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Fl'tjyvi" I RESULTS of a MARINE BIRD &'Ld MAMMAL SURVEY

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Fl'tjyvi -----~- r ¥l~~ S-eJ~;~(:? I fl'tJyVI" i RESULTS OF A MARINE BIRD &'lD MAMMAL SURVEY [ OF THE WESTERN ALEUTIAN ISLANDS SUMMER 1978 ,J l I :"I i Robert H. Day Brian E. Lawhead Tom J. Early Elaine B. Rhode ALEUTIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE January 1979 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Title Author Page List of Figures i List of Tables vi I Introduction 1 II Census Techniques Day 4 III Island Descriptions Rhode 17 IV Island Species Accounts Day 34 V Avian Pre~ators Day 48 VI Marine Mammals Lawhead 54 VII Buldir Island Rhode 77 VIII Auklet Census Day 83 IX Murre Study Plots Lawhead and Day 88 X Beached Animal Surveys Day 115 XI Permanent Plots Day and Early 129 XII Pelagic Transects Early 157 XIII Terrestrial Transects Early 176 XIV Recotmnendations 184 Literature Cited 186 Appendix I Raw Island Transect Data 190 .,. .. :'" ,., ,- II Buldir Permanent Plots Data 200 III Agattu Murre Plot Data 217 IV Agattu Inland Transects Data 234 LIST OF FIGURES Figure No. Title Page No. 1 Schematic diagram of Least and Crested 11 Auklet activity patterns. 2 Location of the Baby Islands in the 19 Eastern Fox Group. 3 Baby Islands - Physical features. 20 4 Bogoslof Island - Physical features 22 in 1978. 5 The Near Island Group. 23 6 Agattu ,Island - Physica·1 features and 24 potenti~l campsites. 7 Alaid Island - Physical features and 26 potential campsites. 8 Nizki Island - Physical features and 27 potential campsites. 9 The Rat Island Group. 29 10 Bu1dir Island - Physical features and 30 potential campsites. 11 Kiska Island - Physical features and 31 potential campsites. 12 Little Kiska - Physical features and 33 potential campsites. 13 The Baby Islands. 35 14 Locations of the three major auk1et 41 ~ colonies at Sirius Point, Kiska Island. ~i" 15 Location of seabird concentrations in 42 the Kiska --'Island area. i LIST OF FIGURES (con't) Figure No. Title Page No. 16 Location of Bald Eagle and Peregrine 49 Falcon aeries on Kiska, Little Kiska, and Tanadak Islands and neighboring rocks. 17 Location of Steller sea lion colonies 65 at Cape Sabak, Agattu Island, 1978. 18 Location of Steller sea lion colonies 66 at Gillon Point, Agattu Island, 1978. 19 Location of Steller sea lion colonies 67 at Alaid Island, 1978. 20 Location of Steller sea lion colony at 70 Cape St. Stephen, Kiska Island, 1978. 21 Location of Steller sea lion colony 71 near Lief Cove, Kiska Island, 1978. 22 Location of Steller sea lion colony at 72 Vegu Point, Kiska Island, 1978. 23 Locations of all Steller sea lion 73 populations near Kiska Island, 1978. 24 Locations of the three major auklet 84 colonies at Sirius Point, Kiska Island 25 Total birds present on Agattu Study 91 Plot #2, 24 June-6 July 1978. 26 Total Common Murre and Total Thick­ 93 billed Murre for 24-26 June 1978. 27 High Density Common Murre and Low Density 95 Common Murre for 24-26 June 1978. 28 thick-billed Murre and Low Density Common 96 Murre for 24-26 June 1978. ii I I LIST OF FIGURES Ccon't) Figure No. Title Page No. 29 Total. Murres - Attendance for 97 I 24-26 June 1978. 30 Total Common Murre and Total Thick­ 99 I billed Murre, 24-26 June 1978. 31 Common Murre High Density and Low 100 Density, 24-26 June 1978. 32 Common Murre Ledge B - net arrivals and 103 departures. 33 Common Murre Ledge C - net arrivals 104 Ii • and departures 34 Location of beached animal survey at 11.9 I; Karab Cove, Agattu Island. 35 Location of beached animal survey at 121 Aga Cove, Agattu Island. I: 36 Location of beached animal survey on 122 southwest shore of Alaid Island. 37 Location of beached animal survey on 123 north shore of Nizki Island. 38 Location of beached animal survey on 125 North Bight Beach, BuIdir Island. 39 Location of beached animal survey at 127 Jeff Cove, Kiska Island. 40 Location of beached animal survey on 128 west shore of Little Kiska Island. 4+.:~ Locations of permanent plots around 130 -' '-" Aga Cove, Agattu Island. iii I' Ii LIST OF FIGURES (can't) ~ Figure No. Title Page No. 42 Location of murre cliff count plot 131 I in Karab Cove, Agattu Island. 43 Photograph of Plot #1 in Aga Cove, 132 I Agattu Island from observation point looking northeast. 44- Photograph of Plot #2 in Aga Cove, 133 I Agattu Island. 45 Photograph of Plot #3 in Aga Cove, 134 I Agattu Island. 46 i Photograph of Plot 1/4 just to south 135 I of Aga Cove, Agattu Island from near observation point. t 47 Permanent plot location on Nizki Island. 138 48 Location of permanent plots on Buldir 140 Island. 49 Photograph of Plots #1, #2 and #5 just above 141 main camp at Buldir Island. 