975-1991, with daily ob- servations of reproductive plots in 1987- 1991. Annual means of mid-season counts of two large Census Plots varied markedly, ranging from 1166 (in 1984) to 2541 (in 1981), with no overall trend during the 17- year period. Reproductive successalso var- ied considerably among years; for example, the total number of eggs hatching on the Reproductive Plots varied between 57 (in 1 984) and 34 1 (in 1983). Mid-season counts of adults were highly positively correlated with reproductive success, indicating that interpretations of any changes in numbers must consider concurrent changes in repro- 45 Abstracts ductive performance. Overall, hatching success and fledging success of first at- tempts averaged 65% and 91%, respec- tively. Replacement attempts occurred at 4 1 % of the sites where first eggs were lost. Hatching success and fledging success of replacement attempts (72% and 81%, re^ spectively) and first attempts were compa- rable. Although Bluff is at the northern extremeofcolonies where CommonMurres outnumber Thick-billedMuires (£/. lomviaX these figures suggest that the duration of the period that is favorable for reproduction is no shorter at Bluff than at colonies far to the south. 51 FEEDING BEHAVIOR AND GROWTH OF A CAPTIVE FULMAR, HORNED PUFFIN, AND TWO TUFTED PUFFINS. Nancy L. Naslund, John F. Piatt and Ann Harding, National Biological Survey, 101 1 East Tudor Road, Anchorage AK 99503. We studied the feeding behavior and growth of four seabirds collected as chicks (under permit) and raised in captivity. Over a 240 d period after reaching full subadult mass, the fulmar (ca. 545 g) consumed an average of 143 g/day of food, or 26% of body mass (OBM). However, the fulmar showed extreme daily variation in food intake, ranging on average from 15-35% OBM, with extremes of 0^80% OBM. This variation in average food intake cycled over 1-4 week periods, with pronounced troughs in feeding rate prior K) moult, and peaks during moult Body mass also cycled (+7.5%) with food intake, lagging by 1-2 d. Puffins were monitored from chicks (2-10 d) up to 160 d of age, and all showed similar growth patterns: rapid initial mass growth (8.9-10.5 g/d) over 40-50 d with high food intake (40-50% OBM), followed by loss of appetite (20% OBM) and weight at **fledg- ing” (10-15 d period), then a period (80-90 d) of slow growth (1.7-3 .6 g/d) to a stable subadult mass. Food intake increased mark- ^y after fledging (40-50% OBM) and then fell to a relatively steady level (Tufted 30% OBM, Homed 40% OBM). Puffins also exhibited weak cycles in feeding rate over 1-4 week periods. Tarsus and wing- growth peaked at fledging, but culmen growth continued and was correlated (r^=0.97) with body mass. 52 BREEDING BEHAVIOR AND NEST SITE FIDELITY OF KITTLITZ’S MURRELET. Nancy L. Naslund, John F. Piatt, and Thomas van Pelt, National Biological Survey, 1011 E. Tudor Rd„ Anchorage, AK 99503. We studied the breeding behavior of Kittlitz*s Murrelet {B r achy ramp hus brevirostris) at a nest situated on a moun- tain at 900 m elevation and located 12 km inland from Kachemak Bay, Alaska. The nest-site was at the base of a small boulder on talus slope near the mountain top, in sparsely-vegetated alpine habitat About 5 days after hatching (ca. 3 July), we installed a video camera with an infrared sensor that was triggered by adults when they visited the nest We recorded 53 feeding visits, encompassing the early and late nestling stages. All food loads consisted of single fish carried crosswise in the adults’ bills. Murrelets fed their chick throughout the day (4-6 feeds/day), although most (67%) feedings occurred between dusk and dawn. Of 33 prey items recorded close up, 67% were sandlance, 18% capelin, and 15% unidentified. The averagelength of feeding visits was 11 .4 minutes. Adults could usu- ally be identified individually from plum- age characteristics, one being darker than the other. Each provisioned the chick about equally (light adult 43%, (tok adult 40%, unknown 17%). On themomingof27 July, the chick was covered with down on all but its head At 2150 that evening, the chick had no down, was fed once by each parent, and subsequently fledged. The next morn- ing, both parents carried fish to the nest, indicating that neither had attended the chick at sea during the night, or ware aware the chick had fledged. Eggshell firagments and weathered fecal material were found in the nest cup prior to hatching, establishing that the nest had been used during a previ- ous year, and indicating high nest-site fi- delity. Clumps of chick-down embedded in rocks and vegetation adjacent to the nest indicated that a chick had fledged success- fully during the prior year. 53 TREE CLIMBING AS A TECH- NIQUE FOR FINDING MARBLED MURRELET NESTS. 5. Kim Nelson, Robert W. Peck, and Toni L. De Santo, Oregon Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Oregon State University, Nash 104, Corvallis, Oregon 97331. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of tree climbing as a method for finding Marbled Murrelet (BrMhyramphus marmoratus) nests within a Douglas-fir/western hemlock {Pseudotsuga menziesiilTsuga heterophylla) old-growth forest stand in the Oregon Coast Range. Following the 1993 nesting season, a study plot (70 m radius) was established within an area of known Marbled Murrelet activity. Twenty- eight of 40 trees with branch platforms > 18 cm in diameter and > 15 m above the ground were climbed using ropes and as- cenders. Six nests were found (5 measured) onbranchplatfoims within the uppercanopy of five of the trees. Platforms averaged49.4 m above the ground (SE=4.6), 512 cm from the mink (SE=22.8), and 35.6 cm in width (SE=6.8). The absence of eggshell fragments, fecal material, and down feath- ers, combined with the accumulation of needles, cones, and bark fragments within and around each nest suggested that the nests were not active during 1993. Climb- ing old-growth Douglas-fir was technically difficult and labor intensive but was an effective method for finding nests. An in- creased number of climbing plots will al- low quantitative identification of nest site characteristics and determination of nest density within the stand. 54 SERUM CHEMISTRY AND HE- MATOLOGY REFERENCE RANGES FOR SPECIES OF SEABIRDS COM- MONLY AFFECTED BY OIL SPILLS. Scott Newman, Grad. Group of Compar. Path., Univ. of Calif. (UQ, Davis, CA 95616; John F. Piatt, Nat Biol. Survey, 101 1 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503; Jan White, School of Vet. Med., UC Davis, CA 95616; and Michael Fry, DepL Avian Sci., UC Davis. CA 95616. In this study of 13 species of Pacific seabirds commonly affected by oil spills, blood was analyzed from 151 seabirds col- lected in the wild to establish reference ranges for hematologic and serum chemis- try parameters. Of the 13 species studied, nine were from the family AJcidae and four from the Phalacrocoracidae, Laridae, and Procellariidae. Glucose, cholesterol, alka- line phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, total protein and field total plasma solids were the only parameters that varied sig- nificantly among species. Alkaline phos- phatase and total solids also varied signifi- cantly with sex. Triglycerides, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, total bilirubin, calcium, and creatinine ki- 46 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Abstracts nase did not vary significantly with species, sex, brood patch size, (x body condition (fat). Multiple regression analyses of all data collected on females showed no corre- lation between different measures of breed- ing condition and calcium or alkaline phos- phatase concentrations. Possible sources of variation (or lack th^eof) in these param- eters will be discussed. These data provide a useful series of reference ranges for the clinical evaluation of seabirds commonly rehabilitated after exposure to oil pollution. 