Kittlitz's Murrelet (Brachyramphus Brevirostris) Conservation Action Plan
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Kittlitz’s Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) Conservation Action Plan U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Management Nongame Program Anchorage, Alaska September 29, 2009 Kittlitz’s Murrelet Conservation Action Plan - Draft September 2009 Kittlitz’s Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) Conservation Action Plan September 2009 A draft for review by the Kittlitz’s Murrelet Technical Committee Prepared by: Lynn Denlinger1 and Kathy Kuletz2 1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Nongame Program, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503; (907) 786-3945; [email protected] 2 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Nongame Program, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503; (907) 786-3453; [email protected] Suggested Citation: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2009. Kittlitz’s Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) Conservation Action Plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, Nongame Program, Anchorage, AK. Kittlitz’s Murrelet Conservation Action Plan – Draft September 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................. ii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ iv LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 4 Legal and Priority Status .......................................................................................................... 4 Rationale for Selection as a USFWS Focal Species ................................................................ 4 Limited Distribution, Low Numbers, and Population Declines ........................................ 4 Threats .................................................................................................................................... 4 Spatial Extent of Action Plan ................................................................................................... 5 Action Plan Objectives .............................................................................................................. 5 DESCRIPTION OF TARGET POPULATION ......................................................................... 5 Species Description .................................................................................................................... 5 Taxonomy ................................................................................................................................... 6 Intra-specific Variation ......................................................................................................... 6 NATURAL HISTORY OVERVIEW .......................................................................................... 6 Life History Overview ............................................................................................................... 6 Breeding ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Juvenile Survival and Recruitment ......................................................................................... 7 Post-nesting Dispersal and Migration ..................................................................................... 7 RANGE AND DISTRIBUTION .................................................................................................. 8 Historical Range and Distribution ........................................................................................... 8 Current Breeding Range and Distribution ............................................................................. 8 Current Winter Range .............................................................................................................. 8 HABITATS .................................................................................................................................... 9 Nesting Habitat .......................................................................................................................... 9 Foraging Habitat ....................................................................................................................... 9 POPULATION STATUS AND TRENDS ................................................................................. 10 Population Status ..................................................................................................................... 10 Current Breeding Range and Distribution ........................................................................... 11 Population Trends ................................................................................................................... 11 LIMITING FACTORS ............................................................................................................... 12 Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment of Habitat or Range . 12 Glacial Retreat ..................................................................................................................... 12 Sedimentation ...................................................................................................................... 13 Climate Regime Shift .......................................................................................................... 13 Hydrocarbon Contamination ............................................................................................. 13 Overutilization by Human Activities ..................................................................................... 14 Commercial Fisheries .......................................................................................................... 14 Recreational Activities ........................................................................................................ 15 Logging Activities ................................................................................................................ 16 Scientific Research ............................................................................................................... 16 ii Kittlitz’s Murrelet Conservation Action Plan – Draft September 2009 Disease ...................................................................................................................................... 16 Predation .................................................................................................................................. 16 Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms ................................................................. 17 FOCAL SPECIES POPULATION OBJECTIVES ................................................................. 17 CONSERVATION STRATEGY ............................................................................................... 19 ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AND MONITORING NEEDED TO ESTABLISH POPULATION OBJECTIVES AND A CONSERVATION STRATEGY ............................ 22 COMPLETED RESEARCH AND MONITORING PROJECTS FOR KITTLITZ’S MURRELETS .............................................................................................................................. 22 Population Trends of Kittlitz’s Murrelets ............................................................................. 22 Icy Bay .................................................................................................................................. 23 Kachemak Bay ..................................................................................................................... 23 Southeast Alaska .................................................................................................................. 23 Kachemak Bay ..................................................................................................................... 23 Icy Bay .................................................................................................................................. 24 Prince William Sound ......................................................................................................... 24 Pelagic Distribution of Kittlitz’s Murrelets .......................................................................... 24 Breeding Ecology and Nesting Habitat of Kittlitz’s Murrelets ........................................... 24 Agattu Island ........................................................................................................................ 24 Kodiak Island ....................................................................................................................... 24 Southeast Alaska .................................................................................................................. 24 Tin City and Capes Lisburne, Romanzof, Newenham ..................................................... 24 Effects of Human Disturbance on Kittlitz’s Murrelets in Glacier