Volume 32 Number 1 Spring 2005 PACIFIC SEABIRD GROUP Dedicated to the Study and Conservation of Pacific Seabirds and Their Environment

PACIFIC SEABIRDS

A Publication of the Pacific Seabird Group

The Pacific Seabird Group (PSG) was formed in 1972 due to the need for better communication among Pacific seabird researchers. PSG provides a forum for the research activities of its members, promotes the conservation of seabirds, and informs members and the public of issues relating to Pacific Ocean seabirds and their environment. PSG holds annual meetings at which scientific papers and symposia are presented. The group’s journals are Pacific Seabirds (formerly the PSG Bulletin), and Marine Ornithology (published jointly with the African Seabird Group, Australasian Seabird Group, Dutch Seabird Group, and The Seabird Group [United Kingdom]; www.marineornithology.org). Other publications include symposium volumes and technical reports. Conservation concerns include seabird/fisheries interactions, monitoring of seabird populations, seabird restoration following oil spills, establishment of seabird sanctuaries, and endangered species. Policy statements are issued on conservation issues of critical importance. PSG members include scientists, conservation professionals, and members of the public from both sides of the Pacific Ocean. It is hoped that seabird enthusiasts in other parts of the world also will join and participate in PSG. PSG is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Ornithological Council, 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.

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Pacific Seabirds Pacific Seabirds (ISSN 1089-6317) is published twice a year in the spring and fall. It informs PSG members about regional seabird research and conservation news. Pacific Seabirds seeks submissions of short peer-reviewed articles, reports, and other items that relate to the conservation of seabirds in the Pacific Ocean. Abstracts of papers presented at the annual meeting are included in the Spring issue; the Fall issue contains a summary of ongoing research. 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 published in each Fall issue. Deadlines are March 15 for the Spring issue and September 15 for the Fall issue. Back issues of the Bulletin or Pacific Seabirds may be ordered from the treasurer; please remit $2.50 each for volumes1-8 (1974-1981) and $5.00 each for volume 9 and later (see Membership/Order Form next to inside back cover for details).

Editor Vivian M. Mendenhall, 4600 Rabbit Creek Rd., Anchorage, AK 99516, USA. Telephone (907) 345-7124; Fax (907) 345 0686; e- mail: [email protected].

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: [email protected]

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 April 1 (Spring issue) and October 1 (Fall issue). Manuscripts may be submitted at any time.

Change of Address Send changes of address to the Treasurer, Ron LeValley, Mad River Biologists, 1497 Central Avenue, McKinleyville, California 95519, USA; telephone: (707) 839-0900; fax: (707) 839-0867; e-mail: [email protected] PACIFIC SEABIRDS A Publication of the Pacific Seabird Group

Dedicated to the Study and Conservation of Pacific Seabirds and Their Environment

Volume 32 2005 Number 1

Report: Status of the breeding population of Black-tailed Gulls on Hongdo Island, Korea. By Who-Seung Lee, Young-Soo Kwon, and Jeong-Chil Yoo ...... 2

Forum: Caspian Terns, salmon, and steelhead of the Columbia River: an independent criticism of the federal agencies’ management proposal. By Brian E. Sharp ...... 4

Lifetime Achievement Award: Spencer G. Sealy. By Harry R. Carter and Percy N. Hebert ...... 7

Conservation News ...... 13

Seabird News ...... 14

Obituary: Mark Owen Pierson. By Kenneth T. Briggs and Eileen W. Chu...... 20

PSG Meetings ...... 22

PSG News ...... 25

Seabird News ...... 27

Chair’s “State of PSG” report for 2004 ...... 29

Executive Council Minutes ...... 31

Committee Report:Marbled Murrelet Technical Committee ...... 33

Regional Reports for 2004 (continued) ...... 34

Book Review: Sea of Glory, by Nathaniel Philbrick. Reviewed by Mark Rauzon...... 39

General Information Information on the Pacific Seabird Group ...... Inside Front Cover Published Proceedings of PSG Symposia ...... 36 Pacific Seabird Group Committees ...... 37 PSG Life Members and Recipients of Awards ...... 38 Membership Application and Order Form ...... 39

PSG Executive Council 2005 ...... Inside Back Cover REPORT

Reports provide up-to-date information on current research and issues. They are not peer-reviewed and should not be cited without the author’s permission.

STATUS OF THE BREEDING POPULATION OF BLACK-TAILED GULLS ON HONGDO IS- LAND, KOREA.

Who-Seung Lee*, Young-Soo Kwon and Jeong-Chil Yoo Black-tailed Gulls (Larus Aster spathulifolius, and Taraxacum size is 2-3, and breeding success is about crassirostris) are one of the most abun- mongolicum are the main components 50%, according to our previous research dant seabirds in Korea, Japan, China, and (Cultural Properties Administration (Kwon 1998, Lee 2004). In contrast with Russia. There are about 11 records for 2003). other islands, only one species, Black- Alaska and another 9 or so for the rest of Black-tailed Gulls arrive on Hongdo tailed Gulls, breeds on Hongdo Island North America, including sightings as far Island in early spring (February or (Kwon 1998). For this reason, one of the south as Belize and as far east as New- March). Breeding is initiated in early major causes of egg and chick mortality foundland, Canada (Lethaby and April and finishes in late August. Clutch is pecking by neighboring adults, al- Bangma 1998). The gulls breed colo- nially on islands or rocky cliffs, and forage for food (e.g. fish, bait and fishermen’s garbage) near breeding areas (Paek and Yoo 1996). In Korea, islands known as major breeding colonies of Black-tailed Gulls are Dokdo, Hongdo, Nando, Baengnyeongdo, Chilsando, and Chilbaldo (Figure 1). The islands are designated as a natural monument for conservation in Korea. One of the colonies, Hongdo Island, is the largest breeding colony. Therefore much research on Black-tailed Gulls is carried out there. Hongdo Island (34° 31' 87" N, 128° 43' 88" E) is located about 50.5 km from the mainland (Tongyeong city, Gyeongsangnam-do, Republic of Korea). The highest point of the island is about 115 m above sea level, and its area is 98,380 m2. Cliffs with a slope of over 45° surround the coastline. The vegetation consists mainly of a sedge (Carex boottiana), which covers the whole island except the rocky cliffs. Like other Larus gulls, Black-tailed Gulls use the sedge as the major nesting material (Lee 2004). The island is additionally covered with a mixture of plant species, of which FIGURE 1. Map of major colonies of Black-tailed Gulls in Korea, 1: Baengyeongdo Island; 2: Nando Island; 3: Chilsando Island; 4: Chilabaldo Island; 5: Hongdo Island; 6: Dokdo Island. Camellia japonica, Opuntia ficus-indica,

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 2 REPORT – Black-tailed Gulls

TABLE 1. Nearest distance between neighbors and clutch size of Black-tailed Gulls and the population is increasing on on Hongdo Island, Korea in 1997, 2000, and 2003. Data are mean ± SE (n). Hongdo Island, which is the largest colony in Korea, the establishment of a Nearest distance conservation plan is very important. In Year between neighbors Clutch size Source addition, long-term monitoring of the breeding population of Black-tailed 1997 114.35 ± 53.90 (39) 1.90 ± 0.46 (83) Kwon (1998) Gulls is necessary for preservation. 2002 88.92 ± 19.02 (130) 1.87 ± 0.55 (130) This study 2003 87.35 ± 15.03 (128) 1.97 ± 0.59 (128) This study LITERATURE CITED Cultural Properties Administration. 2003. The research on the actual condition and management plan of avian breeding habitat, though one pair of Peregrine Falcons (1997: 1.90 ± 0.46; 2002: 1.87 ± 0.55; a natural monument. Seoul. (In Korean). (Falco peregrinus) breeds at the same 2003: 1.97 ± 0.59) (Table 1). Although Furness, R. W., and P. Monaghan, 1987. time (Lee 2004). we did not census the breeding popula- Seabird Ecology. Blackie, Glasgow and Breeding populations of Black-tailed tion of Black-tailed Gulls on Hongdo Is- London. Gulls on Hongdo Island have not been land, our results suggest that density of Kwon, Y. S. 1998. Breeding ecology of the Larus crassirostris censused recently, but numbers of Black- the gulls was higher in 2002 and 2003 Black-tailed Gull ( ). tailed Gulls have apparently increased than in 1997. M.Sc. thesis, KyungHee University, Seoul. from about 10,000 pairs in 1995 (Peak In a breeding population, the Kwon, Y. S. 2004. Some aspects of the and Yoo 1996). However, little is known probability of egg and chick mortality breeding biology of the Black-tailed Gull about breeding ecology except for the and the intensity of competition for nest (Larus crassirostris). Ph.D. Thesis, initial state of the breeding (Yoo and sites and food are likely to increase when KyungHee University, Seoul. Kwon 1997), breeding strategy (Kwon population density increases. A decline Lack, D. 1968. Ecological adaptations for 2004), and habitat selection (Lee 2004). in density may be observed when the breeding in birds. Methueny Co. Ltd, UK. In this study, in order to analyze the status breeding population is saturated. In such Lee, W. S. 2004. Habitat selection in Black- of breeding population, we compared the a case, individuals of good quality tailed Gulls on Hongdo Island, Korea. nearest distance between neighbors (i.e. probably would coexist with poor-quality M.S. Thesis, KyungHee University, Seoul. density) in 2002-03 with data from 1997. individuals. Lack (1968) suggested that Lethaby, N., and J. Bangma 1998. Identifying Our field work was carried out dur- clutch size was correlated with parental Black-tailed Gull in North America. ing the breeding seasons of 2002 and quality. However, we did not see this Birding 30: 470-483. 2003. We selected 130 nest sites in 2002 indication of variation in parental quality Paek, W. K. and J. C. Yoo. 1996. Time budgets and 128 in 2003, and checked breeding among years, even though density had of the Black-tailed Gull ( Larus performance (e.g. clutch size, laying data, increased. Therefore we suggest that crassirostris) in the daytime of the egg mass, hatching date, and chick size). density of the population may have breeding season. Korean Journal of After termination of laying, the nearest increased since 1997, but without Ornithology 3: 1–9. distance between neighbors was mea- reaching saturation. We do not have sured as the distance from the center of complete evidence for this theory. *Who-Seung Lee, corresponding one nest to the center of the nearest nest. For preservation of a species, author If the nest was not clearly evident, we conservation of the breeding area is very Department of Biology and Korea measured the distance from stake to important (Furness and Monaghan Institute of Ornithology stake. 1987). Access is not allowed to Hongdo KyungHee University The nearest distance between neigh- Island at present, in order to protect the Seoul 130-701 bors on Black-tailed Gulls on Hongdo breeding Black-tailed Gulls. The Republic of Korea Island was shorter in 2002-2003 than in government has not made a plan for Telephone: +82-2-961-0727 1997 (1997: 114.35 ± 53.90; 2002: 88.92 conservation of the species, except for Fax: +82-2-961-0591 ± 19.02; 2003: 87.35 ± 15.03). However, limiting public access. Although Black- E-mail: [email protected] clutch size was not different among years tailed Gulls are very common in Korea

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 3 FORUM

The Forum section provides space for Pacific Seabird Group members to comment on scientific issues or conservation problems. Forum articles are not peer-reviewed and should not be cited without the author’s permission.

CASPIAN TERNS, SALMON, AND STEELHEAD OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER: AN INDEPENDENT CRITICISM OF THE FEDERAL AGENCIES’ MANAGE- MENT PROPOSAL Brian E. Sharp The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cation has had the effect of reducing the ganser spp.), Common Murres (Uria (USFWS), the U.S. Army Corps of En- proportion of salmonid smolts taken by aalge), grebes (Podicipedidae), gulls gineers (USACE), and the National Oce- terns to 17% of their diet, a reduction of (Larus sp.), hatchery fish, exotic warm- anic and Atmospheric Administration more than 75% from previous levels. The water fish, and marine mammals, includ- (NOAA) have circulated a controversial estimated absolute number of smolts ing harbor seals (Phoca vitulina)—prey Final Environmental Impact Statement taken in 2003-2004 was a little more than on salmonids. In the river, one native (FEIS) (USFWS et al. 2005). This docu- 4 million. species of fish predator alone, the north- ment proposes to decimate the Caspian ern pike-minnow (Ptychocheilus Tern (Sterna caspia) colony at the mouth AGENCY CLAIM NUMBER 1 oregonensis), takes an estimated 16 mil- of the Columbia River, the largest colony Are the federal agencies’ claims lion salmonid smolts (Roby et. al. 2003). in North America and perhaps in the true—that “tern predation limits salmon And in the ocean, juvenile mortality world. Specifically, the proposal would and steelhead recovery,” or its corollary, (from predators and other factors) is reduce the number of terns in the colony that “reducing the numbers of terns [at thought to be the most important factor from a 3-year average of 9,000 pairs to the Sand Island colony] will increase limiting salmonid population change about 2,000 pairs. This would be accom- numbers of salmonids”? (NOAA 2002, (USACE 2002). It is unrealistic for the plished by redistributing the terns to other USACE 2002, USFWS et al. 2005:1-9, agencies to presume that tern predation sites if possible. J-5, J-11). on salmonid smolts is not highly com- The federal agencies have tried to It has been found from studies on pensated by these and other significant justify their proposed action by claiming tagged fish that upper Columbia River mortality factors. (1) that it will increase salmon and steel- and Snake River steelhead runs are the If one assumes conservatively that head populations, and (2) that reducing most heavily predated. A NOAA model tern predation is only 50% compensatory, the number of terns and dispersing them has calculated that if 7,000 pairs of terns the very best that can be realized from will “benefit” the terns (USFWS et al. were removed from the estuary, it would limiting tern predation data is a possible 2005:4-10). In this paper I will examine result in a population change (λ) for these increase in λ of 0.5% in most steelhead whether these two principal justifications steelhead of at least +1%. populations. Such small changes in l are are true or not. The NOAA estimate of a +1% insufficient: λ must increase 2-6% in or- change in λ for steelhead is based on the der for salmonid populations to increase BACKGROUND assumption that tern predation is 100% (Roby et al. 2003, Wilson and Schaller In 1997-1998, when the tern colony additive, which maximizes the magni- 2003). was located 30 miles upriver from its tude of λ. There is no basis for this as- The agencies also claim that the present site, it was found that 73% of the sumption. The agencies themselves ad- steelhead data “imply benefits to tern diet consisted of salmon and steel- mit (USFWS et al. 2005: J-7, 8) that the salmon.” However, as NOAA itself ad- head (“salmonid”) smolts. Researchers degree to which tern predation is com- mits (USFWS et al. 2005: C-4, K-1), no estimated that 8 to12 million smolts were pensatory or additive is “not known” at measurable increase or benefit can be being taken annually. Concern over this all. In reality, tern predation on salmo- expected for salmon runs from the steel- level of predation led to the relocation of nids is probably much more compensa- head data. Tern predation rates on salmon the colony in 2000 to East Sand Island at tory than additive. A multitude of avian, smolts are only 1/20th of those for the the mouth of the estuary, and the diet of fish and mammalian predators other more highly predated steelhead, and the the tern colony now consists predomi- than terns—cormorants change in λ for salmon would be only nantly of marine fish species. The relo- (Phalacrocorax spp.), mergansers (Mer- about 0.05%, which is indistinguishable