55 POPULATION DYNAMIC MOD- ELS OF FARALLON SEABIRDS. NadavNur,R. GlennFord,DavidG.Ainley^ and William J. Sydeman. PRBO, 4990 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, CA 94970. We have developed computer models describing population dynamics of three seabird species breeding on the Farallon Islands: Brandt’s Cormorants {Phalacrocorax penicillatus) ^ Common Murre (JJriaaalge) and Western Gull (Imtus occidentalis). We describe, in particular, the computer model, Farallon Seabirds, running on a Macintosh computer, devel- oped for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. The model is intended as a research and management tool and incorporates: (l)recentinformation regard- ing demographic parameters for each spe- cies (in most cases derived from PRBO’s intensive studies of the Farallon popula- tions), (2) year-to-year variation in food and oceanographic conditions and their in- fluence on seabird demography, and (3) stochasticiiy of environmental and demo- graphic parameters. The model can be used to project future population growth in the face of environmental perturbations, such as oil spills, die-offs (e.g., due to red tide), change in food availability, and ENSO events. Onecomponentof the model can be used to predict seabird mortality from oil spills in the Gulf of the Farallones. We contrastshort-termandlong-term responses of the three sp^ies to such perturbations. Brandt’s Cormorants appear particularly vulnerable since they respond strongly to changes in prey availability, yet are not able to recover from catastrophic events. This prediction of the model is consistent with observations on population behavior. 56 CURRENT STATUS AND BREED- ING ECOLOGY OF JAPANESE MURRELETS. Koji Ono, Dept, of Biol., Toho Univ., 2-1, Miyama 2, Funabashi, Chiba, 274 Japan; and Yutaka Nakamura, Miyazaki Medical College, 5200 Kiwara, Kiyotake, Miyazaki, 889-16 Japan. Japanese Murrelets Synthliboramphus wumzusume breed at rocky islets or reefs in warm waters of Japan and South Korea. Murrelets nest in crevices, burrows and hollows of rocks, gaps in a pile of stones, or among grasses. There are 26 colonies with a total estimated population of 4000-5CX)0 birds. Of this total, 2000 concentrate at Biro Is. (off Miyazaki Prefecture), and 1000 in the Izu Islands. The population on Koyashima Is. (off Fukuoka Pref.) was largely destroyed by rat predation. Despite extermination of rats there, the population has only recovered to about 10% of its previous abundance. On Nanatsujima Is. (off Ishikawa Pref.) the murrelet popula- tion appears to be decreasing because rab- bits occupied the burrows. Shikine Is. and Torishimals. (in theizu Islands),andTsukue Is. (off Fukuoka Pref.), are known histori- cal colonies, but current populations are extremely small or already extinct. Many colonies are threatened by sports fishing activities, introduced animals, or other cau^, but impacts are unknown. The breed- ing ecology of Japanese Murrelets was stud- ied in 1992 at Kojine Islet (off Hachijo Is. in the Izu Islands), and in 1993 at Biro Island (off Miyazaki Pref). Results of these studies wiU be discussed. 57 GHOSTS OF THE GREAT AUK: BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVA- TION OF THE RARE ALCIDAE. John F. Fiutr, National Biological Survey, 1011 EasiTudorRoad, Anchorage, Alaska 99503. One hundred and fifty years ago (1 844), the Great Auk {AIca impennis) met its final fate before any competent naturalist had a chance to study the living bird in the field. It still seems inconceivable that a species once distributed widely from Florida to Newfoundland, Greenland, Norway, west- ern Europe, and even into the Mediterra- nean, could have vanished from the face of the Earth. Wanton slaughter by humans is widely supposed to be the cause of the Auk’s demise, but Bengston (1984, Auk 101:1-12) provides a compelling argument that the “decline of the Great Auk com- menced long before man is known to have caused havoc in breeding colonies in the mid- 16th century and onwards”. He sug- gests that the period of severe climate from 1200-1900 A.D. resulted in a decline and redistribution southwards into localized relict Auk populations, which probably set the stage for their extirpation by man. To- day, we recognize the predominant influ- ence of ocean climate on the population ecology of many well-studied alcids (e.g.. Common Murre). At greats risk to both climate change and anthropogenic threats, however, are a number of rare alcids with small, relict populations. Owing to their scarcity, inaccessibility and secretive hab- its, we know almost as little today about some living alcids (e.g., Japanese, Craveri’s and Kittlitz’s murrelets), as we know about the extinct Great Auk. If we embrace the challenge to “conserve biodiversity” in a changing global environment, we should take stock of these rare species before they, too, go the way of the Great Auk and take their Auk genes with them. Whether know- ing more about them will aid in their con- servation remains to be seen, but we al- ready know the ghostly price of ignorance. 58 STATUS OF A “NEW” RARE ALGID, THE LONG-BILLED MURRELET. John F. Piatt, Biol. Surv., 1011 E Tudor Rd., Anchorage AK 99503; VieJd Friesen, Dept Omith., Royal Ontario Mus., Toronto, ON M5S 2C6, Canada; and Gus van Vliet, Box 210442, Auke Bay, AK 99821. Recent genetic studies (Friesen et al, Zink et at, in prep.) indicate that the Asian subspecies of the Marbled Murrelet {Brachyramphusmarmoratusperdix'PBSlas) is actually a species more distinct from the North American Marbled Murrelet (B.m. marmoratus Gmehn) than is the Kittlitz’s Murrelet (B. brevirostris Vigors). Pallas assigned thisbirdg>ecificstatus(asCe/?pto perdix) in Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica (1811), based on a specimen probably col- lected by Stellar in Tauiskaya Gulf, Sea of Okhotsk. Years later, Stejneger (1886, Zeitschr. Ges. Orn. 2 13), correctly assigned the species to the proper genus {Brachyramphus perdix), a taxonomy ac- cepted by Ridgeway (1919, Bull. U.S, Nat. Mus. 50). B. perdix was later lumped with B. marmoratus and given subspecific sta- tus. Known variously as the “Long-billed Murrelet”, “Partridge Murrelet”, or “Asian Mottled Murrelet”, perdix is quite distinct morphologically from marmoratus and brevirostris. The culmen of perdix (20.3 Pacific Seabirds • Vgl. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 47 Abstracts mm) is substantially longer than marmoratus (15.5 mm) and brevirostris (10.7 mm), as are wing, tarsus, and tail dimensions. Perdix (296 g) is considerably larger overall than brevirostris (241 g) and marmoratus (225 g). In basic plumage, adult perdix may be distinguished from marmoratus by its white eye-ring, and in alternate plumage by its complete lack of cinnamon-edged feathers on the back. The distribution of perdix is restricted to for- ested coasts of the Japan and Okhotsk seas, Kuril Is., and outer Kamchatka. Four tree- nests (jsiLarixdaurica) have been described from Russia. Except for vagrants, the distri- butions of perdix and marmoratus do not overlap. There are no objective estimates of perdix population size. Increasingly rapid logging of old-growth forests in Russia, and offshore oil development, pose imme- diate threats to the population of perdix, 59 THE SEABIRDS OF MALPELO ISLAND, COLOMBIA. Robert L. Pit- man, SWFish. Sci. Center, P.O. Box 271, La JolIa,CA92038;Lar7yB. 5>ear,PRBO, 4990 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, CA 94970; and Michael P. Force, S2304 Prince Albert St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T3W5. We present information on the status of the seabirds of Malpeo Island, Colum- bia, 500 km off the Pacific coast of Colum- bia, based on our four visits from 1985- 1992. Malpeo is the second largest Masked Booby {Sula dactylatra) colony in the world. An accurate census based on aerial photo- graphs indicates a population of 25,000 individuals. The Masked Booby that oc- curs at Malpeo is a distinctive orange-billed form (5. d. granti), that is endemic to the eastan Pacific and may be specifically distinct The only other species known to breed at Malpeo is Swallow-tailed Gull {Creagrusfurcatus), with an estimated 50 pairs. Other species that regularly occur at Malpeo and probably breed in small num- bers include: Red-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus). Red-footed Booby (S. suld). Brown Noddy {Anous stolidus), and White Tern {Gygis alba). Black Noddy (A. minutus) may also breed in small num- bers. Great and Magnificent frigatebirds (Frigata minor m^F, respec- tively) are present year-round and either may breed. Malpeo was uninhabited until 1986 when a small military garrison was installed and currently there is cause for concern about pests being inadvertently introduced onto the island. 60 MORPHOLOGICAL AND GE- NETIC DIVERGENCE AMONG ALASKAN POPULATIONS OF Brachyramphus MURRELETS. Jay Pitocchelli, Biology Department, St. Anselm College, 100 St Anselm Drive, Manchester, NH, 03102-1310; John F, Pza«, Nat Biol. Surv., 101 1 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503; and Matt Cronin, LGL Alaska Res. Assoc., 4 1 75 Tudor Cen- tre Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508. We studied morphological andmtDNA divergence among three populations of Brachyramphus murrelets: Kittlitz’s Murrelet {B. brevirostris),md tree-nesting and ground-nesting Marbled Murrelets (B. marmoratus), V/e found little morphologi- cal divergence in external and skeletal mea- surements among tree and ground-nesting Marbled Murrelets, but both populations differed significantly from Kittlitz’s Murrelets. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of external measurements showed that Kittlitz’s Murrelets occupied a distinct multivariate space from Marbled Murrelets, but tree-nesting and ground-nesting Marbled Murrelets were inseparable. We obtained the same pattern from PCA of skeletal dimensions. Analysis of mtDNA revealed a sequence divergence of 4.4% between Marbled and Kiitlitz’s murrelets, suggesting a species divergence about 2.2 MYBP. The difference between ground and tree-nesting Marbled Murrelets was 0.3%, equivalent to comparisons between intraspecific populations of Ammodramus sparrows and Brown Towhees. This pre- liminary analysis suggests there is no de- tectable divergence between tree and ground-nesting populations of Marbled Murrelets. 61 OFFSHORE POPULATION ESTI- MATES OFMARBLED MURRELETS IN CALIFORNIA. C. John Ralph and Sherri L. Miller, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Redwood Sciences Laboratory, Areata, CA 95521. To effectively use offshore survey data to estimate the population of murrelets in California, we first determined how the birds distribute themselves in the marine environment Intensive surveys designed to identify the distribution of the birds from the shore outwards were used to establish the method used to survey the entire coast- line of the state within the murrelets’ range. We found that transects placed parallel to the shore at distances of 800 m and 1400 m from the surf could be used in California to estimate the population within a coastal section from ICIO m to 6100 m out firom shore. Our estimate obtained from these methods is high^ than previous estimates for the state. 62 HUMAN ACTIVITY AND WILD- LIFE DISTURBANCE AT THREE ARCH ROCKS NATIONAL WILD- LIFE REFUGE, OREGON. Susan Riemer, Robin Brown, and Marion Mann, Oregon Dept Fish & Wi\61,;RoyLowe and David Pitkin, U.S. Fish & Wildl. Serv., Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport OR, 97365. Observations of human activities and disturbance to marine birds and mammals at Three Arch Rocks NWR off the north Oregon coast were made from May 1 through September 9, 1993, for an average of 7.5 hoursper dayover5.5 daysper week. Data collected included: 1) location and activities of recreational and commercial vessels; 2) aircraft over-flights; and 3) re- sulting wildlife disturbance events. A total of 69 and 100 observed disturbance events were caused by vessel and aircraft a:tivi- ties,respectively.Reareational boating, fish- ing and diving were the most frequently obsCTved activities, resulting in the most severe disturbances over the greatest pe- riod of time. Over 98% of the disturbances caused by all vessels occurred within 500' of the refuge rocks. Fishing by private vessels constituted 91.5% of all activities within this zone. Aircraft disturbances were caused by private (63%), military (14%), USCG. (13%), commercial (4%), and un- determined (6%) aircraft As aresultof this study a 5(X)* closure to vessel traffic at Three Arch Rocks NWR and a coast-wide educational program is being implemented through Oregon’s Territorial Sea planning process. 63 DIET AND REPRODUCTION IN RED-LEGGED AND BLACK- LEGGED KITTIWAKES. Daniel D, Roby midBrian K. Lance, Alaska Coopera- tive Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Uni- versity of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775- 0990. 