Volume 28 Number 2 Fall 2001 PACIFIC SEABIRD GROUP Dedicated to the Study and Conservation of Pacific Seabirds and Their Environment The Pacific Seabird Group (PSG) was formed in 1972 due to the need for better communication among Pacific seabird -esearchers. The Group coordinates and stimulates the field activities of members involved in research, and it informs its nembers and the general public of conservation issues relating to Pacific Ocean seabirds and the marine environment. Group meetings are held annually, and the PSG publication, Pacific Seabirds (formerly the PSG Bulletin), is issued twice a year. Current activities include involvement in seabird sanctuaries, seabird restoration after oil spills, seabird/fisheries interactions, and endangered species. Policy statements are issued on conservation issues of critical importance. Although PSG's primaiy area of interest is the West Coast of North America and adjacent areas of the Pacific Ocean, it is hoped that seabird enthusiasts in other parts of the world will join and participate in PSG. PSG is a member of the U.S. Section of the International Council for Bird Preservation, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and. the American Bird Conservancy. Annual dues for membership are $25 (individual and family); $15 (student, undergraduate and graduate); and $750 (Life Membership, payable in five $150 installments). Dues are payable to the Treasurer; see Membership/Order Form next to inside back cover for details and application. Pacific Seabirds Pacific Seabirds (ISSN 1089-6317) is published twice a year, in the spring and fall, and contains news of interest to PSG members, including regional seabird research, conservation news, and abstracts of papers presented at the annual meeting. Pacific Seabirds publishes short research articles, reports on seabird conservation, and shorter items on conservation, research activities, and other topics related to the objectives of PSG. All materials should be submitted to the Editor, except that conservation-related material should be submitted to the Associate Editor for Conservation. Information for contributors to Pacific Seabirds is at the end of this issue. Deadlines are March 15 and September 15. Back issues of the Bulletin or Pacific Seabirds may be ordered from the treasurer: please remit $2.50 each for Vols. 1-8 (1974-1981) and $5.00 each for Vol. 9 and later (see Membership/Order Form next to inside back cover for details). World Wide Web Site http://www.pacificseabirdgroup.org Editor Vivian M. Mendenhall, 4600 Rabbit Creek Rd., Anchorage, AK 99516 USA. Telephone (907) 345-7124; Fax (907) 345 0686; e-mail: fasgadair@att.net. Associate Editor for Conservation Craig S. Harrison, 4953 Sonoma Mountain Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, USA. Telephone: (202) 778-2240, Fax: (202) 778 2201, e-mail: charrison@erols.com Associate Editor for Regional Reports Elizabeth Flint, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex. (Submit reports through the Editor.) Donations The Pacific Seabird Group is a nonprofit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of California. Contributions to the Pacific Seabird Group are tax deductible [IRS Section 501(c)(3)] to the fullest extent allowed by law. Pacific Seabirds Submission Deadlines All items intended for publication in Pacific Seabirds must be received by The Editor or Associate Editor for Conservation prior to March 15 (Spring issue) and September 15 (Fall issue). Manuscripts may be submitted at any time. PACIFIC SEABIRDS Dedicated to the Study and Conservation of Pacific Seabirds and Their Environment Volume 28 2001 Number 2 Conservation News 68 PSG News PSG Mourns the Death of Steve Speich 73 29 th Annual Meeting to be Held in Santa Barbara in February 74 New PSG Web Site Name 74 Regional Reports Alaska 75 Far-eastern Russia 80 Canada... 81 Washington and Oregon 86 Northern California 90 Southern California 93 Non-Pacifie United States 95 Pacific Rim 96 South-east Asia 99 Mexico..... 99 Treasurer’s Report for 2000 by Breck Tyler 101 Book Reviews Beached Birds. By Todd Hass and Julia K. Parrish. Reviewed by Jan Hodder 104 Islands of Refuge: Wildlife and Histosry of the Northwestern Hawaiian islands. By Mark Rauzon. Reviewed by Vivian Mendenhall.. 104 General Information Information for Contributors to Pacific Seabirds 107 Published Symposia of PSG 109 PSG Committees 110 Life Members and Recipients of Awards Ill Membership Application and Order Form 112 PSG Executive Council 2001 Inside back cover CONSERVATION NEWS Craig Harrison PETITION FILED TO LIST KITTLITZ'S MURRELET AS ENDANGERED In May, the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups filed a “sci- entific” petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Kittlitz's Murrelet ( Brachyramphus brevirostris) under the Endangered Species Act. The petition cites this species’ vulnerability to global warming as the major basis for the petition. The petition states that Kittlitz’s Murrelets forage almost ex- clusively at the face of tidewater gla- ciers or near the outflow of glacial streams. It also notes that many Kit- tlitz’s Murrelets nest in alpine areas in bare patches in ice and snow. Accord- ing to these groups, an energy policy in the USA that is dependent on coal and other fossil fuels “virtually guarantees the extinction of this imperiled spe- cies.” The petition does not indicate how listing would reverse the pur- ported imminent extinction, nor does it advocate energy policies (e.g., ex- panded use of nuclear fuel) as an alter- native to fossil fuels. CASPIAN TERNS AND CORMORANTS BEAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT In August, U.S. District Court Judge Rothstein entered an order that gave victory to the Caspian Terns {Sterna caspia) and cormorants {Pha- lacrocorax spp.) on every claim and on every ground in the lawsuit brought by National Audubon Society, the Ameri- can Bird Conservancy and other orga- nizations that had sued on their behalf (Pacific Seabirds 27:65, 2000). The Corps is required to do a full environ- mental impact statement because of the uncertainty of the effects of the action, the cumulative effects on terns and the “public controversy.” In addition, the judge ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) should also have done an environmental impact statement on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act permit. The operative language in the ruling is, “Defendants are ordered to refrain from further action regarding Caspian Tern and cormorant habitat in the Columbia River estuary and to re- frain from harassing the Caspian Terns and cormorants until defendants pre- pare an EIS.” The government must pay fees and costs to the plaintiff bird organizations. This is a major victory against bad science. USFWS, by going along with the National Marine Fish- eries Service on some of these issues, has created for itself a huge headache. It remains to be seen whether environ- mental impact statements (which take years) will be needed for other Migra- tory Bird Treaty Act collection permits. The federal government has appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. WASHINGTON STATE DE- STROYS EXPERIMENTAL CASPIAN TERN COLONY ON BARGE In spring 2001, biologists estab- lished a new Caspian Tem colony on a barge in Commencement Bay, Tacoma, to attract terns that had been displaced from a superfund site nearby when the site was cleaned up. Caspian Terns have become controversial in the Pa- cific Northwest because of a misguided campaign by the National Marine Fish- eries Service to blame terns for the slow recovery of endangered “ecologi- cally significant units” of salmon. These efforts persuaded local officials to object to colonies being reestab- lished in Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay. The barge project was strongly opposed by the Puyallup Indian Tribe because of concerns that the terns would eat too many salmon smolts. Because of this strong opposition, Washington Fish and Game ended the project and collected the eggs from about 200 active nests. The barge was removed and the birds were left with no place to nest in the middle of the breeding season. Apparently Wash- ington State has a blanket Migratory Bird Treaty Act collection permit for research and management studies, which was invoked to destroy this ex- perimental colony. U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE DROPS REFUGE FOR CASPIAN TERNS The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assured PSG in November 2000 that it would complete within a few months a preliminary study on whether East Sand Island in the Columbia River— -the location of the largest Cas- pian tem colony in the world — meets the criteria of a national wildlife ref- uge. USFWS still has failed to do so. Apparently the agency has decided not Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001 • Page 68 CONSERVATION NEWS to pursue the acquisition of this island for a refuge due to political pressures. A sad day for the agency, whose trust responsibility is to stand up for sea- birds and other wildlife. AUSTRALIA ANNOUNCES CHRISTMAS ISLAND SPACEPORT Australia's remote Christmas Is- land (Indian Ocean) will become the site of a satellite launch center with the first launch expected in late 2003. The island’s proximity to the equator makes it an ideal satellite launch site, with heavier payloads being sent into orbit using less fuel. Christmas Island is a heavily forested 135m 2 island that lies off Australia's northwest coast. This island is the summit of an undersea mountain covered by rainforest, with a peak 1,181 feet above sea level and a coastline of towering sea cliffs. About one-third of Christmas Island has been cleared of forest and mined for large phosphate deposits, which are now almost exhausted. Christmas Island is home for three endemic seabirds: Christmas Frigate- bird ( Fregaia andrewsi), Abbott’s Booby (Sula abbotti) and Golden Bo- sunbird ( Phaethon lepturus fulvus), as well as two endemic land birds. Ab- bott's Booby, the world's rarest sulid, numbers about 2,500 pairs and breeds only in tall rainforest trees on the pla- teau. A national park (now a World Heritage Site) was created in 1980 in- cludes most breeding areas. The plan- ning of the space port seems to have proceeded without significant input from seabird biologists. Although plans are unclear, if they protect the pristine rainforest where Abbott's boobies nest and utilize instead the previously logged and phosphate-mined areas for development, some experts believe that the threats to seabirds can be mini- mized. Invasion of introduced pests is another cause for concern. Predatory ants are a major problem there and may be spread by this development. AUDUBON ALASKA AND PSG COMMENT ON ENVI- RONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ON ALASKA GROUNDFISH FISHERIES PSG and Audubon Alaska (the Alaska office of the National Audubon Society) jointly filed comments in July that addressed seabirds issues with respect to Alaska groundfish fisheries. The comments were in response to the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Draft Programmatic Supplemental En- vironmental Impact Statement (PSEIS) on the groundfish fisheries. This task would never have been completed without Vivian Mendenhall’s review of the 3,500-page document to identify seabird issues. PSG emphasized its interest in maintaining the numbers and distribu- tions of still-common species, espe- cially those that are endemic to the north Pacific and Bering Sea. In par- ticular, PSG and Audubon pointed out that none of the proposed alternatives addressed and integrated all aspects of the fishery and the affected environ- ment, including marine mammals and seabirds. This lack of full, integrated programmatic Fishery Management Plan alternatives is the greatest short- coming of the report. The report did include sections on ecosystem effects and cumulative ef- fects of the fisheries, and PSG noted that only by considering these effects can fishery managers protect either their target stocks or the other species that use the marine environment. PSG noted that important mitigation meas- ures are being developed and tested to reduce seabird bycatch in longlines, but that no mitigation measures have been proposed to reduce seabird bycatch in trawls. PSG urged NMFS to propose such measures. Even though no endan- gered species is currently at risk from trawls, seabird mortality (especially among alcids and gulls) should be re- duced as much as feasible. The National Marine Fisheries Service has recently (December 2001) announced that it will issue a new draft PSEIS to expand the alternatives and improve analysis of their impacts. The new draft should be available for pub- lic comment sometime after September 2002. UPDATE ON SEABIRD BY- CATCH REGULATIONS FOR ALASKA’S LONGLINE FISHERIES In December 2001, the North Pa- cific Fisheries Management Council endorsed revised regulations on seabird bycatch deterrents in the Alaska demersal longline fisheries. The pro- posed revisions would require most longline vessels longer than 16.9m to tow a pair of streamer lines while set- ting their gear, in order to keep sea- birds from getting caught on the hooks; smaller vessels would use a single streamer line, another permitted deter- rent, or a combination of these. The preposed revisions can be seen at http -Ji www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources /seabirds/avoidanceaction.pdf. The revisions are based on the re- sults of recently completed research. During 1999 and 2000, researchers studied the effectiveness of various devices to deter seabirds from getting caught in longline fishing gear. Obser- vations were made on active fishing vessels in the sablefish (Anomplopoma fimbria ) fishery in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, and in the Pacific cod {Gadus macrocephalus) fishery in the Bering Sea. Funding was provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries, Service, and the Washington Sea Grant Program. The report, “Solutions to seabird bycatch in Alaska's demersal! longline fisheries,” by Ed Melvin, Julia Parrish, Kim Dietrich and Owe** Hamel, is available on line or in hard copy from the Washington Sea Grant- Program web page;; |pl Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001* Page 69 CONSERVATION NEWS http://www.wsg.washington.edu /pubs/s eabirds/seabirdpaper.html. The authors recommended that Alaska demersal longline vessels be required to fly paired streamer lines (also called scaring lines or tori lines) while setting gear, using very specific standards for performance and materi- als. Streamer lines are lines hung from a high point on the vessel and extend 90m astern of the vessel. The line clos- est to the stem is aloft for 40 to 60m and includes streamers made of orange plastic tubing. This distance that streamers are aloft is the “performance standard,” which is critical to making streamer lines effective. Functionally, paired streamer lines create a moving fence that bounds the sinking groundline (the main fishing line), thus precluding birds from attacking the baited hooks. Compared to controls (no deterrent gear in use), paired streamer lines reduced seabird bycatch rates by 94% in the cod fishery and 100% in the sablefish fishery in the final year of field tests. Streamer lines are the most com- monly used seabird bycatch deterrent in the world's longline fisheries. The proposed regulations for the Alaska fishery are unique, in that they call for streamer lines flown in pairs and ac- cording to specific performance stan- dards. The final regulatory package approved by the Council includes less- stringent requirements for inside wa- ters, small boats (less than 16.9m), and vessels that use “snap-on” gear. The researchers also made several non-regulatory recommendations. These included informing the fleet of their bycatch rates (report cards), en- couraging the establishment of an in- dustry-based peer system, providing education programs for fishers, taking action at national and international levels, and future research. New regulations are still several months away. The U.S. Fish and Wild- life Service is preparing to issue a new biological opinion on the Short-tailed Albatross ( Phoebastria albatrus ) under the Endangered Species Act, taking into account the expected reduction in the birds* risk of being caught in longline gear. Then the National Ma- rine Fisheries Service will rewrite the full regulations on deterrents and pub- lish them in the Federal Register. The new regulations are expected to be in force by the middle of 2002, according to the National Marine Fisheries Serv- ice. Until then, regulations require that one of several deterrents must be used; streamer lines are currently permitted but not required. The fishing industry has been a constructive partner in the development of protection for seabirds from the dangers of longline gear. However, more progress will be needed to get ready for the new regulations. Streamer lines of the recommended type have been offered free to Alaskan longliners by the USFWS since March 2000. As of September 2001, 561 of approxi- mately 2040 Alaskan longline vessels had requested the streamer lines; over 700 more vessels can be supplied from stock now on hand, according to Greg Balogh of USFWS. —Ed Melvin and Vivian Mendenhall NATIONAL MARINE FISH- ERIES SERVICE APPOINTS NATIONAL SEABIRD CO- ORDINATOR In October, NMFS announced the appointment of PSG member Kim Rivera as the agency’s first National Seabird Coordinator. Rivera’s first order of business includes coordinating the regional implementation of the Na- tional Plan of Action to protect sea- birds during fishing operations. The plan outlines specific steps for reduc- ing the incidental catch of seabirds in longline fisheries where a problem exists. Congratulations to Kim. UPDATE ON EXTENDING THE REACH OF THE MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT TO 200 MILES OFFSHORE As reported previously (Pacific Seabirds 28:13, 2001), the U.S. De- partment of Interior issued a legal opinion in late 2000 that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act applies throughout the Exclusive Economic Zone, which ex- tends 200 miles off U.S. shores. Until now, the government’s jurisdiction to protect birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act has been considered to ex- tend only 12 miles offshore, although marine mammals and other fauna are protected out to 200 miles under other laws. PSG and other conservation groups have urged that jurisdiction over marine birds be made consistent with that for other resources, to facili- tate conservation of seabirds with re- spect to fishing, oil pollution, and other threats. The Alaska Region of USFWS requested the extension to 200 miles during the 1980s and again in February 1996. The new opinion was developed in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice, after considering the com- ments of the National Marine Fisheries Service. The opinion was subject to a review period by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) until July 19, 2001, during which time USFWS could not enforce it without the consent of NMFS. NMFS has not taken the high road and agreed to implement this opinion, and instead has been able to extend the deadline for appeal to the Office of Legal Counsel in the De- partment of Justice until January 2002. The Department of Interior Solicitor's opinion was accompanied in January 2001 by a letter from the Deputy Asso- ciate Solicitor, Parks and Wildlife, which advised USFWS that they can and should initiate discussions with the NMFS as to how the Migratory Bird Treaty Act program can be enforced. —Craig Harrison and Vivian Mendenhall Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001- Page 70 CONSERVATION NEWS PSG URGES CANADA TO PREPARE A GOOD NA- TIONAL PLAN TO REDUCE INCIDENTAL TAKE OF SEABIRDS PSG has written Canada’s Minis- ter of Fisheries and Oceans concerning the development and implementation of the FAO International Plan of Ac- tion for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries, and the development of a national plan in Can- ada. While Canada was a leading na- tion in the development of the FAO Code of Conduct on Responsible Fish- eries, Canada has not yet completed its assessment of seabird bycatch in Cana- dian longline fisheries, even though there are indications that it could be an issue in some locations, at some times of the year, and for certain species. PSG noted that beyond some initial training of fisheries observers, there are very limited programs in place to col- lect adequate data to fill in the large gaps that exist at present. PSG noted with encouragement that Fisheries and Oceans officials seem interested in conducting an as- sessment of seabird bycatch in other fishing gear at the same time. We strongly supported this assessment which would be beneficial to reducing bycatch of non-target species. PSG concluded by noting that there are many preventive and mitigating actions or modifications to fishing procedures that could reduce bycatch. PSG COMMENTS ON WHITE SEABASS FISHERY PLAN IN CALIFORNIA PSG commented on the California Department of Fish and Game’s White Seabass Fishery Management Plan in November 2001, urging that the plan include a provision for onboard ob- servers to monitor bycatch. According to the plan itself, a small study of by- catch in the commercial set and drift gill net fisheries for white seabass ( Atractoscion nobilis ) during the 1980s showed that cormorants ( Phalacroco - rax spp.), marine mammals, and over 140 other nontarget species were caught. Because the fishery has moved farther offshore since that study, and because it also has a small longline component, a number of additional seabird species may be vulnerable. Yet the plan includes no proposal for monitoring bycatch. PSG commended Fish and Game for the development of fishery management plans in general. PSG RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT IN BRITISH COLUMBIA In August 2001, PSG wrote British Columbia’s Minister of Energy and Mines to express concern regarding the potential lifting of British Columbia’s offshore oil and gas moratorium. PSG noted that the North Coast waters of British Columbia, particularly Hecate Strait, support large populations of marine birds. For example, these wa- ters are home to the majority of the world’s population of Ancient Mur- relets. In addition, hundreds of thou- sands of Sooty Shearwaters migrate there each summer and fall from the Southern Hemisphere. PSG wrote to ensure that the decision makers and public of British Columbia are aware of the importance of the north coast to these and many other seabird species. We would like to ensure that existing data on seabird populations of the af- fected region, available primarily from the Canadian Wildlife Service, be thor- oughly examined during the consulta- tion process to consider lifting the moratorium, and that the impacts of oil and gas exploration on marine bird populations be addressed as a major issue. The 1989 provincial moratorium was established in response to public concern over the environmental im- pacts of the Nestucca and Exxon Val- dez oil spills. PSG agreed that a com- prehensive, transparent, peer-reviewed environmental risk assessments for potential development on the North Coast be made available to all. The minister responded in October that he remained committed to a public and scientific process whereby all risks would be evaluated before a decision was made. PSG SUPPORTS RAT ERADICATION ON ANACAPA ISLAND The National Park Service was about to begin a rat eradication pro- gram on Anacapa Island in the Channel Islands National Park, California, in November 2001. The anticoagulant rodenticide brodifacoum would have been dropped from aircraft. However, the agency postponed the rat eradica- tion on the eve of its commencement due to fears of a lawsuit brought by the Fund for Animals. PSG wrote the Su- perintendent of the Channel Islands National Park, in Southern California, concerning its disappointment that the Park Service has delayed the action. PSG noted that there seems to be a lack of appreciation for the large losses to migratory birds that will continue until rats are eradicated. PSG made the fol- lowing points: (1) Xantus’s Murrelets ( Synthlibo- ramphus hypoleucus ) are rare, occur- ring on 4-5 islands in the U.S. and 4-6 islands in Mexico. Evidence suggests the population on Santa Barbara Island, largest in the U.S., has declined sig- nificantly. Introduced predators are a major cause of declines on these is- lands. (2) PSG is considering petitioning to list the species under state and fed- eral endangered species acts. (3) The Anacapa Island group ap- parently hosts a small population of Xantus’s Murrelets, but population trends there are unknown. There ap- pears to be a considerable amount of Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001 • Page 7 1 CONSERVATION NEWS unused nesting habitat, but it is un- known how many murrelets the island group could support. (4) Introduced black rats ( Rattus rattus ) and native deer mice ( Pero - myscus spp.) apparently eat murrelet eggs on Anacapa, thereby limiting pro- ductivity. On Santa Barbara Island, mice take approximately 30-50% of the eggs produced each year; which has been a significant factor in the Santa Barbara Island population decline. PSG believes that black rats take more eggs, and possibly chicks, on the Anacapa Islands. It is likely that this rate of pre- dation has consequences at the popula- tion level there. (5) The use of aerially delivered rodenticides to eradicate introduced mammalian predators on seabird is- lands has been tested and is a well- established technique worldwide. PSG believes that eradication of black rats from the Anacapa Islands will promote the population growth of Xantus’s Murrelets and other seabird species. (6) Delaying the project will likely result in a less efficient eradication program. Additional collateral damage to other seabird species (e.g., gulls) may occur as these species are more numerous on the island later in the winter. (7) PSG is not concerned about the anticipated minimal level of collateral damage to Western Gulls {Larus occi- dentalism posed by application of the rodenticide during November, since Western Gulls are increasing world- wide. ...... Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001 * Page 72 PSG NEWS PSG MOURNS THE DEATH OF STEVE SPEICH Steven M. Speich, long-time PSG member and editor, died on 8 Decem- ber 2001 after an 18-month battle against cancer. His death is a great loss to PSG and his colleagues. Steve was a seabird biologist and ecological consultant in Washington and Arizona for over 30 years. He contributed a great deal to PSG. He was the coordinator of research guide- lines for PSG’s Marbled Murrelet Technical Committee from 1987 through 1993. As editor of Pacific Seabirds from 1996 through 2000, he raised the journal to a higher standard with a new format and peer review of articles. He also served as Publications Chair from 1996 until his death; among other projects, he worked to make PSG a joint publisher of Marine Ornithol- ogy , and he brought PSG into the elec- tronic age by developing our first web site. He received PSG’s Special Achievement Award at the 27 th Annua! Meeting in February 2000 (Pacific Seabirds 27:21, 2000). Steve will be missed for his quiet but determined role during discussions of PSG affairs. He was extremely con- scientious — his issues of Pacific Sea- birds almost always came out on time. in spite of his many other obligations. It was typical of Steve that he was still hoping to complete work for PSG at the time of his death. We will miss Steve Speich greatly, and we extend our deep sympathy to his wife Chris and his son Steven.A gathering to remember Steve is being planned for the PSG Annua! Meeting in February; please see the following article for details. Below: Steve at the PSG meeting in February 2000 — celebrating, re- ceiving PSG’s Special Achievement Award from Mark Rauzon, and ac- cepting it. Photos by Kim Nelson. Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 200 1 * Page 73 PSG NEWS 29TH ANNUAL MEETING TO BE HELD IN SANTA BARBARA IN FEBRUARY PSG is pleased to invite you to at- tend their 29th Annual Meeting, to be held on 20-23 February 2002 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in Santa Barbara, California. The meeting will feature two plenary speakers and two special symposia; there will also be oral and poster ses- sions for contributed papers. Other events will include a Lifetime Achievement award to two eminent ecologists, field trips, and committee meetings. Plenary Speakers are expected to initiate each day of papers (21-23 Feb- ruary); they will include David Ainley and Hugh Drummond. Symposia will be held on the biology and conserva- tion of American White Pelicans and on oil and California’s seabirds. As usual, there will be several social gath- erings associated with the meeting, culminating in a banquet and dance at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum on Saturday 23 February. At the ban- quet, Lifetime Achievement Awards will be given to Philip and Myrtle Ashmole. A special informal gathering will be held to remember Steve Speich. People who knew him are welcome to meet at 6:30 PM onThursday, 21 Feb- ruary, at the MacVeigh House, which is part of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. On Wednesday 20 February, there will be meetings of PSG’s standing committees (Seabird Monitoring, Mar- bled Murrelet, and Xantus’s Murrelet) and the PSG Executive Council; there will also be a workshop on White Peli- cans. This year, there are two major ef- forts to help students attend the meet- ing. PSG has reduced the registration fee by 50% for students (students $85; non-students $170). Student travel awards in the amount of $200 have been made available by meeting co- sponsors, the U.S. Geological Survey (for students from the U.S. and Can- ada) and the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (for students from other countries). Inexpensive housing has also been arranged. We are looking for an excellent student turnout from all countries with interest. Santa Barbara is a beautiful city located on a broad sandy beach and backed by the impressive Santa Ynez mountains; there is much to explore during the day and night. Many field trips also are available, including free boat trips to the Channel Islands of- fered by the Channel Islands National Park on Tuesday (19 February), Wednesday (20 February), and Sunday (24 February). Other field trips are: California Condors (24 February), Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zo- ology (24 February) and the Salton Sea (24-26 February). For general information, contact Harry Carter, U.S. Geological Survey, 6924 Tremont Road, Dixon, CA 95620 (707-678-0682 x625; Harry_Carter@usgs.gov) or Sarah Fangman, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, 113 Harbor Way, Santa Barbara, CA 93109 (805-884- 1473; sarah.fangman@cinms.nos.noaa.gov). [Editor’s note: as of press time, Carter could not be reached by Email, as with everyone else in the Department of Interior.] For information about the scien- tific program, contact Lisa Ballance, NOAA, NMFS, SW Fisheries Science Center, 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037 (858-546-7173; lisa.ballance@noaa.gov). For more information on meeting details, travel, all field trips, accommo- dations, awards, registration, abstract submission, and updates, check the PSG web page at: www.pacificseabirdgroup.org. NEW PSG WEB SITE NAME PSG’s Web site now has its own URL: http://www.pacificseabirdgroup.org. It contains information on PSG events, has links to a variety of other seabird sites, and is being developed to include PSG publications. Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001 • Page 74 REGIONAL REPORTS Regional reports summarize seabird work of interest to PSG members. Reports are organized primarily by location of the work, not by affiliation of the biologist. ALASKA Summarized by Rob Suryan Beaufort and Chukchi Seas Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR) staff continued their annual monitoring of seabirds nesting at Bluff and Cape Lisbume in July and August. Art Sowls, Ed Murphy, and Shawn Murphy, Dave Roseneau, and Jim Schneeweis conducted this work. At Northstar Island in the Beaufort Sea near Prudhoe Bay, Bob Day with Alaska Biological Research, Inc. (ABR) used radar and visual surveys to study movements and behavior of migrating birds (especially eiders) with funding from British Petroleum. Other biologists with ABR continued several long-term monitoring studies of eiders in Northern Alaska. Betty Anderson and Rick Johnson continued their studies of Spectacled Eiders at (respectively) the Kuparuk Oilfield for the 9* h year and on the Colville River Delta for the 10 th year. In addition to aerial surveys for breeding-pairs for ail eider species, they continued nesting productivity and habitat use studies, and used time-lapse video cameras to record nest predators and determine incubation constancy. Rick Johnson and Bob Burgess also conducted aerial and ground surveys for Stellar’ s and Spectacled Eiders at selected locations in the National Petroleum Reserve. Steve Murphy directed similar aerial and ground surveys for eiders at several sites slated for oil exploration activities. Bob Ritchie and Jim King conducted aerial surveys for Steller’s Eiders in the Barrow area for the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the North Slope Borough. Bering Sea AMNWR staff continued studies at several sites in the Bering Sea. Studies at St. Paul Island were conducted from June to September by Art Sowls, Susan Woodward, Robin Valler, Julie Snorek, Elizabeth Ballontoni, Alan Springer (University of Alaska, Fairbanks [UAF]), Matthew Springer, and Tonia Bittner. Art Sowls, Kent Sundseth, Ram Papish, Michelle Wada, and Anja Schiller conducted studies at St. George Island from May to September. As part of a cooperative program with Minerals Management Service to document base levels of heavy metals and other contaminants in long-lived seabirds, crews also collected murre eggs at St. George Island. A brief survey of seabird and marine mammal populations at Walrus Island was conducted by Art Sowls, Paula White, Bruce Robson, (National Marine Fisheries Service [NMFS]), Terry Spraker (NMFS), and Phil Zapadil (Tribal Government of St. Paul). Scott Hatch and Verena Gill initiated studies to identify fulmar the populations that contribute to seabird bycatch in Alaska’s long-line fisheries. This research will include the development of genetic markers to identify source populations and satellite telemetry to track the seasonal movements of individuals. In June they deployed satellite transmitters on two breeding adult fulmars captured on St. George Island in the Pribilofs. Harnesses made of Teflon ribbon worked well, since both birds seemed to be doing fine 3 months after release. Hatch and Gill expect to track the birds’ movements for up to a year. Working in cooperation with the Gambell and Savoonga Native Corporations, David Irons and Kent Wohl (USFWS) and Dan Roby (Oregon State University [OSU]) continued the seabird monitoring work that they started in 2000 on St. Lawrence Island. Field work was conducted by Adrian Gall (a MSc student at OSU) and Lisa DeMatteo. Victor Zubakin, a visiting ornithologist from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, worked with Adrian for the second season. Brandon Waghiyi and Arthur Gologergen from Savoonga joined the crew in the beginning of July. The crews monitored population size and breeding success of Black-legged Kittiwakes, Common Murres, and Thick-billed Murres at plots established on cliffs near Kiveepuk Point, 10 km west of Savoonga. Murres appeared to have a good season compared to last year. Kittiwakes, however, had a complete failure, with very few nest structures built. The few kittiwake eggs laid were not actively incubated, and the only chick that hatched survived just 15 days. This is in contrast to last year’s successful breeding season for kittiwakes. Field crews also monitored colony attendance, breeding success, diet composition, and body composition of Least Auklets and Crested Auklets at the Kitnik colony 4 km east of Savoonga. They also color-banded and resighted breeding adults of both Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001- Page 75 species. Breeding success appeared to be 15% lower than 2000 at the Kitnik colony. Breeding success at the Myaughee colony 8 km further east appeared similar to last year. In addition to the field work, the crews enjoyed living in Savoonga and had the opportunity to share their work with the 7 ,h grade and 1 0 ,h grade life science classes at the Hogarth Kingeekut Memorial School. The second season of the St. Lawrence Seabird Monitoring Program was a success, thanks to the support and hard work of all crewmembers and the village of Savoonga. They look forward to continuing the project in the summer of 2002. Rob MacDonald and staff at the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge monitored population numbers and productivity of Black-legged Kittiwakes, Common Murres, and Pelagic Cormorants at Cape Peirce. The camp was opened on 30 April with seabird monitoring occurring from 8 May to 26 September. In addition, predation and disturbance of seabirds were recorded, and beached bird surveys were performed. Staff at Togiak NWR has monitored the population size and breeding performance of kittiwakes, murres and cormorants from shore-based plots at Cape Peirce annually since 1984. The field camp was still in operation at the time of this submission of information and no results were obtainable. For those interested in their results for the 2001 field season, a progress report summarizing this year’s data and comparing to previous data will be available this winter; please contact Rob MacDonald, Wildlife Biologist, Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, P.o! Box 270 Dillingham, Alaska 99576 (907) 842-1966, ext. 314; r °t ) ^ ma cdonald@fws.gov. In addition to her editorial work on Pacific Seabirds , Vivian Mendenhall REGIONAL REPORTS — Alaska has been helping the Alaska office of the National Audubon Society with several seabird issues. She is working with Olga Romanenko to select important bird areas in the Bering Sea and Aleutian islands, a first step in designating sites throughout the state for this international network. Jim Lovvorn's laboratory at the University of Wyoming is continuing to work on Spectacled Eiders and the oceanography of their habitats at their wintering area south of St. Lawrence Island. During an icebreaker cruise in March 2001, they found that the eiders were eating almost exclusively the clam Nucula radiata, which has expanded since the 1970s to replace Macoma calcarea as the dominant clam. While diving in 40~60m of sub- freezing water, the eiders select Nuculana 18-24 mm long, which are probably >1 year old, while rejecting smaller young-of-the-year clams. If permits can be obtained, Samantha Richman will include Spectacled Eiders in her dive-tank work in summer 2001; these results will be used in simulation models to evaluate effects of changes in the benthic community on the energetics of Spectacled Eiders during winter. Because the costs of flight strongly affect food requirements, it is important to know how often and how far eiders must fly to new leads when the leads they are in close up within the highly mobile pack ice. Consequently, Master s student Joseph Bump is using synthetic aperture radar data to measure the dispersion and duration of leads under different weather conditions. In addition to studies of body mass and condition of eiders in late winter, Jim Lovvorn is also continuing stable isotope studies of food webs in their wintering area. Aleutian Islands Staff at the AMNWR continued their extensive work on monitoring and restoration of seabirds in the Aleutian Islands and throughout the refuge. This long-term seabird monitoring program includes collecting data annually on timing of nesting events, reproductive success, chick growth, prey identification, and other parameters for selected species of seabirds. Population indices are recorded at least every 3 rd year. The data are summarized in an annual report posted on the Web at http:// 1 64. 159. 1 5 1 .5/seabird/index, html. Ten sites on the refuge are designated for annual monitoring. Seabird monitoring work on Kasatochi and Buldir Islands occurred from May to September and was led by Jeff Williams. Field crews on Kasatochi island included Sarah Syria and Trever Joyce, and those on Buldir Island included Heather Moore, Peter Kappes, and Matt Grinnell. Vernon Byrd, Art Sowls, and Greg Howell visited Bogosiof Island in September for a brief survey of kittiwake productivity and Tufted Puffin occupancy rates and prey identification. Vernon Byrd, Dave Roseneau, Arthur Kettle, and Kevin Winker (University of Alaska Fairbanks) conducted counts of ledge- nesters and guillemots at Amak island in June. Amak was last surveyed 1973. Jeff Williams, Lisa Sztukowski, and David Oleszczuk also conducted seabird population and productivity work on Aiktak Island from May to September. Ian Jones and Fiona Hunter continued their long-term studies of auklets. This year J o h a n n e Dussureault, Catherine Gray, and Jones studied auklet survival and productivity in relation to Norway rat predation at Sirius Point, Kiska Island from May 25 to July 31, in collaboration with Art Sowls. Martin • Page 76 Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 200 1 Renner, Heather Major, Fiona Hunter, Ian Jones and Julie Hagelin r\ ed ° n Least > Crested and Whiskered Auklet behavioral ecology and demography at Buidir Island from ay 25 through August in collaboration with AMNWR. To design a population monitoring protocol for crevice nesters, Nikolai Konyukhov (Russian Academy of Science, Moscow; konyukhov @gof.ru), Vernon Byrd, and Kyle Juk collected data on the activity patterns of Parakeet Aukiets and Horned Puffins at Buidir Island during May and August. Konyukhov did in-depth studies of diurnal and seasonal patterns of colony attendance from 24 May until 4 September. Direct observations and digital time-lapse cameras were used to standardize population census method for both species. At Buidir Island, Parakeet Aukiets have two peaks in their attendance pattern on the water near the colony. During the incubation period, numbers of birds in the nearshore area in early morning increased until about 8:00-8-30 Afterwards breeding birds went to the colony to exchange duties with their mates. The number of birds on the water stabilized from about 8:30 until 10:00. Later in the day numbers gradually decreased until there was a complete absence of birds in nearshore waters in early afternoon. In the evening the first birds arrived in nearshore waters about 19:30-20:00 Their numbers peaked around dusk which was about at 23:00, and then afterwards they gradually decreased. As the breeding season progressed, the peak timing of birds present moved slightly towards the afternoon. During the incubation period, Horned Puffins began to attend the breeding colony by 8:00 and numbers gradually increased throughout the day until about 19:00, when a peak in attendance began. This peak lasted REGIONAL REPORTS — Alaska until about 23:00. During the chick- reading period puffins also had a similar pattern; however, with the shortening of daylight hours, the morning presence at the colonies became later and the evening peak earlier. As part of an AMNWR ongoing program to restore natural biodiversity within the Aleutian Islands, Steve Ebbert and Art Sowls led efforts to assess and eradicate introduced predators. In September a survey of the distribution of rats on Rat Island was made by Art Sowls, Jeff Williams, and Dreg Howel, in preparation for possible future removal to restore native seabird populations. Surveys were also conducted in September to evaluate approaches for removing introduced foxes on Chuginadak, Ava tanakj Tigalda, Sanak, and Chirikof Islands. Crews for these surveys included Steve Ebbert, Kyle Juk, and Matt Grinnell. Steve Ebbert and Jeff Williams surveyed introduced ground squirrels on Kavalga Island in June to plan an eradication effort. In addition to assessment surveys AMNWR crews continued fox eradication projects. Introduced arctic foxes were removed from 1 12,000-acre Amlia Island. In addition, seabird surveys were conducted, and long-term monitoring plots were established on nearshore islands on the northwestern side of Amlia. The islands of Tanaga and Little Sitkin were rechecked to be sure that no foxes remained after removal efforts in 2000. This work was conducted by Steve Ebbert, Greg Thomson, Lisa Scharf, Jerry Maynard (Wildlife Services [WS]) John Spiegel (WS), Jerry MorriH (WS), Mark Pratt (WS), Michael Knapp (WS), and Sherman Anderson (WS). Rob Suryan, formerly of USFWS in Anchorage, is currently at Oregon State University, where his PhD studies will include albatrosses. Rob, Greg Baiogh (USFWS), David Hyrenbach (Point Reyes Bird Observatory and Duke University), and Dave Anderson (Wake Forest University) are currently initiating a satellite telemetiy study of Short-tailed Albatross. They will focus on environmental variables affecting marine habitat selection by albatross and how these variables may influence their potential interactions with commercial fishing fleets in Alaska. Gulf of Alaska AMNWR and the U.S. Geological Survey continued their Seabird Marine Mammal and Oceanography Coordinated Investigations (SMMOCI). This project includes recording seabird distribution at sea around annual monitoring sites, with simultaneous surveys of sea temperature, salinity, and biomass of prey via acoustic sampling. This year they surveyed transects near the Semidi Islands with a large crew that included Don Dragoo, Vernon Byrd, Jeff Williams, Gary Drew, Michelle Wada, Doug Palmer, Brenda Holladay, Kitty Mecklenburg, Mike Palmer, Dave Pitkin, Barry Sampson, and Bill Henry. Scott Hatch and Martha Hatch joined this cruise to the Semidi Islands, marking the 25th anniversary of their first visit to the Semidis in 1976. The main objective was to replicate counts of cliff-nesting birds (Northern Fulmars, Common and Thick-billed murres, and Black-legged Kittiwakes) on permanent plots. They also completed a cormorant census (Pelagic and Red- faced, both declining since late I970’s) on all nine islands in the Semidis. Among the fulmars on Chowiet Island, an unquantified but sizeable number of known individuals were still breeding in the same nest sites they used 25 years ago! Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001- Page 77 REGIONAL REPORTS — Alaska In July, staff from the AMNWR, the marine mammals branch of the USFWS, Ecological Services, and the National Park Service visited the Shumagin Islands. They conducted counts of Pigeon Guillemots and ledge- nesters at selected sites (the area was last surveyed in 1997). Crewmembers included Vernon Byrd, Jeff Williams, Don Dragoo, Anne Morkill, Becky Howard, Rosa Meehan, Angie Doroff, Mark Schroeder, and Judy Alderson. As part of an ecosystem study designed to understand the food web for Steller sea lions in Chiniak Bay (Kodiak Island) and factors affecting it, demographic parameters and prey use were studied in Black-legged Kittiwakes and Tufted Puffins from May to September by Leslie Slater, Bob Foy, and Dean Kildaw. The Migratory Bird Management office of USFWS, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, and AMNWR personnel cooperated to conduct a seabird colony survey on the south and east side of Kodiak Island during June. The purpose of the survey was to aid in determining population trends of terns, cormorants, and Pigeon Guillemots on portions of Kodiak Island. In addition, all other diurnal colonial nesting seabirds were censused in the study area. They surveyed 102 miles of shoreline and recorded approximately 51,400 birds and 850 marine mammals. A total of 70 seabird colonies were censused. Terns and cormorants appeared to have declined in the study area compared to historical estimates. Only 3 of the 14 historically documented tern colonies were active. Eight previously documented cormorant colonies were inactive and 6 new colonies were recorded. Pigeon guillemot breeding population numbers were comparable to previous censuses. The seabird colony data collected during this survey will be stored in the Beringian Seabird Colony Catalog database. Monitoring of seabirds on East Amatuli Island in the Barren Islands was continued during July and August by Arthur Kettle, Leslie Slater, Mari Ortworth, Michelle Wada, and Jessica Bussler. John Piatt, Mike Shultz, Tom Van Pelt, Ann Harding, Gary Drew (all from the Alaska Biological Science Center, US Geological Survey [ABSC]), and Sasha Kitaysky (University of Washington [UW]) were busy again in lower Cook Inlet, finishing off a 5 year study of survival and stress in murres and kittiwakes on Chisik, Duck, and Gull islands. Tom Van Pelt, Ann Harding, and Mike Walgren were on Chisik and Duck Islands for seven weeks in May and June, and Mike Shultz and Sasha Kitaysky made a brief follow-up visit in late August. Work focused on resighting of individually marked Common Murres and Black-legged Kittiwakes with concurrent measurements of chronology, productivity, and provisioning. Murres and kittiwakes also were captured for analyses of body condition and hormone levels. Beyond the field season, the main effort was toward archiving and analyzing data collected during the 1995-1999 Cook Inlet Seabird and Forage Fish Studies (CISeaFFS). Stephani Zador completed her MSc thesis on potential effects of Native egg harvesting on Glaucous- winged Gulls in Glacier Bay National Park and is pursuing a PhD at UW. Suzann Speckman is completing analyses of Cook Inlet data and working on her PhD dissertation at the School of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences at UW. John Piatt and David Irons (USFWS) are heading up a project to compile historic data on the pelagic distribution of seabirds in the North Pacific, and Shiway Wang (USGS) has been tackling that project for much of the year. Dave Roseneau and Leslie Slater visited the Chiswell Islands in September and conducted population counts of kittiwakes and murres to evaluate changes since the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Scott Hatch and Verena Gill continued research on Middleton Island, including supplemental feeding of Black-legged Kittiwakes. Naomi Bargmann returned for a second summer on the island and supervised a field crew consisting of Tom Bodey, Amanda Del Bene, Molly Dodge, Steven Hornstein, and Amanda Shahan. As in 2000, kittiwakes and other species had an exceptionally productive year on Middleton, suggesting that oceanic conditions in the northern Gulf of Alaska have definitely taken a favorable turn. Throughout the year, we tracked the movements of Glaucous- winged Gulls and Pelagic Cormorants implanted with satellite transmitters in 2000, and we implanted four more individuals of each species in August 2001 . In March, Bob Day conducted his last at-sea surveys of seabirds and marine mammals for the GLOBEC study. This concluded 5 consecutive years of data collection on this project. Michele Miller reports that the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward has added a Black Oystercatcher and 19 Red-legged Kittiwakes to their aviary, which already housed 13 Tufted Puffins and 13 Pigeon Guillemots. Michele and her crew are interested in pursuing life-history studies of the kittiwakes, in addition to breeding, molting, and behavioral dynamics of all four species. They would like to add Horned Puffins and, possibly, Crested Auklets to the colony and are on the lookout for eggs or chicks of these two species. They are learning a great deal about waterfowl incubation and chick Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001 • Page 78 REGIONAL REPORTS — Alaska rearing as well; they had the opportunity to hatch an Aleutian Canada Goose and 2 Spectacled Eiders, all of which are currently residing with captive waterfowl breeders. Prince William Sound David Irons and Kent Wohl continued their long-term studies of Black-legged Kittiwakes in Prince William Sound (PWS). Kelsey Sullivan (an MSc student at Rutgers University) and Aly McKnight conducted studies at the Shoup Bay colony. David Irons conducted census of populations and chick production in all colonies in PWS for the 18 li) consecutive year. The estimated nesting population of kittiwakes in PWS was the highest on record. Fledgling production was good, with production distributed a bit more evenly throughout PWS than in past years. Bob Day continued long-term monitoring of seabirds and marine mammals in Prince William Sound for ExxonMobil Corporation during July and August, in conjunction with co- principal investigators Steve Murphy of ABR, Inc. and John Wiens of Colorado State University. Kathy Kuletz initiated a study of Kittlitz’s Murrelets in Prince William Sound from mid-May to early August 2001. Her field crew included Karen Brennamen, Max Kaufman, Elizabeth Labunski, and Todd Trapp. The goal was to get a more accurate population assessment of this species in PWS and to examine the potential for boat disturbance effects. Behavioral observations were combined with surveys of appropriate habitats and areas previously identified as Kittlitz’s hangouts. Kathy and a core crew including Karen Brenneman, Max Kaufman, and Liz Labunski surveyed nineteen areas, primarily fjords with glacially influenced waters. The apparent population decline of Kittlitz’s Murrelets has been a concern of USFWS, and there is added emphasis on obtaining abundance, habitat use and diet information on this species because of a recent petition to the USFWS to list the species as endangered. Kathy is currently working on a Status Assessment of the Kittlitz’s Murrelets, in conjunction with John Piatt and Tom Van Pelt (ABSC). Of particular interest during the 2001 season in PWS was the apparent abundance of capelin, which attracted unusually large foraging aggregations of Marbled Murrelets and other birds. Capelin were observed and sampled even in the northern fjords of PWS, where capelin had not been observed during earlier EVOS studies. Just as Kathy’s Kittlitz’s study ended, the 170 ft tender Windy Bay struck a charted reef and sank in northern PWS. This precipitated the Windy Bay Oil Spill, spilling 35,000 gallons of diesel fuel and about 500 gallons of other petroleum products over more than 100km 2 . A variety of seabirds and marine mammals used this area, the most abundant being marbled Murrelets. The Kittlitz’s survey crew conducted post-spill surveys, providing information on numbers and species at risk. (An interim report is available from Kathy Kuletz, USFWS, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503, USA). Because portions of the affected area overlapped with the Kittlitz’s surveys, we were able to compare immediate pre- and post-spill seabird abundance and distribution. Only seven oiled carcasses were found, but the survey crew observed several hundred Murrelets in oil sheens. Six of the dead birds were Marbled Murrelets, and four of those were juveniles. The spill occurred during peak juvenile murrelet abundance in PWS, which likely contributed to their disproportionate susceptibility. Just a week earlier, a fishing vessel in the same general area struck an iceberg and sank, releasing 3,000 gallons of fuel. Both of these events occurred in good weather and daylight, highlighting the need for better rules or enforcement in heavily traveled inland waters. Rob Suryan spent the first part of the year working on a synthesis for the post-Exxw? Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) studies of Black-legged Kittiwakes in Prince William Sound. He then migrated south during March through July to work at Oregon State University with Dan Roby (see Oregon/Washington Report) and Short- tailed Albatrosses (see Aleutians section of the Alaska report). During his PhD studies also will continue to analyze EVOS kittiwake and forage fish data. David Ainley (H.T. Harvey & Associates), Glenn Ford (RGF Consulting), with collaboration from David Irons (USFWS, Anchorage), Rob Suryan (OSU), and Evelyn Brown (University of Alaska) are studying the lack of regional population growth of Black-legged Kittiwakes in face of compensatory increase and decline of individual colonies within Prince William Sound. Southeast Alaska Staff from AMNWR continued seabird monitoring at St. Lazaria Island during May through September. Persons involved in this work included Leslie Slater, Vicky Vosburg, Kendra Womack, and Anissa Berry- Frick. Tony DeGange (USFWS, Ecological Services) and Gilia DeGange also had an opportunity to work on St. Lazaria this summer. As part of a cooperative program with Minerals Management Service to document base levels of heavy metals Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001* Page 79 REGIONAL REPORTS — Alaska, Russia and other contaminants in long-lived seabirds, crews collected murre eggs. In Glacier Bay National Park (GBNP), Mike Litzow and John Piatt continued their forage fish studies. With Chris Gabrielle (GBNP), they also initiated a study of humpback whale foraging behavior in the Park. Seabird bycatch issues Kim Rivera (formerly of the Alaska Region of NMFS) was appointed National Seabird Coordinator of NMFS. She will continue to be based in Juneau. Her tasks will include coordinating regional implementation of the NPOA and of Executive Order (EO) 13186 “Responsibilities of Federal Agencies to Protect Migratory Birds” (issued January 2001). USFWS and NMFS are currently developing a Memorandum of Understanding, as required in EO 13186. Kim reports that NMFS will revise existing regulations for seabird deterrent measures in the longline fisheries off Alaska. Revisions will be based on the results and recommendations of the 2-year study by the Washington Sea Grant Program (WSGP) on the effectiveness of deterrents. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) will consider the WSGP recommendations at the Council’s October meeting and make its recommendations to NMFS. The International Pacific Halibut Commission submitted a requested report to NMFS, “A feasibility study that investigates options for monitoring by catch of the Short-tailed Albatross in the Pacific halibut fishery off Alaska.” NMFS will consider this report in its development of a monitoring plan for the halibut fishery. The United States finalized and made available in February 2001 its “National Plan of Action for Reducing the Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries” (NPOA). This plan was developed jointly by NMFS and USFWS and calls on NMFS regions to assess longline fisheries to determine if a seabird bycatch problem exists. If so, specific measures are to be carried out, including prescription of mitigation measures, outreach, education, and regular reporting of bycatch. The NPOA can be found at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/ protcedrsources/seabirds/npoa / nopa.pdf. Analysts at the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center continue to refine protocols for seabird bycatch estimates in the Alaska groundfish fisheries. Average annual estimates for 1993-1999 have been calculated, and data for 2000 are currently being analyzed. In 2001, NMFS made available 2 major draft Environmental Impact Statements that include sections on the effects of the proposed actions on seabirds. The first is the Draft Programmatic Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) on the Alaska Groundfish Fisheries, which was issued in January. The Draft Steller Sea Lion Protection Measures SEIS was issued in August. Both are available on the NMFS Alaska Region website at http://www.fakr. noaa.gov/ su s ta i n ab 1 efi s he ries/ea/de fault .htm. For a more detailed timeline of NMFS Alaska Region seabird activities and issues, refer to http .-//www.fakr. noaa.gov/ protectedresources/seabirds/ timeline.htm and http://www. fakr.noaa.gov/ protectedresources/seabirds. html. Kent Wohl, Kathy Kuletz, and David Irons worked to allocate $575,000 of congressional funds directed toward issues of seabird bycatch in Alaska. Nine projects were funded via contracts or agreements with other agencies and universities. These projects focus on three areas: education and outreach to the fishing industry; research and analysis on seabirds affected by bycatch, in particular their demographics, distribution, and habitat use; and improving the data collected on seabird bycatch by fishery observers. Kathy Kuletz continues to work on seabird-fisheries issues with Greg Balogh (Western Alaska Ecological Services, USFWS) and Kim Rivera. Kim and Kathy have been writing the seabird and ecosystem sections of the SEIS for the Steller’s sea lion and participating in the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council meetings. Tony DeGange is the USFWS representative on the NPFMC. Tony, along with Kim, Greg and Ed Melvin, has been heavily involved in working with longliners to implement seabird avoidance measures. FAR-EASTERN RUSSIA Summarized by Nikolai Konyukhov Yuri Artukhin (artukhin@mail. iks.ru) carried out counts of seabirds at sea on a route along the Kurile Islands from 23 June until 21 July 2001. In addition, numbers and species composition of seabirds at some colonies were determined. Data were added to the previous year’s counts, which will be published as “Cadaster of Seabird Colonies of the Kurile Islands.” Nikolai Konyukhov (konyukhov @gol.ru) did studies of diurnal and seasonal patterns of colony attendance in the Parakeet Auklet and Homed Puffin on Buldir Island, Aleutian Islands, USA, from 24 May until 4 September. Victor Zubakin worked on Least and Crested Auklets and Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001* Page 80 REGIONAL REPORTS - Russia, Canada assisted with monitoring of other spe- cies on St. Lawrence Island, USA. Details of both projects are given in the Alaska report. CANADA Summarized by Ken Morgan British Columbia — Marbled Mur- relets Russell Bradley (Simon Fraser University and Canadian Wildlife Service [CWS], Centre for Wildlife Ecology [CWE]) is continuing his MSc< work on the breeding ecology of radio- marked Marbled Murrelets in Desola- tion Sound. His work involved docu- menting the use of nesting sites on cliffs and in deciduous trees, male sex- biased nest visitation during chick rearing, and analyzing the ability to infer demographic parameters from radiotelemetiy data. Currently, his fo- cus is on evaluating effects of marine and terrestrial habitat use on reproduc- tive success in individual murrelets, using radio-marked birds. A recent publication is: Bradley, R.W. and F. Cooke, “Cliff and deciduous tree nests of Marbled Murrelets in southwestern British Columbia,” Northwestern Natu- ralist 82:52-57, 2001. Alan Burger (University of Victo- ria [UVIC]) continues to work on mur- relets and has completed a review of the biology of the species as part of the Canadian Marbled Murrelet Conserva- tion Assessment. He also continues fieldwork on murrelets on southwest Vancouver Island in collaboration with Connie Miller-Retzer (BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection [MWLAP]). The goal of current re- search is to assess the effects of frag- mented forest patches on the relative densities of murrelets and their preda- tors. Michelle Masselink (UVIC) completed her MSc thesis on Steller’s Jay as a nest predator of murrelets (su- pervised by Burger). Trudy Chatwin (MAWLAP) writes that the Nestucca Oil Spill Dam- age Trust Fund has supported a radar survey by Irene Manley of Marbled Murrelets on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. Murrelets were counted in 15 watersheds, and broad- scale habitat relationships were com- pared to numbers of pre-dawn mur- relets. Monica Mather completed “Mar- bled Murrelet nesting habitat: An evaluation of identified wildlife man- agement strategy and landscape unit planning policy for protecting old- growth nesting habitat in selected Van- couver Island landscape units.” Chat- win summarizes this report as follows: BC initiated the Identified Wildlife Management Strategy (IWMS) to pro- tect threatened and endangered species from effects of forest and range prac- tices. The IWMS recommends that murrelets be protected in Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHAs) amounting to 10-12% of their originally suitable for- est habitat. However, the Landscape Unit (LU) Planning policy regulates the allocation of these WHAs to reduce the impacts to the forest industry. The purpose of the project was to determine the outcome of implementing IWMS and LU Planning policy as a means of protecting murrelet nesting habitat. The amount of suitable nesting habitat was compared to the amount allowed under LU policy in 8 LUs on Vancouver Is- land. Analysis of suitable murrelet nesting habitat using CIS showed that with the exception of parks, there were few areas that met the 200-ha size cri- teria for WHAs. Often 10% of the for- est land was potentially suitable habi- tat, but it was so fragmented that it was impossible to locate 200-ha polygons. In the 8 LUs examined using IWMS and LUP Guidelines, it was possible to protect only 1.6% of suitable habitat. Using the existing LUP policy and the IWMS requirements in these LUs, murrelet conservation would no- Monica Mather completed “Marbled Murrelet nesting habitat: An evaluation of identified wildlife management strategy and landscape unit planning policy for protecting old-growth nest- ing habitat in selected Vancouver Is- land landscape units.” Chatwin sum- marizes this report as follows: BC ini- tiated the Identified Wildlife Manage- ment Strategy (IWMS) to protect threatened and endangered species from effects of forest and range prac- tices. The IWMS recommends that murrelets be protected in Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHAs) amounting to 10-12% of their originally suitable for- est habitat. However, the Landscape Unit (LU) Planning policy regulates the allocation of these WHAs to reduce the impacts to the forest industry. The purpose of the project was to determine the outcome of implementing IWMS and LU Planning' policy as a means of protecting murrelet nesting habitat. The amount of suitable nesting habitat was compared to the amount allowed under LU policy in 8 LUs on Vancouver Is- land. Analysis of -suitable murrelet nesting habitat using GIS showed that with the exception of parks, there were few areas that met the 200-ha size cri- teria for WHAs. Often 10% of the for- est land was potentially suitable habi- tat, but it was so fragmented that it was impossible to locate 200-ha polygons. In the 8 LUs examined using IWMS and LUP Guidelines, it was possible to protect only 1.6% of suitable habitat. Using the existing LUP policy and the IWMS requirements in these LUs, murrelet conservation would not be adequate. Trudy Chatwin is also working on reserve planning in Clayoquot Sound. According to the Clayoquot Scientific Panel recommendations for ecosystem planning, Chatwin recom- mended a series of murrelet reserves with interior nesting habitat of excel- lent and good habitat suitability. These reserves were based on Habitat Suit- ability modelling and mapping con- ducted by Volker Bahn and Dan Sirk, then verified by low-level helicopter flights to evaluate nesting platforms. Sean Cullen reports that he com- pleted the second field season of a ra- dar inventory of Marbled Murrelets entering watersheds in southwestern BC, under contract for the BC Provin- cial Government. Future analysis will Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001- Page 81 REGIONAL REPORTS - Canada focus on the relationship of habitat parameters to murrelet distribution at the landscape scale. Under contract to CWS, Tracey Hooper prepared “Research and in- ventory of the Marbled Murrelet ( Brachyramphus marmoratus) in Brit- ish Columbia, 1991-99” (currently in draft). Guided by the National Marbled Murrelet Recoveiy Team, Hooper pre- pared a summary of all murrelet in- ventory and monitoring work done in BC from 1991 through 1999. The re- port includes chapters on murrelet bi- ology, demographics, nesting behavior and habitat, marine populations and habitat, terrestrial populations and habitat, and assessments of current monitoring and inventory methodolo- gies. The information was summarized by coastal regions (i.e.. Central Coast, South Coast, and Vancouver Island) to show possible regional trends in the data and to identity information gaps. Falk Huettmann investigated the nesting habitat selection of murrelets in Desolation Sound, along with Russell Bradley, Emmanuelle Cam, Fred Cooke, Laura McFarlane- Tranquilla, Lynn Lougheed, and Cecilia Lougheed (all CWE). The project used 84 murrelet nests that had been located by radio-telemetry. Sites were geo-referenced and overlaid in Arc View, using a Digital Elevation Model (slope, elevation and aspect) and compiled 1:20,000 scale Forest Cover maps. Multivariate generalized linear models were built using murrelet nests stratified by forest cover. The habitat characteristics corresponding to nest locations were compared to those of an equal number of randomly drawn locations from the same strata. Diane Evans Mack and Martin Raphael of the US Forest Service col- laborated with the SFU/CWS murrelet research crew to investigate the social behavior of known non-nesting and incubating murrelets in Desolation Sound. The objective was to correlate group size on the water with nesting status to devise an index to the propor- tion of the population that is nesting that could be applied to at-sea survey data. Peggy Yen (CWE) and Huettman undertook a large-scale multivariate GIS modeling study of the marine dis- tribution of murrelets during the breeding season. The role played by the marine environment in the distri- bution and abundance of murrelets is not well understood. Yen and Huett- mann compiled many GIS data sets relevant to the marine environment of BC, and they built statistical models to predict the relationship between mur- relets and marine habitats. Several ad- vanced modeling algorithms (e.g., Generalized Multivariate Models, Classification and Regression Trees, Multiple Adaptive Regression Splines, and Neural Networks) were evaluated to provide best predictions for marine distribution and abundance. Yen, Huettmann, and others from CWE evaluated marine and terrestrial habitats with large-scale GIS models. It is currently not known whether distri- bution and abundance of murrelets during the breeding season is affected by terrestrial habitat, marine habitat, or both. They used GIS models with three spatial scales (“bins” of 5km, 25km and 50km) to investigate this question in detail. Several multivariate model scenarios were built using nesting evi- dence, marine abundance, and occu- pied detection surveys. They will evaluate which model provides the best link with coastal habitat, and which of the marine and terrestrial habitat fea- tures provide the best explanation for nesting murrelets across spatial scales. Paul Jones notes that during the past year most effort was directed to- wards the completion of his report “The Marbled Murrelets of the Caren Range and Middlepoint Bight,” pub- lished by Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC). The report is an account of ten years of research into murrelets in a subalpine forest (now set aside as a BC Provincial Park), as well as research into this species in the ma- rine environment. It is available for $34.95 (Canadian dollars) from Jones at mrjones@axion.net, or from WCWC, 227 Abbott St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V6B 2K7. In addition, volunteer research continued in the ancient forests of the Caren Range, though on a more limited scale than in past years, and at-sea surveys in Mid- dlepoint Bight were maintained. The numbers of murrelets seen on the water during the August/September moult suggested that 2001 was a good breeding year. Bernard Schroeder (with assis- tance from Chad Henderson) con- ducted a murrelet detection project at various locations in Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island, between late May and 27 July 2001 Most work consti- tuted the first year of surveys to satisfy protocol requirements of the Resources Inventory Committee (R1C) for a pre- sent/not-detected inventory. The intact upper portion of the Brand Valley was monitored for a fourth consecutive year for nesting activity. The information will assist resource managers in ac- counting for murrelet habitat require- ments in forest development plans. The inventory was focused on determining murrelet activity in areas managed by the small-business forest enterprise program. In the winter and spring, Bernard Schroeder continued work on a habitat evaluation project for MAWLAP in various Landscape Units or watersheds near Barkley Sound. Potential murrelet nesting habitat was delineated and rated using a combination of air photo and forest cover mapping review. Aer- ial assessments were conducted by helicopter as a broad scale ground- truthing method, while more specific ground-truthing was done by mensura- tion of potential nesting habitat on a 1- ha transect plot. The information is being used to prioritize areas for fur- ther investigation and to assist habitat managers with Old Growth Manage- ment Area and Wildlife Habitat Area selection. Laura McFarlane-Tranquilla, Tony Williams and Fred Cooke (all CWE) are using physiology to examine the breeding chronology and propor- tion of egg-producers in Marbled Mur- Paciftc Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001* Page 82 REGIONAL REPORTS - Canada relets in Desolation Sound. Vitello- genin (VTG) is a lipophosphoprotein that circulates in the plasma of egg- producing birds prior to laying. They are using VTG to describe the length and duration of the egg-producing phase during two breeding seasons, the differential detection of egg producers among birds caught by two methods (dipnetting and mistnetting), and the proportion of egg producers caught. Eggs were produced in Desolation Sound for a 70-days period (late April to early July). The proportions of egg producers and mean dates and range of egg production did not differ between years. Identifying egg producers using VTG allowed accurate prediction of the first appearance of juveniles in the study area. Another study by McFarlane- Tranquilla, with Bradley, Cooke, and Williams, is evaluating use of the brood patch for assessing a bird’s breeding status. When murrelets are caught away from the nest, assessment of their breeding status is often guess- work, since there is no information on nest site occupation or presence of egg or chick. McFarlane-Tranquilla et al. are examining brood patch develop- ment in relation to the timing of breeding, using VTG and inferring the onset of incubation by radiotelemetry. They have found that some birds ac- quire fully developed brood patches as long as 60 days before egg-laying. Given these results, they question the close timing that has been assumed between brood patch development, egg development and onset of incubation. Researchers are cautioned about using brood patches as descriptors of breed- ing activity and breeding success. McFarlane-Tranquilla (with Bradley, Williams, and Cooke) exam- ined whether catching Murrelets dis- rupted breeding. They found that some aspects of capture, handling, and radio transmitter attachment affect the breeding decisions made by Marbled Murrelets. Many supposed “nonbreed- ers” were found to be females that were actually producing eggs at the time of capture, suggesting a failed breeding attempt. “Failed” breeders made up 34% (12/35) of a sample of females. Failed breeders also were captured later in the season than suc- cessful breeders (mean 18 days later). It is likely that some female murrelets experienced nest failure due to investi- gator disturbance, but also that there are many factors involved in nest fail- ure, which are not easy to examine independently. Marbled Murrelets that carried a radio transmitter throughout the breeding season and bred success- fully may have experienced a delay in the initiation of incubation, also due to investigator influence. However, not all birds delayed breeding, implying that a number of factors influence vulner- ability in Marbled Murrelets. John Ryder (CWE) notes that during 2001 the Marbled Murrelet Re- search Project completed fieldwork at two sites— Clayoquot Sound and Desolation Sound. The major focus was the telemetry study of two popula- tions. Cooke continued his role as pro- ject leader while Nadine Parker com- pleted her first season as project coor- dinator. Huettmann and Cam continued analysis of nesting habitat and demo- graphic data. A total of 70 adult and 9 juvenile murrelets were captured by dipnetting in Clayoquot Sound. Sixty- eight transmitters were attached to adult birds, resulting in a total of 12 nests located, including two that were actually found while the adults were in the chick-rearing phase. Of note is the fact two of the nesting birds were de- tected on both the west and east coasts of Vancouver Island. The first juvenile in Clayoquot Sound was captured on 6 June. A total of 143 adult and 47 juve- nile murrelets were captured in Deso- lation Sound. Seventy-five transmitters were attached to adult birds, and 37 nests were found, including a re-nest. Also included in this sample of nests was a bird that laid an egg upon cap- ture and then went on to nest. The first juvenile was captured on June 23. Forty-five transmitters were attached to captured juveniles with the aim of de- termining juvenile survival. British Columbia— other marine birds Alan Burger is analyzing several years of data from vessel transects made over the shelf