Marine Birds
Resource Brief - March 2009
Importance/Issues
Marine birds, particularly those that forage on benthic invertebrates, were selected as SWAN vital signs because of their reliance on habitats and prey associated with the marine nearshore ecosystem of park coastlines. These species are top level consumers of marine invertebrates such as mussels, clams, snails, limpets, and forage fish. Because of these characteristics marine birds are good indicators of change in the marine ecosystem. Monitoring will focus on birds that are trophically linked to the nearshore food web such as sea ducks (Harlequin ducks, (Histronicus histronicus), goldeneye and bufflehead (Bucephala sp.), long-tail ducks, (Clangula hyemalis), and scoters (Melanita sp.), and shorebirds, specifically the black oystercatcher (Haemoptopus bachmani), but will include all marine birds. Many of these focal species were impacted by the T/V Exxon Valdez oil spill, and exhibited protracted recovery periods as a consequence of lingering oil in nearshore habitats. Public concern exists for the welfare of marine birds because they are affected by human activities like oil pollution and commercial fishing. Because mammals will be encountered in the course of these surveys, observations of marine mammals will be recorded.
Sampling Design and Objectives
The marine bird survey sampling unit is a strip transect, up to 5 km long by 200 m wide by 100 m high that is centered 100 m offshore of the sea water tidal level at the time the survey is conducted. A series of systematically located, non-contiguous transects that cover all shorelines, including islands, are systematically selected with a random start point. Bird and mammals counts are made from skiffs and data is directly entered into a laptop computer linked to a GPS and using the survey software dLOG2 that visually displays the shoreline, the transect line, and the survey vessel location. These surveys are designed to provide estimates of the species composition, distribution, and density of marine birds and mammals that occur within nearshore habitats. Species that occur predominantly further offshore are likely underrepresented in this survey design. This survey approach and design is widely used in Alaska and elsewhere, providing comparable data that can be contrasted over various temporal and spatial scales.
Progress and Current Efforts
In 2006 marine bird and mammal transects were established and initially sampled along the coastline of Katmai NP. Twenty-four of the 26 selected transects were sampled, two transects were not sampled because of poor survey conditions. In 2007 the same set of transects along the Katmai coast were sampled again. In 2007, 39 marine bird and mammal transects were established and initially sampled within the nearshore zone at Kenai Fjords National Park. In 2007 we also established and sampled one 5 km marine bird and mammal transect centered on each of the five randomly selected intensive sheltered rocky intertidal sites where marine algae and invertebrates are sampled. These transects were established to provide spatially explicit data on focal species of nearshore birds and mammals that can be related to those data gathered on intertidal invertebrate and algae.
KATM Coastal Winter Bird Survey - 2009
Completed at last!! After lots of planning and waiting for a good weather window!!
Field Report from Heather Coletti, SWAN Marine Nearshore Ecologist
"What struck us the most was how many more birds there are along that coastline in the winter than summer, as well as the distribution of the birds. I don't have the exact numbers yet, but will be writing up a summary report. Barrow's goldeneye, buffleheads, scoters (all three species) and harlequin ducks were quite numerous. Long-tailed ducks were also common, but not as numerous. Other sightings of interest included Steller's eiders, rock sandpipers and emperor geese. Tundra swans were also seen, but not on transect.
As for marine mammals, the sea otter densities seemed high with many mom and pup pairs. What was really interesting was the distribution of the sea otters during this time of year. In the summer, we have not seen a sea otter in Kinak Bay, but during this time of year there were several. We recorded almost 100 sea otters near Geographic Harbor hauled out on the ice, and at least 30 of them were pups. Speaking of ice, there was quite a lot in Kukak, Geographic, Hidden Harbor and Kaflia. If we had been able to get up to Swikshak, I imagine there would have been ice there as well.
Snow was still to the high-tide water mark. One bear was seen near Amalik and bear tracks were seen in Kuliak Bay. Another interesting observation was the arrival of black-legged kittiwakes. None were seen as we left Kodiak island and arrived in KATM, but within a day or so, we were observing lower densities on the colonies than we see in the summer. Their behavior was quite aggressive towards each other as they presumably were vying for nest sites. As we returned to Kodiak Island, kittiwake numbers were quite high. I believe we were observing the beginning return of the gulls to their summer breeding colonies.
A winter bird survey for KEFJ is planned for late winter of 2010."
USGS and SWAN biologists conducting skiff-based marine bird and mammal counts, Katmai National Park and Preserve 2006.