48 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 * Spring 1994 Abstracts Red-legged and Black-legged kitti- wakes (Rissa brevirostris and/?, tridactyla) aie sympatric congeners breeding on the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Red-legged Kitti- wakes primarily utilize oceanic prey, par- ticularly lampfish (Myctophidae), during the breeding season, while Black-legged Kittiwakes feed on a diverse array of forage fish and zooplankton found in shallower waters. Lampfish arc extremely high in lipids (mostly wax esters) and thus are an energy-dense food supply. These dietary differences are associated with differences in reproductive traits. Red-legged Kitti- wakes have a smaller clutch size, longer incubation period, and lower growth rate compared with Black-legged Kittiwakes. Red-legged Kittiwakes deliver chick meals less frequently, but field metabolic rates during chick-rearing are not different in the two species. Chicks of the two species were interspecifically cross-fostered to test the hypothesis that interspecific differences in chick diets are responsible for observed differences in growth rale and fledging success. Survival rates of interspecifically cross-fostered chicks were similar to those of control chicks. There were no intraspe- cific differences in growth rates or peak mass between control and cross-fostered chicks, but Black-legged Kittiwake chicks had higher growth rates and peak masses than Red-legged Kittiwake chicks. Thus diet and feeding frequency were not the proximate factors causing differences in chick growth rate and peak mass between the two kittiwake species. Instead, inter- specific differences in chick growth rates are due to species-specific physiological constraints. The reliance of Red-legged Kittiwakes on more oceanic prey, and the resultant lower frequency of chick feeding and higher energy density of chick meals, has selected for a suite of reproductive traits characteristic of offshore-foraging seabirds. 64 BUBBLING BEHAVIOR BY FOR- AGING ALCIDS. Fred Sharpe, Dept of Biol. Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6. Rising bubbles produce significant amounts of acoustic, visual, and mechani- cal disturbance which are used by several cetacean species to control the movements of fish schools. Rhinoceros Auklets and Common Murres in Puget Sound have also been found to bubble extensively while Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring U preying on schools of Pacific herring and sandlance. These alcids were found to de- ploy bubbles from the mouth, although the air is often entrained in vortices behind the head and lower back before being released into the water column. Bubble trails are most often deployed as birds approach the prey patch or pursue solitary feh, while bursts are generally released as birds swim below the school or when seizing fish from the prey patch. Bubbles produced by alcids may merely be an epiphenonmenon of feed- ing and diving activity- In contrast, bub- bling could represent a deliberate, goal- orientated behavior that aids in prey cap- ture by forcing fish up to the surface, mask- ing the approach of birds, providing a sub- strate against which to herd fish, preventing fountain manoeuvres, isolating individual fish from the school or by providing a generalized confusion effect. Bubbling could also represent a type of signaling between alcids. A video ofbubbling auklets will be shown and laboratory experiments on bubble-fish interactions w01 be pre- sented. 65 RATS: PAST DAMAGE AND PRESENT THREATS TO ALASKA SEABIRDS.Arr^arL. 5vic/ie/mj'). Valid estimates of breeding populations of these birds from land-base^ censuses are unavailable be- cause they are nocturnal burrow-nesters who nest in densely vegetated, often steep, mountains of tropical islands. Thus, deter- mining colony location (not all colonies have been found), density, and colony boundaries has not been possible. We intro- duce a method of calculating 95% confi- dence intervals for at-sea population esti- mates taking into account “natural varia- tion” in at-sea densities resulting from en- vironmental factors. Population estimates (including nonbreeders and breeders) of the four forms, respectively, as given above, were 61, Sm, 135,000, 25,000, and 97,000 birds. By assuming a nonbreeder compo- nent of 61 % in the shearwaters and 58% in the petrels, breeding population estimates were 13,000, 20-25,000, 5,000, and 25,000 pairs, respectively. Confidence intowals were 33% to 88% of the population esti- mates, after adjusting for natural variation. 67 AT-SEA STUDY OF FOUR EN- DANGERED OR THREATENED PROCELLARIIDS IN THE TROPI- CAL PACIFIC, PART H: HABITAT CHOICE AND BEHAVIOR. Larry Spear, David G. Ainley, Nadav Nur and Steve N.G. Howell, PRBO, Stinson Beach, CA 94970. We studied physical factors affecting distributions of subspecies of Pi0nus auricularis', the Townsend’s (P. a. 49 Abstracts auricularis) and Newell’s (F. a. newelli) shearwaters, and subspecies of Dark- rumped Petrel; the Galapagos form {Pterodroma p.phaeopygia} and Hawaiian form (P.p. sandwichensis). The two shear- waters used different ocean habitat, but their distributions were affected mainly by the same factor; mixing in the water col- umn. Auricularis occurred mainly over upwelling fronts at the shelf break off Mexico, while newelli was most abundant in the Equatorial Countercurrent, also char- acterized by many ocean fronts. The two petrels used different ocean habitat, but (and unlike the shearwaters) distributions of both were affected mostly by wind speed and direction. Foraging incidence by the shearwaters was highest where their densi- ties were highest. In contrast, the petrels showed little preference for feeding loca- tion. Shearwaters commuted at least 5(K) km {auricularis) yVo 1000km (newelli) dur- ing feeding trips from colonies. The petrel’s foraging mnges were similar to that of the shearwaters {sandwichensis, or less far, phaeopygia). Shearwaters flew often into head-winds to feeding areas, a more en- ergy-demanding flight behavior than that of die petrels, which flew less often into head-winds, foraged more opportunistically and conserved energy through dynamic soaring. 68 CRITERIA FOR SEPARATING JUVENILES FROM AFTER-HATCH- ING-YEAR MURRELETS IN LATE SUMMER AND EARLY FALL. Janet Washington Department of Wildlife, 16018 Mill Creek Blvd., MiU Creek, WA 98012; m&HarryR. Carter, National Bio- logical Survey, 6924 TremontRoad, Dixon, CA 95620. We examined museum specimens, lit- erature, and unpublished data from British Columbia to California to evaluate five main field criteria for identification of juve- niles versus after-hatching-year (AHY) Marbled Murrelets in the late breeding and post-breeding season from June to Novem- ber. The criteria were: 1) relative size; 2) overall percentage of dark versus light col- oration; 3) ventral coloration and pattern- ing; 4) dorsal surface coloration; and 5) wing molt and shape. In June and July, the first four criteria were useful. Recently fledged juveniles are smaller than AHY birds (70% body weight of adults at fledg- ing), lighter overall, have ventral speck- ling, and are uniformly daik on the back. Most adults have the alternate or cryptic “breeding” plumage and are much darker overall with rust-edged back feathers. By August and September, mostaltemateplum- aged birds undergo the pre-basic total body and remigial molt, lose the dorsal rust col- oration, appear much lighter overall, but retain some dark-edged ventral body feath- ers that appear as “blotches”. Many juve- niles that have been at sea for at least a month lose many of the characteristic “speckled” feathers. During these months, the most reliable criterion is the condition of the molted primaries. Molting adult wings have “gaps” in the primaries or appear “stubby” when they flap if primaries have recently been lost or have “rounded” wing tips if the new primaries have begun to grow out Juveniles have more pointed wing tips. In October and November, it is not practical to separate juveniles from AHY birds in the field. 