and in nearshore waters off southwest Vancouver Island. The study aims to document the distri- bution and abundance of all local sea- birds, and to examine the effects of physical factors and prey distribution. Trudy Chat win notes that since the 1 990s, nesting populations of Dou- ble-crested and Pelagic Cormorants have declined in the Strait of Georgia. In 2000, a survey of 34 Pelagic and 17 Double-crested Cormorant colonies (including historic sites) was con- ducted, funded by the Nestucca Oil Spill Damage Trust Fund and the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund. Overall, counts of Pelagic Cormorants were down by half and Double-crested Cormorants had declined by two-thirds since 1987. Pelagic Cormorants showed a significant decline in total nests between 1 959 and 2000, although an increase was noted in the population at Mitlenatch Island. At two Double- crested Cormorant colonies there were significant increasing trends. However, the increases did not offset the dra- matic declines at other locations. The most profound declines were seen at Mandarte and Great Chain Islands, where the majority nested in the 1 980s. In 1983, Mandarte supported 1,100 pairs of Double-crests, whereas in 2000 only 215 nests were observed. The declines may be related to a combina- tion of Bald Eagle disturbance, changes in prey availability, and human distur- bance. Chatwin also reports that Tanya Giesbrecht completed a report enti- tled, “The Effect of Bald Eagle and Boat Traffic on Nesting Double-crested Cormorants in the Strait of Georgia.” Because boat traffic and Bald Eagle disturbance are suspected to be the cause of declines in cormorant nesting populations in the area. Double-crests were monitored at four sites (Chain, Mandarte, and Five-fingers Islands and pilings near Crofton) from late May to late August. Disturbance caused by Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001* Page 83 REGIONAL REPORTS - Canada eagles, fishing boats, tourist boats, and kayaks were monitored. Eagles caused cormorants to flush when they ap- proached within 10m of a cormorant nest, whereas the cormorants were not observed to vacate their nests as a re- sult of any type of boat disturbance. Despite the apparent lack of evidence that boaters caused colony disturbance, Chatwin states that notices were posted at marinas, kayak rental outfit- ters, ferry terminals and park notice boards, suggesting that boats should not approach closer than 30m from a colony. Under the direction of Ron Yden- berg and Doug Bertram in April 2001, Carina Gjerdrum (CWE/SFU) completed her MSc project on Tufted Puffin breeding and provisioning strategies. Gjerdrum’s study, which was conducted on Triangle Island, ex- amined the timing of breeding, nestling growth, fledging behavior, nestling diet, and parental provisioning. Using a supplementary feeding experiment, she found support for the hypothesis that nestling food demand regulates paren- tal provisioning effort in Tufted Puf- fins. Results also suggest that the tim- ing of fledging may be influenced by parental behavior late in the nestling period. Ken Morgan (CWS), with the as- sistance of Mike Bentley, Mike Force, and Mike Henry (UBC) continues to study the at-sea distribution of sea- birds. To date 14 surveys of a 1,500- km offshore transect have been com- pleted; portions of these data are being used by Michael Dunn (CWS) to help assess the size and shape of a potential Marine Protected Area centered on Triangle Island. Morgan also contin- ues collaborating with Bill Sydeman (Pt. Reyes Bird Observatory) and David Hyrenbach (Duke Marine Laboratory); they are, examining long- term survey data sets from the Califor- nia Current System to identify biologi- cal hotspots. John Ryder reports that the Tri- angle Island research station completed its 8 th consecutive year of seabird monitoring and research. In February 2001 Doug Bertram departed as pro- ject coordinator to work with the CWS as Chair of the National Marbled Mur- relet Recovery Team. Ryder served as the interim project coordinator until July, and in August Mark Hipfner replaced Bertram as director of re- search for the project, taking the posi- tion of Seabird Population Biologist with the CWS (Delta, BC) as well as Research Associate at SFU. Field crews were present on Tri- angle Island from 16 April to Septem- ber 4. Krista Amey, James Burns and Mark Hipfner took turns running the field camp through the season. Post- doctoral fellow April Hedd, who had been involved with the Triangle project for two years, returned to St. John’s, Newfoundland in December 2000; on 21 January 2001, Joshua Hedd was bom. April is still actively involved in the Triangle project, analysing data and writing papers. Mark Drever, who also was affiliated with the Triangle Island research project for 5 years, be- gan a PhD at the University of Guelph. Gwylim Blackburn, under the direc- tion of Ron Ydenberg, Doug Bertram and Mark Hipfner, completed the first season of a MSc project on Tufted Puf- fins. Jean Francois-Aublet and Jean- Francois Savard returned to Triangle for a second season. Other research assistants and volunteers at Triangle included Jeremy Allison, Martin Grimm, Tim Lash, Kaj Kampp, Jenny Rock, Chris Chutter and Vince Barter. As in previous years, the project examined the phenology, reproductive performance, nestling diet AND devel- opment, and provisioning rates of Cas- sin’s Auklets, Rhinoceros Auklets, Tufted Puffins and Common Murres. A mark/recapture banding program to examine demography of Cassin’s and Rhinoceros auklets continued, as did the program to capture and band adult Tufted Puffins later in the season. Cas- sin’s Auklets, Rhinoceros Auklets, and Common Murres experienced good breeding success, although lower than in 1999 and 2000. Tufted Puffins ini- tially appeared to be on their way to a third successful breeding season, but most nestlings died before they reached fledging age. The third (and final) season of a radio-telemetry study to examine the foraging ecology of Cassin’s Auklets at Triangle was completed in 2001. Transmitters were affixed to 38 adults during the chick-rearing period, and 4 aerial surveys to locate the radio- marked adults were conducted by Sean Boyd (CWS) and Ryder on 5-7 June. It was found that the auklets were forag- ing northwest of Triangle Island, some as far as 1 10km from the colony. Ken Morgan (CWS) arranged for observers Mike Bentley and Russ Bradley to conduct at-sea surveys around Triangle in support of the telemetry work. Part- ners in this collaborative investigation of marine predator/prey relationships and distribution around Triangle Island include Dave Mackas and David Welch at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). The Nestucca Oil Spill Trust Fund supported the study. Joanna Smith spent the spring on Limestone Island, Haida Gwaii (the alternate name for the Queen Charlotte Islands), managing the field camp for Laskeek Bay Conservation Society (LBCS). The LBCS, with Tony Gaston, studies Ancient Murrelets, Black Oystercatchers, Glaucous- winged Gulls, and the at-sea distribu- tion of Marbled Murrelets and other seabirds. Stephanie Hazlitt (Bird Studies Canada) returned to Laskeek Bay to collect more information on the philopatry of Black Oystercatchers. Working with LBCS and Gaston, Hazlitt is looking at the long-term trends of nest site use by oystercatch- ers. The possible lifting of an oil and gas moratorium in BC has, once again, drawn attention to the sensitive nature of seabird colonies in Haida Gwaii. The data gathered by LBCS will pro- vide a valuable baseline for changes in populations over time. North, east, and interior Canada Grant Gilchrist and Myra Rob- ertson (CWS, Yellowknife) and Greg Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001 • Page 84 REGIONAL REPORTS - Canada Robertson (CWS, Newfoundland), in partnership with the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board and the Polar Continental Shelf Project, are examin- ing the survival of Common Eider, Recent evidence suggests that numbers of Common Eiders in the eastern Ca- nadian Arctic are declining. Informa- tion on the survival, annual reproduc- tion, and causes of death is essential for effective management and conserva- tion of these sea ducks. Banding of Common Eiders of the borealis subspecies was initiated in 1996 at a colony in East Bay, South- ampton Island, Nunavut Males and females were caught in a 100m long salmon net as they flew around the colony prior to nest initiation. Females were also caught in large funnel traps as they left the colony with broods in early August To date, a total of 1,179 females, 689 males, and 711 ducklings have been banded. Eiders are resighted at the colony from observation blinds overlooking freshwater ponds and nesting areas. Preliminary estimates of annual survival rates using the program MARK are as follows (± SE): 72.7±0.06, 65.7±0.05. Thirty bands also have been recovered from winter- ing populations (22 in Greenland, 7 in Atlantic Canada, and 1 in Nunavut), illustrating the importance of the Greenland harvest to the Canadian breeding population. Mark Hipfner (U. of Ottawa) spent the early part of summer 2001 on Prince Leopold Island, continuing postdoctoral research on the effects of environmental changes on high arctic seabirds under the direction of Tony Gaston and Grant Gilchrist. Fishery issues Joanna Smith, in collaboration with Ken Morgan and DFO, continues to investigate seabird bycatch in the longline and gillnet fisheries of BC. The project’s focus is to assess the status of seabird bycatch in BC using data collected through existing ob- server programs in the fisheries. In- cluded in this study are the demersal longline fisheries for halibut, rockfish, and sablefish and the coastal gillnet fishery for salmon, where seabird by- catch data have been collected during the last three years. Related projects include developing a standardized sea- bird identification curriculum for fish- eries observer courses and examining birds salvaged from gillnet fisheries. Seabird bycatch information from the Pacific region will assist the National Seabird Bycatch Working Group with their development of a National Plan of Action for the Reduction of Seabird Bycatch in longline fisheries. Population genetics Vicki Friesen (Queen’s Univer- sity) and her laboratory are using mo- lecular methods to study population and conservation genetics of a variety of seabirds. Matt Atkey is examining the genetic population structure of Leach’s Storm-Petrels for his under- graduate honors thesis. Currently, variation in the cytochrome b mito- chondrial locus is being screened to compare Atlantic and Pacific popula- tions. DNA samples from colonies in Alaska (Leslie Slater, USFWS), Mex- ico (Bob Pitman, Southwest Fisheries Center), and Norway (Tycho Anker- Nilssen, Norwegian Institute for Na- ture Research) also will be included in this study. In June, Atkey joined Harry Carter (USGS), Josh Adams (Moss Landing Marine Laboratory) and Darrell Whitworth (Humboldt State University) in the Channel Islands of California to collect samples and to help with field work on Cassin’s Auk- lets and Xantus’s Murrelets. Mitochondrial DNA variation suggests some level of genetic intro- gression between Common and Thick- billed Murres. As part of a larger study of population structure in four alcid species in the north Pacific by Frie- sen ’s group, undergraduate Sherri Leung investigated hybridization be- tween these species by examining variation in nuclear introns. A sample of 30 Thick-billed Murres from the Gulf of Alaska revealed no Common Murre alleles at five intron loci. These preliminary results suggest that hy- bridization does not occur with high frequency. Andrea Smith is continuing re- search on population differentiation and speciation in the Band-rumped Storm-Petrel for her PhD research. Preliminary genetic work conducted by undergraduate student Vinay Lodha in 1997 indicated that populations breed- ing in hot and cool seasons in the Azores are reproductively isolated and probably represent cryptic species. This is further supported by morpho- logical and ecological evidence (Mon- teiro and Furness, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 353: 945-953, 1998; M. Bol- ton, unpubl.). The current study is ex- panding the focus to include global populations of the Band-rumped Storm-Petrels, and to test the evolu- tionary origin of temporally segregated populations. DNA samples from colo- nies in the Azores, Cape Verde, and Madeira are currently being screened for genetic variation using the mito- chondrial control region. In the past year. Smith traveled to the Azores in October 2000) and the Galapagos in May 2001 to collect additional DNA samples. She also made morphological measurements and recorded vocaliza- tions of seasonally segregated breeding populations. Future field work is planned for Ascension Island (October 2001) and the Galapagos (Novem- ber/December 2001). Samples are also expected from colleagues collecting in the Canary Islands (Mark Bolton, University of Azores), Hawaii (Tom Telfer, Hawaii State Division of For- estry and Wildlife), and Japan (Yutaka Watanuki, Hokkaido University). Mi- crosatellites will be screened as well to provide further information on the ge- netic structure of Band-rumped Storm- Petrel populations worldwide. Tammy Steeves is continuing her PhD research on mechanisms of popu- lation differentiation and speciation in the Masked Booby species complex. She is using molecular genetic markers to (1) assess the genetic basis of taxo- nomic designations of masked boobies worldwide, (2) test whether the diver- gence of any of these species or sub- Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001* Page 85 REGIONAL REPORTS - Canada, Washington and Oregon species was associated with a founder event, and (3) test whether gene flow at the time of divergence was restricted by physical and/or non-physical barri- ers. In past years, Steeves and/or col- leagues have collected DNA samples. Steeves is currently planning to collect samples from islands in the south At- lantic (Ascension Island, October 2001) and in the east Pacific (San Benedicto Island and Clipperton Is- land, April 2002). Additional samples will also be collected by colleagues in the E. Pacific (Bernie Tershy, Univer- sity of California at Santa Cruz), cen- tral Pacific (Beth Flint and Chris Depkin, USFWS), central Indian Ocean (Charles Anderson, Marine Research Centre, Republic of Mal- dives) and west Indian Ocean (Adrian Skerrett, Island Conservation Society, Seychelles). As part of a larger study to exam- ine the relative importance of physical barriers to gene flow in the divergence of tropical seabird populations (see above). Heather McNally and Mi- chael Kim examined levels of mito- chondrial and nuclear genetic variation in samples collected from Brown Boo- bies and Red-footed Boobies in Pacific and the Caribbean. Their results, com- bined with those obtained by Steeves for Masked Boobies, suggest that the Isthmus of Panama is an effective bar- rier to (female-mediated) gene flow. The Eastern Pacific Barrier, however, seems to have played less of a role in the diversification of these species. WASHINGTON AND OREGON Summarized by Jan Hodder at 206-542-1275 for further informa- tion and results associated with this effort. Julia Parrish (University of Washington [UW]), assisted by her graduate students and research techni- cians, monitored three Common Murre colonies on the coast of Washington Washington — seabirds other than Marbled Murrelets Lora Leschner is working on a report for the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on “Seabird Re- search in Washington, 1980 to 2001,” to be included in the Pacific Region Seabird Conservation Plan. She will be contacting seabird researchers about their current work and their publica- tions. Lora is also working on a pilot project to use volunteer ornithologists to monitor shorebirdS in the estuaries of northern Puget Sound. This project is part of the National Shorebird Monitoring Plan. In addition to moni- toring, she will work with volunteers to get elementary school kids involved in the Shorebird Sister Schools program. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW),. which owns most of the Skagit estuary shore- line and land in Padilla Bay, is working with Ducks Unlimited on habitat man- agement projects that benefit both wa- terfowl and shorebirds. David Nysewander, Joe Even- son, Bryan Murphie, and Tom Cyra are continuing several monitoring studies associated with the marine bird component of the Puget Sound Ambi- ent Monitoring Program (PSAMP). PSAMP is a state and federal inter- agency effort in Washington State, which monitors various components of the inner marine waters that extend east from the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, north into the San Juan Islands and Georgia Basin, and southwards into Puget Sound proper. Winter aerial surveys of marine birds and waterfowl were conducted again in December 2000 and January 2001. Data and map products are avail- able in ARC GIS format for the 1992- 2001 winter and 1992-1999 summer surveys. These are avialable from the and Oregon in 2001: Tatoosh Island, Yaquina Head, and a new site. Point Grenville in Copalis National Wildlife Refuge. An eleventh year of data was added to the long-term monitoring study of breeding, predator-prey inter- action and provisioning at the Tatoosh Island colony. Thanks to a scarcity of Wildlife Resources Data Section of WDFW in Olympia through Shelly Snyder at 360-902-2483. Restricted funding prevents continuation of the summer aerial surveys, but the 2001- 2002 winter aerial surveys will be con- tinued, in part due to continuing con- cern about the decline of many marine bird species in this region (13 of 18 examined) over the last 20 years. The largest declines are associated either with fish-eating species like Western Grebes that prey upon forage fish, or with species like scaup and scoters that feed on eggs of forage fish. Forage-fish eggs may be required for acquisition of sufficient fat reserves for migration and initiation of reproduction, and avail- ability of this food is declining. The PSAMP program, USFWS, and volunteer groups have also just completed the third year of boat-based censuses of Pigeon Guillemots at breeding sites. The surveys are made during May of each year. The effort this year extended the standardized protocol and timing of surveys to all sites that were checked last year, plus a few that were missed in 1999. The sur- veys provides a more standardized methodology for monitoring selected breeding species found throughout ail of the greater Puget Sound and will entail at least a five-year collaboration. Contact Joe Evenson at 360-902-2524 for further information on this effort. The PSAMP team also conducted aerial surveys during June 2001 fo- cusing on Great Blue Herons. This was part of a pilot project coordinated by Don Norman, in collaboration with ground-based volunteer observers, to evaluate the feasibility of monitoring great blue heron numbers from aerial surveys on their marine feeding areas in northern Puget Sound. Contact Don Bald Eagles and an abundance of for- age fish, murre attendance and repro- ductive success reached all-time highs. All surface nesters on the island did well, including Glaucous-winged Gulls, Pelagic Cormorants, and Dou- ble-crested Cormorants. Tom Good, although busy with his new appoint- Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001 • Page 86 REGIONAL REPORTS — Washington and Oregon merit on the salmon recovery team at NMFS, managed to find time to pursue his study of factors affected gull breeding success at Tatoosh Island. Nathalie Hamel completed her last year of data collection for her master’s degree at UW. She headed the radio- tracking project and collected informa- tion on the foraging distribution and post-breeding migration of Tatoosh Island murres. Once again, the murres are heading into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound. Thanks to eve- ryone in the Tatoosh field crew, in- cluding Colin French, John Hucka- bee, Kip Parker, Erin Hagen, Emily Meredith, Jen Convy, and Kate Litle for their invaluable assistance. Meanwhile, about 40 miles south of Tatoosh Island, a second crew lead by Stephani Zador, assisted by Dan Nelson, pioneered a Common Murre restoration project at Point Grenville. They collected information on all as- pects of breeding and predator pres- sure. The first two years of the study will help determine whether the colony is suitable for enhancement through the placement of decoys. Stephani is start- ing her PhD at UW in the fall. They thank Chris Thompson, Kevin Ryan, Ulrich Wilson, Sally Butts, and the Quinalt Nation for invaluable assis- tance, advice, and cooperation. A third contingent kept tabs on the colony at Yaquina Head, Oregon. Colin French returned for a second year in a row, assisted by Erin Hagen, to collect information on the phenol- ogy, breeding, provisioning, and eagle predation pressure. Attendance and reproductive success remained un- changed from the previous year, de- spite more frequent visits from bald eagles. COASST (Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team), under the direction of Todd Hass and Julia Par- rish, expanded greatly throughout the Pacific Northwest this year. Their book. Beached Birds: A COASST Field Guide was published and distributed to volunteers in January. [Editor’s note: see book review in this issue of Pacific Seabirds .] Soon thereafter, the same field guide served as a recruiting tool; COASST has now trained over 80 vol- unteers who monitor 45 beaches throughout the Pacific Northwest for seabird carcasses. For more informa- tion about COASST activities, check out its website and annual report at http ://depts . Washington, edu/coasst/, or later this year at www. coasst.org. Washington— Marbled Murrelets Mike Davison, Ruth Milner, Tom Cyra and Russ Canniff partici- pated in surveys to detect Marbled Murrelet nesting in old growth forests in northern Puget Sound, focusing on a review of Forest Practices Applications for the possible impact of logging on known Marbled Murrelet nesting areas. The biologists also commented on en- vironmental impact statements when there could be impact to marine habi- tat. Martin Raphael, Diane Evans Mack, and Randall Wilk of the US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Re- search Station in Olympia, WA, con- tinued several collaborative studies on Marbled Murrelets in Puget Sound and Hood Canal during 2001. Along with researchers elsewhere in Washington, Oregon, and northern California, they completed the second year of long- term population monitoring of Marbled Murrelets under the Northwest Forest Plan (NFP). They surveyed Recovery Zone 1, including the San Juan Islands to Olympia in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They also con- tinued to collect baseline data on within-season and annual changes in distributions, densities, and productiv- ity indices of murrelets in the San Juan Island archipelago and Hood Canal. With John Marzluff of the Uni- versity of Washington, Martin Raphael continued development of models that will relate predicted murrelet occu- pancy (probability of nesting) and risk of predation (nesting success) to habi- tat features at the stand and landscape scales. Diane Evans Mack and Martin Raphael collaborated with the SFU/CWS murrelet research crew to investigate the social behavior of mur- relets in Desolation Sound, BC (see Canada report). In collaboration with Brian Coo- per of ABR, Inc, we conducted a fourth year of radar sampling at 10 large drainages around the Olympic Peninsula to correlate murrelet num- bers with the distribution and land- scape configuration of nesting habitat defined at a broad scale. Work continues on developing a map of potential murrelet nesting habitat for the Olympic Peninsula, Western Washington Cascades, and Western Washington Lowlands as part of the collaborative mapping effort under the NFP. This habitat map will be derived from a region-wide vegeta- tion map being developed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Manage- ment in support of monitoring efforts throughout the Pacific Northwest. In a parallel modeling effort in western Washington, we began ground-based vegetation sampling in “occupied” and “absence” sites, which were identified from previous surveys under PSG’s Inland Survey Protocol across multiple land ownerships. This was a regional effort in collaboration with Sherri Miller and Jim Baldwin of the Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station, Kim Nelson of Oregon State University, and Tim Max of the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station, with the cooperation of the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), National Park Service, Rayonier Timber Lands, and WDFW. Peter Harrison, Steve Crow and Scott Horton of WDNR organized and managed the sixth year of inland Mar- bled Murrelet surveys on state forest lands on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. This one-time inventory of suitable murrelet habitat is an im- portant part of the overall conservation strategy agreed upon in the WDNR Habitat Conservation Plan. Surveys in 2001 covered 17,773 acres, which comprised 345 survey sites. In contrast to previous work, these surveys were Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 200 1 • Page 87 REGIONAL REPORTS - Washington and Oregon mostly in second-growth forests. Sub- canopy behavior was observed at 40 sites (1 1%), compared to about 50% occupancy observed in oid-growth forests surveys between 1996 and 2000. Since 1996 this project has con- ducted 6,439 visits to complete 2-year PSG protocol surveys at 941 sites (49,356 acres). Hamer Environmental and Turnstone Environmental con- ducted this year’s work. At this time we estimate that there are about 12,000 acres left to survey in this project. De- tailed reports are available by contact- ing Peter Harrison, DNR-Olympic Region, 41 1 Tillicum Lane, Forks, WA 98331; (360) 374-2886, pe- ter.harrison@wadnr.gov. Marbled Murrelet surveys were also carried out on trust lands managed by the Wash- ington Department of Natural Re- sources in support of their ongoing Habitat Conservation Plan process. Matt Gostin of Turnstone Environ- mental Consultants led the work. Dur- ing 2001, a total of 903 surveys were performed in 205 sites without detec- tions. 