50 Photograph of Plot #3 near Stint Creek, 142 Buldir Island. (23 July, 1978) 51 Photograph of Plot #4 on northwest side 143 of South Marsh, Buldir Island. (23 July, 1978) 52 Location of marked Cassin's and Parakeet 149 Auklet burrows near Plot #6 at Crested Point, Buldir Island. Locations of the three major auklet colonies 152 at Sirius Point, Kiska Island. / 54 Photograph looking north across the large 153 auklet colony on Sirius Point, Kiska Island. iv ! LIST OF FIGURES (con't) Figure No. Title Page No. 55 Locations of plot lines on old lava flow, 154 Kiska Island. 56 Pelagic transects in the eastern Fox 161 Island, 1978. /-~ 57 Pelagic transects in the western Fox 163 Islands, 1978. 58 Pelagic transects in the eastern 165 Andreanof Islands. 59 Pelagic transects in the western Andreanof 167 Islands, 1978. 60 Pelagic transects in the Delarof Islands, 169 1978. 61 Pelagic transects in the Rat Islands, 1978. 171 62 Pelagic transects from Kiska to Shemya 173 Island, 1978. 63 Pelagic transects in the Near Islands, 1978. 175 64 Inland transects on Agattu Island. 179 65 Inland and Beach Transects on Altiid Island. 180 66 Inland and Beach transects on Nizki Island. 181 67 Beach transect on Little Kiska Island. 183 / v LIST OF TABLES Table No. Title Page No. 1 Schedule of events for the 1978 3 field season. / 2 Approximate areas and shoreline distances,' 18 for islands visited in 1978. ' .,:"'j. 3 Population estimates for Kiska Island. 40 4 Population estimates for Little Kiska 45 Island. 5 Population estimates for Tanadak Island. 47 6 Number of successful aeries and inter- 50 aerie distances of Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons on selected islands in the western Aleutians. 7 Weighted averages of Bald Eagle inter­ 52 I ! aerie distances (in miles of coastline) from selected islands in the western Aleutians. 8 Counts, population estimates, and 56 densities of sea otters for selected islands (after Kenyon 1969). ,f- 9 Percentage of sea otter adults with 59 dependent pups in the Aleutian Islands, 1977-78. 10 Estimated numbers of Steller sea lions 63 on selected islands. ,I I 11 Banded Storm-Petrels recaptured in 79-80 i, 1978 at Buldir. I: I 12 Summary of recapture history for 81 I Storm-Petrels at Buldir. I vi / LIST OF TABLES (can't) Table No. Title, Page No. 13 Nest-site tenacity and mate retention 82 summary (by plot) of Storm-Pe~els, Buldir 1978. 14 Banded Ancient Murrelets recaptured in 82 1977 and 1978 at Buldir. 15 Estimate of total populations of Crested 86 and Least Auklets on the Sirius Point Auklet Colony. 16 Aga Cove Plot #2 1978. Common Murre 102 Ledges Band C - Arrivals & Departures. 17 Calculation of k values for Common 105 and Thick-billed Murres on plot #2, Aga Cove. / 18 Minimum counts of Common Murres on 108 individual ledges. 19 Estimates of numbers of breeding pairs 109 of Common Murres and "k values" for individual ledges. i I,!,I 20 Weighted estimates of numbers of breeding 109 pairs of Common Murres in terms o{ "k I I, values" (from Table 19). .. 21 Minimum counts of Thick-billed Murres 110 on individual ledges. , " , , I 22 Estimates of numbers of breeding pairs 111 I of Thick-billed Murres and "k values" for individual ledges. il 23 Weighted estimates of numbers of breeding 111 I pairs of Thick-billed Murres in terms i of "k values" (from Table 22; after :1 Birkhead 1978). ; , i! vii i: I I I \ LIST OF TABLES (con't) Table No. Title Page No. 24 Results of beached animal surveys on 116-118 six islands in the Western Aleutians, 1978. 25 Mensural characteristics of permanent ' 145 plots at Buldir Island. 26 Data on burrows and their status in 146 permanent plots at Buldir Island. 27 Summary of status of burrows in all 147 t· permanent plots at Buldir Island. r 28 Mensural data On Cassin's and Parakeet 150 Auklet chicks at Buldir Island. 29 Mensural data on auklet plots in old 155 lava flow (Colony #2), Kiska Island. 30 Conversion table for area covered (km2) 159 in 10-minute pelagic transects and area reciprocals for various ship speeds. ! 31 Pelagic transects in the eastern Fox 160 I, Islands. 32 Pelagic transects in the wester~ Fox 162 Islands. 33 Pelagic transects in the eastern 164 Andreanof Islands. 34 Pelagic transects in the western 166 Andreanof Islands. 35 Pelagic transects in the Delarof Islands. 168 36 Pelagic transects in the Rat Islands. 170 viii LIST OF TABLES (con't) Table No. Title Page No. 37 Pelagic transects from Kiska to 172 Shemya Island. ./ 38 Pelagic transects in the Near Islands. 39 Projected numbers of each species seen 178 in inland transects on three islands in the Near Island group, 1978.
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