69 ABUNDANCE ESTIMATES OF MARBLED MURRELETS IN OR- EGON BASED ON MARINE SUR- VEYS. Craig S. Strong, Bradford S. Keitt, William R. Mclver, ClijfordJ. Palmer , and Ian Gc^ney. Crescent Coastal Research, 7700 Bailey Rd, Crescent City, CA 9553 1 . Using standardized strip transect tech- niques, Marbled Murrelets and other sea- bird species were counted in the nearshore waters of the Oregon coast from a boat and from a low-flying light aircraft Additional observations were made with a telescope from locations on shore. Approximately 1,500 km of boat transects in 1992 and 1,980 km of transects in 1993 were com- pleted, and 6 aerial surveys of the state’s coastline were run. In both years. Marbled Murrelets were most abundant in central Oregon, between Cascade Head and Cape Arago. They were concentrated closer to shore in 1992 than in 1993. In both years there was an apparent shift to the north by late July. The vessel, air, and shore based surveys were used to generate population estimates for 3 regions encompassing the Oregon coast Estimates generated by ves- sel surveys were considered more reliable than estimates from air or from shore-based counts. 70 ENSO 1992 AND ENSO 1983: BIO- LOGICAL CONSEQUENCES AND SEABIRD POPULATION REGULA- TION IN THE CALIFORNIA CUR- RENT. William J. Sydeman, Elizabeth B, McLaren, and Peter Pyle, PRBO 4990 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, CA 94970. We studied the physical and biological effects of the 1992-1993 EL-Ni_o in cen- tral California based on obsawations of weather, sea conditions and seabird Iseed- ing biology on the Farallon Islands. Up- welling-favorable northwest winds were significantly reduced in 1992 (less so in 1993) and SST for both years was signifi- cantly elevated. Seabird breeding was de- layed and reproductive success was ex- tremely poor. Reproduetively, the ENSO event of 1992-1993 was as severe as that of 1983 for most species. As in 1983, survival of adults also was significantly reduced. Populations of certain species, notably Brandt’sCormorants (which weierelatively unaffected by anthropogenic influences during the period), had not recovered from ENSO 1983 befoie ENSO 1992 arrived. The frequency and intensity of ENSO events in California suggests that the seabird com- munity is far from equilibrium and calls into question the importance of density- dependent population regulating mecha- nisms, such as competition for food or space. In the Califomia and other eastern boundary current systems, density-inde- pendent stochastic events are likely to limit many seabird populations below levels where density-dependent population pro- cesses operate. 71 STATUS, ECOLOGY, AND CON- SERVATION OF KITTLITZ’S MURRELET {Brachyramphus brevirostris). Gus van Vliet, P.O. Box 210442, Auke Bay, Alaska 99821; andJohn F. Piatt, National Biological Survey, 101 1 EastTudor Road, Anchorage, Aladca99503. Among the world’s seabirds, the Kittlitz’s Murrelet is unique because much of its life-history is associated with glacial ice. Kittlitz’s Murrelet diverged from the closely related Marbled Murrelet (B. marmoratus) at the onset of the Pleistocene about 2.2 million years ago. Perhaps once abundant in its icy domain, the total world population may now number less than 20,000 individuals, of which 95% are found in Alaska. Extant populations in Alaska show a disjunct distribution in coastal- mountain areas with large glacial ice-fields (Glacier, Yakutat and Kachemak bays. 50 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Abstracts Prince William Sound); remnant high-el- availability (as independently assessed by exhibited high chick growth rates and heavy evation glaciers (Kodiak L, Alaska Pen., fisheries research), using a combination of fledgling mass in 1992 and 1993. Thus, Aleutians); and recently de-glaciated coastal observational and radio tracking techniques, these three species of seabirds responded mountains (Seward and Lisbume pens.). In both shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis differently to the crash of sardine stocks. ThenestingbiologyoftheKittlitz’sMurrelet and common murres Vria aalge^ adults is poorly known. To date, only 15 con- madelongerforagingtrips,andchicksgrew 75 STATUS OF ALCIDS BREEDING firmed nests have been de^ribed, mostly inmassataslowerrateinayearoflowfood IN HOKKAIDO. T. WatanuJd^LsA). AppL from one-time visits. During the breeding availability. Breeding performance and Zool.,HokkaidoUniv.,S^pOTO 060, Japan, season, isolated pairs of this cryptically- adjustments of adult time/energy budgets Six species of alcids have been rc- plumaged species nest on the ground, typi- in response to varying food supply, how- ported to breed in Hokkaido, Japan. Huge cally in high alpine habitat and within 5-15 ever, were different in these two species, numbers of Rhinoceros Auklets breed at six km of the coast They forage in marine Munes demonstrated a high degree of flex- colonies; more than 150,0(K) pairs, 95% of waters near or downstream of silty, fresh- ibility in adult time budgets and spent con- which breed at Teuri Island. Population water plumes from glacially-fed riverc. The siderably more time at sea, and more time sizes of the other five species are small and main short-term threats to the global popu- diving in the year of low food availability. K>me of them might be endangered. Num- lation of Kittlitz’s Murrelets include oil Shags, while showing substantial differ- bers of Common Murres, Spectacled pollution, gill-nets, and diminished forage ences in diving parameters between years. Guillemots and Tufted Puffins decreased fish stocks. The main long-term threat is the adjusted their overall daUy activity budget rapidly (10-19% per annum) during the possible negative effects of global warm- less dramatically in a low food availability 1970’s- 1980*s. Common Murres bred at 4 ing on glacial ice-fields and associated year. Murre breeding success (number of isolated islands in the 1960*s-1970*s, but breeding and foraging habitats. chicks fledged per nest) did not differ sig- now they breed only at Teuri Island. About nificantly between years. In shags, while 100 Common Murres visit breeding areas 72 STRUCTURE OF THE PRIMARY clutch size did not differ, brood size and at the island, but less than 10 pairs breed. FEATHERS OF MARINE BIRDS breeding success were lower in the year of The maximum number of Spectacled WITH DIFFERING FLIGHT STYLES, low food availability. Guillemots and Tufted Puffins counted MicM/eW£iinsrew, I>epLofBiology,Uni- around breeding areas in Hokkaido during versityofCalifomia,SantaCraz,CA95064; 74 RESPONSES OF BREEDING SEA- the 1990’s was 250 and <30, respectively, and JanHodder, Oregon Institute of Ma- BIRDS TO THE CRASH OFSARDINE One nest ofthe Marbled Murrelet was found rineBiology, University ofOregon, Charles- STOCKS IN JAPAN. 