10 surveys yielded detections of Marbled Murrelets, three sites had oc- cupied behavior, and four sites had presence detections. Shelley Hall and Annie Farris conducted the first year of inland Mar- bled Murrelet surveys at San Juan Na- tional Historic Park on San Juan Island, WA. All suitable habitat within the park is being surveyed to collect base- line information for management uses. Only one detection was recorded. Sur- veys are planned again in 2002. At Olympic National Park, inland Marbled Murrelet surveys were con- ducted at the Heart of the Hills Camp- ground in a cooperative effort with WDNR. 2001 was the fifth consecutive year of surveys at this high-use site. Over the past 3 years, surveys have been conducted once each week be- tween 1 April and 15 September for better documentation of use outside the protocol survey period. Oregon Kim Nelson of the Oregon Coop- erative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Oregon State University (OSU) is continuing her research on modeling Marbled Murrelet habitat associations. With the assistance of Mandy Wilson, Ross Hubbard, Karen Cradler, Ste- phen Williamson, Nat Davis, Arjen Hoekstra, Patrick Lieske, and Megan Balter, detailed vegetation data were collected at murrelet occupied and un- occupied sites throughout Oregon for the modeling efforts. This project is part of a three state effort (Washington, Oregon, and California) under Effec- tiveness Monitoring for the Northwest Forest Plan. In other projects on mur- relets for OSU, dawn surveys were conducted in Oregon State Parks along the coast to determine if any were oc- cupied; details of murrelet status were needed for proposed park improve- ments. In addition, dawn surveys were conducted on private and public lands for proposed mitigation of the New Carissa oil spill. All murrelet surveys were conducted with the assistance of Mandy Wilson, Ross Hubbard, Karen Cradler, Jim Rogers, and Will Wright. Brian Cooper and Kimberly Augenfeld of ABR, Inc. collaborated with Mike Wilson (Oregon Depart- ment of Forestry) on a pilot study to determine whether radar could be used to monitor Marbled Murrelets and to help validate a habitat model in the Elliott State Forest. The interagency Caspian Tern Working Group continued its attempt to move the Caspian Tern colony, the largest of its kind in the world, from Rice Island to East Sand Island in the Columbia River estuary. The Caspian Tern Working Group includes the Na- tional Marine Fisheries Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Columbia River Inter- Tribal Fish Commission. The reloca- tion of the tern colony to East Sand Island, which is 13 miles closer to the ocean, is intended to reduce the terns’ reliance on juvenile salmonids as a food source. The strategy was prompted by estimates that the tern colony consumed about 11% of all Columbia Basin salmonid smolts that reached the estuary. Last year, a pre- liminary injunction requested by Na- tional Audubon, Seattle Audubon, American Bird Conservancy, and De- fenders of Wildlife prevented the Corps of Engineers from harassing terns and collecting up to 300 of their eggs on Rice Island. In spite of this, 94% of breeding terns in the estuary nested on East Sand Island. The diet of terns there consisted of 47% juvenile salmonids, compared to 90% salmon- ids on Rice Island. Productivity was lower at both colonies in 2000 com- pared to 1999, but the nesting success on East Sand Island remained high compared to nesting success at Rice Island. The effort to relocate the Caspian Tern colony is being monitored by a research team comprised of personnel from US Geological Survey— Biological Research Division, OSU, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), and Real Time Research Consultants (RTR). The team is also studying Double-crested Cormorants nesting in the estuary and Caspian Terns nesting at colonies farther up- river, as part of a larger study of avian predation on juvenile salmonids in the lower Columbia River. This year’s research team included Dan Roby, Ken Coliis, Rob Suryan, Don Lyons, Michelle Antolos, Scott Anderson, Cindy Anderson, Anne Mary Myers, Bobby Begay, and a number of sea- sonal technicians and volunteers. In addition, Sadie Wright studied the behavior of endangered California Brown Pelicans, which roost in large numbers on East Sand Island, in order to gather information on potential dis- turbance to pelicans from research and other human activities there. The preliminary injunction re- mained in place during the 2001 nest- ing season, so no harassment of terns or collecting of tern eggs was allowed on Rice Island. Nevertheless, all Cas- pian terns that nested in the Columbia River estuary in 2001 nested on East Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001* Page 88 REGIONAL REPORTS - Washington and Oregon Sand Island, using bare sand habitat that was prepared for them prior to their arrival in early April. Nesting success on East Sand Island was very high this year, higher than has been recorded previously at a colony in the Pacific Northwest. Juvenile salmonids comprised 33% of the diet of terns nesting at East Sand Island, the lowest proportion of salmonids so far recorded for Caspian Terns nesting in the lower Columbia River or estuary. Anchovies were the most prevalent prey type among the non-salmonid portion of tern diets, and the large influx of an- chovies in the Columbia River estuary this season was also apparently respon- sible for high nesting success among cormorants and gulls. The high forage fish availability near East Sand Island this season was also reflected in com- paratively short foraging trips and high chick meal delivery rates by nesting terns. The number of Caspian Terns nesting at the East Sand Island colony remained approximately stable this year (ca. 9,000 pairs), and it is still the largest known colony of Caspian Terns in the world. The only other Caspian Tern col- ony along the coast of the Pacific Northwest in 2000 was at the ASARCO superfund site on the shores on Commencement Bay in Tacoma, Washington. ASARCO, with assis- tance from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, hazed the terns that gathered this year at the site and prevented any from nesting there in 2001. In an attempt to partially miti- gate for the loss of tern nesting habitat at the ASARCO site, Dan Roby, Ken Collis, Don Lyons, and others from the OSU/CRITFC/RTR research team joined Chris Thompson and Michelle Tirhi from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and attempted to attract Caspian Terns to nest on a small barge. The barge was covered with sand and anchored in Commencement Bay about 4 miles from the ASARCO site. Tern decoys and audio playback systems were also placed on the barge. Within a month, Caspian terns began nesting on the barge and soon occupied all the available nesting habitat on it. Unfortunately, the local Puyallup Tribe insisted that the tern barge be removed immediately because of concern that its terns were harming salmon smolts raised in tribal hatcheries. On May 31, 975 tern eggs were collected from the barge and the barge was towed out of Commencement Bay. About 388 tern nests had been initiated on the barge, at an unprecedented density of 1.5 nests/m 2 . Nesting by Caspian Terns was not confirmed at any other site in Commencement Bay or south Puget Sound in 2001. Clearly, nesting habitat for Caspian Terns is severely limited in the Commencement Bay area. In early August, Judge Rothstein of the US District Court in Seattle ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and or- dered a permanent injunction against any further management of tern habitat in the Columbia River estuary until the federal agencies prepare an Environ- mental Impact Statement. An EIS can not be prepared in time for the 2002 breeding season, so the habitat at the current colony site on East Sand Island cannot be maintained and restored, as it has been prior to the last three breeding seasons. It remains to be seen where Caspian Terns will nest in the 2002 breeding season, and whether there will be sufficient suitable habitat to meet their needs for nest sites. Craig Strong of Crescent Coastal Research has contracted with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to help pre- pare the Oregon Seabird Colony Cata- log for publication. Under the coordi- nation efforts of Maura Naughton (USFWS, Division of Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs), Craig has com- pleted data entry and will soon begin to create GIS layers for graphical repre- sentation in both printed and on-line versions of the catalog. David Pitkin and Roy Lowe (USFWS, Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex) conducted the annual aerial photographic surveys of all Common Murre and Brandt’s Cormorant colonies and most Double- crested Cormorant colonies along the Oregon coast. For the third consecutive year, good upwelling and high ocean productivity coast wide resulted in what appeared to be good colony at- tendance for Common Murres and Brandt’s Cormorants on the south coast. Schools of bait fish appeared to be abundant on the entire coast, in at least the nearshore zone. Although favorable foraging conditions also ex- isted along the north Oregon coast, predation by bald eagles at many of the larger murre colonies on the north coast continues to limit murre produc- tivity in this area, and some colonies have now been abandoned for several years. No murres attempted to breed this year on Gull Rock, which was es- timated to support over 23,000 Com- mon Murres in the late 1980’s. Many of these displaced breeders appear to be attempting to nest a few miles far- ther south on Colony Rock at Yaquina Head, resulting in record murre densi- ties on Colony Rock this year. For the 15th consecutive year a beached bird mortality study was con- ducted on 7.1 km of beach located between Seal Rock and Alsea Bay in Lincoln County, Oregon. Seabird mortality appeared to be very low this year, probably because of abundant schools of bait fish observed through- out late spring and summer. Beginning in June 2001, increased staffing al- lowed the study to be conducted year- round, rather than June through Sep- tember as in the past. Monitoring of Pelagic Cormorant nesting attempts at 17 colonies near Newport continued this year. Pelagic Cormorant nests at these colonies numbered slightly below the 13-year mean. Jan Hodder and students in her marine birds and mammals class at the University of Oregon’s Institute of Marine Biology monitored Pelagic Cormorant nesting sites south of Coos Bay and reported nesting success just below the 29-year mean. In September, David Pitkin and Ray Bentley (USFWS) conducted a coast wide aerial survey of California Brown Pelicans from southern Oregon to Point Grenville, Washington. Ulrich Wilson (USFWS) conducted a boat- Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001* Page 89 REGIONAL REPORTS — Washington and Oregon, Northern California based survey for Brown Pelicans from Point Grenville north along the Wash- ington coast. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Summarized by Kyra L. Mills Murrelets Steve Singer and Bryan Mori of the Santa Cruz Mountains Murrelet Group completed their fourth year of a multi-year study in collaboration with Tom Hamer and Melanie Spies of Hamer Environmental. These research- ers are using modified marine radar to prepare a population index of Marbled Murrelets in the Gazos Creek Water- shed in the Santa Cruz Mountains. These radar surveys have confirmed murrelet use of nearby canyons not previously known to support nesting murrelets. Rick Golightly, Percy Hebert (Humboldt State University [HSU]) and Dennis Orthmeyer (US Geologi- cal Survey [USGS]) completed the first year of Marbled Murrelet telemetry research focused on studying the ef- fects of human disturbance on murrelet breeding, as well as gathering informa- tion on breeding sites and at-sea distri- bution. Cooperation and support was provided by Howard Sakai (Redwood National Park), Lynn Roberts (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS]), Esther Burkett (CDFG), Bureau of Land Management, California Depart- ment of Transportation, and California Department of Parks and Recreation. Ben Becker is close to completing his PhD dissertation at UC Berkeley, studying diet and marine habitat selec- tion of Marbled Murrelets in central California. He has taken a job as a ma- rine ecologist and research director at Point Reyes National Seashore. In ad- dition, Becker has continued monitor- ing Marbled Murrelets in central Cali- fornia, in collaboration with Steve Beissinger and Zach Peery (both from UC Berkeley). C. John Ralph, Sherri Miller, and Linda Long from the Bird Moni- toring Laboratory of Redwood Science Laboratory, USDA Forest Service (RSL) completed their 13 th year of off- shore seabird surveys. One goal is to test new sampling designs to monitor population size of Marbled Murrelets in northern California, Oregon, and Washington. They also completed their 15 year of forest surveys for Marbled Murrelets in collaboration with Gary Falxa (USFWS, Areata) and Craig Strong (Crescent Coastal Research). In addition, they collected plumage and age data for murrelets as part of their 9* year of productivity data collection, and vegetation plot measurements for a new, cooperative project to help model and map murrelet forest habitats. The data will be used to develop a new for- est habitat model for the Marbled Mur- relet for monitoring the amount and location of potential nesting habitat in the Northwest Forest Plan area. Ron LeValley and Heather Brown (Mad River Biologists), in as- sociation with Howard Sakai and Neil Youngblood from Redwood National Park, completed their second year of documenting and describing Marbled Murrelet activity levels in residual redwood stands at Lost Man Creek in the national park. Ron LeValley, Kim Nelson (Oregon State University), Luke George (HSU), with support from Redwood National and State Parks, Simpson Timber Company, and the Pacific Lumber Company, are con- ducting intensive multiple-observer surveys to determine number and ac- tivity levels of murrelets in defined strands. A second goal is to measure numbers and activity levels of mur- relets and corvids, especially Steller’s Jays, in campgrounds and control sites to assess the possible effect of in- creased corvid levels associated with campground activity on murrelet nest- ing activity. Ron LeValley is also working with the Bureau of Land Man- agement to conduct a literature search and summary of management issues regarding avian and marine mammal use of offshore rocks included in the California Coastal National Monu- ment. Laird Henkel completed his fieldwork for his MS thesis at Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, on abun- dance and distribution of nearshore marine birds in Monterey Bay. He has also kept busy monitoring nesting Snowy Plovers and Least Terns at Ocean Dunes State Vehicular Recrea- tion Area for PRBO, and conducting fall surveys of Marbled Murrelets off Ano Nuevo. He has accepted a position with H.T. Harvey & Associates begin- ning this fall in Watsonville, CA. While conducting other research. Josh Adams, Laird Henkel and Hannah Nevins recorded a Long-billed Mur- relet in Monterey Bay and another one at Ano Nuevo. These are the southern- most Pacific coast sightings for this species. Farallon Islands Bart McDermott and Joelle Buffa (SFBNWRC), in collaboration with Kyra Mills, William Sydeman, and Pete Warzybok (all from Point Reyes Bird Observatory [PRBO]), with funding from the Apex Houston Trus- tee Council, are studying the recoloni- zation of a deep soil area by Cassin’s Auklets after boardwalk construction on Southeast Farallon Island (SEFI), Farallon National Wildlife Refuge. Approximately 800 linear feet of boardwalk made from a recycled plas- tic installed in fall 2000 to protect Cas- sin’s habitat from human foot traffic. This boardwalk was designed with gaps between the boards to allow ac- cess by Cassin’s Auklets. Fifty bur- rows were counted in the “area of boardwalk influence” in the first Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001 • Page 90 REGIONAL REPORTS — Northern California breeding season (2001) following con- struction. Recolonization will be monitored for at least four more years, and nesting density will be compared to pre-established index plots. In addi- tion, Bart McDermott (SFBNWRC), in collaboration with Adam Brown, Kyra Mills, Peter Pyle, Pete Warzy- bok (all from PRBO), are conducting a study on the annual population cycles of the non-native house mouse on SEFI. There is concern that non-native mice may be having indirect negative effects on two declining seabirds, Cas- sin’s Auklets and Ashy Storm-petrels, by enticing migratory owls (primarily burrowing owls and bam owls) to overwinter on SEFI. When the mouse population crashes in response to low food availability, the owls turn to these small seabirds as a food source. The Refuge is considering a house mouse eradication project, and this collection of baseline data, including monthly trapping on established transects and analysis of owl pellets, are the first steps in planning such a project. PRBO staff, including William Sydeman, Kyra Mills, Pete Warzy- bok, Adam Brown, Natalia Collier, Peter Pyle, Christine Abraham, Nadav Nur and Jerry Nusbaum, continued their long-term monitoring of 12 species of seabirds and 5 species of pinnipeds on the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, completing its 32 nd year. Research on this Refuge is in collaboration with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Joelle Buffa, Refuge Manager, SFBNWRC. Re- search on the Farallones focuses on the effects of climate change and variabil- ity on population dynamics, demogra- phy and feeding ecology of these ma- rine species. Nadav Nur and William Syde- man, both from PRBO, are co-authors on a statistical analysis of Common Murre correction factors, based on PRBO’s Farallon database. The analy- sis considered variation among sites, among years, and within a season and will be used for recommendations for future monitoring programs. This analysis was done with support from the Apex Houston Trustee Council. Northern California Coast Hannah Nevins (Moss Landing Marine Laboratory [MLML]) contin- ues her Master’s thesis research under Jim Harvey (MLML) and is investi- gating the diet, demography and diving behavior of Common Murres in Mon- terey Bay. The diet and demographic studies have been conducted on a sam- ple of murres that were collected by the California halibut set net observer pro- gram of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in 1999-2000. Daily activity patterns, diving behavior and hematology are being investigated us- ing radio-telemetry and in cooperation with Scott Newman (University of California [UC] Davis, Wildlife Health Center). Darrell Whitworth, Harry Car- ter, Richard Young, and Michelle Hester (HSU and USGS) also con- ducted preliminary surveys for Ashy Storm-Petrels at Point Reyes National Seashore, in cooperation with Sarah Allen (National Park Service). Mike Parker (San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex [SFBNWRC]), Harry Carter (HSU), Steve Kress (National Audubon Soci- ety) and Rick Golightly (HSU), with field assistance from Hugh Knechtel, Marty Murphy, Christine Hamilton, Nathan Jones, Brian Aeord, and Christine Caurant (all from HSU and SFBNWRC), completed their sixth field season of the collaborative Com- mon Murre Restoration Project (CMRP). The recolonization of Devil’s Slide Rock continued to be successful, with 110 pairs of breeding murres, rep- resenting an increase of 12 pairs from 2000. In addition, recolonization work continued at San Pedro Rock with mur- res visiting the social attraction equip- ment almost daily during the second half of the season. The CMRP contin- ued to monitor murres at Point Reyes Headland and Castle/Hurricane Colony Complex (CHCC). Reproductive suc- cess at CHCC remains low compared to other nearshore central California murre colonies due to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Restora- tion and monitoring work will continue in 2002. Mark Rauzon of Marine Endeav- ors just completed design specifica- tions for artificial nesting platforms for Double-crested Cormorants for the new San Francisco Bay Bridge. The plat- forms will be built during construction as environmental mitigation. Rauzon conducted a biological inventory of Ta’u, American Samoa National Park; details are in the Pacific Rim report. Rauzon’ s book. Isles of Refuge— the Wildlife and History of the Northwest- ern Hawaiian Islands , was published in 2001. [Editor’s note: see book re- view in this issue of Pacific Seabirds.} Benjamin Saenz, Julie Thayer, William Sydeman (all from PRBO), and Daphne Hatch (Golden Gate Na- tional Recreation Area) continued their studies of seabirds on Alcatraz Island. Since 1996 they have been conducting, baseline monitoring, including popula- tion size, productivity, breeding chro- nology, and disturbance monitoring of five seabird species on Alcatraz, in- cluding Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormo- rants, Western Gulls, Pigeon Guillemots, and Black Oystercatchers. Alcatraz has only recently been colo- nized by Brandt’s Cormorants, and this colony is unique because it is located in an estuarine environment, bringing breeding birds in close contact with humans. This species is normally pe^ Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001 * Page 9 1 REGIONAL REPORTS — Northern California agic and sensitive to human distur- >ance, yet this colony continues to rrow, reaching over 375 pairs in 2001. With the goal of determining how a pelagic species exists and reproduces in San Francisco Bay, in 2001 a pilot study was carried out using radio te- lemetry to determine the foraging pat- terns of Alcatraz-breeding Brandt’s Cormorants. Although plagued by technical difficulties, results showed that almost all radio-tagged cormorants were foraging within the Bay while provisioning chicks. Sue Macias and Janet Hanson of San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) conducted the 20 th year of monitoring the south bay’s waterbird colonies, with the help of many volun- teers. Clyde Morris, SFBNWR Ref- uge Manager, is collaborator on this project. These. researchers also began a contaminant study with Steve Schwarzbach and Terry Adelsbach of USFWS Contaminants branch. Study species include Forster’s and Caspian Terns, California Gulls, Black Skimmers, and Double-crested Cormo- rants. This was the second year they have found Double-crested Cormorants breeding in the middle of a California Gull colony. Jan Roletto, Joe Mortenson and Leslie Grella, from the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association, continued to conduct shoreline surveys for live and dead marine birds and mammals, through their Beach Watch program. Of the 86 designated beach segments (total of 241 km) between Bodega Head, So- noma County and Ano Nuevo State Reserve, San Mateo County, 33 beach segments were monitored every four weeks and 19 beach segments were monitored every two weeks. A total of 4,793 beached birds were found (1.138/km) and Common Murres were most frequently reported (n= 1,332 murres, 0.316/km). For the second year in a row, beached bird and mammal encounter rates for the entire series of observations decreased slightly from the mean encounter rates for previous years for nearly all of the species ob- served. Other studies Daniel Anderson (UC Davis) is working with Paul Kelly (California Department of Fish and Game [CDFGj) to evaluate the effects of mercury and other pollutants, in com- bination with other environmental stressors, on Western and Clark’s Grebes at Clear Lake, Eagle Lake and Tulelake. Ten years of population data indicate that the studied subpopulations are regionally related in productivity and reproductive effort. Also, increased reproductive effort resulted in propor- tionately greater reproductive success at a given site. Additionally, Anderson and Kelly are working with CDFG to help establish grebe conservation pro- grams at various lakes in the state. The goal is to enhance local breeding populations to help mitigate for oiling while the birds are on the coast in winter. Population studies of Brown Pelicans and other seabirds also con- tinued in the Gulf of California. Breck Tyler, with assistance from Jeff Davis, Laird Henkel, and Brad Keitt (all from the UC Santa Cruz [UCSC]), are conducting twice- monthly aerial surveys of marine birds and mammals in California continental shelf waters, under contract with CDFG and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The surveys are designed to collect baseline distribu- tion and abundance data and maintain rapid response capabilities for oil spills in coastal waters. During the past year, surveys have been conducted primarily in Monterey Bay and along the infre- quently visited Big Sur coast. David Hyrenbach divides his time between PRBO and Duke Marine Laboratory (DML) and is involved in several different studies. In 2001 Hyrenbach collaborated with David Anderson (Wake Forest University), Cheryl Baduini (Claremont College), Larry Crowder (DML), George Hunt (UC Irvine), Ken Morgan (Canadian Wildlife Service), Rob Suryan (Ore- gon State University), William Syde- man (PRBO), Dick Veit (College of Staten Island), and Kent Wohl (USFWS). These studies involved continuing projects for maintaining long-term data series of seabird abun- dance off the West Coast (Morgan, Sydeman, Veit), working to publish analyses of short-tailed albatross dis- tribution and abundance in the south- eastern Bering Sea (see Alaska Re- port), and undertaking analyses of con- sumption of marine resources by alba- trosses using satellite telemetry infor- mation (Anderson). New projects for 2001 included criteria for the design of Marine Protected Areas off the west coast of North America (Morgan, Sy- deman), ecological effects of longline fisheries bycatch (Crowder), and short- tailed albatross telemetry (Anderson, Suryan, Wohl). Meredith Elliott, from PRBO, completed another field season study- ing the endangered California Least Terns on Alameda, formerly the Naval Air Station, and a proposed National Wildlife Refuge. This study involves cooperation from Chris Bandy (USFWS), Tim Burr (US Navy), Margaret Kolar (SFBNWRC), and William Sydeman (PRBO). The focus of this study is on the reproductive success and diet of the tern colony, as well as monitoring predator species and activities. Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001 * Page 92 REGIONAL REPORTS — Northern California, Southern California Julie Thayer, William Sydeman (both from PRBO), with collaboration from Gary Strachan (California State Parks Bay Area District) are studying the long-term demographics of six spe- cies on Ano Nuevo Island. Details are in the Mexico report. David Ainley and Larry Spear (H.T. Harvey & Associates), in coop- eration 1 with Cynthia Tynan (NMFS), Jack Barth (OSU), Bill Peterson (NMFS) and Ric Brodeur (NMFS), are continuing their study on the life of juvenile salmon by tracking predators, competitors, and prey. They are also studying the occurrence patterns of seabirds as affected by ocean processes that concentrate prey, such as upwell- ing fronts. In addition, Ainley and Spear are studying long-term changes in the central California seabird com- munity composition, mainly from Bo- dega Bay to Point Pinos and out 100 nautical miles. Collaborators include Steve Ralston and others from NMFS, Mike McGowan (San Francisco State University), Sarah Allen (NPS, Point Reyes), Hannah Nevins and Carol Keiper (MLML). Frank Gress, Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biol- ogy, UC Davis and California Institute of Environmental Studies, continued his studies of Brown Pelican breeding biology in the Southern California Bight, examining factors affecting re- productive success. Frank continued monitoring of Brown Pelican breeding success on Anacapa Island for the American Trader Trustee Council and did studies for developing aerial pho- tographic techniques to census breed- ing Brown Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants in the Southern California Bight (with Nora Rojek, CDFG). Other research involved the continued monitoring of Double-crested, Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants on Anacapa Island, and along with HSU and USGS, continued monitoring of Xan- tus’s Murrelets on Anacapa Island for the American Trader Trustee Council. Michelle Hester has been working with H.T. Harvey & Associates on Adelie Penguin population studies in the Antarctic with David Ainley. When not in the Antarctic, Michelle spent time in the Caribbean, helping EPIC (Environmental Protection in the Caribbean) founders Natalia Collier and Adam Brown with conservation of Caribbean Brown Pelicans, shore- bird monitoring and seabird colony in the Lesser Antilles. In addition, Mi- chelle has been working as coordinator of the California Current System Ma- rine Bird Conservation Plan. This adaptive conservation plan was devel- oped by PRBO (William Sydeman, Ellie Cohen, and Gregg Elliott); it is to be implemented in partnership with government agencies and researchers from southern British Columbia to Baja California. Scott Schaffer (UCSC) is collabo- rating with Daniel Costa (UCSC) and Henri Weimerskirch (CNRS, France) in conducting a study on energy ex- penditure and foraging ecology of the Eastern Yellow-nosed Albatross at Entrecasteaux on Amsterdam Island in the southwestern Indian Ocean. David Ainley and Larry Spear (H.T. Harvey & Associates) and nu- merous cooperators have been working on Ross Island and Adelie Land in the southern hemisphere. Details are in the Pacific Rim report. Ainley also is working with several cooperators on Black-legged Kittiwakes in Prince William Sound; see the Alaska report. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Summarized by Pat Mock Pat Baird (California State Uni- versity, Long Beach [CSULB]) has completed Phase 2 of her DNA analy- sis of Least Terns, having looked at California, Missouri River and Missis- sippi River Least Terns. Pat helped Jeff Spendelow with his Roseate Tern and Common Tern work at Faulkland Island this summer. He has a great col- ony with lots of good information. She enjoyed being a worker and not in charge of the whole thing for once! Pat visited Bill Bourne in Scotland on 8 and 9 September. She writes, “He’s still going strong and writing up old research of his (some of it 50 years old! — So there’s hope!). He is always an inspiration. And — for those of you too young to remember the 1970’s, he helped found PSG.” Lisa Dobson Snyder is complet- ing her work on species diversity in “natural” wetlands versus constructed wetlands, with special emphasis on shorebird density and diversity as bio- indicators of the health of the system and Dan Robinette is completing his work on comparative foraging and feeding ecology of four species of tems in Southern California under the super- vision of Pat Baird. Dan Robinette is currently finish- ing his Master’s thesis, entitled "Parti- tioning of food resources by four sym- patric species of terns breeding in southern California,” under the direc- tion of Pat Baird. Research includes investigation of diet and stable isotope analysis on Caspian, Elegant, Forster’s and Least Tems breeding at the Bolsa Chica ecological reserve during the 1999 and 2000 breeding seasons. Data were also collected at other California Least Tern colonies, including those at the Tijuana Estuary, San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, Camp Pendleton, Huntington Beach, and Ormond Beach. Dan Robinette, Adam Brown, Natalia Collier, and Bill Sydeman Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001 • Page 93 REGIONAL REPORTS — Southern California Point Reyes Bird Observatory PRBO], Marine Science Division) are vrapping up their third year of an an- icipated long-term research program at /andenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), 2aIifomia. Species of interest include Pigeon Guillemots, Brandt’s and Pe- lagic Cormorants, California Least Terns, Black Oystercatchers, Western Gulls, Jlhinoceros Auklets, and Ashy Storm-petrels. Research includes data collection on population dynamics, breeding biology, foraging habits, and diet. Perhaps the most significant result is the discovery of a possible Ashy Storm-Petrel breeding population at VAFB. Ashy Storm-Petrels were cap- tured during nighttime visits in both 2000 and 2001. Rhinoceros Auklets are seen frequently in the inshore waters of VAFB during the breeding season, but their breeding activity has yet to be confirmed. PRBO also is involved in a year-round study of roost site utiliza- tion by Brown Pelicans at VAFB. Research in the eastern tropical Pacific has taken much time and effort for Lisa Batlance and Robert Pitman. They completed the third of a series of three research cruises last December and are currently analyzing data for ecosystem studies of that region. De- tails can be found at http://swfsc.nmfs.noaa.gOv/mmd/star/d efault.htm. Lisa and Bob are also studying seabird distribution and abun- dance in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters of California, Oregon, and Washington. Lisa is doing ener- getic studies of Adelie Penguin forag- ing ecology on Ross Island, in collabo- ration with David Ainley, and Bob is working on killer whales in the Bering Sea and Antarctica. Future plans in- clude ecosystem studies (including seabirds!) in EEZ waters of Hawaii, and they hope to do a cetacean and seabird survey in the Maldives and Chagos archipelagoes. For more, see http://swfsc.nmfs.noaa.gov/mmd/ecolo gy/ecology.html, Brian Collins reports that person- nel from the San Diego National Wild- life Refuge Complex and ornithologist Robert Patton monitored seabird colonies on refuge lands in south San Diego Bay and the Tijuana Estuary in Imperial Beach, CA. They monitored species that are federally listed as threatened or endangered, included the California Least Tern and Western Snowy Plover, at Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), South San Diego Bay NWR, and Ti- juana Slough NWR. Refuge staff and volunteers also monitored the Califor- nia Least Tern colony at Seal Beach NWR. Other species nested on salt pond levees within the South San Di- ego Bay NWR, including Caspian Terns, Elegant Terns, Royal Terns, Forster’s Terns, Gull-billed Terns and Black Skimmers. Data were collected on numbers of pairs, productivity, and estimated impacts of predation. A small number of Gull-billed Terns were successfully marked using patagial tags in an attempt to gain in- sight into their foraging activities. This was done because the small colony of Gull-billed Terns at south San Diego Bay has come into conflict in recent years with management efforts for the California Least Tern and Western Snowy Plover, by preying on young of both species at nesting sites around the bay. For information regarding this work, contact Brian Collins. Kathy Keane has been engaged in seabird monitoring at the Port of Los Angeles and reports over 450 Least Tern nests, 160 Caspian Tern nests and several hundred Elegant Tern nests in 2001. Reproductive success was high for Caspian Terns, but low for Elegant Terns due to disturbance by a Peregrine Falcon, which resulted in nest aban- donment. Success was low to moderate for Least Terns because distribution and abundance of their prey was lim- ited; this may have been related to red tides. Kathy has also been doing Least Tern foraging studies to assess poten- tial impacts of harbor dredging at Oceanside Harbor and Port of Los An- geles 2001. Her findings show that the majority of foraging is in the nearshore ocean. She participated in a working group to develop a rational approach to Least Tern predator management, with consideration for the conservation of other declining species. Kathy Keane wrote the bird sec- tion for the Bolsa Chica Restoration Project EIR/E1S of USFWS and the California State Lands Commission. This document has been released for public review and the project is to be- gin in the near future. She also is working on a literature review on all tern species and other fish-eating birds in southern California for USFWS through CSULB, to be completed in December 2001. Nora Rojek took a new position this summer as the Seabird Biologist for the Marine Region of the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG). This is a new position for the Marine Region. She is primarily involved in analyzing seabird and fisheries interac- tions and providing seabird informa- tion for fisheries management deci- sions and plans. She is working with other DFG biologists, Esther Burkett, Marilyn Fluharty, and Paul Kelly on developing plans to reduce disturbance to nesting seabirds, particularly Brown Pelicans, Ashy Storm-petrels, and Xantus’s Murrelets, in the Channel Islands. She is also investigating hook and line entanglement of Brown Peli- cans by recreational fishermen. In August and September of this year, significantly more pelicans than normal were entangled in fishing lines at the Santa Cruz Wharf. Bird rescue groups Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001 * Page 94 REGIONAL REPORTS — Southern California, Non-Pacific US rescued approximately 170 pelicans from the Santa Cruz area. PSG mem- bers may want to be aware that due to the enactment of the Marine Life Man- agement Act, the DFG is currently pre- paring several Fisheries Management Plans. PSG may want to review drafts of the plans and the impacts that vari- ous fisheries may have on seabirds. [Editor’s note: see the Conservation Report for PSG’s review of one of these plans.] Judith Hand is still writing fic- tion. Her first published novel came out this year in February, entitled Voice of the Goddess . It is played out against the background of a remarkable Bronze Age civilization, the Minoans, where women were apparently powerful and influential and the society appears to have avoided the curse of warfare. PSG members who have read Judith’s book give it positive reviews. Pat Mock is doing a wide variety of biological consulting, mostly related to conservation planning in southern California and project assessment work. He recently completed a project near the Salton Sea Refuge that in- cluded extensive surveys of waterbird use of the study area. He is peer- reviewing the report on waterbird studies that were conducted for the proposed expansion of San Francisco International Airport in South San Francisco Bay. He continues to serve as Southern California Representative for PSG. In 2001, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)-Westem Ecological Research Center and Humboldt State University (HSU) continued several seabird stud- ies in Southern California. Gerry McChesney, John Mason, and Bill Mclver conducted the third year of aerial at-sea surveys for all seabird species, and they surveyed roosts and colonies of cormorants and pelicans throughout the Southern California. Josh Adams did the third year of Cas- sin’s Auklet telemetry studies, focusing on foraging ecology at the Prince Is- land and Scorpion Rock colonies. Phil Capitolo monitored Brown Pelican roosts at Mugu Lagoon and bight roost surveys, and Bill Mclver surveyed Ashy Storm-Petrels at Santa Cruz Is- land. Much cooperation was provided by the US Minerals Management Service (Mark Pierson, Mike McCrary) US Navy (Steve Schwartz, Tom Keeney), DFG (Paul Kelly, Esther Burkett, John Suchil, Jeff Veal, and Wayne Burnett), and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (Jim Harvey). The second year of Xantus’s Mur- relet monitoring using radar and at-sea spotlight surveys at Anacapa and Santa Barbara islands was conducted for the American Trader Trustee Council. Co- operators included USGS/HSU (Darrell Whitworth, Harry Carter, and Richard Young), Hamer Envi- ronmental (Tom Hamer, and Melanie Spies), California Institute of Envi- ronmental Studies (Frank Gress), and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (Sarah Fangman). A Xan- tus’s Murrelet population re-survey at Santa Barbara Island and nest moni- toring were conducted by USGS/HSU (Carter, Whitworth, and Young), Channel Islands National Park (Paige Martin), DFG (Eileen Creel and Esther Burkett), and Point Reyes Bird Observatory (Bill Sydeman). Harry Carter, Rick Golightly (HSU), Dennis Orthmeyer, and John Takekawa (USGS-WERC) were principal investi- gators for all USGS/HSU 2001 work above. NON-PACIFIC UNITED STATES Summarized by Malcolm C. Coulter Betty Anne Schreiber (National Museum of Natural History) has just finished her 19th year of field work on Johnston Atoll (central Pacific); details are in the Pacific Rim report. In August 2001 her book (co-edited with J. Bur- ger), Biology of Marine Birds, was published by CRC Press. It is a 700 page summary of what we know about seabirds. At the University of Wyoming, Jim Lovvorn's students continue to investigate various aspects of the ecol- ogy and energetics of diving ducks. Kammie Kruse has completed her Master’s degree on the nesting ecology of Canvasbacks at Ruby Lake, Nevada, and their subsequent distributions dur- ing migration and winter in the U.S. and Mexico. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the winter distributions of Ruby Lake Canvasbacks have shifted out of San Francisco Bay and the Imperial Valley to the Central Valley of Cali- fornia. In the high desert of north- central Nevada, nesting chronology and success over the last 30 years was closely related to patterns of El Nino and the North Pacific Oscillation. Tory Poulton has finished her Master’s de- gree on the foraging behavior of scaup in San Pablo Bay (northern San Fran- cisco Bay) relative to spatial and sea- sonal patterns of benthic prey. Lesser Scaup and most Greater Scaup ate al- most exclusively the exotic clam Po- tamocorbula amurensis , which invaded the Bay in the late 1980s, while eating almost no Macoma balthica , the most common native clam. For use in mod- eling scaup foraging energetics in the Bay, Master's student Samantha Richman has recently completed dive- tank studies of Lesser Scaup to deter- mine their intake rates of benthic prey of different sizes, densities, and depths in the sediment. Sam will complete similar studies on captive White- winged Scoters in summer 2002. For Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001 • Page 95 REGIONAL REPORTS — Non-Pacific US, Pacific Rim Ph.D., Paul Kaseloo is measuring v use of heat from digestion and raising muscles by Lesser Scaup jets their costs of diving in water of erent depth and temperature. These ejects on scaup and Canvasbacks are 1 of a larger study of how their rvements and foraging energetics set their contaminant burdens in rthem San Francisco Bay, with ra- otelemetry by John Takekawa and isan Wainwright De La Cruz and ntaminant analyses by Keith Miles, from USGS Biological Resources ivision. In summer 2001, Robin orcoran began her Master's research i the nesting ecology of Lesser Scaup i the Yukon Flats in northeastern laska. Lowom’s lab also continues work a Spectacled Eiders and the oceanog- tphy of their habitats at their wintering rea south of St. Lawrence Island in the iering Sea. Details are in the Alaska ;port. Stewart Fefer (USFWS, Gulf cf 4aine Coastal Program) Protection and estoration of identified important nest- ng habitats of seabirds in the Gulf cf Taine is one our focuses. We have jeen involved in development of col- aborations amongst Federal and State igencies and statewide and local orga- nizations focused on conservation cf important nesting islands. Efforts in- clude protection of 38 islands through fee or easement acquisition, and active restoration of Roseate Terns, Atlantic Puffin and other species on ten pro- tected islands. We maintain and update the seabird nesting island database, which is used by organizations for pro- tection strategies. We assist in con- ducting seasonal aerial coastal water- bird surveys throughout coastal Maine (more than 3000 miles) and maintain and analyze the database to focus con- servation efforts. We also protect and restore coastal wetlands through part- nerships. Our wetland focus includes acquisition of coastal wetlands and upland buffers and restoring hydrology to salt marshes and coastal rivers, thus providing more habitat for native fish and waterbirds. We have leveraged more than $68 million of habitat pro- tection and restoration funding from a variety of sources for these efforts. See our web site for more information at http://gulfofinaine.fws.gov. PACIFIC RIM Summarized by Beth Flint Hawaiian Islands Monitoring of seabird populations in the Hawaiian Islands continued in 2001. Beth Flint and Cindy Rehkemper of the Pacific Remote Is- lands National Wildlife Refuge Com- plex and Tony Palermo of Tem Island coordinated efforts. However, the dedi- cated biological technicians and volun- teers in the field carried the enormous workload. Nancy Hoffman of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Wayne Sentman of the Oceanic Society led efforts at Midway. Nancy Hoffinan and Peter Pyle presented results of al- batross population monitoring at Mid- way at the meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology in Hilo, Hawaii in late July of 2001. In July 2001 Melanie Steinkamp convened a Workshop on Island Sea- bird and Waterbird Monitoring for managers and biologists working in the tropical Pacific. Biologists responsible for most of the seabird populations in the US Pacific Islands worked with scientists from the Biological Re- sources Division of the US Geological Survey to refine, improve, and stan- dardize methods in tropical systems and to improve sampling, accuracy, and precision in monitoring. This workshop is part of Maura Naugh- ton’s larger project of Regional Seabird Conservation Planning for the US Pa- cific Islands. In an effort to improve their procel- lariid monitoring capabilities, the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv- ice (USFWS) Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office purchased an ornitho- logical radar unit to monitor shearwa- ters and petrels in the Hawaiian Is- lands. Colleen Henson coordinated training in the use of the equipment for both State and Federal biologists and monitoring studies are now underway. USFWS and the State of Hawaii also contracted with Brian Cooper and Bob Day of ABR, Inc. to survey the distribution and abundance of NewelPs Shearwater and Hawaiian Dark-rumped Petrel on the islands of Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii during summer 2001. On Kauai in June they found a 60% decline in NewelPs Shearwaters since 1993. Bob Day, with Reggie David cf Kailua-Kona, also conducted a small study of shearwater movements near a proposed power line intertie on Kauai in June and October. The study was funded by Kauai Electric. In October, Bob Day conducted a radar- and visual- based study of movements of shearwa- ters and petrels near a proposed US Coast Guard tower near Pahoa, on the island of Hawaii. This work was done with Rich Blaha of ABR’s Oregon office. Tom Telfer (Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division cf Forestry and Wildlife, State of Hawaii [DOF AW]) reports that the results cf the 2000 “Save our Shearwater” pro- gram on Kauai continued the sharp decline in NewelPs Shearwaters ob- served in the annual recovery effort since Hurricane Iniki in 1992. Overall, 23% fewer birds were recovered this year than in the previous year. Totals of 467 NewelPs Shearwaters and 8 Dark-rumped Petrels were recorded as having fallen on Kauai, during the 2000 fallout season; 91% of the rescued birds were successfully returned to the wild. Tom Telfer (DOFAW) began experimental trials with marine radar this summer to identify the locations cf yet-unknown NewelPs Shearwater nest- ing colonies, so that habitat protection and predator control measures can be applied (when these have been devel- oped). Two new colony locations were identified. Marine radar also was tried as a means to measure the relative size of nesting colonies, so that the effio- tiveness of future predator control ac- tions can be measured. A prototype of a time-operated remote tape recorder sys- tem was constructed to locate addi- tional nesting colonies in areas outside the range of radar. The plan is to con- struct several of these, and to insert and recover them in typical habitat by means of helicopter. Recordings will be used to identify areas of concentrated NewelPs Shearwaters vocalizations, Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001 • Page 96 REGIONAL REPORTS — Non-Pacific US, Pacific Rim thereby indicating likely nesting colo- nies. This summer, two Newell’s Shearwaters nestlings were reared by adult pairs nesting in artificial burrows, which were first constructed in 1999 at Kilauea Point NWR. These nests were the long-term result of a cross-fostering experiment conducted by G. V, Byrd, J. L. Sincock, and T. C. Teller be- tween 1978 and 1980, whereby 90 Newell’s Shearwaters eggs were trans- planted into Wedge-tailed Shearwater nests at Kilauea Point NWR. This is the first year that more than one New- ell ’s Shearwater fledgling was known to be produced at the cross-fostering site, and the fifth year in a row that successful nesting has been documented there. Dave Boynton and Ken Wood confirmed a nesting colony of Band- rurnped Storm-Petrels in the Pohakuao area of the Na Pali Coast, northeast cf Kalalau Valley at approximately 1,400 feet elevation. They confirmed it by recording the birds’ vocalizations with a parabolic microphone loaned by Tom Telfer. They could not get to the nests because the terrain was too steep, but they know the general location from observation of flying birds. Confirma- tion with night vision scopes is planned, but it may be too late this year to accomplish that. Since January 2001, Kathy Cous- ins has worked for the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council as their Protected Species Coordinator. She is preparing the Council’s frame- work amendment to the Pelagic Fish- ery Management Plan, which will con- tain measures to reduce the incidental capture of seabirds. The Council has invited USFWS to present guidelines to handling the Short-tailed Albatross at its 111th meeting. With Cindy Knapman, Kathy assisted Karla Gore of the NMFS Pacific Islands Area Office with their Protected Species Workshops for Hawaii longline fishers. The workshop covered current issues, regulations, and handling guidelines. The Council hopes to work with the NMFS and US Coast Guard to trans- late the workshop materials for fishers in other Pacific island areas. In the up- coming Council meetings, Kathy will present materials on how vessels can avoid introductions of invasive species to island ecosystems. The Council is working with USFWS to develop a seabird handling tool kit. The Council has offered to sponsor the Second Inter- national Fishers Forum in Honolulu, Hawaii, to convene in late 2002. Like the November 2000 forum in New Zea- land, this will be a venue for biologists and fisheiy managers to exchange in- formation and explore methods to re- duce seabird incidental catch by longline vessels. In May 2001, the Council members broadened the forum to include presentations and discus- sions on reducing the incidental capture of sea turtles! USFWS completed a biological opinion for the National Marine Fisher- ies Service (NMFS) in November 2000 on the effects of the Hawaiian longline fishery on the endangered Short-tailed Albatross. USFWS estimated that con- tinued operation of this longline fisheiy will result in an incidental take of 2.2 Short-tailed Albatross per year. The Service, NMFS, the International Bird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (IBRRC), veterinarians, and seabird experts developed guidelines for han- dling, treatment, and release of any Short-tailed Albatross caught in the fishery. These guidelines were pre- sented to the fisherman at several Pro- tected Species Workshops held in August through October of 2001. Colleen Henson coordinated the North Pacific Albatross Working Group during 2001. This group will meet again prior to the Annual Meeting of the PSG in Santa Barbara. All peo- ple interested in furthering science in the interests of albatross conservation in the North Pacific are encouraged to contact Colleen for more details. In May 2001, Linda Elliot, re- gional representative of IBRRC, and her colleagues presented a two-day comprehensive hands-on course in Oiled Wildlife First Responder Train- ing. Nearly 40 wildlife agency biolo- gists in Hawai’i learned response tech- niques for birds, sea turtles and marine mammals. This training added to the experience gained at the HAZWOPER Oiled Wildlife Response course and drill organized by the USFWS earlier this year for over a dozen of the same biologists. Both events were actively facilitated by the industry cooperative, the Clean Islands Council (CIC). Hawaii’s oiled wildlife response capabilities were significantly enhanced during the recent Ehime Maru recovery operation by the US Navy, Pacific Fleet. IBRRC under contract for de- velop oiled wildlife planning and pro- cedural capabilities for this operation, provide technical advice and assistance during critical stages, and to provide first response and rehabilitation in the unlikely event of oiled wildlife. This work was a great opportunity to update the state’s preparedness. Elliott devel- oped the oiled wildlife response plan and reference document for the Envi- ronmental Unit of the Ehime Maru operation, and these documents can also be used to update the area plan. Supplies were brought up to date, with the assistance of the state wildlife agency and CIC, and charts and forms were updated, with inclusion of specific information for Hawai’i and Pacific wildlife. CIC developed and built a Stabilization Unit for this operation, which has further enhanced our first response capabilities, and IBRRC is providing assistance to set up this unit for the current operation. IBRRC ’s activities on the Galapagos are de- scribed in “Elsewhere in the Pacific,” below. At Midway Atoll National Wild- life Refuge, Keith Larson and the staff and volunteers have been veiy busy cleaning numerous oiled Laysan Alba- trosses that have appeared frequently in the colonies. They are making good use of the water heating and condition- ing unit deployed there. Anthony Viggiano submitted his Masters of Science thesis, “Investigat- ing demographic and life history char- acteristics of the Black-footed Alba- tross,” to the University of Washington College of Forest Resources. He did his field investigations at Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals, part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, and was supervised by John Marzluff. Also working Tern Island, Allison Veit continued fieldwork for her graduate studies with Ian Jones at Memorial University in Newfoundland. Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001 • Page 97 REGIONAL REPORTS — Pacific Rim ler study is entitled ‘‘Sexual Selec- ion, Tail Streamer Function, and De- nography of Red-tailed Tropicbirds.” Aaron Hebshi (University of Ha- waii) is in his second field season c £ studies on the relationship between Wedge-tailed Shearwater reproduction and skipjack tuna abundance. This year he studied colonies on Oahu, Kauai, and Kaho’olawe in order to gauge the spatial variability of chick growth. In addition he quantified the dependence of shearwaters and other Hawaiian sea- birds on skipjack tuna by counting birds while aboard a tuna boat. He placed patagial wing tags on a trial sample of shearwaters at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kauai, to identify the birds out at sea and get an idea of their foraging range. Elsewhere in the Pacific The International Bird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Hawaa’i re- sponded to the Jessica oil spill in the Galapagos Islands in January of this year. Fortunately there was a small wildlife impact, but data are still being collected on impacts to the marine habitat. Sandy Bartle of the Museum cf New Zealand has been fully involved with relocating and re-housing the bird collection (70,000 specimens) over the last two years. Excellent new facilities are now available for accessing and researching the museum’s world-class collection of albatrosses, petrels, and other seabirds. More than half the col- lection information, including fresh measurements, has now been entered in a database, and it is hoped that this resource may eventually be available on our website. Some progress has also been made in analyzing population and breeding data from the Westland Petrel field study from 1970 to 1993. A team involving Jean-CIaude Stahl is ana- lyzing and modeling foraging and fish- eries interactions in Buller’s Albatross, based on satellite tracking of birds from several different age and sex classes. Meanwhile, census work by Alan Tennyson has shown that the popula- tion of Snares Crested Penguins is not declining, unlike that of several other New Zealand penguin species. He is continuing his main project on extinc- tions and on the subfossil bird fauna cf Pitt Island, Chatham Islands. Several new species of seabirds and other fauna remain to be described. Harry Carter, Rick Golightly, and Emilie Craig of Humboldt State University and Frank Gress of the California Institute of Environmental Studies, Davis, traveled to the Cook Islands in August 2001 to conduct preliminary studies of seabirds there. They surveyed Red-tailed Tropicbirds and Brown Boobies, recorded the first recent nesting of the Masked Booby(!) at Takutea, and live-trapped Polynesian rats at Takutea and Atiu. Many Bristle- thighed Curlews (>60) were noted. Work was conducted in cooperation with the Cook Islands Natural Heritage Project (Gerald McCormack); much help was received from the Atiu Island Council, Roger Malcolm (Atiu Mo- tel), and Atiu Tours (James Mar- shall). Donna O’Daniel and Lindsey Hayes continued their work at Johnston Atoll during this' past year. They monitored populations of boobies (Masked, Red-footed, and Brown), Great Frigatebirds, White Terns, and Black Noddies. Nesting populations cf the Red-tailed Tropicbirds, Great Frigatebirds, and all three booby spe- cies continued to increase. Great Frigatebirds that were wing-tagged at French Frigate Shoals in the north- western Hawaiian Islands continued to be sighted on North and Sand islands. Most of the 500-600 nesting pairs cf Gray-backed Terns moved their nesting location from North Island to Sand Island (where they had not nested since the early 1980’s), possibly due to en- croachment on their nesting habitat by 80,000+ nesting pairs of Sooty Terns. A long-distance traveler was recorded: a Brown Booby banded as a chick at Johnston Atoll on 13 April 2000 was found in the Tokelau Islands on 10 December 2000. In May 2001, Donna Dittmann visited Johnston Atoll from Louisiana State University to obtain salvaged bird specimens for inclusion in their Museum of Natural Sciences collection. Betty Anne Schreiber (US Na- tional Museum of Natural History) has just finished her 19 th year of field work on Johnston Atoll, studying the breed- ing biology of pelecaniform species. Last year the militaiy completed de- struction of all the chemical weapons on the island, and they are now closing down all operations there. Schreiber documented that the weapons destruc- tion process had no effect on the birds nesting there (see the Journal of Wild- life Management for October 2001). In an attempt to solve at least some of the mysteries of seabird energetics, Schrei- ber put satellite transmitters on nesting Red-footed Boobies in 2000 and on Brown Boobies in 2001 to determine where they feed. In February Dominique Horvath and Lee Ann Woodward surveyed seabird species composition, distribu- tion and numbers at Howland, Baker, Jarvis, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuges during a research cruise aboard the National Oceanographic and Atmospehric Ad- ministration’s ship Townsend Crom- well, They deployed a solar-powered sound generation system to play the calls of Phoenix Petrels at Jarvis Is- land, hoping to attract birds to found a colony there. Chris Depkln has been stationed at Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge as a wildlife biologist since August 2001. He has been assist- ing and documenting a project to eradi- cate the black rat on the atoll. The pro- ject, by The Nature Conservancy and US Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, is led by Jim Murphy. Mark Rauzon (Marine Endeavors, Oakland, CA) conducted a biological inventory of Ta’u, American Samoa National Park, in collaboration with David Duffy and Holly Friefeld (USFWS, Honolulu). This 3000 foot volcanic peak has nesting Tahiti Pet- rels and is also the place where Her- ald’s Petrels were last seen in 1988 by PRBO biologists. Norway rats were found at the summit, as were Spotless Cranes, which had not been seen in Ta’u since 1986 in lowland environ- ments. Wake Island cat eradication has Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001 * Page 98 REGIONAL REPORTS — Pacific Rim, South-east Asia, Mexico been placed on hold due to missile launches and security concerns. David Ainley and Larry Spear (H.T. Harvey & Associates), with help from Grant Ballard, Nadav Nur, Michelle Hester, Sophie Webb (Point Reyes Bird Observatory), Peter Wil- son, Kerry Barton (Landcare Re- search, New Zealand), Mike Beige! (Beigel Technology), Nat Polish (Daedelus Corporation), Josh Adams, Hannah Nevins (Moss Landing Ma- rine Laboratory) have been studying Adelie Penguins at Ross Island, South Pacific. Their focus is on intercolony dynamics within an isolated cluster cf colonies and the reasons for different colony growth rates and age structure. David Ainley (H.T. Harvey & Associates), along with Greg Rau (University of California at Santa Cruz, Livermore National Laboratory), Keith Hobson (Canadian Wildlife Service), Paul Augustinus (Victoria University, Auckland) studied the Snow Petrel on the Adelie Land Coast (South Pa- cific/Indian Ocean). Their research in- volved isotope analysis of laminated deposits of mumijo (‘fossilized” barf) dating to 19,000 YBP. SOUTH-EAST ASIA Summarized by Beth Flint Neil Aldrin D. Mallari, Director of Communications and Network De- velopment Program for the Haribon Foundation for the Conservation cf Natural Resources in Quezon City, Philippines, will soon finish a status report on threatened birds and key con- servation areas in the Philippines. They just published their new book. Key Conservation Sites in the Philip- pines, For a preview, please refer to their website at http://www.- haribon.org.ph, and have a look at their interactive map! Akinori Takahashi is doing postdoctoral research with the British Antarctic Survey at Signy Island Re- search Station, Antarctica, studying Adelie and chinstrap penguins during the austral summers of 2001-02 and 2002-03. The objective of the study is to examine the link between foraging strategy and reproductive success cf Adelie penguins, and to compare the foraging ecology of Adelie and chin- strap penguins breeding on the same island, using micro data loggers devel- oped by National Institute of Polar Research, Japan. Korean seabird news was summa- rized for Pacific Seabirds by Lee Kung Gyu of the Korea Institute of Ornithol- ogy, whom we were happy to meet at the PSG meeting on Kauai. He is in transition between leaving his position as a bird researcher with the Ministry cf Environment and embarking on doc- toral study abroad. He is in the process of finishing two papers on the breeding density and feeding patterns of Streaked Shearwaters ( Calonectris leucomelas). At the 2001 Spring Korea Ornithology Symposium on 27-28 April 2001 at Kyungpook University, Professor Lee Dyu-Pyo (Department of Biology, Honam University; dplee@honam,- honam.ac.kr) presented a paper about the breeding density of Swinhoe’s Storm Petrel on three inhabited is- lands. Kim Hyun-Tae, Cho Sam- Rae, Ki, Jung-Hoon and Kang Hee- Young presented a paper about some observations on the shape of Herring Gulls. Kim Hyun-Tae is a Busuk high school teacher; e-mail pin- tail@soback.komet.net; homepage (a very good site): http://soback- .komet21.net/'-pintail/. At the 2001 Korea Association of Biological Sci- ence Symposium, 26-27 October 2001, Jungang University, Jang Jung-Yoon and Park Shi-Ryong (professor Park Shi-Ryong, Department of Biological education, Korea National University cf Education; e-mail srpark@- cc.knue.ac.kr) presented a poster about foraging behavior and spatial distribu- tion of the Black-tailed Gull ( Larus crassirostris ) in captivity. Dr. Hong Soon-Bok (Department of Biology, Kyungsung University; birdhsb@~ netian.com) has been studying the breeding ecology of the Little Tern. He has published a good paper on this species: Hong, S. B., Woo, Y. T., and Higashi, S. Effects of clutch size and egg laying order on the breeding suc- cess in the Little Tem {Sterna albi- frons) on the Nakdong Estuary, Repub- lic of Korea. Ibis 140: 408-414, 1998). Kwan Young-Su (doctoral course in the Department of Biology, Kyunghee University; aukl005@hanmail.net) is studying the breeding ecology cf Black-tailed Gull on Hong Islet. Jung, Hun (doctoral course in the Depart- ment of Biology, Kyunghee Univer- sity; larus@netsgo.com) has been studying the calls and behavior of the Black-tailed Gull. Nam Kl-Baig (mas- ter’s course in the Department of Biol- ogy, Kyunghee University; ibis02@- hanmail.net) is studying the breeding ecology of Streaked Shearwater on Sasudo Island. The Ministry of Environment cf the Korean government surveyed inhab- ited islands in Korea from 1998 to 2002. About 2,700 inhabited islands are located in Korea. Among these is- lands, 100-150 islands were surveyed each year, including topography, vege- tation, land animals, marine inverte- brates, and seaweed. Useful home pages for keeping up with seabird science and conservation in Korea are provided by The Korea Association of Biological Science (www.kadas.or.kr) and The Ornitho- logical Society of Korea (www.koreabird.or.kr). MEXICO Summarized by Beth Flint Enriqueta Velarde has been working with seabirds in the Gulf cf California since 1979. Most of her work has concentrated on Isla Rasa with Heermann's Gull and Elegant Tem. However, she has also done pelagic censuses for several years, as well as seabird nesting islands in almost the whole Gulf. Her work has concentrated on the breeding and feeding ecology cf the previously mentioned species and trying to find a relationship of these parameters to fisheries. Her studies include a banding program; she has banded approximately 40,000 Heer- mann’s Gull chicks and 8,000 Elegant Tem chicks to look at migration and longevity. In addition, banded indi- viduals have been providing informa- Pacijlc Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001 * Page 99 REGIONAL REPORTS — Mexico tion on breeding effort and success with age, nesting philopatry, mate fidelity, etc. Results show that these birds feed mostly on commercially important small pelagic fish. Some of their breed- ing and feeding parameters, together with some oceanographic parameters, allow them to predict the fisheries with a year in advance and a high degree ef certainty (catch per unit effort and total catch). Velarde’s work on the island also involves guiding and controlling visitors so as to prevent disturbance cf the nesting colonies. Tourist compa- nies such as Lindblad Expeditions and Baja Expeditions have been key to the ongoing program on the island, due to their direct and indirect support and donations. Many other conservation organizations and private donors have supported us through the years, al- though we are always in need of further support. Julie Thayer, William Sydeman (both from Point Reyes Bird Observa- tory), with collaboration from Gary Strachan (California State Parks Bay Area District) are studying the long- term demographics of six species on Ano Nuevo Island. Species include Rhinoceros Auklets, Cassin’s Auklets, Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants, Pi- geon Guillemots and Black Oyster- catchers. Particular focus is on Rhinoc- eros Auklet reproductive and foraging ecology. In 2001, juvenile rockfish (and lingcod) formed the largest propor- tion of Ano Nuevo seabird diets since the study began in 1993. This was a change from the anchovy-dominated diets in the past years. These diet ob- servations were reflected in the higher reproductive success for the early alcid breeders, but mixed results for later breeders after rockfish dropped out cf diets in early July. Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001 * Page 100 TREASURER’S REPORT FOR 2001 Breck Tyler This report summarizes PSG finances for fiscal year 2000-2001, which ended 30 September 2001. It includes a bal- ance sheet for all active accounts of the Pacific Seabird Group, a cash flow summary for the past fiscal year, and a brief discussion of finances and mem- bership. The report was submitted on 19 November 2001. Assets, equity, and liabilities On September 30, 2001, the total assets in PSG accounts were $125,652.93 (Table 1). Total equity was $118,339.17, a decrease of $28,891.24 during the past fiscal year. Liabilities were $6,850.00 for contin- ued work on the Seabird Monitoring Database and $463.76 in unreimbursed officer expenses. General income and expenses Excluding funds invested in the Endowment Account, PSG generated $9,851.84 in new income during this fiscal year, 64% from membership dues and the rest from dividends, library subscriptions, and publication sales (Table 2). Excluding payments for pre- vious liabilities and endowment ac- count share losses, PSG accumulated $18,595,80 in new expenses (Table 2) for a net loss of $8,743.96 which was made up from PSG savings. Publica- tion and mailing of Pacific Seabirds was the largest (37.5%) single expense. Endowment Account The PSG endowment account is comprised of shares in three Neuberger & Berman Management, Inc. funds — Focus, Guardian, and Partners. Share and account values fluctuated significantly in line with the volatile stock market. On September 30, 2001 the PSG endowment account was worth $85,407.95. Contributions dur- ing the past fiscal year were $3,483.25 in Life Membership payments. Capital gains and dividends from the account totaled $12,112.68 and were automati- cally reinvested. In total, we invested $15,595.93 in the account this year but lost $35,279.45 in share value; thus, the net value of the endowment account decreased by $19,683.52. Other accounts PSG maintains a savings account with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and five other checking/savings accounts for specific needs. The Treasurer’s joint checking/saving account is managed by Breck Tyler. The Pacific Seabirds account, managed by Editor Vivian Mendenhall, contains funds used in the publication and mailing of Pacific Sea- birds. Steven Speich manages an ac- count to deal with costs of Marine Or- nithology . The United Kingdom mem- bership account, managed by Mark Tasker, is used for deposits of dues paid in British pounds sterling. Ken Morgan manages an account for mem- bers paying dues in Canadian dollars. Annual Meeting At the 2001 Annual Meeting in Kauai, expenditures exceeded income by $446.49. A complete financial summary for the 2001 Annual Meeting was not available at the time of this report. Membership At the writing of this report, there were 446 active memberships in PSG — 337 regular memberships (indi- vidual and family), 43 student mem- bers, 64 life members, and 2 corre- sponding members. A total of 49 li- braries received Pacific Seabirds , 24 cf which had paid subscriptions. The PSG goodwill and journal exchange program is currently under review. Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001 • Page 101 TREASURER’S REPORT TABLE 1. Pacific Seabird Group Balance Sheet, September 30, 2001 Balance 30 Sep 2001 30 Sep 2000 Assets Annual Meeting - Napa 2000 0 $455.20 Annual meeting — Kauai 2001 $1,368.96 0 Endowment Funds (Neuberger & Berman) $85,407.95 $105,091.47 Pacific Seabirds Account (Mendenhall) $3,536.71 $518.24 PSG Savings Account (MSDW) $25,864.06 $48,159.52 Treasurer’s Accounts (Tyler) $7,411.52 $7,654.93 UK Membership Account (Tasker) $749.40 $608.91 Marine Ornithology (Speich) $1,293.67 $1,592.14 Canada Membership Account (Morgan) $20.66 0 Total Assets $125,652.93 $164,080.41 Liabilities and Equity Liabilities $7,313.76 $16,850.00' Equity $118,339.17 $147,230.41' Total Liabilities and Equity $125,652.93 $164,080.41 1 Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Revised from 1999-2000 report (Pacific Seabirds 27:90) Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001* Page 102 TREASURER’S REPORT TABLE 2. Pacific Seabird Group cash flow report, 1 October 2000 - 30 September 2001. GENERAL Income Membership dues $6,327.07 Interest & dividends $ J ,969.48 Monitoring program refund $682.79 Library subscriptions $640.00 Publication sales $232.50 Total $9,851.84 Expenses Monitoring subcontracts paid $10,000.00 Pacific Seabirds $6,981.53 Student travel to Kauai $5,000.00 XAMU petition $1,500.00 Director’s insurance $1,208.00 Transfer to endowment fund $1,103.25 Dues (TOC, ABC, IUCN) 1 $1,077.04 Tax preparation $600.00 Annual meeting - Kauai $446.49 Marine Ornithology $249.50 PSG website $207.46 Officer & committee $165.96 Bank charges $56.57 Total $28,595.80 Net (income - expenses) ENDOWMENT FUND - $18,743.96 Income Capital gains & dividends $12,112.68 Life membership dues $3,483.25 Expenses Share value loss $35,279.45 Net (income - expenses) - $19,683.52 'The Ornithological Council, American Bird Conservancy, International Union for the Conservation of Nature Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001* Page 103 BOOK REVIEWS Reached Birds. By Todd Hass and ulia K. Parrish. Wavefall Press, 121 st Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98104, JSA, 2000. With assistance from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Pacific Seabird Group. ;SBN: 0-9704157-0-2. $30.00. Reviewed by Jan Hodder Beached Birds is a field guide to 48 species of dead birds you will en- counter if you walk along the coastal beaches of Oregon and Washington. The guide was designed to be used by a citizens’ science project, the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST). This project involves the collection of data on the status and trends of coastal resources, mainly seabirds, by volunteers. The guide is currently in use to survey beaches on the outer coast of Washington for dead seabirds. The guide has a comprehensive “how to use” section that makes the book easy to use. Identification of dead birds is based on choosing one of 16 unique foot types. Once you have de- cided on foot type, you move to the family section and make further identi- fications using bill shape and, if neces- sary, measurements of wing chord. A centimeter rule is printed along the top edge of the guide to assist with deter- mining chord length and for other measurement noted in the text, for ex- ample distinguishing sexes. A sample species account at the beginning of the book walks you through all of the in- formation used for identification. This is clear and well done, with the excep- tion that it omits the drawing of bill shape that occurs in all of the real spe- cies accounts. Each species has a two-page ac- count, and some of the more com- monly encountered species, such as the Common Murre, have two pages each for juveniles and adults. Carcass pho- tographs, including a centimeter rule, are shown for each species, with de- finitive identification features pointed out and noted. The majority of the photos are helpful, with the exception of the one for small immature gulls, which in fact shows a fulmar. To fur- ther assist with identification, differ- ences among similar species are noted. Each species account ends with a bulleted checklist of the major charac- teristics you should look for to cor- rectly identify that species. The choice of species is good, al- though I was surprised to find that Horned Puffins were not included, since, at least in Oregon, they are occa- sionally found dead in large numbers in winter. Juvenile gulls are lumped as large and small, which is probably sen- sible for a citizens’ science group but would be frustrating for someone who wished to move beyond that wide clas- sification. The guide is sensibly printed on waterproof paper and spirally bound, and it will hold up well in the field. It has useful information for what to do when you find oiled, injured, or marked birds. If you walk beaches in Oregon or Washington and want to be sure of correctly identifying the dead bird you find this would be a great book to take along on your walk. Its major value, however, is the tool it provides for participants in the COASST citizens monitoring group. As such, it serves as a model for what could be produced by those who are interested in collecting data on the abundance of dead birds in other coastal areas. Isles of Refuge: Wildlife and History of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. By Mark J. Rauzon. University of Hawai’i Press, Honolulu, HI, USA, 2001. 