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 4 FORUM – Columbia River salmonids from zero. Although the U.S. USFWS cation for the proposed action! Manage- ratio (or survival in the ocean) of Snake argues for benefits to salmon, it is not ment of the hydrosystem—effects on River steelhead was 5.5 in 2001-2003, correct to claim that changes in λ for salmonids of dam design, impoundment, which was 4 times the rate for the previ- upper river steelhead runs imply any ben- amount of water spilled for fish passage, ous 10 years (Williams et al. 2003). efit to salmon runs (USFWS et al. 2005: etc.—are major factors that impact the These two natural experiments show C-4, K-1). mortality of salmonid smolts. However, that Caspian Terns in the Columbia River The passage discussed above is the these were considered by the agencies to neither caused the endangerment of only scientific support provided in the be “outside the scope” of the FEIS. The salmonids in the first place, nor do they FEIS to support the claim that removing following are a couple of findings that prevent recovery of salmonid popula- the terns will increase salmonid popula- are indeed germane to the question of tions now. tions. The agencies rest their whole case whether terns “limit” salmonid popula- The sponsors of the proposed action on this one finding, a calculated, unre- tions: would have us believe that tern preda- alized change in λ of 1% for most steel- tion limits salmonid populations on the head runs. Their logic requires the as- • about 200 million hatchery smolts are basis of flawed evidence (the steelhead sumption of 100% additivity in the released into the river annually; λ data). However, the preponderance of model, which they know themselves to • at each dam, and/or in each of the the evidence leads to the conclusion that reservoirs behind the dams, the be incorrect (USFWS et al. 2005: Appen- tern predation is not limiting salmon, nor estimated salmonid mortality is 10-30 dices C and J). even the most heavily tern-predated runs million smolts; There is, however, much evidence • there is a 6-15% mortality of smolts of upper river steelhead. And, most tell- to the contrary that is ignored by the passing through the turbines at each ing, NOAA itself has even stated that the agencies in their analysis. Multi-year dam, amounting to an overall 78% impact of reducing tern predation is over- analyses of competing hypotheses by mortality through all the dams. Up to whelmed by a host of more important fisheries biologists have shown that the 160 million smolts die on their factors, “which include, but are not lim- factors that predict, or limit, salmonid outward migration. ited to, hydropower operations, harvest population change are ocean conditions, rates, habitat conditions, the influence of weather, and management of the In contrast with the magnitude of hatchery fish and exotic [fish] species, hydrosystem. Factors like predation and such losses from dams, tern predation ocean conditions, and climate change” human harvest are of less importance and accounts for a loss of 4 million smolts, (USFWS et al. 2005: C-17). The agen- have not been found to be correlated with or 2% of the 200 million released into cies themselves admit that these factors changes in number of returning salmon the river. Compared to the smolt mortal- “have the potential to influence [salmo- and steelhead (Marmorek and Peters ity due to dams, tern predation is negli- nid] population growth rates to a substan- 2001). gible. Small wonder that these inconve- tially greater degree than … reducing These conflicting data were not in- nient data were considered to be “out- predation from avian predators in the cluded in the agencies’ decision because side the scope of the FEIS.” The data Columbia River estuary” (USFWS et al. the agencies claimed they were “outside were excluded because they would ex- 2005: 4-18). the scope” of the FEIS. It seems to be pose the distortions and untenability of obvious to everyone in the scientific the agencies’ case. AGENCY CLAIM NUMBER 2 community who commented on drafts of Finally, two interesting natural ex- The second claim made in the FEIS the FEIS, but not to the agencies, that periments have occurred over the years. is that “management [decimating the one cannot judge the effect or signifi- Between 1952 and 1970, there was a 65% colony in the Columbia River estuary] cance of a proposed action if one doesn’t reduction in salmonid numbers, and a would help ensure the long-term conser- know the proportion of the problem that further 89% reduction of Snake River vation of the regional tern population,” the action addresses. salmonids from 1975 to 1990. The de- would protect the terns from “stochastic The USACE’s position relating to cline of Columbia River salmon runs events,” and would therefore be in the this was, “Although significant mortal- occurred before the arrival of Caspian terns’ own best interests (USFWS et al. ity of juvenile salmon and steelhead oc- Terns in the estuary. 2005: 1-4 and 4-10). The agencies’ logic cur [sic] in the ocean, our ability to in- The second natural experiment is is that terns are safer in a number of fluence ocean survival is limited. There- that in the 3-4 years before 2004, salmon smaller colonies in the event of oil spills, fore improvements in freshwater survival and steelhead runs, even including the storms, and disease, than if concentrated and production are imperative [italics most heavily tern-predated upper river in one large colony. The agencies disre- mine]” (USACE 2002, USFWS et al. steelhead runs, increased dramatically to gard the available evidence in making the 2005: C-4). This brilliant piece of think- bumper levels, and at the same time there claim of “benefit” to the terns. ing was adopted by the cooperating agen- were large numbers of terns in the estu- Several lines of evidence refute the cies and forms the basis of their justifi- ary. This was because the smolt-to-adult agencies’ claim.

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 5 FORUM – Columbia River salmonids

(1) Caspian Terns already are not tra pairs. San Francisco Bay also has a Insights from the Columbia River Basin. concentrated in a single colony. There are history of oil spills (see above) and mer- Cons. Ecol. 5(2):8. www.consecol.org/ 60 colonies in the western United States, cury contaminant problems. There also vol5/iss2/art8. and many more in North America and in would be conflicts with 3 endangered National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- istration [NOAA]. 2002. Caspian tern the world (USFWS et al. 2005: 3-5). So species —Clapper Rails ( Rallus predation on salmon and steelhead in the longirostris obsoletus), Snowy Plovers there is no need to disperse Caspian Columbia river estuary. Terns—they are dispersed already. This (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus), and www.nwe.noaa.gov/1habcon/habweb/ important fact seems to have escaped the Least Terns (Sterna antillarum browni). ternfinalprint_09-26-2002.pdf. agencies’ thinking, despite the fact that Considering all the sites together, Roby, D.D., D.L. Lyons, D.P. Craig, K. Collis, they contracted to have data on tern dis- only a couple of thousand, if that, of the and G.H. Visser. 2003. Quantifying the tribution summarized for them. 7,000 pairs of terns that the agencies pro- effects of predators on endangered spe- (2) The agencies present no data at pose to displace could be accommodated cies using a bioenergetics approach: all to support their assertion that any of at the alternative colony sites. The agen- Caspian terns and juvenile salmonids in the Columbia River estuary. Can. J. Zool. the “supposed” threats are in fact “real” cies’ numbers don’t add up. The facts that the agencies disregard 81:250-265. threats. Disease—no data; storms—no demonstrate that their claim—that it is U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [USACE]. data; oil spills—no data. The agencies’ in the terns own best interests to move 2002. Caspian tern interim management assertions are pure supposition. the colony and/or reduce its numbers— plan FY 2003-2004 and pile dike excluder For example, data on oil spill occur- is untrue. The claim not only is unsup- maintenance to discourage cormorant use of Lower Columbia River. Interim En- rences on the west coast show that of 15 ported by any evidence, but is contra- major wildlife-damaging spills, 14 oc- vironmental Assessment. dicted by the evidence that is available. www.nwp.usace.mil/PM/E/tern.htm. curred in winter. Terns are not present at The agencies’ claim should be regarded their breeding colonies in winter. More- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS], as self-serving, intended only to justify U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Na- over, none of the oil spills occurred any- their proposal. tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- where near the Columbia River estuary. istration. 2005. Caspian tern management However, several oil spills have occurred CONCLUSIONS to reduce predation of juvenile salmonids in San Francisco Bay, which is one of The two major claims by the agen- in the Columbia estuary. Final Environ- the sites to which the agencies are hop- cies—that reducing terns will increase mental Impact Statement. Portland, Or- ing to disperse the terns. It is clear that salmonids, and that breaking up the tern egon. the available oil spill data not only don’t colony is in the terns’ own best inter- Williams, J. G., S. G. Smith, W. D. Muir, B. P. Sandford, S. Achord, R. McNatt, D. M. support, they actually contradict the ests—have been shown to be inconsis- agencies’ claim that the terns must be Marsh, R. W. Zabel, and M. D. tent with the preponderance of the evi- Scheuerell. 2003. Effects of the federal moved to protect them from oil spills. dence and are unsupported by any data Columbia river power system on salmon (3) Similar objections can be raised whatsoever. In other words, they are populations. National Marine Fisheries about storms and disease. The agencies based on mere supposition. The decision Service, Seattle, WA. provide no data to demonstrate that there in the FEIS proceeds from foregone con- Wilson, P.H. and H. Schaller. 2003. Compara- is a real threat from either of these “sto- clusion to justification. Both of the agen- tive Survival Study (CSS) of pit-tagged chastic events.” cies’ justifications for their decision dis- spring/summer Chinook. Bonneville (4) Serious problems exist at all 7 tort and even ignore data that are at vari- Power Administration, Portland, OR, of the sites to which it is suggested the ance with the desired conclusion. The Contract #8712702. terns be dispersed. Two of three Oregon result is a non-compelling justification sites are small and cannot accommodate for decimating the world’s most success- This is Contribution No. 3 of Eco- more than a few dozen pairs. The single ful Caspian Tern colony. The agencies are logical Perspectives, one of a series of site in Washington is a new colony on setting a pseudo-scientific precedent. At papers which examine the ecological the mainland; its accessibility to mam- worst, the effect of the proposed action basis for public policies affecting the malian predation will prevent it from on the regional tern population could be environment and the public interest, and growing or accepting many displaced disastrous. At best it is a waste of the tax- was done at the author’s expense. pairs. The agencies unreasonably sug- payers’ money, time, and energy. The gest that this colony might take a couple decision to relocate the terns is impracti- Brian E. Sharp of thousand pairs! The 3 tern colonies in cal and simply won’t work. Ecological Perspectives San Francisco Bay have been stable for P.O Box 111 decades, are probably at carrying capac- LITERATURE CITED Fossil, OR 97830, USA ity, and cannot accommodate many ex- Marmorek, D. and C. Peters. 2001. Finding a E-mail: [email protected] PATH towards scientific collaboration:

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 6 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Spencer G. Sealy: Pioneer of Pacific Alcid Research Harry R. Carter and Percy N. Hébert

The Lifetime Achievement Award is MSc student Sealy first ac- lection of marine prey, but also different the most prestigious award of the Pacific companied PhD student Bédard to St. breeding adaptations further influenced Seabird Group (PSG). For his outstand- Lawrence in 1966, during Bédard’s third how these birds exploited their different ing contributions to the knowledge and and final year of research there. Sealy ecological niches (Bédard 1969a, assic conservation of Pacific seabirds, PSG then returned on his own in 1967 to study paper “Adaptive radiation of Alcidae” chose Dr. Spencer G. Sealy as the recipi- factors affecting the timing of breeding (Bédard 1969c). This amazing experi- ent of this award for 2005. for Least, Crested, and Parakeet Auklets ence at St. Lawrence Island made a deep Research on the Pacific Alcidae be- (Sealy 1968, 1973, 1975a, 1981, 1984; impression on Sealy. gan in earnest in the mid-1960s. This was Sealy and Bédard 1973; Bédard and During his PhD studies under Bob preceded by important studies in the Sealy 1984), as well as studying Horned Storer at the University of Michigan at Atlantic and Arctic oceans by Lockley, Puffins on the side (Sealy 1969, 1973). Ann Arbor from 1968 to 1972, Sealy Perry, Belopol’skii, Kaftanovskii, Sealy assisted Bédard with bird collec- pursued his passion, the study of the bi- Uspenski, Tuck, Tschanz and others from tions from a small skiff at sea in the ology of Pacific alcids. He conducted the the 1930s on. Major syntheses of alcid nearby icy waters, but he spent most of first major studies of the feeding ecol- research by Salomonsen, Storer, and his time crawling among the austere ogy and breeding biology of Ancient Udvardy led to great interest in competi- boulders to monitor nests of the myriad and Marbled Murrelets tion and ecological segregation among of diurnal auklets (Figure 1). Both (Synthliboramphus antiquus and the 20 species of little-known Pacific Bédard and Sealy lived in a Siberian Brachyramphus marmoratus) at remote alcids, in comparison with the mere 6 Yup’ik village and befriended their na- Langara Island, at the northwest corner species of better-known Atlantic alcids. tive hosts. Sealy’s breeding studies nicely of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Early Pacific work began in the complemented Bédard’s feeding and diet Columbia (Sealy 1972, 1974, 1975b, c, 1940s to early 1960s, with Storer, studies. Not only did the three auklets 1976). Although he originally intended Richardson, Thoreson, Drent, Swartz, differ morphologically and in their se- to compare the biology of Ancient and others, who showed interesting differences between Atlantic and Pacific alcids. However, many Pacific alcids, especially those in the famed Beringian region itself, remained poorly known. Professor Miklos Udvardy (Department of Zoology, University of British Colum- bia, Vancouver) unleashed students Jean Bédard and Spencer Sealy to discover new knowledge about the previously unstudied Least, Crested and Parakeet Auklets (Aethia pusilla, A. cristatella, and A. psittacula), by initiating extensive studies at remote St. Lawrence Island in the northern Bering Sea. Thus began the modern era of alcid research. This new knowledge of central Beringian alcids was followed by many extensive studies of Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic alcids over the next 40 years, continuing the process of discovery within this diverse and fas- FIGURE 1. Spencer Sealy at St. Lawrence Island in 2004, checking auklet nests in boulder cinating family of birds. nesting habitat, as he did almost 40 years earlier on the same island. (Photo by L. Sheffield)

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 7 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Spencer G. Sealy