7. WatanuH^ Lab. in eastern Hokkaido in 1961 but there has ton, OR 97420. AppL Zool., Hokkaido Uni v., Sapporo 060, been no data gathered on this species since We compared the micrc^copic struc- Japan;A./sTur. 49 Murphy, E.C. 46, 50 Nakamura, Y. 56 Naslund, NX. 51,52 Nelson, S JC. 53 Newman, S. 54 Nur,N. 15,55,66,67 Ono, K. 56 Palmer, C J. 69 Piatt, JP. 22, 51, 52, 54,57,58,60,71 Pitkin, D. 62 Pitman, RX. 59 Pitocchelli, J. 60 Peck,R.W.53 Pyle, P.70 Ralph, CJ. 47, 61 Reimer, S. 62 Ritchie, WP. 28 Roby, D.D. 63 Sanger, G A. 8 Seiser, PP. 1, 38 Sharp, BP. 46 Sharpe, F. 64 Sowls, AX. 46, 65 Spear, L.B. 59, 66, 67 Stein, J. 68 Strong, C.S. 69 Sydeman, WJ. 15, 33, 45,55, 70 Taylor, R.H. 30 Turley, C.W. 28 van Pelt, T. 52 van Vliet, G. 58, 71 Wainstein, M. 72 Walton, P.73 Watanuki, Y. 74,75 White,!. 54 Wmiams.J.C.76 Wilson, JP. 35 Zubakin, V. 76 52 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 Bulletin Board Expressions of interest are being sought for attending the First International Confer- ence on the Biology and Conservation of Toronto, Ontario r^eaith, please contact Vicki Fries^ or Allan Baker for a sampling protocol and shipping permits at Department of Ornithology Royal Ontario Museum 100 Queen's Park M5S2C6, Canada Telephone : 41 6-586-551 9 Fax:416-586-5863 The Ornithological Council - Email:ROM@ORN(^ZOO.UTORONTO.CA Scientific Information about Birds Bulletin Board Albatross Conference Albatrosses. The conference will be orga- nized by Dumo Murray, Rosemary Gales, Nigel Brothers and Graham Robertson, and will be hosted jointly by the Australian Antarctic Division and the Tasmanian I^ks and Wildlife Service. The conference wiU be conducted in Hobart in August 1995, and will probably run for 3-4 days. Contact Graham Robertson for further information at AustralianAntarcdcDivison Channel High- way Kingston, Tasmania Australia 7050 Phone:61-02-32S-337Fax:61-02-323-351 Samples Needed for a Conservation Genetics Study of Marbled and Long-billed Murrelets Murrelets from throughout the North Pa- cific using recent techniques from molecu- lar genetics. Work is being conducted in conjunction with Dr. John Piatt (National Biological Survey, Anchorage), Dr. Kathy Marlin (Canadian Wildlife Service, Vancouver), and Eh". Tom Quinn (Depart- ment of Biology, University of Denver). Samples from large numbers of murrelets (a total of 300-400) are required for this research. We are therefore requesting as- sistance fmm researchers who work di- rectly with these birds in obtaining samples. SampHng does NOT require birds to be killed. A wide variety of tissue sources, no matter how small or badly degraded, can be used in this study: e.g., tissue (heart, liver, muscle, etc.) from beached birds or car- casses from any source; stomachs preserved in ethanol for dietery analyses; blood or blood (growing) feathers from adults or chicks caught for banding or radiotelem- etry. If you have specimens from murrelets stored either frozen or in ethanol or will be catching murrelets during the 1994 field season and would like to help with this The International Marine Ornithologists* Network A new email network s^ks to promote the information exchange between people dedicated to the study of seabirds. Mem- bership of the network is not restricted in any way. The network has been initiated to help marine ornithologists exchange infor- mation and keep in contact on a worldwide basis. All email messages sent out to the network by members will automatically be sent to all other members. The International Marine Omitholo- (jcoopeit®zoo.uctac.za). The initial an- nouncement of the network was sent in August 1993 to 60 marine ornithologists worldwide. To join the network send to SEABIRD@ZCX).UCT.AC.ZA the follow- ing in the Subject Field of an email letter; SUBSCRIBE SEABIRD, and in the body of the email letteryour full name and postal, telephonic, and fax addresses as you would like them listed in the network's address list. If you so desire, you may also list your research interest for inclusion with the ad- dress list To receive help, type HELP in the Subject Field of an email letter addressed to SEABIRD@ZOO.UCT.ZC.ZA. This will automatically send you the help facility. To send your own messages ort the network enter the address SEABIRD@ZOO.UCT.AC.ZA, place the heading of your choice in the Subject Field, and enter your message in the main body below. To receive an archival file which contains all the email messages sent on the network to date, send an email to SEABIRD@ZOO.UCTAC.ZA with the following Subject Field: ARCHIVE. Also available is an address list which contains all the current members of the network. It is automatically accessible by typing SEA- BIRD ADDRESSES in the SubjectHeldof an email letter addressed to SEABIRD@ZOO.UCTAC.ZA. The recently organized Ornithological Council is currently composed of seven ornithological organizations. They are American Ornithologists’ Union, Associa- tion of Field Ornithologists, Cooper Orni- thological Society, Pacific Seabird Group, Colonial Waterbird Gioup,RaptorResearch Foundation, and Wilson Ornithological Society. Each organization has two repre- sentatives. The Ornithological Council held it’s first meeting on 3 December 1993; eight of the fourteen members were present Board of Directors (affiliate society) David E. Blockstein (AOU) George E. Watson (AOU) Mary E. Murphy (COS) Sandra L. L. Gaunt (COS) Eric G. Bolen (WOS) Laurence R. Jahn (WOS) Douglas I. Forsell (PSG) George Divoky (PSG) Keith L. Bildsteiri (CWG) R. Michael Erwin (CWG) James D. Fraser (RRF) Sheri Chandler (RRF) Peter D. Stangel (AFO) Michael J. Braun (AFO) Advison Richard C. Banks The council has approximately $6,0CX) mostly from individual contributions and the AOU. PSG contributed $250. The council has been incorporated in the District of Columbia as a non-profit organization and as such it is not a lobbying organization. The goals printed in the Articles of Incorporation are (a) Tocpaateexclusively for charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes. (b) To provide the best possible infor- mation on birds, based on the science of 53 Pacific Seabirds * Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 We are currently conducting a popula- tion genetics study of Marbled Murrelets {Brae hyramphus manmOratus) to aid in con- servation of this species. This study in- volves genetic comparisons of Marble gists’ Network was initiated by John Coo- per, Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa Bulletin Board ornithology, where such information should be available for sound management orpolicy decisions or actions. (c) To serve as a conduit between those who have or who can obtain important and accurate scientific information about birds and those who need such information for environmental or policy decisions or ac- tions. (d) To facditate the use of available ornithological information in the decision making prpcess. (e) To serve as a voice for scientific ornithology in situations where the study of birds might be affected. (f) To keep the ornithological commu- nity aware of actions and potential actions that might have an effect on birds or the ability to study birds. The threepriorities for the first year are 1. To enlist the aid of an executive director or representative through an hono- rarium or service contract on a part-time basis. Duties would include making con- tacts within the appropriate government agencies and members of the Congress and their staffers. This would also entail writing some position papers on pertinent issues. 