205pp. ISBN: 0-8248-2209-9 (cloth, $49.00),; 0-8248-2330-3 (paperback, $19.95). Reviewed by Vivian Mendenhall Isles of Refuge is an account of the “unknown” Hawaiian islands, the chain that stretches 2,000 km northwest of Kauai. I started the book immediately after my first visit to Hawaii, including Midway Atoll, and I was hooked im- mediately. Mark Rauzon tells the his- tory of the islands, their biology, and conservation issues. He also celebrates the beauty and mystery of the islands, through poetry. Native lore, and his personal experiences during more than 20 years of biological field work. Most of the photographs and art work are the author’s own. The book is written for the general reader, but it is also delight- ful and informative to a biologist. The northwest Hawaiian Islands emerge in this book as a place of stun- ning beauty and abundance. After a general introduction, Rauzon presents each island in one or more chapters, from “Fathoming the Past” (Nihoa) to “Kure Atoll — Dark Side of the Sun.” Precipitous Nihoa Island is the nearest to Kauai. It was occupied by native Hawaiians in prehistoric times, but it escaped the recent guano mining and influx of exotic species that have dev- astated so many Pacific islands. Thus it still hosts numerous indigenous species and half a million seabirds. The next island, Necker, is nearly barren but has 60,000 seabirds and ancient religious sites. French Frigate Shoals are named after two of the Comte de la Perouse’s ships, which almost ran aground there Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001 * Page 104 BOOK REVIEWS — Isles of Refuge in 1786. The tiny Gardner Pinnacles are accorded a short chapter. The next island is Laysan, with 2 million seabirds,including the world’s largest colony of Black-footed Alba- trosses. It seems a miracle that any life survived on Laysan Island after it was subjected to ruthless mining for guano phosphates, exploitation of albatrosses for feathers, and other assaults. Several colorful characters were associated with Laysan’s early days, including mining overseer Max Schlemmer, who was so enamoured of the place that he lived there for almost 20 years. But Schlemmer’s rabbits devastated the island’s vegetation and contributed to the extinction of several indigenous birds. Lisiansky Island, named after a Russian explorer who was almost shipwrecked there, suffered a similar fate. Pearl and Hermes Reef has 7 tiny islets and the United States’ only pearl bed, which was depleted by fishers within 3 years of its discovery. Mid- way Atoll’s sparsely-vegetated main island was converted into an oasis of woods, lawns, and historic buildings during the first half of the 20 th century. The US Navy base was attacked in World War II, and a major sea battle was fought nearby; it is now a historic memorial. The military base was re- cently converted to an ecotourism re- sort, where visitors can view (and help study) the island’s seabirds, including the world’s largest colony of Laysan Albatrosses. (Rauzon says Midway has about 1 million birds; my references say closer to 400,000 [V.M. Menden- hall 2001, Pacific Seabirds 28:2]. However, some censuses are obsolete, so no one really knows.) At the far end of the chain, Kure Atoll formerly had a U.S. Coast Guard station, but now its dense Naupaka thickets have been left to the frigatebirds and boobies. A wrecked freighter still looms over Kure’s reef, one of numerous ship- wrecks whose history Rauzon recounts. The ecology of the islands and their seabirds are interspersed through- out the book: storm-petrels and noddies in the chapter on Nihoa, coral atolls and Sooty Terns on French Frigate Shoals, endemic species and their vul- nerability on Laysan, and so on. Sev- eral chapters in the middle of the book are devoted to monk seals, sea turtles, albatrosses, and the marine ecosystem and its seabirds in general. The beauty of the islands glows from Rauzon’s photographs, to which the printer has done full justice. I only wish that some of the photos were larger. There are many historical pho- tographs, as well as a number of Rau- zon’s own drawings and ethereal wa- tercolors. The book is exellently de- signed; my only quibble is that there is an odd colored stripe at the lower edge of each picture, for which 1 can see no reason. Throughout the book there is a poignant juxtaposition of natural splendor and its thoughtless destruc- tion. This underscores Rauzon’s elo- quent plea for the protection of rare species and ecosystems. He shows us how much work is being put into re- storing and defending what is left — weeding out exotic plants on Laysan over the years, eradicating in- troduced species, sanitizing clothes and equipment before landing on still- pristine Nihoa, monitoring populations. The entire chain has been a federal refuge since 1909 (except that Midway became a refuge in 1988, and Kure is now a state refuge). The islands and adjacent waters are now off-limits to the public (again, with the exception of Midway, since it has a resident refuge manager). But refuge status in the early days was no guarantee of protection. The government tried to prevent the outright slaughter of birds, but a num- ber of species were lost before people understood how vulnerable they were to other threats. Some dangers, such as introduced diseases, still are beyond our remedy. The most heartbreaking story is that of the Laysan Rail. This species died out on its native island due to habitat destruction by rabbits. In the meantime, it had been transplanted from Laysan to Midway, where it flourished. But during World War II, while scientists and bureaucrats argued over re-transplanting the little bird, rats The islands come to life in this book in many ways, not least through Rauzon’s accounts of his own adven- tures. Field biologists will recognize his anticipation and sense of discovery on each island, the discomforts and exhilaration of remote places, the mo- ments of terror, the humor and za- niness. The stories will delight non- biologists, too, and offer them a real glimpse of field work. We read about the thrill of finding a new species of breeding bird and an entirely new in- sect, Rauzon’s sense of doom at watching his radio sink out of sight on an isolated shore, a hair-raising rescue at sea using an unreliable boat, and a burly man who tried to pick a fight with Rauzon because he was wearing pink tennis shoes. The ordeals and drama of people in history also are described sympathetically. Isles of Refuge cbnveys deep ap- preciation and respect for native Ha- waiian history and beliefs. Probably only a few of the northwest islands were ever inhabited; others seem to have had Hawaiian names, but no one remembers now which islands they refer to. An unusual perspective is given by Rauzon’s account of expedi- tions that had nothing to do with biol- ogy: a trip to Necker Island with a na- tive Hawaiian priest to re-inter the re- mains of ancestors, and a voyage on the Hokule’a , a traditional Hawaiian sailing vessel that is navigated using wind, stars, and swells. My only pref- erence would have been some brief mention of the contemporary life and concerns of native Hawaiian people. Rauzon’s style of writing is well suited to this subject — or perhaps I should say “styles,” because precise scientific passages alternate with poetic descriptions: “[A] multihued blue realm: deep indigo seas and azure skies flared with the rag-tag flight of White Terns...” (page 20); “Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. ..wheeled around us, slicing the sea with their wing tips” (page 41). To avoid distracting the non-specialist reader, the text does not contain scientific names, and refer- ences are at the end of eacn chapter. But scientists will be glad that the end got onto Midway and it went extinct. Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001* Page 105 BOOK REVIEWS — Isles of Refuge f the book includes an appendix with atin names of all species, a full Lit- rature Cited, and an index. 1 have a few minor criticisms. The tistorical accounts are invariably inter- ring, but sometimes the style is in- ormal to the point that I could not fig- ire out the sequence of events. The naps are numerous and good; how- ever, the general map on page 1 should include the Emperor Seamounts northwest of Kure Atoll, which were promised by the caption and referred to in the text. 1 caught a possible technical error: on page 79, a statement con- cerning the procellariids says that “members of this family have unique glands in their head to remove salt from their body;” this could mean that other avian families do not have salt glands, whereas in fact a number of families possess them. Finally, the ed- iting is disappointing. There are gram- matical slips, such as “their tolerance and curiosity was touching (page 184), and a number of typographic errors, such as misspelled words (“warder” for “warden,” in the caption on page 29) and misplaced hyphens (page 51). However, these are small problems that do not detract from value of the book. Isles of Refuge is a splendid book that should appeal to all general readers and biologists who are interested in islands, seabirds, history, or adventure. It is clear that this is work of love. Mark Rauzon has worked in a world that few of us will ever see — for the islands’ own protection, if not for ours. 1 am grateful that he has shared with us his knowledge of the northwest Ha- waiian Islands and his affection for them. Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 200 1 * Page 1 06 INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS Pacific Seabirds is the journal of the Pacific Seabird Group. Manuscripts and news items are welcome on any topic relating to research on Pacific seabirds or to their conservation. Short manuscripts are preferred (about 1,000 to 5,000 words for major submissions). Material should be submitted to the Editor, except as noted below: Dr. V.M. Mendenhall, 4600 Rabbit Creek Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99516; phone (907) 345-7124; Fax (907) 345- 0686); e-mail fasgadair@att.net. Deadlines are 15 March for the spring issue and 15 September for the fall issue. CONTRIBUTIONS Contributors are invited to submit the following: • Articles on original research • Reports (articles on topics other than original research — e.g., sea- bird conservation issues) • Forum (discussion of a current topic) • Review articles (these may cover seabirds worldwide) • Conservation News (submit to Craig Harrison, Associate Editor for Conservation, 4001 North 9 th St., no. 1801, Arlington, VA 22203; E-mail charri- son@erols.com) • Other short news items relating to seabird research or conservation or the Pacific Seabird Group • Book reviews • Letters commenting on content of Pacific Seabirds or other issues. If the topic is controversial, others may be given a chance to review the letter and submit a reply. Printing and editing of letters are at the editor’s discretion • Art work, such as sketches of seabirds, either accompanying a text or for publication alone PEER-REVIEW OF MANSCRIPTS Articles, and review articles, will be submitted to two peer reviewers for technical review. Other types of manu- script can be sent for review if the author requests it or at the editor’s dis- cretion. SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS Material may be submitted by ei- ther regular mail or E-mail (addresses above). Materials sent by E-mail should be attached to the main message and should be in Word, WordPerfect, or Rich Text Format. However, materi- als less than 300 words long may be sent in the body of the E-mail. For manuscripts submitted by E-mail, all tables and figures must also be sent as hard copy via mail or Fax. If a manu- script is submitted by regular mail and will be peer-reviewed, send three cop- ies. For materials submitted by mail, include a computer disk. Do not send computer disks of manuscripts that will be peer-reviewed until the revised copy is submitted. Material on a disk should be in Word, WordPerfect, or Rich Text Format. The disk should include a sec- ond copy of the manuscript in Text (ASCII). Indicate whether the disk was made on a PC or a Macintosh (Macin- tosh is preferred). FORMAT Contributors should consult format used in a recent issue of Pacific Sea- birds. If no example is available, you may request that the Editor send a copy of relevant material. General Manuscripts should be double- spaced with l-inch margins. If your paper size is A4 (European), the bot- tom margin should be at least 1 3/4 inch (whether the manuscript is sent by regular or E-mail). Pages should be numbered, except for Tables and Fig- ures. Use US spelling conventions (e.g., “behavior,” not “behaviour” and “criti- cize,” not “criticise”), except when citing non-US journal articles. Give the scientific name {itali- cized) after the first mention of any genus or species. English names of bird species are capitalized (e.g.. Fork- tailed Storm-Petrel). Names of mam- mals, other taxa, and English names of bird groups are lowercase except for proper names (e.g., blackbirds, shield fern, Steller’s sea cow). Use the 24-hour clock with a colon (e.g., 18:30). Give dates as day-month- year. Use metric measures, except when quoting informal statements. For quantities less than 1, use an initial 0 {P = 0.95, not P - .95). If you use an acronym, give the entity’s full name the first time it is mentioned. Avoid excessive use of acronyms. Typographical conventions follow Scientific Style and Format , 6 th edition, by the Style Manual Committee of the Council of Biology Editors; Cambridge University Press (1999). Organization Articles should contain the fol- lowing sections, in this order: Title, Author(s), Authors’ affiliations (in- cluding E-mail for corresponding author), Abstract, Key words, Intro- duction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, Literature Cited, Tables, Figure legends, and Figures. Other types of manuscript may use a different organization (e.g., a review or report could contain sections on vari- ous locations); however, formats for Literature Cited, Tables, and Figures will still apply. Pacific Seabirds * Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001 * Page 1 07 INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS Abstract — An abstract is required br longer articles and suggested for ,hort ones. It should contain essential nformation from each section of the ext, without statistics. One or more additional abstracts) may be provided in languages other than English. Key words — Five to 10 words for use in computerized searching. Species names in both Latin and English should be included. Introduction — Present the aims and significance of the work, and place it in the context of pre-existing infor- mation. State hypotheses that are being tested, if any. Methods — Describe the methods, location, time, and personnel of the study. Include statistical methods, if any. Results — Present results that are pertinent to aims given in the Intro- duction. Where feasible, summarize information and give the full data in Tables or Figures. Give sample sizes and the significance levels of statistical tests. Literature citations normally should not be in the Results section. Discussion — Summarize the re- sults briefly, then evaluate the results, and develop their importance in rela- tion to other work. Do not include pri- mary results and statistical tests, which belong in Results. Literature Cited — List all refer- ences in alphabetical order of first author’s surname. Surname of the first author should be listed first, followed by initials; all subsequent authors’ names should be listed as Initial(s), Surname. List all authors in the Lit- erature Cited; do not use “et al ” Year of publication follows authors, then title and journal reference. Include page numbers for all cited works, in- cluding the total number of pages in a book. Use standard abbreviations for journal titles; if you are unsure, spell them out. Spell out names of agencies and institutions. The first line of each citation should be justified to the left margin; subsequent lines may be left-justified or indented. Do not use all-capital let- ters or italics in the Literature Cited, except that scientific names should be in italics. Examples: Pratt, H.D., P.L. Bruner, and D.G. Berrett. 1987. A field guide to the birds of Ha- waii and the tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 409 pp. Schreiber, E.A., and R.W. Schreiber. 1988. Great Frigatebird size dimorphism on two Central Pacific atolls. Condor 90:90-99. Verify that all items in the Litera- ture Cited are referenced in the article, and vice versa. For articles read by you in a lan- guage other than English, list the cita- tion in the original language. An Eng- lish translation of the title [in brackets] is optional. Text citations should be “Sur- name year” (no comma). Two authors are “Surname and surname year”; 3 or more authors are “Surname et al. year” (but all authors should be given in the Literature Cited). E.g., (Pratt et al. 1987, Schreiber and Schreiber 1988). Tables — Tables should be num- bered in the order they are first men- tioned in the text. Refer to each table at least once. Use horizontal lines below the main heading(s); do not use vertical lines in tables. The Table (including its heading) should be comprehensible without immediate reference to the text. Data in Tables should not be re- peated in the text, except to summarize. If the manuscript is submitted by E- mail, send a hard copy of the Tables by Fax or regular mai, because table col- umns usually get scrambled in E-mail attachments. Figures — Figures should be num- bered in the order they are first men- tioned in the text. Refer to each figure at least once. Figures should be drawn at least 50% larger than they will ap- pear in print. Make all lettering, num- bers, and symbols large enough to be read easily after they are reduced. The figure (including caption) should be comprehensible without immediate reference to the text. Define all sym- bols in a legend or the caption. Shading of bars should be black, white, or coarse cross-hatching. If the manu- script is submitted by E-mail, send a hard copy of figures by Fax or regular mail. A high-quality copy of all figures must be submitted with the final ver- sion of the manuscript. Acceptable copy includes good computer print- outs, original drawings, or good repro- ductions (Xerox prints on normal paper usually are not good enough). Graphics may be submitted as E-mail attach- ments in TIFF or EFS format; JPG is not recommended. Photographs — Pacific Seabirds occasionally publishes photos. The best ones are very sharp and have good de- tail and contrast. Original glossy prints should be submitted. Digital images submitted by E-mail must be at least 250 dpi (when reduced to publication size). Most digital cameras record at 72 dpi, although some have an option of higher resolution. Art work — Original art work is welcomed. An original or a high- quality reproduction should be sent. Pen and ink drawings reproduce the most satisfactorily. REVISIONS AND PROOFS Materials that are sent for peer re- view will be returned to the author, along with reviewers’ and editorial suggestions. If the Editor has accepted the article, he or she will endeavor to revise and return the manuscript within 60 days. If the article needs major work, the author may be invited to re- vise and re-submit it for future accep- tance. For peer-reviewed articles, proofs will be mailed to the author before publication. Corrections should be re- turned within one week (E-mail reply is encouraged). Proofs of other materi- als will not be sent to the author unless he or she requests them. Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 1 • Spring 2001 * Page 108 PUBLISHED PROCEEDINGS OF SYMPOSIA OF THE PACIFIC SEABIRD GROUP The Pacific Seabird Group holds occasional symposia at its annual meetings. Published symposia are listed below. They are available for purchase (unless out of print). To order, see the membership application/publication order form. SHOREBIRDS IN MARINE ENVIRONMENTS. Frank A. Pitelka (Editor). Proceedings of an International Symposium of the Pacific Seabird Group. Asilomar, California, January 1977. Published June 1979 in Studies in Avian Biology, Number 2. Out of print. TROPICAL SEABIRD BIOLOGY. Ralph W. Schreiber (Editor). Proceedings of an International Symposium of the Pacific Seabird Group, Honolulu, Hawaii, December 1982. Published February 1984 in Studies in Avian Biology, Number 8. Out of print. MARINE BIRDS: THEIR FEEDING ECOLOGY AND COMMERCIAL FISHERIES RELATIONSHIPS. David N. Nettleship, Gerald A. Sanger, and Paul F. Springer (Editors). Proceedings of an International Symposium of the Pacific Seabird Group, Seattle, Washington, January 1982. Published 1984 as Canadian Wildlife Service, Special Publication. Out of print. THE USE OF NATURAL VS. MAN-MODIFIED WETLANDS BY SHOREBIRDS AND WATERBIRDS. R. Michael Erwin, Malcolm C. Coulter, and Howard L. Cogswell (Editors). Proceedings of an International Symposium at the first joint meeting of the Colonial Waterbird Society and the Pacific Seabird Group, San Francisco, California, December 1985. Colonial Waterbirds 9(2), 1986. $12.00 from Ornithological Societies of North America, PO Box 1897, Lawrence, Kansas 66044; phone (800) 627-0629. ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR OF GULLS. Judith L. Hand, William E. Southern, and Kees Vermeer (Editors). Proceedings of an International Symposium of the Colonial Waterbird Society and the Pacific Seabird Group, San Francisco, California, December 1985. Published June 1987 in Studies in Avian Biology, Number 10. $18.50. AUKS AT SEA. Spencer G. Sealy (Editor). Proceedings of an Internationa! Symposium of the Pacific Seabird Group, Pacific Grove, California, December 1987. Published December 1990 in Studies in Avian Biology, Number 14. $16.00. STATUS AND CONSERVATION OF THE MARBLED MURRELET IN NORTH AMERICA. Hany C. Carter, and Michael L. Morrison (Editors). Proceedings of a Symposium of the Pacific Seabird Group, Pacific Grove, California, December 1987. Published October 1992 in Proceedings of the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Volume 5, Number 1. $20.00. THE STATUS, ECOLOGY, AND CONSERVATION OF MARINE BIRDS OF THE NORTH PACIFIC. Kees Vermeer, Kenneth T. Briggs, Ken H. Morgan, and Douglas Siegei-Causey (editors). Proceedings of a Symposium of the Pacific Seabird Group, Canadian Wildlife Service, and the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Victoria, British Columbia, February 1990. Published 1993 as a Canadian Wildlife Service Special Publication, Catalog Number CW66-124-1993E. Free of charge from: Publications Division, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario, K1 A OH3, Canada. BIOLOGY OF MARBLED MURRELETS— INLAND AND AT SEA. S. Kim Nelson and Spencer G. Sealy (Editors). Proceedings of a Symposium of the Pacific Seabird Group, Seattle, Washington, February 1993. Published 1995 in Northwestern Naturalist, Volume 76, Number 1. $12.00. BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY OF THE SEA DUCKS. Ian Goudie, Margaret R. Peterseen and Gregory J. Robertson (editors). Proceedings of the Pacific Seabird Group Symposium, Victoria, British Columbia, 8-12 November 1995. A special publication compiled by the Canadian Wildlife Service for the Pacific Seabird Group. Published 1999 as Canadian Wildlife Service Occasional Paper number 100, catalog number CW69-1/100E, Free of charge from : Publications Division, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A OH3, Canada. SEABIRD BYCATCH: TRENDS, ROADBLOCKS AND SOLUTIONS. Edward F. Melvin and Julia K. Parrish (Editors). Proceedings of an International Symposium of the Pacific Seabird Group, Semi-Ah-Moo, Washington, February 1999. To be published by University of Alaska Sea Grant, Fairbanks, Alaska. In preparation. Information on presenting symposia: Pacific Seabird Group Symposia are initiated by one or more persons with interest in a particular topic. The goal is to present a collection of papers that explore and review the chosen topic, usually at an annual meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group. In some cases the papers are then edited and published as a Symposium of the Pacific Seabird Group. Individuals interested in organizing a symposium must first contact both the Coordinator of the Publications Committee and the Scientific Program Coordinator for an annual meeting. Important guidelines will be provided for obtaining approval, organizing, presenting, and publishing Pacific Seabird Group Symposia, including the responsibilities involved. Organizers can then proceed to put the symposium session together. This opportunity is available to all members of the Pacific Seabird Group. > Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 • Fall 2001 • Page 109 PSG LIFE MEMBERS 2000 David G. Ainley Sarah G. Allen Daniel W. Anderson Pat H. Baird Lisa Ballance Kenneth T. Briggs Joanna Burger Ellen W. Chu Roger B. Clapp Sheila Conant Cheryl Conel Malcolm C. Coulter Theodore L. Cross Robert H. Day Tony DeGange Jan Dierks George J, Divoky Stewart Fefer Lloyd C. Fitzpatrick Elizabeth Flint Douglas J. Forsell Michael Fry Lisa Haggblom Judith Latta Hand Craig S. Harrison Scott A. Hatch Monica Herzig Zurcher Joel D. Hubbard David B. Irons Karl W. Kenyon James G. King Kathy Kuletz James Kushlan Lora Leschner David B. Lewis Peter Major Eugene Y, Makishima Vivian Mendenhall Gayle Merlen Godfrey Merlen Pat Mock Edward C. Murphy Maura Naughton S. Kim Nelson David R. Nysewander Harou Ogi Koji Ono Julia K. Parrish C. John Ralph William P. Ritchie Chad Roberts Palmer C. Sekora Nanette Seto Kouzi Shiomi Douglas Siegel-Causey William E. Southern Arthur L. Sowls Jeffrey A. Spendelow Takaki Terasawa W.Breck Tyler Enriquetta Velarde Gonzalez Kees Vermeer John S.'Warriner Yutaka Watanuki Jeff Williams RECIPIENTS OF PSG’s LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Thomas R. Howell Miklos D.F. Udvardy* Karl W. Kenyon John Warham James G. King Richard G.B. Brown James C. Bartonek W.R.P. Bourne Charles Guiguet* RECIPIENTS OF PSG’s SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD George J. Divoky Craig S. Harrison Arthur L. Sowls Steven M. Speich* Malcolm Coulter Hiroshi Hasegawa Pacific Seabirds • Volume 28, Number 2 * Fall 2001 • Page 1 1 1