Murrelets with that of Cassin’s Auklets on Langara and Cox islands, Sealy did not find sufficient numbers of auklets to study. Marbled Murrelets co-occurred in areas where he collected Ancients, so he substituted them for the Auklets. What a difference it made to be studying both a nocturnal alcid, and an alcid whose first nest had not officially been discovered! In 1970, Sealy worked alone on the mossy slopes under old-growth trees where Ancient Murrelets nested in burrows and amid tree roots, and he rented skiffs from local fishers to collect birds FIGURE 2. Dadens camp site at Langara Island, British Columbia in 1971, where Sealy at sea. In 1971 he was assisted by his conducted the first major studies of Ancient and Marbled Murrelets. (Photo by S. Sealy) wife, Noreen, and had a small inflatable Canova skiff for collections at sea. After Marbled Murrelets, with an eye towards at Mandarte Island, British Columbia, banding one member of several pairs in how these species fit within the wide where Vermeer had recently completed their burrows, without removing them for range of alcid adaptations. his own MSc work. Once Sealy was at fear of desertion, his sole connection with Immediately after graduate school in the University of British Columbia, his living Ancient Murrelets at their nests 1972, Sealy began teaching at the De- advisor Udvardy steered him toward was feeling their legs in the burrows to partment of Zoology, University of Bédard and Pacific alcids. Udvardy soon determine whether the banded individual Manitoba, Winnipeg. In addition to a moved to California State University or its mate was incubating. Through stud- heavy teaching load, he developed a large Sacramento, and Sealy fended for him- ies of collected birds, Sealy learned a program of avian research based at the self through the rest of his MSc. studies. great deal about the elusive Marbled university’s Delta Marsh Field Station, Storer had welcomed Sealy to the Uni- Murrelet; however, he never found a nest which is located on a forested dune ridge versity of Michigan but also left Sealy Noreen was amazed at Spencer’s along the southern shore of Lake on his own to pursue his PhD alcid ability to plan adequate supplies for sev- Manitoba. His work at Delta Marsh has dreams. In any case, it was not surpris- eral months on a deserted, rainy island focused primarily on breeding and feeding that, with his broad interest in birds in the middle of nowhere, climb up and ing ecology of passerines, such as Yel- even after 7 years of adventure and 2 down the nesting slopes every day, run a low Warbler (Dendroica petechia) and degrees on Pacific alcids, Sealy took his skiff and collect birds even in rough seas, Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus), position as professor at the University of and dissect specimens and prepare study and the interactions of Cowbirds Manitoba. In fact, a professorship had skins at night (which was very necessary (Molothrus ater) and their hosts. been his goal all along and he was glad because they lacked refrigeration). After To seabird biologists, Sealy’s new to be back in this familiar region he being dropped off at the island by float focus on passerine work on the Canadian loved. plane, they lived simply but comfortably prairies was a major change in direction, Over his career of more than 40 in small plywood shacks above the wel- but he actually began his ornithological years, Sealy has worked hard and steadily coming beach at Dadens (Figure 2), with career as a youngster in Kindersley and on research, teaching, and supervising permission from the Masset Haida. Battleford, Saskatchewan, near the heart graduate students. His major research It is noteworthy that Sealy con- of the prairies. Son of a United Church areas include behavioral and evolution- ducted his Langara studies where minister and wife who encouraged him ary ecology of avian brood parasites and Brooks, Green, and Darcus had searched to appreciate nature, he became an avid their hosts, ecology of seabirds, songbird for the first nest of the Marbled Murrelet birdwatcher with a collection of bird population trends, and sociality among in the 1920s, Guiguet had been in the skins. His first publication appeared in tropical birds. In addition, he has built 1940s and 1950s, and Campbell worked 1960 when he was in grade 11. As a teen- up a teaching and research collection of in the mid-1960s. Langara also is within ager and undergraduate at the University birds in the Department of Zoology at sight of Forrester Island, Alaska, where of Alberta in Edmonton, he also was in- the University of Manitoba, preparing Heath, Willett, and others made impor- fluenced strongly by prairie and arctic most specimens himself; studied cloud- tant observations of breeding Ancient ornithologists, especially Nero, Houston, forest birds in Costa Rica; and contin- Murrelets much earlier in the century. Webb, and Vermeer. In fact, it was Kees ued studies of Pacific seabirds and the However, Sealy conducted the first ex- Vermeer who suggested that Sealy con- avifauna of the Queen Charlotte Islands. tensive, modern studies of Ancient and sider conducting a MSc project on gulls He recently returned to St. Lawrence Is-

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 8 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Spencer G. Sealy land, at the invitation of Lisa Sheffield In 1979-1983, HRC had the great Carter 1984). Old-growth dependence and others, to participate in ongoing good fortune to follow in Sealy’s foot- was a large assertion and was difficult to auklet studies (Figure 3). He also has steps as one of his graduate students by defend, given the information available developed a long-standing interest in studying Marbled Murrelets for his MSc at that time. These papers and succeed- alcid vagrancy, which has led him to con- thesis, after also planning (like Sealy) to ing ones (Carter and Sealy 1986, 1987a) duct a massive literature search and ex- conduct studies on different alcids. Ev- helped lay a foundation for the listing of amination of alcid specimens from many ery day in Barkley Sound, British Co- the Marbled Murrelet as a threatened museums in North America and Europe. lumbia, and almost every day in species in British Columbia, Washington, Many products from this work are still Winnipeg, they talked about alcids, sea- Oregon, and California in 1990-1992. in progress. No one would undertake birds, and other studies in which Sealy Also crucial in the pressure for listing such an immense task if he was con- was involved. Their studies, discussions, were a special PSG Marbled Murrelet cerned solely with the number of publi- and summaries of the historical literature symposium held in 1987 (Carter and cations he could produce each year! led to the conclusion that Marbled Morrison 1992) and a status report pre- Murrelets nested mainly on the branches pared shortly thereafter for the National Thus far, Sealy has supervised 9 of old-growth trees, which were seriously Audubon Society (Marshall 1988). PhD and 42 MSc students, who have threatened by logging, while at the same In 1987-1991, PNH had the good conducted studies on most avian groups time substantial mortality was occurring fortune to conduct his PhD studies on and on a vast array of topics. Seabird in gill nets at sea. HRC presented con- Yellow Warblers at Delta Marsh, under graduate students and other seabird bi- cerns about gill-net mortality at a spe- Sealy’s supervision and in solid collabo- ologists influenced by him include the cial PSG symposium in January 1982 in ration with him. His experience was simi- authors, Glen Chilton, Leah de Forest, Seattle, Washington (Carter and Sealy lar to HRC’s: at Delta Marsh and in Keith Hobson, Paul James, Julie Porter, 1984). At the same time, Sealy brought Winnipeg, they talked daily about war- and Gus van Vliet. He has worked inde- their theories about old-growth forest blers and about the ecology and behav- pendently or with his students for most dependency in British Columbia and con- ior of birds in general. Several years later, of his career. Those students who have cerns about habitat loss before a major PNH also had the opportunity to study chosen to know and learn from him have meeting of the world’s seabird biologists, Marbled Murrelets with radio telemetry become valued partners and friends — a hosted by the International Council for in northern California (Hébert and key part of his intense schedule of ev- Bird Preservation at Cambridge Univer- Golightly 2003; Hébert et al. 2003), as eryday life. sity, England, in August 1982 (Sealy and part of the long effort by many people to reveal some of the secrets of this curious alcid, based on questions raised over 30 years ago by Sealy. Thus, PNH has appreciated both the land bird and seabird sides of Sealy’s extensive world. Most people are fully challenged by their own area of specialty, but the authors and other students have experienced Sealy as a willing fountain of knowledge and ideas about birds that extended far beyond any one area or topic of discussion. By 2005, Sealy had published about 240 papers, with over 50 papers on seabirds. He was the sole author of many publications, and many others were co- authored with students who now contrib- ute strongly to ornithological research in Canada and around the world. He has been driven to publish extensively, not by the “publish or perish” threat, but by his intense desire to know more about the birds that have captivated his curiosity and imagination for his entire life.

FIGURE 3. Spencer Sealy at St. Lawrence Island in 2004, pondering a Crested Auklet in the Sealy has taught specialized courses on hand. (Photo by L. Sheffield). seabird biology at the Bamfield Marine

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 9 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Spencer G. Sealy

provided Figures 1 and 3. Valuable comments also were provided by Gus van Vliet and Keith Hobson.

LITERATURE CITED Bédard, J. 1969a. Feeding of Least, Crested, and Parakeet Auklets on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Can J Zool 47: 1025-1050. Bédard, J. 1969b. Nesting of Least, Crested, and Parakeet Auklets on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Condor 71: 386-398. Bédard, J. 1969c. Adaptive radiation in Alcidae. Ibis 111: 189-198. Bédard, J., and S.G. Sealy. 1984. Moults and feather generations in the Least, Crested, and Parakeet auklets. J Zool (London) 202: 461-488. Carter, H.R., and M.L. Morrison (Eds.). 1992. Status and conservation of the Marbled Murrelet in North America. Proc West- ern Found Vert Zool: 5. Carter, H.R., and S.G. Sealy. 1984. Marbled Murrelet mortality due to gill-net fishing Figure 4. Spencer Sealy with Lifetime Achievement Award and former students. Left to right: in Barkley Sound, British Columbia. Pp. Percy Hébert, Sealy, Keith Hobson, Harry Carter. (Photo by G. McChesney) 212-220 in D.N. Nettleship, G.A. Sanger, and P.F. Springer (editors). Marine birds: their feeding ecology and commercial Station on the west coast of Vancouver ceived the Doris Heutis Speirs’ Award, fisheries relationships. Canadian Wildlife Island, British Columbia (1976, 1977, the highest honor of the Society of Ca- Service, Spec Publ. 1982), and in Iceland (1987). He orga- nadian Ornithologists/Société des Carter, H.R., and S.G. Sealy. 1986. Year- round use of coastal lakes by Marbled nized alcid symposia at the first PSG Ornithologistes du Canada, in August meeting in 1974 and again in 1987 Murrelets. Condor 8: 473-477. 2004. All this recognition humbles Sealy, Carter, H.R., and S.G. Sealy. 1987. Inland (“Auks at Sea” [Sealy 1990]) and co-ed- records of downy young and fledgling ited another PSG alcid symposium in who fully recognizes the contributions that so many have made to the knowl- Marbled Murrelets in North America. 1993 (“Biology of the Marbled Murrelet: Murrelet 68: 59-64. inland and at sea” [Nelson and Sealy edge and conservation of birds, particu- Hébert, P.N., H.R. Carter, R.T. Golightly, and 1995]). Furthermore, Sealy has been ac- larly Pacific seabirds. When Sealy began D.L. Orthmeyer. 2003. Radio-telemetry tive in the ornithological community as his career, there were far fewer biologists evidence of re-nesting in the same sea- a reviewer and board member. He was a than today who were dedicated to the son by the Marbled Murrelet. Waterbirds founding member of PSG and the Soci- study and protection of Pacific seabirds. 26: 261-265. Hébert, P.N., and R.T. Golighty (editors). ety of Canadian Ornithologists, an asso- Sealy and a few individuals like him, 2003. Breeding biology, and human- ciate editor of the Canadian Journal of driven chiefly by strong curiosity, led Zoology, and currently is editor of The caused disturbance to nesting of Marbled early scientific efforts to study little- Auk. He is one of few Canadian orni- Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in northern California: progress report thologists to have studied and been in- known seabirds in a vast and wild Pa- 2002. Unpubl draft report, Humboldt terested in almost all aspects of the dis- cific Ocean. They have helped to lay a firm foundation for all current and future State University, Dept. of Wildlife, tribution, ecology, behavior, and physi- Arcata, California. research and conservation on Pacific sea- ology of North American birds. Such Marshall, D.B. 1988. Status of the Marbled breadth of knowledge is rarely seen to- birds. Murrelet in North America, with special day, as researchers become more special- emphasis on populations in California, ized. Oregon, and Washington. U.S. Dept. of Spencer Sealy’s hard work, dedica- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Biol tion, and daily commitment over more We thank Spencer and Noreen Sealy Rep 88(30). Nelson, S.K. and S.G. Sealy (editors.). 1995. than four decades have been truly inspi- for providing additional background and Biology of the Marbled Murrelet: inland rational. In addition to this PSG Lifetime clarifications for this article and for pro- and at sea. Northwest Nat 76. 119 pp. Achievement Award (Figure 4), he re- viding Figure 2. Lisa Sheffield kindly Sealy, S.G. 1968. A comparative study