2. To seek funding from private foun- dations and individuals. 3. To prepare a list of “expert wit- nesses” who would be available to com- ment on proposed legislation or regula- tions. The Council will meet at least twice each year, once at the AOU meeting and once in the D.C. area during the winter. PSG Members with ideas on specific issues the CouncO should address or ways to help the Council accomplish its goals should contact Doug For sell (410-626-8486) or George Divoky (206-525-2131). POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT Biological Technicians GS-5 The Hawaiian Islands National Wild- life Refuge is recruiting applicants to fill positions working on Laysan Island. The length of the positions vary, but will aver- age from 3-6 months in duration. Theixoject is ongoing, with several positions available over the next year. The incumbents will spend about 60% of their time on control/ eradication of the alien plant Cenchrus echinatus and about 40% on habitat and wildlife monitoring projects. Vegetation control includes use of herbicides (Rodeo) and manual techniques. Remote living ex- perience and experience working with sea- birds or colonial nesting birds is preferred but not required. Opportunities exist to integrate a graduate level thesis project as part of the work. Laysan Island is a remote uninhabited island 850 miles northwest of Honolulu. Technicians live and work under primitive camp conditions. Work involves carrying heavy backpacks on soft sand and with exposure to extremes of sun and wind. Communications with the outside world are limited to irregular radio contacts with Honolulu. To apply, send a current SF- 17 1 , a transcript or CSC 1170/17, and Pre-Ap- pointment Certification Statement for Se- lective Service Registration. Forms and more information can be obtained by con- tacting Marc Webber at the Hawaiian Is- lands National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 50167, Honolulu, Hawaii 96850 (808-541- 1201). PREVIOUS APPLICANTS NEED NOT REAPPLY TO BE CONSIDERED. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The Pacific/Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex is seeking 4 vol- unteers to assist in a project to eradicate rats {Rattus rattus) on Eastern Island, Midway Atoll. Volunteers will be provided travel expenses from their home to Midway as well as food and lodging at Midway. The positions will last approximately 3 months starting in mid June. For more information contact Ken McDermond at (808) 541- 1201. P.O. Box 50167, Honolulu, Hawaii 96850. POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT Executive Director Bird Conservation Alliance (BCA) is dedicated to the conservation of wild birds and their habitats, especially in the Ameri- cas. BCA is a new organiration, formed from the merger of several organizations that operated under the name International CouncilforBirdPreservation (ICBP). BCA will be the parmer organization in the USA of BirdLife International, which is based in Cambridge, U.K. The Executive Director will develop and recommend to BCA’s board policies and programs to carry out the organization’s mission. The Executive Director will man- age the staff, implement policies and pro- grams, represent the organization to the government and the public, and implement theoiganization’s fund-raising strategy .The position will be based near or in Washing- ton, D.C. and will have a salary in the range of $60-$80,(X)0. For further information, contact Dr, Gerard A. Bertrand Chair, BCA Search Committee Massachusetts Audubon Society South Great Road Lincoln, MA 01773 (617) 259-9500 FAX: 259-8899 WRITE THE EXXON VALDEZ Oil SPILL TRUSTEE COUNCIL PSG members should consider writing the EVOS trustee council regarding the draft restoration plan that should be avail- able during June 1994.The final plan, which is over a year late, will establish the resto- ration goals and direct the expenditure of the remainder of the $1 billion trust fund. Each letter counts as a “vote.” The trustee council counts a letter from PSG as a single “vote” and 2(X) letters from the members of a group that wants the trust fund to be spent on fish hatcheries as 200 “votes.” During the past three years, PSG has consistently supported the following in its comments to the trustee council: •The removal of rats, foxes and other alien creatures from seabird colonies and former colonies; • The purchase of privately-owned seabird colonies; and • The endowment of chairs in marine orni- thology at the University of Alaska. Copies of the draft restoration plan can be obtained from James Ayers, Executive Director Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Coundl 645 G Street Anchorage, Alaska 99501 (800)283-7745 Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 54 Bulletin BcxDrd Oil and Wildlife Conference The Fourth International Conference on the Effects of Oil on Wildlife” will be held April 10-14, 1995 in Seattle. Papers on damage assessment, post-release stud- ies, or any other issues relating to oil and wildlife are requested. The deadline to submit abstracts is August 12, 1994. For guidelines, please call the International Bird Rescue Center’s Pacific Northwest Office at20M23-3649. Small Grants Available Mexican Seabird Consersotion The Pan American Section (PAGS) of the International Council for Bird Preser- vation makes grants ($1000-$2000) for avian conservation projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. PACS has established the following priorities in de- scending ordCT: 1. Conservation actions on threatened species, 2. Research by Latin Americans on threatened species. 3. Conservation actions by Latin Americans for threatened habitats contain- ing significant numers of threatened spe- cies. 4. Reasearch by Latin Americans on threatened habitats containing significant numbers of threatened species. 5. Joint consawation or management efforts by Latin Americans and those from outside the region on threatened habitats containing significant numbers of threat- ened species. 6. Training and environmental educa- tion for Latin Americans. 