Biological Monitoring at the Chamisso Island Group, Alaska in 2014
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AMNWR 2015/04 BIOLOGICAL MONITORING AT THE CHAMISSO ISLAND GROUP, ALASKA IN 2014 Donald E. Dragoo and Leslie Slater Key Words: Alaska, black-legged kittiwake, Chamisso Island, Chukchi Sea, circumnavigation, common murre, Fratercula corniculata, horned puffin, invertebrates, marine mammals, populations, Puffin Island, Rissa tridactyla, seabirds, thick-billed murre, Uria aalge, Uria lomvia, wildlife U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge 95 Sterling Hwy, Suite 1 Homer, Alaska, USA 99603 March 2015 Cite as: Dragoo, D. E., and L. Slater. 2015. Biological monitoring at the Chamisso Island group, Alaska in 2014. U. S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. Report AMNWR 2015/04. Homer, Alaska. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 1 STUDY AREA ............................................................................................................................................... 1 METHODS ................................................................................................................................................... 1 INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS ................................................................................................................ 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................. 2 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................................. 3 MAPS ........................................................................................................................................................... 4 FIGURES AND TABLES ............................................................................................................................... 8 Common and thick-billed murres ............................................................................................................ 9 Populations ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Black-legged kittiwake .......................................................................................................................... 10 Reproductive performance ............................................................................................................. 10 Populations .................................................................................................................................... 10 Other species ........................................................................................................................................ 11 Populations .................................................................................................................................... 11 Circumnavigations .......................................................................................................................... 12 Miscellaneous ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Annotated list ................................................................................................................................. 17 Invertebrates collected in 2014 ...................................................................................................... 22 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................................. 24 i INTRODUCTION The primary objectives of the 2014 work were to collect data on population numbers and/or productivity of four indicator species representing two major feeding guilds: 1) diving fish-feeders (common and thick- billed murres [Uria aalge and U. lomvia] and horned puffins [Fratercula corniculata]), and 2) surface fish- feeders (black-legged kittiwakes [Rissa tridactyla]). Other objectives included collecting information on other species of wildlife and plants, as well as current use of the area by humans. Results from 2014 are reported here in the figures and tables, and archived at Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR) headquarters in Homer, Alaska. Data summaries also will be included in the annual Alaska seabird monitoring summary report (Dragoo et al. 2015). Because data occasionally are reanalyzed, some values listed in this report may differ from those reported in previous years. Data presented here include the most up-to-date values available at the time of this report and supersede previous reports. STUDY AREA Chamisso and Puffin islands and the adjacent sea stacks are located approximately 105 km south of Kotzebue Alaska at about 66° 13’ N, 161° 50’ W. They were established as the Chamisso Island National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) by President Taft in 1912, incorporated into AMNWR at its creation in 1980, and designated as wilderness in 1975. The Chamisso Island group contains over 60% of the estimated breeding seabirds in Kotzebue Sound (Nelson and Sowls 1985). The area has been described in previous reports (see DeGange and Sowls 1978, Nelson and Sowls 1985, Sowls and Roseneau 1989) and the wilderness proposal (Troyer 1970). These islands have been visited infrequently by Fish and Wildlife Service personnel. Troyer (1970) spent two days at Chamisso Island in July 1968 as part of a study of areas suitable for wilderness designation. DeGange and Sowls (1978) spent 11-14 August 1977 inventorying seabird colonies there and on the Choris Peninsula. In August 1981, while censusing seabird colonies in southern Kotzebue Sound, Nelson and Sowls (1985) visited Chamisso and Puffin islands, and set up seabird monitoring plots on each. Sowls and Roseneau (1989) spent 6-11 August 1987 in the islands. METHODS Personnel: The 2014 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Chamisso Island field team consisted of Don Dragoo, Chukchi Sea Unit Biologist and Leslie Slater, Gulf of Alaska Unit Biologist (both AMNWR; 5- 13 August). The crew was flown by charter pilots to a drop off point on the southwestern coast of the Choris Peninsula and then boated to the Chamisso Island campsite from there. The same landing strip was used for the return flights to Kotzebue. Moving the crew and all of the gear required three flights and three skiff-loads to deploy the camp. Two boat-loads and two flights sufficed for the return trip. Data Collection and Analysis: The methods used to collect and analyze seabird-related data followed the procedures described in DeGange and Sowls (1978), Nelson and Sowls (1985), Sowls and Roseneau (1989), and USFWS (2014). 1 · We circumnavigated Chamisso Island four times, at different times of the day, to yield replicate counts of birds within pre-defined survey census areas (Nelson and Sowls 1985). We also counted birds from our skiff at South Rock and Mid Rock on 7 August. · Photographs were taken of much of the Chamisso Island coastline (especially the start and end points of the circumnavigation survey census areas; Appendix A), and the entirety of Puffin Island, South Rock, and Mid Rock. Photographs are archived at AMNWR. · Counts were conducted at most of the permanent land-based plots at Puffin Island on 7 August. Deteriorating weather conditions forced the crew to leave the island before all plots could be counted. · Photographs of the North Side Pinnacle plot on Puffin Island were merged in Photoshop™ and used to obtain population counts. · Photographs of Puffin Island plots were used to estimate black-legged kittiwake nest contents to assess productivity. INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS · As in past years, horned puffin numbers in 2014 were higher during counts late in the day at Chamisso Island, but total puffin numbers in 2014 were much lower than those from 1977 and 1981. This year’s Chamisso Island horned puffin counts were similar to those from 1987. · When we arrived at Chamisso Island on 5 August, we were met at the beach by Raymond Lee, Jr., a resident of the village of Buckland. He, his wife, and daughter were on the island picking berries (blueberries were abundant and tasty during our visit). Mr. Lee visited the island again on 12 August and told us about his and other local residents’ subsistence activities in the Chamisso Island area, including egging, whale and seal hunting, berry picking, and fishing in the vicinity. Anecdotal information and discussions with staff of the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge indicated that residents of Kotzebue also visit the Chamisso Island group for recreational and/or subsistence purposes. · Un-weathered trash on Puffin Island indicated recent access by humans, presumably for subsistence egging. · Black-legged kittiwake productivity was approximately 0.35 (n=250 nests) on Puffin Island in 2014 (Table 1). This compares with an estimate of 0.91 in 1987 (n=212 nests; Sowls and Roseneau 1989). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank Tina Moran, Brittany Sweeney, Susan Georgette, and Chester Ballot at the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge for graciously providing advice, logistical support, and bunkhouse space in Kotzebue. Jared, Jessie, and China of Golden Eagle Outfitters in Kotzebue did a great job of flying us and our gear to the drop-off site and returning us safely to town. We appreciated their patience, good humor, and professionalism. Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to the