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 10 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Spencer G. Sealy

ofbreeding ecology and timing in plank- ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS ON Marbled Murrelet in British Columbia. ton-feeding alcids (Cyclorhynchus and SEABIRDS BY SPENCER G. SEALY Pp. 17-41 in H.R. Carter and M.L. Aethia spp.) on St. Lawrence Island, Bartonek, J.C., and S.G. Sealy. 1979. Breed- Morrison (eds.). Status and conservation Alaska. Unpubl MSc thesis, Dept. of Zo- ing distribution and status of marine birds of the Marbled Murrelet in North ology, University of British Columbia, along the coasts of the Chukchi and America. Proc Western Found Vert Zool: Vancouver, British Columbia. Bering Seas. Pp. 21-31 in J.C. Bartonek 5. Sealy, S.G. 1968. Some alcid leg sizes and Sealy, S.G. 1969. Incubation and nestling and D.N. Nettleship (editors). Conserva- band sizes. Bird-Banding 39: 59. periods of the Horned Puffin. Condor 71: tion of seabirds in western North America. Sealy, S.G. 1969. Color aberrations in some 81. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife Research Report, Number 11. alcids on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Sealy, S.G. 1972. Adaptive differences in Wilson Bull 81: 213-214. breeding biology of the marine family Campbell, R.W., H.R. Carter, and S.G. Sealy. 1979. Nesting of Horned Puffins in Brit- Sealy, S.G. 1970. Egg teeth and hatching Alcidae. Unpubl PhD dissertation, Uni- methods in some alcids. Wilson Bulletin versity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michi- ish Columbia. Cana Fld Nat 93: 84-86. Carter, H.R., K.A. Hobson, and S.G. Sealy. 82: 289-293. gan. 1984. Colony-site selection by Pelagic Sealy, S.G. 1973. Interspecific feeding assem- Sealy, S.G. 1973a. The adaptive significance blages of marine birds of British Colum- Cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) in of post-hatching developmental patterns Barkley Sound, British Columbia. Colo- bia. Auk 90: 796-802. and growth rates in the Alcidae. Ornis nial Waterbirds 7: 25-34. Sealy, S.G. 1975. Egg size of murrelets. Con- Scand 4: 113-121. Carter, H.R., and S.G. Sealy. 1987. Fish-hold- dor 77: 500-501. Sealy, S.G. 1973b. The breeding biology of ing behavior in the Marbled Murrelet. Sealy, S.G. 1976. Seabirds of the Bering Sea: the Horned Puffin on St. Lawrence Island, Wilson Bull 99: 289-291. is their future secure? Manitoba Nature, Bering Sea, with zoogeographic notes on Carter, H.R., and S.G. Sealy. 1990. Daily for- spring 1975: 38-44. the North Pacific puffins. Pacific Sci aging behavior of Marbled Murrelets. Pp. Sealy, S.G. 1977. Wing molt of the Kittlitz’s Murrelet. Wilson Bull 89: 467-469. 27:99-119. 93-102 in S.G. Sealy (ed.). Auks at Sea. Sealy, S.G. 1978. Abnormal bill of Marbled Sealy, S.G., and J. Bédard. 1973. Aspects of Stud Avian Biol: 14. Carter, H.R., and S.G. Sealy. 2005. Who Murrelet. Syesis 11:277. the breeding biology of the Parakeet Sealy, S.G. 1984. Interruptions extend incu- Auklet on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. solved the mystery of the Marbled Murrelet? Northwestern Nat 86: 2-11. bation by Ancient Murrelets, Crested Astarte 6:59-68. Auklets, and Least Auklets. Murrelet 65: Sealy, S.G. 1974. Breeding phenology and Chilton, G., and S.G. Sealy. 1987. Species roles in mixed-species feeding flocks of 53-56. clutch size in the Marbled Murrelet. Auk seabirds. J Fld Ornithol 58: 456-463. Sealy, S.G. 1990. Auks at sea: prospects for 91: 10-23. future research. Pp. 1-6 in S.G. Sealy (edi- Gaston, A.J., H.R. Carter, and S.G. Sealy. Sealy, S.G. 1975a. Influence of snow on egg- tors). Auks at sea. Stud Avian Biol: 14. 1993. Winter ecology and diet of Ancient laying in auklets. Auk 92: 528-538. Sealy, S.G., and R.W. Campbell. 1979. Post- Murrelets off Victoria, British Columbia. hatching movements of young Ancient Sealy, S.G. 1975b. Breeding ecology of the Can J Zool 71: 64-70. Murrelets. Western Birds 10: 25-30. Ancient and Marbled Murrelets near Hobson, K.A., and S.G. Sealy. 1985. Diving Sealy, S.G., and H.R. Carter. 2002. Additional Langara Island, British Columbia. Can J rhythms and diurnal roosting times of notes on the Dovekie specimen from Zool 53: 418-433. Pelagic Cormorants. Wilson Bulletin 97: Sealy, S.G. 1975c. Aspects of the breeding Manitoba. Blue Jay 60: 145-149. 116-119. Sealy, S.G., and H.R. Carter. 2004. Additional biology of the Marbled Murrelet in Brit- Hobson, K.A., and S.G. Sealy. 1986. Use of notes on the southern limit of the Ancient ish Columbia. Bird-Banding 46: 141-154. diurnal roosting sites by Pelagic Cormo- Murrelet in Baja California, Mexico. Sealy, S.G. 1976. Biology of nesting Ancient rants in Barkley Sound, British Colum- Western Birds 35: 105-107. Murrelets. Condor 78: 294-306. bia. Murrelet 67: 65-74. Sealy, S.G., and H.R. Carter. 2004. Inland Sealy, S.G. 1981. Variation in fledging weight Nelson, S.K. and S.G. Sealy. 1995. Introduc- occurrences of Dovekies in September in of Least Auklets Aethia pusilla. Ibis 123: tion. Pp. 1-3 in S.K. Nelson and S.G. eastern North America. Northeastern Nat 230-233. Sealy (editors). Biology of the Marbled 11(4): 375-382. Sealy, S.G. (editor). 1990. Auks at sea. Stud Murrelet: inland and at sea. Northwest Sealy, S.G., H.R. Carter, and D. Alison. 1982. Avian Biol: 14.. 180 pp. Nat: 76. Occurrences of the Asiatic Marbled Sealy, S.G., and H.R. Carter. 1984. At-sea Porter, J.M., and S.G. Sealy. 1981. Dynam- Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus distribution and nesting habitat of the ics of seabird multispecies feeding flocks: perdix [Pallas]) in North America. Auk Marbled Murrelet in British Columbia: chronology of flocking in Barkley Sound, 99: 778-781. problems in the conservation of a soli- British Columbia, in 1979. Colonial Sealy, S.G., H.R Carter and J. Hudon. 2001. Waterbirds 4: 104-113. Specimen records and sightings of An- tarily nesting seabird. Pp. 737-756 in J.P. Porter, J.M., and S.G. Sealy. 1982. Dynam- cient Murrelets from the Canadian prai- Croxall, P.G.H. Evans, and R.W. ics of seabird multispecies feeding flocks: rie provinces. Blue Jay 59: 175-182. Schreiber (editors.). Status and conserva- age-related feeding behaviour. Behaviour Sealy, S.G., H.R. Carter, W.D. Shuford, K.D. tion of the world’s seabirds. International 81: 91-109. Powers, and C.A. Chase, III. 1991. Long- Council for Bird Preservation, Tech Publ Rodway, M.S., H.R. Carter, S.G. Sealy, and distance vagrancy of the Asiatic Marbled 2.. R.W Campbell. 1992. Status of the Murrelet, 1979-1989. Western Birds 22:

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 11 145-155. Vermeer, K., and S.G. Sealy. 1984. Status of eastern North Pacific Ocean. Pp. 189-227 Sealy, S.G., F.H. Fay, J. Bédard, and M.D.F. the nesting seabirds of British Columbia. in J.P. Croxall (ed.). Seabird feeding ecol- Udvardy. 1971. New records and zoogeo- Pp. 29-40 in J.P. Croxall, P.G.H. Evans, ogy. Cambridge University Press, Cam- graphical significance of birds of St. and R.W. Schreiber (eitors). Status and bridge, England. Lawrence Island, Bering Sea. Condor 73: conservation of the world’s seabirds. In- 322-336. ternational Council for Bird Preservation, Harry R. Carter Sealy, S.G., and R.W. Nelson. 1973. The oc- Tech Publ Number 2. Carter Biological Consulting currences and status of the Horned Puf- Vermeer, K., S.G. Sealy, M. Lemon, and M. 1015 Hampshire Road fin in British Columbia. Syesis 6: 51-55. Rodway. 1984. Predation and potential Siegfried, W.R., S.G. Sealy, and A.J. Victoria, British Columbia V8S 4S8 environmental perturbances on Ancient Armstrong. 1988. A comparison of body- Canada Murrelets nesting in British Columbia. size scaling between Antarctic and Arc- [email protected] Pp. 757-770 in J.P. Croxall, P.G.H. Evans, tic seabirds. Pp. 1156-1175 in H. Ouellet (ed.). Acta XIX Intl Ornithol Congr, Ot- and R.W. Schreiber (editors). Status and conservation of the world’s seabirds. In- Percy N. Hébert tawa. Department of Biological Sciences Vermeer, K., J.D. Fulton, and S.G. Sealy. ternational Council for Bird Preservation, 1985. Differential use of zooplankton Tech Publ Number 2. Thompson Rivers University prey by Ancient Murrelets and Cassin’s Vermeer, K., S.G. Sealy, and G.A. Sanger. Kamloops, British Columbia V2C 5N3 Auklets in the Queen Charlotte Islands. J 1987. Feeding ecology of Alcidae in the Canada Plankton Res 7: 443-459. [email protected]

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 12 CONSERVATION REPORT Compiled by Craig Harrison

SHORT-TAILED 7. These developments constitute life Refuge System Improvement Act of ALBATROSS POPULATION a first step toward establishing a third 1997 authorizes refuge managers to de- breeding colony in the Mukojima group CONTINUES TO INCREASE cide on a case-by-case basis which uses in the Ogasawara Islands by chick trans- are compatible with the purposes of a location and hand-rearing to fledging. refuge, and which are not. PSG believes Hiroshi Hasegawa reports the fol- that professional refuge managers should lowing results from his November-De- be free to manage their refuges effec- cember 2004 field trip to Torishima to tively. observe Short-tailed Albatrosses ATTEMPTS TO OPEN Rep. Nick Rahall, the top Democrat (Phoebastria albatrus): on the Resources Committee of the 1. A total of 302 pairs nested in FARALLON ISLANDS TO House of Representatives, rescinded his the 2004-2005 season on Torishima, an THE PUBLIC support for opening up the islands after increase of 25 pairs (9%) from last sea- UNSUCCESSFUL other legislators announced opposition to son. the proposal. The chairman of the com- 2. At the original colony on the Representatives Richard Pombo (R- mittee, Richard Pombo, initially indi- upper slope of Tsubame-zaki, situated at Calif.) and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) intro- cated he would continue to push the mea- the southeastern tip of Torishima, there duced a bill to Congress early this year sure; however, he later withdrew his were 296 nesting pairs, an increase of 20 that would require access to the Farallon sponsorship with respect to the pairs. National Wildlife Refuge and to two un- Farallones because, according to his 3. Two new pairs laid eggs in the inhabited marine sanctuaries in the West- spokesman, it “wasn’t going anywhere.” patches of Miscanthus grass on a flat site ern Caribbean. The Farallones are the The bill would still allow more visits to at the cliff-top of Tsubame-zaki. The largest seabird breeding colony in the two uninhabited islands in the western nests are 95 m apart but both are within contiguous United States, containing Caribbean, the Navassa and Desecheo 500 m of the original colony on the slope. over 250,00 breeding seabirds of 12 spe- refuges. Black-footed Albatrosses (P. nigripes) cies. The islands lie 28 miles west of San began nesting here in very small num- Francisco and have been a national wild- bers in the 1999-2000 season. life refuge since 1909. The only signifi- 4. On the northwest slope of cant human presence since 1969 has been PSG COMMENTS ON Torishima, decoys and sound playback a small group of seabird biologists. The have now resulted in four nests—one pair bill was written in response to complaints MONTROSE which has nested every year at the same from amateur radio enthusiasts who want RESTORATION PLAN spot in the past 10 years plus three new to broadcast from the Farallones. Mem- pairs. A new “artificial” colony has at last bers of the public would be able to visit PSG has commented on proposals been established at a safe site. the islands “during at least one period to restore birds and other wildlife dam- 5. With improvements in breeding each year,” according to the legislation, aged by the world’s largest known DDT success through erosion control and grass which also would allow the U.S. Fish and contamination. The Montrose Chemical transplant, a large number of young have Wildlife Service (USFWS) to impose Corporation of southern California been produced from the original colony conditions to protect the Farallon Islands dumped about 1800 tons of DDT and an (192 young in 2003-2004, or a total of habitat. Currently USFWS limits visitors unknown amount of PCBs into its sewer 1113 young during the last 7 years). The to eight researchers at a time. system between 1947 and 1971, result- original colony appears to be increas- PSG sent letters to numerous federal ing in massive contamination of the Cali- ingly crowded, so returning immature legislators in opposition to the bill. PSG’s fornia Bight. Settlement of a federal law- birds are expanding the nesting area by suit against the company and its succes- concerns include the potential distur- settling in new sites. sors created a fund of $73 million, of bance of wildlife by inexperienced visi- 6. The success in establishing a which $30 million will be spent on res- new colony should reduce the impact of tors, habitat damage done by inexperi- toration of natural resources and $43 natural disasters such as landslides or enced visitors, introduction of exotic million in trying to clean up the ocean mud flows of volcanic ash on the nest- plants and animals, and public safety. floor. PSG commented on the Draft ing areas. PSG also argued that the National Wild- Restoration Plan and Programmatic En-

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 13 CONSERVATION REPORT vironmental Impact Statement, which Double-Crested Cormorants, Pelagic reefs that stretch 1200 miles northwest was issued in April 2005. PSG generally Cormorants, California Brown Peli- of the main Hawaiian Islands. The pro- supported the preferred alternative in the cans, Western Gulls, Cassin’s Auklets, posed status provides the highest level plan, including all seabird projects that Ashy Storm-Petrels, Black Storm-Pe- of protection as a conservation area. were proposed. PSG particularly ap- trels (Oceanodroma melania), and Under the draft rules, no commercial or plauded the trustees’ decision to fund Xantus’s Murrelets to Coronado and recreational fishing would be allowed, projects in Baja California. We have pre- Todos Santos Islands, Baja California, nor would removal of any natural or cul- viously supported similar proposals to by social attraction and improving tural resources from state-controlled extend restoration efforts outside the nesting habitat; waters. Visits to the refuge would only United States, including restoration of a • Restoration of seabirds (Cassin’s be allowed for research, management and Brown Pelican colony in Baja under the Auklets, Brandt’s Cormorants, native Hawaiian cultural purposes that do American Trader Oil Spill Trustee Coun- Xantus’s Murrelets, and Western not harm the environment, and only then cil and a Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus Gulls) to Guadalupe Island, Baja Cali- with a state permit. State waters extend griseus) colony in New Zealand under fornia, by eradicating feral cats; out from the shores of islands and atolls the Command Oil Spill Trustee Council. • Restoration of California Brown Peli- for three miles and encompass most of PSG did suggest that spending half cans, Double-Crested Cormorants, the coral reefs in the Northwestern Ha- of the money for bird restoration on a Brandt’s Cormorants, Cassin’s waiian Islands. Federal waters around the single species (the Bald Eagle, Auklets and Xantus’s Murrelets to San islands out to 50 miles are now part of Haliaeetus leucocephalus) seemed inap- Jeronimo and San Martín Islands, Baja the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral propriate, since 11 seabird species were California, by social attraction and Reef Ecosystem Reserve and are in the affected, and seabirds would suffer if improving nesting habitat; and years-long process of becoming the eagle restoration was successful. • Restoration of Xantus’s Murrelets to country’s 14th National Marine Sanctu- San Benito, Asunción and San Roque, PSG endorsed the following projects ary. The Western Pacific Regional Fish- Baja California, by social attraction in the preferred alternative: eries Management Council has objected and improving nesting habitat. • Restoration of Ashy Storm-Petrels to suggestions that fishing in the North- (Oceanodroma homochroa), Cassin’s PSG also endorsed the following western Islands be capped at current lev- Auklets (Ptychoramphus aleuticus), “alternative” projects in the preferred els or phased out entirely. Xantus’s Murrelets (Synthli- alternative: boramphus hypoleucus), Western • Restoration of Ashy Storm-Petrels to Gulls (Larus occidentalis) Brandt’s Anacapa Island, Channel Islands, by Cormorants (Phalacrocorax social facilitation and nest boxes; FCC SUED OVER FAILURE penicillatus), Pelagic Cormorants (P. • Creation and enhancement of Brown TO PROTECT HAWAIIAN pelagicus), and Pigeon Guillemots Pelican habitat on Southern Califor- SEABIRDS FROM TOWER (Cepphus columba) to San Miguel Is- nia mainland; and COLLISIONS land, Channel Islands, by eradicating • Implementation of programs to reduce black rats (Rattus rattus); entanglement and improve outreach in The Federal Communications Com- Restoration of Cassin’s Auklets and Southern California fisheries to pro- • mission (FCC) was sued on July 27, 2005 Xantus’s Murrelets to Santa Barbara tect Brown Pelicans. for failing to protect the Newell’s Shear- Island, Channel Islands, by social fa- water (Puffinus newelli) and Hawaiian cilitation; Petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis) from • Restoration of Western Gulls and collisions with large communication Brandt’s Cormorants to San Nicholas HAWAI‘I PROPOSES towers on Kaua‘i and the Big Island. The Island by eradicating feral cats; MARINE REFUGE FOR plaintiffs are the American Bird Conser- Restoration of Ashy Storm-Petrels, • vancy, Forest Conservation Council, and Cassin’s Auklets, Xantus’ Murrelets, NORTHWESTERN ISLANDS California Brown Pelicans, Double- the Conservation Council for Hawai‘i. Crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax State waters surrounding the North- Both species are listed under the auritis), and Rhinoceros Auklets western Hawaiian Islands would become Endangered Species Act (ESA). The groups contend that the FCC has been (Cerorhinca monocerata) to Scorpion a highly protected “marine refuge” un- violating the ESA because it did not con- Rock (off Santa Cruz Island) by eradi- der a proposal by the Hawaii Department sult with USFWS, which is required cating non-native vegetation and in- of Land and Natural Resources. The whenever a federal action may impact a stalling nest boxes; Northwestern Islands are a chain of small threatened or endangered species. They • Restoration of Brandt’s Cormorants, islands, atolls, submerged banks and also claim that the FCC should not have