7. Research or management by those from outside the region. Proposals may be submitted in English or Spanish. Proposals received between Au- gust 1 and December 3 1 will be considered in May; proposals received between Janu- ary 1 and July 31 will be considered in December. To obtain proposal forms, write ICBP-PACS, Attention: Cecilia Landa, P. O. Box 57242, Washington, DC 20037- 7242 or call (202) 778-9563. PSG Enters INTERNET Email Era Many PSG members have now joined the INTERNET information highway. Once restricted largely to universities and other large institutions, atxess to INTERNET e-mail is rapidly becoming universal. Most of the PSG executive council now have e-mail, and this greatly facilitates communication and coordination. We urge all memb^s to get on the highway and take a test ride! Eventually, we may set up a PSG bulletin board. In the meantime, we would like to compile an e-mail directory for all members. Please send your email address in the next time you pay your dues so we can Ipg this address with your snail mail address, and include it in the next member directory. If you have e-mail access now, please take a minute to send your address via e-mail to John Piatt. Some PSG member addresses include: Member Name Anderson, Dan Chardine, John Divoky, George Flint, Beth Hatch, Scott Hodder, Jan Kitaisky, Alexander Kondratyev, Alexander Lowe, Roy Naslund, Nancy Nelson, Kim Piatt, John Ralph, C. John Rauzon, Mark Sharpe, Fred Sowls, Art Speich, Steve Springer, Martha Takekawa, Jean Warheit, Ken Access Address dwanderson@ucdavis.edu chardine@morgan.ucsjnun.ca divoky@aol.com flin^ uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu r8afwrc@mail.fws.gov jhodder@oimb.uOTegon.edu eabg079@orion.oac.uci.edu ibpn@ibpn.magadan.su lower@ext32.oes.orst.edu c/p john_piatt@macchoice.com nelsonsk@ccmail.orsLedu john_piatt@macchoice.com ralphc:@axe.humboldtedu c/o flint@uhunix.uhccJiawaii.edu fsharpe@sfu.ca r7amnwt@mailiws.gov smswallow@aol.com c/o fnams@acad3.alaska.edu c/o maissf@mail.fws.gov warheit@u.washington.edu Meeting Calendar 1994 •June 7-12. Society for Conservation Biology and Association for Tropical Biology Joint Annual Meeting, Guadalajara. Contact: B. Benz, SCB-ATB, Laboratorio Natural Las Joyas, Univ. de Guadalajara, Apdo. Postal 1-3933, Guadalajara, Jalisco 44100; orE. Santana, Dept, of Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706. •August 10-18. Birdlife International, XXI World Conference, Rosenheim, Germany. •August 21-27. XXI International Ornithological Congress, Vienna. Contact: Interconvention, 1450 Vienna, Austria. 1995 •January 10-13. PSG Annual Meeting, San Diego. Contact: William Everett, Natural History Museum, P.O. Box 1390, San Diego, CA 921 12. •August. First International Conference on the Biology and Conservation of Albatrosses, Hobart, Australia. Contact: G.Robertson, Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia 7050. Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 55 Bulletin Board The 41^ Annual EPOC Meeting September 28— October 1. 1994 Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood, OR The officers of the Eastern Pacific Oceanic Conference (EPOC) are pleased to announce our 41st annual meeting, to be held at the Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood, Oregon, The meeting format will be changed slightly from previous meetings. Theopening social function willbe Wednes- day night, September 28. On Thursday and Friday there will be two science sessions each day, a morning and an early evening session. We will leave the afternoons free for discussions and for people to enjoy the Mt. Hood area. The business meeting will be held Saturday morning. We will arrange for posters to be displayed throughout the meeting. Timberline Lodge is located on Mt. Hood, an hour’s drive from the Portland, Oiegonairport This classic Works Progress Administration facility built in the 1930s features an impressive, handcrafted wood interior and a first-class restaurant. Meet- ings will be held in the upstairs function room, the Raven’s Nest Preliminary ses- sion tops are Eastern Boundary Cunrenis, Dynamical Processes Workshop, Physical/ Biological Interactions-Long Time Series, and Posters. A second meeting announcement will include more specifics, including a final- ized session schedule with a list of chair- persons, costs (which include meals as usual), registration information, and how to gel there. We value your opinion! Please send ideas on special session topes, which are meantto include all disciplines of ocean- ography, or on other aspects of the meeting to Toby Garfield, meeting chairperson (Phone: 408-656-3226; Internet: garfield@oc.nps.navy.mil; OMNET: OCEAN.NPS). Also, we still need two non-physical oceanography co-chairper- sons and chairpersons for the poster ses- sion, Contact Toby Garfield for more de- tails. To be added to the EPOC mailing list, contact Jack Barth, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State Uni- versity, Ocean Admin Bldg 104, Corvallis, OR 97331-5503, 503-737-1607; Internet: bar th@oce.orst.edu; OMNET: OREGON.STATE. Murre-der Trial of the Decade by Mark Rauzon Murre-der trial of the decade begins — ^PSG called in as expert witness. Jury selection favors seabird diversity: same sex guU pair, dark and light phase fulmars, phalaropes, threatened and endangered species, etc. Judge Puffin dismisses PSG testimony, quotes research^: “More study needed,” Judge about to rule on murre-der when eagle from atop flag standard attacks. Justice is served — for lunch! Pacific Seabirds • Vol. 21 No. 1 • Spring 1994 56 PACIFIC SEABIRD GROUP EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 1994 Chair Chair Hect Vice-Chair for Conservation Treasurer Secretary^ ^ Editor , , Past Chair Alaska and Russia ' Canada Washington Oregon Northern California Southern California Non-Pacific United Pacific Rim - ' Old World' ^ ^ Marbled Murrelet Tecto^cal Corrmiittee ' Xantus’ Murrelet f echnicai Committee ^ ' Seabird Monitoring Committee OFFICERS John Piatt, USFWS, 1011 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99503, Phone (907)786-3549^ ^ Mark Rauzon, P. 0. Box 4423. Berkeley, CA 94704-4423, (415) 531- 3887' ■ . ' ; ' Craig S. Harrison, 4001 North 9th Street, Arlington, VA 22203, (202) 778-2240 - ’ ^ „ ’ ' ' ^ FAX (202) 778-2201 , Ken Warheit, P. O. Box 178, Tenino, WA 98589 (U.S. mail only), (206) 264-5886 (home-voice) . * ^ ‘ . Vivian Meiidenhall; USFWS,' 101 1 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99503,(907)^86-3517 ' T ' ' ^ " Martha Springer, 1708 Marmot HiU Road, Fairbanks, AK ^709, (907)‘ 47'9-8006 : ' ^ / ' ' ' George Divoky, 10535 Interlake Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98133, Phone and ‘ FAX (206) 525-2131' ^ ^ — REGIONAL REPRESENtATTVES Dave Irons’ USFWS, 1011 E: *tuddr RoM, 4pcHorage, AK 99503, (907) 786-3453 or (907)27^28 17.' ^ ^ ^ ^ Tony Gastoiii 1 J74 Dufferin Rd., Ottawa, Ontario, KIM 2A6, CANADA, m 997-6121 (vloric) or 613-745-1368 (home) : ' , . ' Roy Lowe^ USFWS, 2030 SJ Marine Science'Dr.J^lewport, OR 97365,. ^ (503) 867-4550, FAX (503) 867-4551, ' , Jean Takekawa, San Francisco BayNWR, Box 524, Newark, CA 94560, (415) 792-0222, FAX (415) 792-5828 Pat Baird, Department of Biology, California State University, Long Beach, CA 90840, (310) 985-4806 .' ' ^ ' " ^ K " ^ Jim Lovvdm, Dept of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming; Laramie, WY 82071, (307)766-6100 (work), (307) 745-93 14 .(home) Ken McDermond,P.O. Box 50167^ Honolulu, HI 96850, (8()8) 541-1201.’ FAX(808)541-i2l6,FTS5M/12'01 : 7; _ Mark Taskef;-Nature Consefviicy Council, 17 Rubislaw Terrace, Aber- deen AB 1 IXfe; SCOTLAND, 0224-642863, FAX (UK) 0224-643347 COMMITTEE COORDINATOkS NancyNaslund, USFWS, 1011, E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503, (907)786-3342 ^ William Everett, Dept, oTBirds arid Mammals, San Diego Natural Histdry Musetma, P, O. Box 1390, San Diego, CA 921 12, (619) 589:0480; , “ Scott Hatch, USFWS, 101 1 E. Tudor Rd. ’ Anchorage, AK 99503, (907> ‘ ^ 786-3529 or (907) 345-6056 ' ' ’ - " Steve Speich, 4720 N. Oeste Place, Tucson, AZ 85749, (602) 529-1141 ' Publications Committee