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 14 CONSERVATION REPORT delegated all its responsibility for com- species. The majority of recovered sea- entire worldwide population. The State plying with the ESA to the commercial birds may be Crested Auklets (Aethia. of California has listed this species as companies that erected the towers. cristatella), but live or dead oiled indi- endangered (Pacific Seabirds 31:6, viduals were seen of more than 30 spe- 2004). cies of birds, as well as harbor seals The NAFTA commission can hold (Phoca vitulina), sea otters (Enhydra hearings on environmental disputes, but OIL SPILL IN ALEUTIANS lutris), and red foxes. More precise re- it cannot make recommendations, nor HARMS SEABIRDS sults are expected to be available later can it stop projects like the LNG termi- this year, but data may not be released nal from proceeding. However, the fil- ing is designed to secure the attention of The M/V Selendang Ayu, a Malay- immediately because this spill is under sian-flagged freighter en route to China investigation for the violation of several Mexican officials. Mexico’s environ- from the U.S., ran aground and broke environmental statutes. mental secretariat approved the proposal apart in early December 2004 on the in September 2004. The LNG terminal shore of Unalaska Island, 800 miles is still being designed and needs several southwest of Anchorage. Over 300,000 local permits before construction can gallons of intermediate fuel oil and NAFTA CHALLENGE begin. A petition under Article 13 calls 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel were spilled. FILED AGAINST on the Commission to investigate the The ship ran aground near Spray Cape, project as a threat to transborder wild- CORONADO ISLANDS LNG life, particularly in regard to its impact and initially the oil appeared to move into FACILITY Makushin, Skan, and Pumicestone bays on the Xantus’s Murrelet and other sea- (northwestern Unalaska). After an unsuc- birds. A petition under Article 14 raises Environmental groups and individu- cessful search for lost crew members, concerns over Mexico’s failure to enforce als filed challenges to a planned Chev- officials surveyed the damage from the its environmental laws (General Law of ron Corporation liquefied natural gas wreck. The slick expanded into waters Ecological Balance and Environmental (LNG) terminal near the Coronado Is- managed by the Alaska Maritime Na- Protection and the General Wildlife Law lands, Mexico, under the North Ameri- tional Wildlife Refuge, home to endan- of Mexico), and over the inadequacies can Agreement on Environmental Coop- gered marine mammals and threatened of the Chevron’s Environmental Impact eration. This convention is the environ- seabirds as well as healthy populations Assessment. mental side-agreement of the North of salmon, halibut, and crab. The extreme Concerns about the effects of the American Free Trade Agreement weather conditions in the area and the project on the murrelet include light pol- (NAFTA). The petitioners to the Com- dense, viscous nature of the vessel’s fuel lution, direct disturbance, the potential mission on Environmental Cooperation proved a challenge to clean up. for spills and discharges and catastrophic include Greenpeace Mexico, the Center Refuge staff helped gather the explosion. Light pollution could dramati- for Biological Diversity, the American ephemeral data that would be needed to cally reduce the breeding success of Bird Conservancy, the Los Angeles assess the numbers of birds and marine murrelets and increase predation. In ad- Audubon Society, the Pacific Environ- mammals injured by the spill, including dition, noise and ocean turbidity caused ment Resources Center, and Wildcoast. documentation of which species and by activity at the platform could disrupt In addition, there were two individual pe- habitats have been oiled. The heaviest the mating of brown pelicans, double- titioners, Mexican environmental activ- oiling was in Skan Bay and northern crested cormorants, Brandt’s cormorants ist Alfonso Aguirre and PSG member Makushin Bay, but heavy spotting prob- and pelagic cormorants. The petition Shaye Wolfe. states that by placing the terminal in ably occurred on beaches over several PSG has previously objected to the Mexico, it is “an energy maquiladora hundred km of coastline. Studies were $650 million project (Pacific Seabirds [foreign partnership] project reminiscent conducted within the defined “spill zone” 31:6, 2004), which would receive 1.4 of the pre-NAFTA flight of environmen- from Volcano Bay to Pumicestone Bay billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, tally destructive projects across borders on the northwestern portion of Unalaska. or about one fifth of California’s current As expected in this environment, scav- demand. The proposed terminal would to avoid environmental safeguards.” engers—red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), Bald have a 300-foot platform, serving as both Mexico has yet to declare the four-island Eagles, Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus receiving dock and a storage and re-gas- archipelago a natural protected area, al- glaucenscens), Northern Ravens (Corvus ification facility, and would be connected though the nation’s congress has ordered corax), and Norway rats ( Rattus by pipeline to Baja California. It would federal agencies to create one. norvegicus)—went to work immediately be built 600 yards from the shoreline of The petitions are available at http:// on the oiled carcasses. This is causing an island where an estimated 5,000 www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/spe- challenges with identification of oiled Xantus’s murrelet breed, about half of the cies/seabirds/Art-13-sm.pdf and http://

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 15 CONSERVATION REPORT www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/spe- fied as injured have little or no exposure the threatened species is among the key cies/seabirds/Art-14-sm.pdf to lingering oil. Fifteen years after the proposals by a coalition of tribal, state spill, pigeon guillemots, marbled and federal agencies, which formulated murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus), the plan as part of a $10.5 million settle- and Kittlitz’s murrelets (B. brevirostris) ment over the New Carissa spill in Feb- do not appear to have returned to their PSG SUPPORTS ruary 1999. The wood chip freighter ran pre-spill population levels, while cormo- DESIGNATION OF aground near the Oregon Dunes National rants and black oystercatchers BIOSPHERE RESERVE FOR Recreation Area after a heavy storm, and (Haematopus bachmani) appear to have again after a rescue attempt, spilling at BAJA’S PACIFIC ISLANDS increased. least 70,000 gallons of fuel into Coos The question of lingering impacts PSG has urged creation of a bio- Bay. The New Carissa’s 1500-ton stern has possible legal consequences. Under sphere reserve that would include the section remains stuck near Coos Bay’s a “reopener provision” in the 1991 settle- Pacific islands of Baja California. A let- North Spit. The spill killed more than ment with Exxon, Alaska and the U.S. ter was sent to the Mexican Secretary for 2300 gulls and other seabirds, including Justice Department have until Septem- the Environment and Natural Resources 262 Marbled Murrelets. Under the terms ber 2006 to make claims for a possible in July 2005. PSG pointed out that more of the settlement approved by the U.S. $100 million in additional payment for than 2.3 million seabirds of 20 species District Court for the District of Oregon unanticipated natural resource damages. breed on these islands. Protection of sea- in 2004, Taiheiyo Kaiun agreed to pay Exxon has long maintained that there are bird populations would benefit the en- $10.5 million—$6.5 million for the no lingering effects of the spill and con- tire ecosystem of which they are a part, cleanup and $4 million to fund the resto- tends that while oil spills can have acute including fish that are harvested commer- ration plan. Two other areas of interest short-term effects, the environment has cially. It is important to protect the is- for Snowy Plover ( Charadrius lands now, in order to manage increas- remarkable powers of recovery. The alexandrinus) restoration are mentioned ing threats from tourism, illegal fishing, trustee council is sensitive to Exxon’s in the proposal: land near the Bandon and other sources. point of view, as well as complaints that National Wildlife Refuge, and an uniden- council-funded scientists may have a tified pasture in the flood plain of a ma- conflict of interest and be biased in fa- jor southern Oregon river. vor of finding lingering impacts so as to SCIENTISTS SAY EFFECTS secure funds for their own studies. The OF EXXON VALDEZ SPILL trustee council hired a consultant to syn- thesize all existing studies about linger- ARE LINGERING NORTHWEST STATES END ing effects of oil, including studies done COMMERCIAL SALMON by scientists hired by Exxon. The coun- Some impacts from the 1989 Exxon cil expects a report by the end of 2005 FISHING FOLLOWING Valdez oil spill are still noticeable, ac- about impacts of the oil and what to do LOW RUN cording to scientists at the Marine Sci- about them. Under terms of the reopener, ence in Alaska 2005 Symposium in Janu- any additional money obtained for un- Facing unexpectedly low numbers ary. The annual symposium is sponsored anticipated damages must be used for of chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee specific restoration or replacement pur- tshawytscha) returning to the Columbia Council, governmental agencies, and pri- poses. and Snake river systems this spring, vate science groups. Studies focused both Idaho, Oregon, Washington and four In- on the oil that remains on beaches and dian tribes with fishing rights have ended on lingering impacts on marine life from commercial fishing for the season. About oil that has already disappeared. Al- one-fifth of the number of expected though only small traces of oil remain RESTORATION PLAN FOR OREGON MARBLED spring chinook passed Bonneville Dam, on certain sheltered beaches, the amount the first of eight federal dams along the is far more than predicted. The oil re- MURRELET HABITAT rivers. Further up in Idaho, less than one maining in the lower end of the inter-tidal percent of the number that passed zone has been disappearing at a rate of Purchase of Marbled Murrelet habi- through fish ladders in 2001 at the Lower about 25% per year, far slower than the tat in Oregon’s coastal forest would be Granite Dam on the lower Snake River. 58% annual loss rate predicted in the part of a proposed oil spill restoration The population decline came just before early 1990s. Most resources still classi- plan. The conservation of 1290 acres for a federal judge ruled that a 2004 biologi-

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 16 CONSERVATION REPORT cal opinion by the National Marine Fish- SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Greenpeace has been convicted of eries Service violates the Endangered OIL SPILL REMAINS A violating an Alaska law that requires operators of large non-tanker vessels enter- Species Act and pushes salmon further MYSTERY toward extinction. That opinion said that ing state waters to demonstrate that they the agencies should have considered can respond to oil spills. A jury in In mid-January, oiled birds appeared Ketchikan convicted Greenpeace and one changes to the dams in the biological on beaches of southern California for a opinion. of its marine captains, Arne Sorensen, of little over two weeks, and approximately violating a 2003 state law that requires 1500 birds (about 1200 captured live) operators of large non-tanker ships to were treated at rescue centers. Almost all have oil-spill contingency plans, as well RESEARCHERS LOCATE of the birds were Western and Clark’s as documents showing proof of ability Grebes (Aechmorphorus occidentalis CONCENTRATION OF to pay for a spill response. The require- and A. clarkii), predominantly Westerns. ments are similar to those for oil tank- LOST FISHING NETS There were also some Eared Grebes ers. Greenpeace could face a fine of up (Podiceps nigricollis), Surf Scoters to $200,000 per count, and Sorensen Researchers of the National Oceanic (Melanitta perspicillata), Brown Peli- could face a penalty of $10,000 and a and Atmospheric Administration cans, and cormorants. This was the larg- year in jail for each count. It was the first (NOAA) have located a concentration of est number of live oiled birds ever criminal prosecution under the law, and lost or abandoned fishing nets that drift brought through the rehabilitation pro- the first trial stemming from such a through the oceans, posing a danger to cess in California. No responsible party charge. Greenpeace complained that it fish and other wildlife. The mass of ny- has been identified. Investigators ruled had been singled out for criminal pros- lon filament was found north of Hawaii out both a Santa Barbara pipeline and ecution because 22 other vessels had had by using satellites and aircraft. Now that natural seeps of the Monterey Formation. similar violations and have not been pros- they have confirmed the location of the The event was correlated with unusually ecuted. The Alaska attorney general re- nets, the researchers are trying to deter- heavy rains in southern California. sponded that the Arctic Sunrise failed to mine the best way to clean them up and The low ratio of birds found dead to stay anchored when initially contacted by to arrange funding for the effort. Ocean those found alive was unusual, but it the Alaska Department of Environmen- winds and currents can concentrate drift- probably was due to the proximity of the tal Conservation and instead fled the area. ing materials, so satellites were used to affected birds to the beaches and to the In addition, the same vessel and captain study these forces to determine areas tendency of grebes to haul out quickly were involved in a prior conviction for where concentrations can occur. They when oiled. Survival rate of the grebes trespassing onto a barge being operated confirmed their theory by flying out to that went through the rehabilitation pro- by an oil company. the area in a NOAA P-3 aircraft. They cess was low (20%). Grebes often have discovered a large concentration of drift- very low survival rates during oil spills. ing nets and other debris in an area that Veterinarians observed many unusual forms a boundary between northern and symptoms in the grebes and have been CANADA STRENGTHENS southern water masses. NOAA said the investigating what might have been re- nets were found using a digital imaging sponsible. A preliminary summary prob- MIGRATORY BIRDS system aboard the aircraft flying from lems with grebes includes altered neuro- CONVENTION ACT Hawaii. Most modern nets are made from logical responses, edema (swelling from synthetic materials, which decay ex- excess fluid) in the head, neck, and legs, A bill to amend the Migratory Birds tremely slowly. They can continue to drift and cloacal distention (swollen bellies). Convention Act and the Canadian Envi- for years, and the researchers said many So far no PCBs, organochlorines, or toxic ronmental Protection Act was adopted in of them get caught on coral reefs, where metals have been detected. Pathological May, over the opposition of the shipping they entangle fish and also damage the investigations are still underway. industry. The legislation was supported fragile coral. During three days of study, by all parties in the House of Commons about 2,000 individual pieces of debris and establishes prohibitions against the were seen, including at least 100 that dumping of oil throughout Canada’s 200 were identified as nets or pieces of net. GREENPEACE nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone. Many items were balls of net up to 30 CONVICTED OF It provides for serious penalties against feet across. One piece of driftnet that was VIOLATING OIL SPILL those who violate the Act. In addition, it still stretched out, and presumably still establishes strong enforcement powers catching fish, was 200-300 meters in CONTINGENCY PLAN for Environment Canada officers, includ- length. REQUIREMENTS ing authority to redirect ships to Cana-

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 17 CONSERVATION REPORT dian ports for inspection. The amend- NEW PEER REVIEW reviewed by the National Academy of ments also focus the purpose of the Mi- GUIDELINES FINALIZED Sciences is not subject to the peer review gratory Bird Convention Act on guidelines. sustainability of bird populations as well Science used by the U.S. Fish and as the protection of individual birds. This Wildlife Service and other federal agen- reflects an important modernization of cies to support major rules is subject to the act and will allow for improved con- review by non-governmental experts for SURVEY REVEALS servation actions throughout Canada. the first time. While research by EPA, PERVASIVE POLITICAL the Army Corps of Engineers and other INTERVENTION IN agencies has frequently been subject to FEDERAL outside review in the past, “peer review” GULLS BLAMED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL guidelines issued by the Office of Man- AGENCIES WATER POLLUTION AT agement and Budget are aimed at formal- SOME CALIFORNIA izing this process. Supporters of the Two non-governmental organiza- BEACHES guidelines say they will help ensure that tions, the Union of Concerned Scientists federal policy is shaped by sound scien- (UCS) and Public Employees for Envi- Heal the Bay, a Santa Monica orga- tific practices. Critics claim the guide- ronmental Responsibility, have asked nization, annually rates 450 coastal lines are an effort to seize control of the scientists in government agencies about beaches in California for public health release of scientific information and slow political interference in their decisions. safety based on water pollution levels. the federal regulatory process. Half of scientists who responded from Among the top ten of the state’s most The guidelines separate scientific the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a polluted beaches are Campbell Cove information that merits peer review into quarter of the respondents from NOAA- State Beach at Bodega Bay in Sonoma two types. The first type is “highly in- Fisheries said that they had been ordered County and Baby’s Beach in San Diego fluential scientific information, “ science to water down their recommendations for County. Both show high, short-lived supporting rules or policies costing the protection of wildlife species. More than half of respondents were aware of cases spikes of contamination. Water sampling economy more than $500 million in any in which scientists had been directed to indicates that there are seasonal spikes year. This type of data will require fed- of coliform bacteria levels in both sand change their findings for non-scientific eral agencies to appoint an independent and water that can exceed the state health reasons, due to pressure from commer- peer-review panel. The second type of standard by a factor of ten. DNA testing cial interests, politically-appointed science affected by the guidelines is “in- to identify the source of the bacteria was agency administrators, or Congress. fluential scientific information,” such as carried out in 2004 by the Bodega Ma- Two-thirds or more of the scientists risk assessments, environmental and doubted that species and ecosystems rine Laboratory, the North Coast Re- natural resources computer modeling, were being protected adequately by their gional Water Quality Control Board, and data, and other technical analyses. Agen- agencies. Not surprisingly, 40% to 50% the California Department of Parks and cies can subject the second type of sci- said that morale among their colleagues Recreation. Results showed that the entific information to the same rigorous was poor. coliform comes from birds, seals and sea The survey was sent to 1,410 scien- lions. Coliform bacteria from humans peer review as highly influential science, but they have the option of peer review tists and scientist-managers were at can cause disease in other humans, but NOAA-Fisheries and 464 at USFWS. by a small group of experts in one envi- the risk to people from animal coliform The response rates were 29.7% and ronmental or natural resources discipline. is not known. Gulls are the primary 26.7% respectively, even though USFWS source of the bacteria at Campbell’s The guidelines direct agencies to choose ordered its employees not to respond, Beach, where they are attracted by a peer review mechanism that is adequate even on their own time. nearby fresh water. At Baby’s Beach, based on a variety of factors, including Further information is at the UCS public health officials are trying to di- whether the science is new, the extent of website, www.ucsusa.org lute coliform levels by improving water prior peer reviews, and the expected costs circulation. Six experimental oloids— and benefits that will result from its use. slow-moving devices with rotating More rigorous peer review is necessary paddles—have been installed in the for information that is based on novel MINNESOTA WILDLIFE ocean outside the swimming area to re- methods or that presents complex chal- OFFICIALS TO KILL 4000 duce the levels of coliform. lenges for interpretation. Science already CORMORANTS

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 18 CONSERVATION REPORT

Cormorants on Leech Lake, Minne- association found that reservations at ERRATA sota have increased from 150 birds seven Leech Lake resorts in May 2005 were years ago to 10,000 today, even though down 90% from 2004, thus hurting the In the report entitled “Wake Atoll about 2,200 have been shot and killed in livelihoods of many people. The area Apparently Cat-Free” (Pacific Seabirds the interim. Prodded by resort owners fisheries supervisor for the Minnesota and fishing guides, state wildlife officials Department of Natural Resources is un- 31:50, 2004) we reported that a salvaged have decided to kill 4000 or more of the comfortable with the decision, but be- bird specimen from Wake Island was birds this summer, and may also apply lieves there is enough science to justify identified as a Fluttering Shearwater oil to the birds’ eggs to prevent them from it and is seeking a balance between pres- (Puffinus gravia) from New Zealand. hatching. Leech Lake has an area of ervation and management. Some wild- DNA analysis later proved it to be a 44,500 ha and is one of the Minnesota’s life biologists and animal-rights groups premier recreation lakes, but it is experi- oppose the plan, saying that research on Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus encing a decline in fishing for walleye the bird and its eating habits is incom- pacificus). Wake Island apparently still (Stizostedion vitreum). A local business plete. remains cat-free.

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 19 OBITUARY

MARK OWEN PIERSON (1947–2005) Kenneth T. Briggs and Ellen W. Chu

Mark Owen Pierson, longtime PSG Craighead sparked in him a lifelong in- shorebird and intertidal communities and member and Southern California Re- terest in wildlife. After earning his on the impact of underwater noise on gional Representative since 2003, died bachelor’s degree in zoology in 1969, he marine mammals in areas of offshore oil on April 15, 2005. He was 58. went to the University of California, and other activity. From 1995 through Mark started attending PSG’s annual Santa Cruz (UCSC), for graduate study 2002, Mark participated many times in meetings in the 1970s, and he did his with renowned pinniped researcher Ri- aerial offshore seabird surveys involving share of heavy lifting with the local com- chard S. Peterson. But Dr. Peterson died researchers from UCSC, MMS, and the mittee for the Santa Barbara meeting in unexpectedly, and, with the Vietnam-era California Department of Fish and Game; 2002. He was always a dogged and ef- draft looming, Mark enlisted in the US he loved the flying, and he loved the fective facilitator for the aspirations of Army. Always an outstanding student, he work. many PSG researchers. Though he be- attended Russian-language school in Mark Pierson truly lived his life to gan his professional life as a marine Washington, DC, and, after further train- the fullest. From the time he first could mammalogist, Mark was fascinated by ing in cryptography, was assigned to read, he read everything—his favorites all things aerial, and he became an im- European listening posts, where his skills more than once. His interests spanned the portant member of teams engaged in bird were applied to cold war intelligence library’s card catalogue: from highbrow research on California colony islands and operations. British fiction and history, to Sue Grafton in bird population assessments in the In 1973, Mark returned to UCSC and Tony Hillerman mysteries, to mas- California Current. He was adept at aerial and resumed graduate work with Burney sive tomes on the Civil War, to the po- and colony surveys of birds and contrib- J. LeBoeuf, then a professor of psychol- etry of Wendell Berry, to the film reviews uted greatly to a monograph on Califor- ogy and later an expert on elephant seals. of Pauline Kael. As a film viewer, he nia seabird distribution. With a number From studying sea otters and elephant didn’t just watch movies, he remembered of PSG researchers—all of whom came seals, Mark narrowed his focus to fur them—every character, every plot line, to be close friends as well as col- seals—in particular, the population dy- every actor. Indeed, he remembered most leagues—he served on field crews; en- namics and breeding behavior of the things: Need a fact or a name or a really couraged his employer, the US Minerals Guadalupe fur seal Arctocephalus good book? Just ask Mark. Management Service (MMS), to support townsendi—and ultimately completed But even with all that reading, Mark seabird work; and continued to expand his doctorate in 1978. His research on was not exactly a couch potato. First with what we know about the distribution of pinnipeds spanned the following two his friends, and later with his wife Cathie seabirds and marine mammals of the decades and included stints in Mexico, Dunkel, he rafted wild western rivers Southern California Bight. California, the Pacific Northwest, and the named Salmon, Trinity, and Green; he Mark was born on February 8, 1947, Commander Islands, where his interna- backpacked the high country during 30 in Robbinsdale, Minn., to career Air tional colleagues appreciated his Russian summers, and he climbed more than one Force Master Sergeant Marshall Owen almost as much his research skills. From of the 13,000- and 14,000-foot peaks of Pierson and Mary A. Dornak. He spent 1975 through 1987, Mark also involved the Sierra Nevada. In the 1990s Mark his childhood moving from base to base, himself in seabird conservation and re- gave up 35-mile-per-week running for including to Margate, England. After search during a series of federally funded cycling and swimming. A hip-replace- graduating from high school in Alexan- studies at UCSC. ment surgery in 2002 slowed him barely dria, Louisiana, he attended Louisiana In 1988 Mark joined the US Miner- at all. It was in June 2004, while hiking State and Texas A & M Universities and, als Management Service (MMS), where high in the southern Sierra, that Mark as a freshman, majored in aerospace en- he was the point-man for the agency’s first experienced symptoms from what gineering. As a sophomore, he trans- seabird and marine mammal field returned out to be a malignant brain tumor. ferred to the University of Montana, search in southern and central Califor- Scarcely a week later, he had his first where bear biologists John and Frank nia. He also contributed to studies on brain surgery, and throughout the next 10

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 20 OBITUARY

months, he and Cathie braved more sur- on, and conservation of, the marine mam- search quietly but with great joy; he gery, radiation, chemotherapy, and a mal and seabird populations of the East- worked the federal research supply lines clinical trial for a new immunotherapy ern and North Pacific Oceans. He was a aggressively, and with great effective- ness. Mark Pierson was a loyal friend to treatment. Hopefully, optimistically, they trustworthy and stand-up person, and a a whole generation of seabird research- learned to live life in a new way. great friend in the field—when the ers, a dedicated and talented biologist, Mark Pierson was one of the good weather got just too bad, the surf just too and a steadfast supporter of PSG. folks who was taken home too soon. He high, or the outboard motor just plain He was also our very best friend, and dedicated his professional life to research broke. He worked the front lines of re- we will miss him beyond words.

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 21 PSG MEETINGS

THIRTY-SECOND ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PACIFIC SEABIRD GROUP Portland, Oregon, January 2005 Robert H. Day, Chair-Elect for 2004

The 32nd Annual Meeting of the Pa- We were fortunate to have three Ple- Dempsey (University of Alaska), cific Seabird Group (PSG) was held nary Lectures at this meeting, one on Shoshanah Jacobs (University of Ot- jointly with the 27th Annual Meeting of each morning. Susan Haig of Oregon tawa), Who-Seung Lee (Kyung Hee Uni- the Waterbird Society (WS) at the Port- State University presented “Use of mo- versity, Korea), Heather Major (Memo- land Hilton in Portland, Oregon, on 19- lecular markers in waterbird research and rial University of Newfoundland), Josh 23 January 2005. Registered attendance conservation.” Spencer Sealy of the Uni- Malt (Simon Fraser University), Katie was 385, including 111 students. The versity of Manitoba presented “Auklets Murra (University of Alaska), Mike meeting was co-chaired by Betty Anne to murrelets: early discoveries and specu- Shultz (University of Alaska), Mark Schreiber (WS) and Daniel Roby (PSG). lations.” Finally, Mark Rauzon of Ma- Westbrock (Wake Forest University), and The Local Committee included Katie rine Endeavors and Bradford Keitt of Is- Heather Wilson (University of Alaska). O’Reilly (Chair), Kim Nelson, Jane land Conservation presented “Island res- PSG also provided Travel Awards to two Toliver, Maura Naughton, Adrian Gall, toration and enhancement: successes, other participants from outside the U.S. and Jessica Adkins. The Co-Chairs of the failures, and tools for the 21st Century”; and Canada: Giannina Cadena-Lopez of Scientific Program were Francesca we particularly thank them for prepar- Colombia and Yuri Albores Barajos of Cuthbert (WS) and Robert Day (PSG). ing such an interesting talk at short no- México. The WS provided Student The Scientific Program included 190 oral tice. In addition, a special workshop was Travel Awards to Joseph Allen (North presentations and 86 posters; authors of held on “The identification of forage Dakota State University), Catherine papers represented 23 countries. There fishes in bill loads” under David Craig Devlin (University of New Brunswick), were so many papers that we held three of Willamette University. Patricia de Jesus Faria (Universidade de concurrent paper sessions and sometimes Several PSG committees conducted São Paulo), Catherine Haffner (Univer- added a fourth. The poster sessions were business during this meeting: the Execu- sity of Minnesota), James Kenyon held on Thursday and Friday evenings, tive Council (Chair Daniel Roby), Con- (Simon Fraser University), Terri Maness in conjunction with receptions. servation Committee (Vice-Chair for (Wake Forest University), Vanessa We held two Symposia: “Biology Conservation Craig Harrison), Marbled Pompeii (University of Minnesota), and and conservation of the Xantus’s Murrelet Technical Committee (Coordi- Matthew Sexson (Fort Hays State Uni- Murrelet” (Co-Chairs Harry Carter and nator Anne Harfenist), Xantus’s Murrelet versity). Esther Burkett) and “Island restoration Technical Committee (Coordinator The Best Student Paper Awards were and enhancement: successes, failures, Gerard McChesney), Seabird Monitor- given to Andre Breton of the University and tools for the 21st Century” (Co-Chairs ing Committee (Coordinator Scott of New Brunswick for “Encounter, sur- Mark Rauzon and Bradford Keitt). The Hatch), and the Japan Seabird Conser- vival, and movement probabilities from Symposium on Xantus’s Murrelets will vation Committee (Coordinators Koji an Atlantic Puffin metapopulation,” and be published. We held three Special Pa- Ono and John Fries). Shiway Wang of to Shoshanah Jacobs of the University per Sessions: “Advances in seabird and PSG also led a lunchtime meeting of stu- of Ottawa for the paper “When your par- waterbird ecology from stable-isotope dents from both societies. In addition, ents are a drag: increasing the cost of div- studies” (Chair Keith Hobson), George Divoky chaired a meeting of the ing in Thick-billed Murres.” The Best “Beached-bird surveys: lessons to past chairs, who will provide nomina- Student Poster Awards were given to Lisa learn—past, present, and future” (Co- tions to the Awards Committee in the Ferguson of Clemson University for the Chairs Rebecca Harris, Scott Newman, future for Lifetime Achievement Awards paper “Effect of ectoparasites on corti- and Florina Tseng), and “Status and and Special Achievement Awards. costerone levels of Brown Pelican nest- trends of the Marbled Murrelet range- PSG provided Student Travel lings” and to Mark Westbrock of Wake wide” (Chair Kim Nelson). The paper Awards to BriAnne Addison (Simon Forest University for the paper “Over- session on beached-bird surveys will be Fraser University), Andre Breton (Uni- production of daughters by mothers in published. versity of New Brunswick), Thomas poor condition in Galapagos Nazca Boo-

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 22 MEETINGS bies: adaptation or constraint?” At the WS. Local artists Ram Papish (who pro- The Local Committee did an out- Banquet on Saturday evening, the PSG vided the beautiful cover artwork for the standing job of organizing and running meeting program) and Jon Janosik ex- presented Spencer G. Sealy of the Uni- the meeting, and the Portland Hilton pro- versity of Manitoba with the Lifetime hibited and sold art work. Thanks to everybody’s efforts, we raised slightly vided great support, especially with re- Achievement Award for his pioneering over $4000, which will be split between spect to the complicated audiovisual ar- research on Pacific alcids; the tribute was the two societies. rangements for up to four concurrent ses- delivered by Harry Carter, Percy Hébert, Field trips included an Oregon Coast sions. In addition, many participants and Keith Hobson. birding trip and a Willamette Valley Shiway Wang, Student Representa- wine-tasting tour. Unfortunately, the pe- commented on the high quality and num- tive for PSG, organized a Silent Auction lagic-birding field trip was cancelled ber of papers, symposia, special paper with the help of Betty Anne Schreiber of because of high seas off the coast. sessions, and plenary lectures.

2006 MEETING OF PACIFIC SEABIRD GROUP TO BE HELD IN ALASKA Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, 15-19 February

The thirty-third Annual Meeting of region are also welcome). The Alyeska chemical analyses can tell us about the Pacific Seabird Group will be held at Resort is a premier location for winter seabirds. Plenary speakers will include the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, near sports, and nearby places offer winter Vernon Byrd (Supervisory Biologist at Anchorage, Alaska, on 15-19 February birding and other attractions. the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife 2006. This will be the first PSG meeting Symposia and Special Paper Refuge) and Aevar Peterson (Icelandic in Alaska. The Scientific Committee is Sessions are being arranged on marine planning speakers and paper sessions birds as indicators of the marine Institute of Natural History). Papers and with special relevance to northern ecosystem, planktivorous alcids, posters on all marine bird subjects are seabirds (other papers on the Pacific fisheries-seabird interactions, and what welcome, as always.

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 23 MEETINGS

Wintering Information and registration forms seabirds and sea for the 2006 Annual Meeting will be ducks can be seen posted on the PSG web site on the pelagic (www.pacificseabirdgroup.org) in Sep- field trip from tember. The Scientific Program Chair is Seward on Sun- Katie O’Reilly, at [email protected] or day, 19 February. (503) 943-7146; the Local Committee Participants will Chair is Verena Gill, at take a vessel onto [email protected] or (907) 786- Resurrection Bay, near the coast of 3584. For information on the SeaLife Kenai Fjords Na- Center, see www.alaskasealife.org; for tional Park, and the pelagic trip, see also will visit the alaskaheritagetours.com For further in- SeaLife Center, a formation on the Alyeska Resort, the city research lab and of Anchorage, and recreation oppor- Cross-country ski trails near the Alyeska Resort aquarium with a tunities, visit: www .alaska.org/ Previous page: View of Turnagain Arm near Girdwood good seabird dis- girdwood; www.girdwoodalaska.com; play. Some forest www.alyeskaresort.com; birds can be seen on walks near the ho- www.alaska.org/anchorage; tel, although admittedly their diversity www.furrondy.net; will not be as high as in Hawai‘i or Baja www.travelalaska.com; and California. With luck, you may even see www.alaskatours.com/winter/ the Northern Lights (the hotel will call alaska_winter_tours.htm you if you wish, IF they appear). Other activities are available within an hour of Girdwood. The drive between Anchorage and Girdwood takes you Alyeska Resort through splendid scenery along a tidal fjord. In Anchorage itself, the annual Fur The Alyeska Resort is a first-class Rendezvous festival will be underway, hotel about 45 minutes from the Ted with everything from fireworks and car- Stevens Anchorage International Airport. nival rides to a fur auction and the World The hotel has excellent meeting facili- Championship Sled Dog race. Also in the ties and dining. It is located in a beauti- city are the Anchorage Museum of His- ful valley within the Chugach Mountains, tory and Art, the Alaska Native Heritage in the former mining village of Center, a national parks visitor center, a Girdwood. A world-class downhill ski zoo with many northern species, and area is immediately behind the hotel. other attractions. Other winter sports within walking dis- Several airlines serve Anchorage. Old main street of Girdwood tance include cross-country skiing, Alaska Airlines has a number of flights snowshoeing, ice skating, and dog sled daily from Seattle rides. Equipment for the first three can and several from be rented locally, and sled rides for PSG the eastern U.S. members have already been arranged. The airline is of- fering a 10% dis- PSG’s Lifetime Achievement Award count to anyone will be presented to Vernon Byrd at the travelling to the annual banquet, and the Special Achieve- PSG meeting, in- ment Award will be given to Mark cluding families. Rauzon. Other highlights of the meeting If you have con- will include a dance performance by the King Island Dancers and Singers, an sidered spending Inupiat Eskimo group whose traditional a little extra time dances depict legends and hunting. Lo- in southcentral cal book sellers and artists will offer Alaska, this items for sale, and there will be a silent would be a good auction to benefit PSG. opportunity! Alpine ski slopes at Alyeska. (Photos by V. Mendenhall)

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 24 PSG NEWS

PSG ELECTIONS: EXCO HOLDS FIRST our regular annual meeting elsewhere in REGIONAL REPS WILL REGULAR MID-YEAR early 2008, possibly in Arcata, Califor- nia. HELP MEETING In the more distant future, possible meeting sites include Victoria, British The results of the 2004 elections for PSG’s Executive Council has always Columbia (2009), somewhere in México Executive Council members are as fol- convened once a year, at the Annual (2010), and Hawaii (2011). lows: Meeting. However, a single Exco meeting each year has become insufficient for • Chair-elect: Katie O’Reilly conducting PSG affairs. At the January • Vice Chair for Conservation: Craig 2005 meeting, the Exco voted to hold a PACIFIC SEABIRDS TO BE Harrison second meeting each year in July, Au- • Treasurer: Ron Le Valley gust, or September. The agenda would AVAILABLE THE WEB Regional representatives include time-sensitive matters that can- • Canada: Ken Morgan not wait until the next Annual Meeting, Past issues of Pacific Seabirds will • Southern California: Dan Robinette items left unresolved at the Annual Meet- be posted in the future on PSG’s web site (http://www.pacificseabirdgroup.org). • Non-Pacific U.S.: Melanie ing, and (as time allows) new items that They will be in PDF format. Future is- Steinkamp are not time-sensitive. Meetings will be sues will be added at the time they are • Oregon-Washington: Adrian Gall held by telephone conference call. This published. has been done occasionally in the past Once the new Pacific Seabirds Web Nominations are now needed for the when a special issue required it. page is available, PSG will seek input 2005 election. Positions up for grabs are The Exco’s first regular mid-year Chair-elect, Secretary, and the regional from each member whether he or she meeting was held on 13 July 2005. representatives for Alaska and Russia, prefers to receive Pacific Seabirds in the Northern California, Hawai‘i and Pacific mail, as in the past, or would rather read Rim, Old World, and Student Represen- it on the Web. Details for collecting this tative. information are still being worked out. Pat Baird, Chair of the Election PSG MEETINGS PLANNED Any member will continue to receive Committee, has made a plea for help FOR 2007AND THE FUTURE Pacific Seabirds by mail if he or she with nominations. Regional Represen- wishes. Alternatively, each member can tatives especially are asked to find The 2007 meeting will be held at the opt to “receive” the journal online in- people in their regions who are willing Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific stead, which some prefer. This would to run. Anyone who is interested in serv- Grove, California, on 7-11 February save money for PSG (and some trees for ing on the Executive Council should 2007. The Local Committee Chair is Jim the forest). contact Pat Baird ([email protected]) Harvey. Marine Ornithology already is Most people who have been on the Exco Sites for future PSG Annual Meet- available on the Internet say it’s an eye-opening and rewarding ings were proposed to the Executive (www.marineornithology.org). experience; not to mention enjoyable— Council at their January meeting. The what’s better than laughing with friends 2008 meeting had been proposed for while you’re doing serious work? Hawaii, in conjunction with a World Sea- It is essential that nominations for bird Conference, but this plan was recon- NEW PROCEDURE FOR the Exco reach Pat by early fall. In 2004, sidered because some felt it would be too ACHIEVEMENT AWARD it was late November before she secured expensive. A suggestion was made to NOMINATIONS at least one nomination per slot. This have this meeting in autumn of 2007 in could have jeopardized the election! Bal- Barcelona, along with the Waterbird So- At many of its annual banquets, PSG lots were delayed by the Christmas mail, ciety and Mediterranean seabird groups. gives a Lifetime Achievement Award or and they were still being returned in mid- The Exco decided that PSG will consider a Special Achievement Award to a sea- January. But the election must be com- some sort of involvement in the bird biologist of special distinction. In pleted before the Annual Meeting, which the past, nominations for these two started on 19 January this year. Barcelona meeting, but that we will hold

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 25 PSG NEWS awards have been submitted to the The increase was approved at the nator, Gerry McChesney. Danielle Awards Committee (Past Chair, current Executive Council’s meeting in January Escene is the new coordinator of the Chair, and Chair-elect). However, the 2004. Although cost-saving measures Marbled Murrelet Technical Committee, current Chairs are very busy, so a three- also were approved, the increase is nec- replacing Anne Harfenist. PSG wel- step process has been created for nomi- essary to help pay for PSG’s publications comes the new coordinators, and thanks nations. A group consisting of all past and other work. the previous ones for their hard work. chairs met at the 2005 Annual Meeting Contact information for committee and decided to assist the Awards Com- coordinators is near the back of each issue. mittee. Pacific Seabirds The past chairs will now receive all NEW LOON/GREBE nominations for achievement awards. COMMITTEE FORMED Any PSG member may submit a nomi- DAN ANDERSON nation to one of these people. (This in- A new PSG committee has been cludes the immediate Past Chair, who is formed, the Loon/Grebe Technical Com- HONORED FOR on the Executive Council, but also all mittee. Dan Anderson is the coordinator. CONTAMINANT WORK previous PSG Chairs who are still active He is currently formulating the in PSG.) committee’s orientation, mandate, and The Society of Environmental Toxi- The past chairs’ group will screen tasks. Anyone who is interested in these cology anad Chemistry has presented nominations, including their own. They taxa or is concerned about their conser- Daniel W. Anderson with its Rachel Carson Award for advancing public will recommend a recipient for each vation is invited to join the committee. awareness of contaminants in the envi- award to the Awards Committee. That ronment. He was honored for his decades group will pass the names to the Exco, of research on the ecological effects of which will vote on final approval of NEW COMMITTEE pesticides and other toxic substances on nominees at their midsummer meeting. the birds, coast, and wetlands of Califor- COORDINATORS nia, Baja California, and other countries. APPOINTED He also has been a leader in teaching and directing graduate students in the field PSG DUES TO RISE IN 2006 Two PSG committees have new co- of ecotoxicology. ordinators. The Xantus’s Murrelet Tech- Dan also has contributed greatly to PSG’s membership dues for 2006 nical Committee will be headed by PSG throughout its life, most recently by will rise to $30 for regular members, $20 Bradford Keitt and Shaye Wolf. They are starting a new committee for conservation of loons and grebes. Congratula- for students, and $900 for life member- taking over from the past year’s coordi- ships. tions, Dan!

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 26 SEABIRD NEWS

WIDESPREAD BREEDING Auklets on Triangle Island, British Co- all, but a few colonies did well (David FAILURES AND DIEOFFS lumbia laid no eggs, and nests that were Irons, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, started mostly failed; other species also pers. comm.). There also have been scat- OF SEABIRDS IN THE were affected (Hume 2005). tered dieoffs, although no indication of NORTHEAST PACIFIC Large numbers of emaciated dead a widespread one. More than 50 adult birds were found on beaches from Cali- Common Murres washed up on a beach Seabirds from British Columbia to fornia to Washington. Dead Brandt’s near Nome in July, which local elders had California experienced severe breeding Cormorants were reported by COASST never seen before (S.K. Nelson, Oregon failures in 2005, and large numbers of survey teams in Washington at a fre- State University; on PSG Listserve, 29 dead birds have washed up on beaches. quency of approximately 0.5 per km, August). Dead Short-tailed Shearwaters The event appears linked to warm ocean compared with a typical rate of about (Puffinus tenuirostris) and Northern Ful- temperatures and low primary productiv- 0.02 per km (Stanton 2005). There were mars (Fulmarus glacialis) were found ity, according to biologists and oceanog- 181 dead adult murres on a 4.6-mile on the north shore of the lower Alaska raphers. The phenomenon was unex- beach near Newport, Oregon, the high- Peninsula in early August in much higher pected—the lack of cold upwelling and est July count in 28 years of monitoring numbers than normal (Kristine Sowl, northwesterly winds resembled El Niño (Milstein 2005). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, pers. conditions, but there was no El Niño this Ocean temperatures near the Pacific comm.). `Sea surface temperatures in the year. This article was assembled from Coast of North America were abnormally Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska were 2 to personal communications and listserve high during spring and early summer 5 degrees above normal (John Piatt, U.S. postings for Alaska, and from published 2005. In late June the water was 6˚ C Geological Survey; on PSG listserve, 17 news sources for other areas. above normal near Newport, Oregon, Aug). In contrast, weather on the Beau- Many seabirds initiated breeding according to Bill Peterson of NOAA- fort Sea was cool and seabirds bred rela- late in the spring of 2005 and abandoned Fisheries (Martin 2005). Northwest tively well there (George Divoky, Uni- their colonies; others did not breed at all. winds along the Pacific Coast of North versity of Alaska Fairbanks; on PSG Few Pelagic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax America normally create cold upwell- listserve, 26 Aug). pelagicus) nested on the Farallon Islands, ings, enriching nearshore waters and sup- A seabird dieoff also was reported California, and Brandt’s Cormorant (P. porting a rich food web. But this year a on the Atlantic coast from Maryland to penicillatus) numbers were reduced. warm winter was followed by a cool, wet Florida, including Great Shearwaters Cassin’s Auklets ( Ptychoramphus spring and southwest winds, which re- (Puffinus gravis) and Wilson’s Storm- aleuticus) started late and then aban- sulted in no upwelling and low plankton Petrels (Oceanites oceanicus). Some ap- doned their nests. Bill Sydeman has production. Northwest winds finally re- parently were malnourished (Marshall “never seen anything like it” in three turned in mid-July, creating upwelling 2005). decades of monitoring on the Farallones and a late plankton bloom (Chea 2005). Reasons for this year’s oceano- (Martin 2005). Common Murres (Uria Interestingly, seabird productivity graphic anomalies are not yet clear. Al- aalge) in Oregon raised few young; was good this year on the Queen Char- though the world’s oceans are getting Caspian Terns (Sterna caspia) and lotte Islands, according to Hipfner. That warmer, along with the rest of the earth, Double-crested Cormorants (P. auritis) part of the British Columbia coast is north oceanographers are unsure of the degree nested in colony at the mouth of the Co- of the California Current system and to which global warming may have in- lumbia River, but in reduced numbers; seems to have been under a different influenced this event. Natural variability and unusually low numbers of Marbled fluence (Hume 2005). in ocean temperatures undoubtedly had Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) The summer’s seabird data for a major role. Some have suggested that were detected at nesting areas in the Alaska have not yet been compiled, but global warming may have been unimpor- Coast Range of Oregon (Milstein 2005). so far it appears that birds did not fail tant in this case; spring upwellings have Murres on Tatoosh Island, Washington completely in any area of the state failed in other years when there was no nested later than Julia Parrish has re- (Vernon Byrd, U.S. Fish and Wildlife El Niño, even as long ago as the 1960s, corded in 15 previous years of monitor- Service, pers. comm.). Black-legged Kit- according to Nathan Mantua of the Uni- ing, and those that nested were unsuc- tiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) in Prince Wil- versity of Washington (Henry 2005). On cessful (Stanton 2005). Most Cassin’s liam Sound had low productivity over- the other hand, a warming trend began

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 27 SEABIRD NEWS three years ago in the northeast Pacific, Martin, G. 2005. “Sea life in peril—plankton well known around the Midwest in his and it could have exacerbated a warm vanishing.” San Francisco Chronicle, San new avocation, and this pelican design event caused by other factors (Martin Francisco, California, USA, 12 Jul. is one of his best creations. 2005, Stanton 2005). Hopefully some Marshall, K. 2005. “Wildlife biologists inves- So this PSG iron Brown Pelican, by insights will emerge as data are synthe- tigate turtle, seabird, whale deaths.” The design—and thanks to continuous bid- sized over the next months. Sun News, Myrtle Beach, Florida, USA; ding by friends—eventually ended up posted on http://www.myrtlebeach.com, Seabird scientists also are looking in the hands of Eduardo Palacios at the 13 Jul (seen 21 Jul). forward to analyzing this year’s events. banquet. Eduardo was Chair of the Lo- Milstein, M.,2005. “Coastal ocean suffers a cal Organizing Committee in 2004. By A group of researchers is collecting re- season of famine.” The Oregonian, Port- virtue of Eduardo’s possession, persons ports on the 2005 breeding failures and land, Oregon, USA; 6 Aug. dieoffs and will prepare a paper on them. Stanton, C.,2005. “Warmer oceans may be from a four-generation academic lineage Please send observations for the follow- killing West Coast marine life.” Seattle (the “Iron Pelicans”) now possess one or more of these statues standing proudly ing areas to: Times, Seattle, Washington, USA, no date; posted on http:// somewhere at their residences. The • Atlantic U.S. and Canada: John Piatt www.grandforks.com, 14 Jul (seen 21 source-flock, of course, resides near Co- ([email protected]) Jul). lumbus, Ohio. The first-fledged indi- • Southern California and the vidual resides in Centennial, Colorado; Pacific: Lisa Ballance —Vivian Mendenhall the second-fledged is in Davis, Califor- ([email protected]) nia; and the third fledgling now resides • Northern CaliforNia: Bill Sydeman in La Paz, Baja California, México. ([email protected]) Why four generations? Well, Tony, who started it all, represents the parent • Oregon: Dan Roby FOUR GENERATIONS OF ([email protected]) generation of the Iron Pelicans. He was • Washington: Julia Parrish “IRON PELICANS” one among a group of truly pioneering ([email protected]) wildlife ecologists (that’s what they were • British Columbia: Mark Hipfner Those who attended PSG’s Annual called then) from the Midwest, walking ([email protected]) Meeting in La Paz in January 2004 were tall among the likes of Joseph Hickey, • Alaska: David Irons attracted to a beautiful wrought-iron Durward Allen, Thomas Scott, and ([email protected]) or Vernon pelican for sale in the silent auction. This others. Then Jim Keith completed his Byrd ([email protected]) pelican was created by eminent wildlife PhD at Ohio State under Tony’s ecologist Tony Peterle, who donated it supervision—the second generation of Iron Pelicans. Generation three? That’s LITERATURE CITED to the PSG Brown Pelican Symposium. the one represented by Dan Anderson’s Chea, T. 2005. “Northern winds return to Tony was Chair of the Zoology Pacific.” Associated Press, 16 Aug (seen Department at Ohio State University for statue in Davis; he was mentored by Joe at http://www.whittierdailynews.com, 21 many years. Late in his career, he was Hickey, Tony Peterle, and Jim Keith. Aug). awarded the Aldo Leopold Medal by the Now there is a fourth generation: Henry, N.M. 2005. “Scientists investigating Wildlife Society in recognition of his Eduardo, who recently finished his PhD seabirds deaths on Ore. Coast.” many scientific achievements and his degree at the University of California at Greenwire, no date; seen at service to the society. Since retirement, Davis with Dan. www.eenews.net, 28 Jul. Tony has become quite an artisan, Well, Eduardo, the torch has been Hume, M. 2005. “Empty nests spark seabird passed! Help continue this lineage creating many different kinds of scare.” Globe and Mail, Toronto, Ontario, among seabird biologists. Canada, 15 Jul (seen at http:// wonderful art in his home workshop near www.theglobeandmail.com, 21 Jul). Columbus, Ohio. He has become quite —Dan Anderson and Jim Keith

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 28 CHAIR’S “STATE OF PSG” REPORT for 2004

REPORT TO THE PACIFIC SEABIRD EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Portland, Oregon, January 19, 2005 Dan Roby, PSG Chair for 2004

In January 2004, PSG held a very Nord, México; and a new ruling by the The Publications Committee, led by successful meeting in La Paz, Baja Cali- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that de- Coordinator Pat Jodice, has embarked on fornia Sur, México. Its success meeting nies Lower 48 population of Marbled a worthwhile project to post PDFs of was due largely to a hardworking and Murrelets any status as a distinct popu- PSG publications on our web site, includ- dedicated Local Committee, led by lation segment status, which potentially ing back issues of Pacific Seabirds, PSG Eduardo Palacios. The meeting attracted could lead to de-listing as a threatened symposia, and technical reports. Many a total of 161 paid registrants. Highlights species. Thanks to Craig for staying cur- of these are otherwise difficult to obtain. included invited plenary lectures by rent on so many issues, and for rapidly The PSG website continued to be very George L. Hunt, Jr. (who also received producing carefully crafted letters from efficiently and skillfully managed by PSG’s Lifetime Achievement Award), PSG as each issue arose. webmaster Lisa Ballance, with technical Sarah Wanless, and Exequiel Ezcurra. PSG’s Editor, Vivian Mendenhall, assistance from Robert Holland. The There were symposia on The Brown Peli- published two issues of Pacific Seabirds website continues to expand and provide can in North America (convened by Dan during 2004 (30[]) and 31[1]), and a third detailed and timely information to mem- Anderson), and on Advances and Appli- issue (31[2]) was mailed out in late Janu- bers on PSG’s activities, news, and an- cations of Ornithological Radar in Sea- ary 2005. During the past year, PSG has nual meetings. This service is becoming bird Studies (co-convened by Brian Coo- relied on its website to disseminate ab- increasingly critical to our organization, per and Bob Day), and a special paper stracts of papers presented at its Annual and we all owe a debt of gratitude to Lisa session on Pacific Coast Cormorants: Meeting, instead of publishing the full and Robert for their continuing willing- Status and Trends. The La Paz meeting abstracts in Pacific Seabirds. This saved ness to manage PSG’s website. realized a profit for PSG of $6,298. Of $2,400 in publishing costs for Pacific PSG now has a listserve that allows this sum, $1,000 was used to assist two Seabirds, in comparison with previous members to post notices, share news Latin American seabird biologists to at- volumes. Once again, Vivian has done a items, and make inquiries of other PSG tend the PSG annual meeting in Portland, highly commendable job of keeping is- members. Many thanks to Verena Gill, which they would not have been able to sues of Pacific Seabirds professionally our Regional Representative for Alaska/ do otherwise. Giannina Cadena of Co- edited, and on schedule [sic]. Marine Or- Russia, for taking on this (sometimes lombia and Yuri Albores of México each nithology, under the able leadership of difficult!) task. The listserve provides a received $500. The PSG Awards Com- Editor-in-Chief Tony Gaston, continues rapid and efficient means of communi- mittee recommended the awards and the successfully to transition toward an in- cating with many individuals who work Exco concurred. The remaining profits ternational web-based, peer-reviewed on Pacific seabirds. from the La Paz meeting were added to scientific journal, while maintaining over PSG has been fortunate this year to the PSG general fund. 100 institutional and individual subscrip- have a very active and energetic Student The PSG Conservation Committee tions in 15 countries throughout the Representative to the Executive Coun- and its leader Craig Harrison, Vice-Chair world. Scott Hatch recently took over as cil, Shiway Wang. Shiway has led the for Conservation, had a busy year in Editor for North America and the North effort to create a new Student Directory 2004. PSG has been involved in over 10 Pacific Region, allowing Tony to focus for PSG, gathered information for a re- high-profile issues affecting seabirds in on the challenging assignment of Man- port in Pacific Seabirds on milestones for the Pacific. These included listing of the aging Editor. Thanks to Tony’s careful student members, revised the forms used Xantus’s Murrelet as threatened in the management and pro bono editorship of to judge student presentations for Student state of California; opposition to a ma- Marine Ornithology, the journal has re- Paper Awards, organized a student lun- jor new Liquid Natural Gas plant slated mained in the black, and without charg- cheon meeting and room shares for the for construction by ChevronTexaco in the ing PSG the maximum amount we have annual meeting, and (whew!) served as Islas Los Coronados, Baja California approved to support it ($6,000 per year). PSG’s chair for the silent auction at the

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 29 CHAIR’S “STATE OF PSG” REPORT

Annual Meeting. Shiway has been help- nificant progress in implementing the On the whole, PSG has had a very ful in resolving issues regarding student Pacific Seabird Monitoring Database, successful year. However, we are look- travel support to annual meetings. And which is under PSG’s sponsorship. In the ing toward a number of new challenges she has done much to boost the esprit de near future this database will become in times of changing environmental, po- corps of PSG’s student membership. The available for on-line entry and retrieval litical, financial, and scientific condi- joint annual meeting had over 100 stu- by anyone seeking time-series data on tions. PSG’s main strength in meeting dent registrants, and 68 presented oral Pacific seabirds. It will be enormously these challenges is its membership. PSG presentations or posters that were eligible valuable resource. Gerry McChesney needs to find new ways to attract new for student paper awards. was appointed as the new Coordinator members, not just in the core member- PSG is in very solid financial shape, for the Xantus’s Murrelet Technical ship countries of the U.S. and Canada, thanks to the efforts of Treasurer Ron Committee. Gerry and the Committee but other Pacific Rim countries where LeValley, and to the three Trustees of the helped see through the listing of this spe- members are generally sparse. Other- PSG Endowment Fund, Malcolm cies as threatened by the State of Cali- wise, membership may continue to slide Coulter, Craig Harrison, and Ron fornia, a major accomplishment that was and PSG may find itself de facto a North LeValley. PSG realized a net income of initiated by PSG. The murrelet and the American Pacific Seabird Group, instead over $5,435 during its 2003-04 fiscal Committee now face new challenges, of the international and diverse organi- year (October 1–September 30). The such as the construction of a major liq- zation that it aspires to be. The proposed Endowment Fund increased in value by uid natural gas plant in the Coronados PSG 2020 Long-term Planning Commit- approximately 20% during the fiscal Islands. In addition, the California Fish tee should address this fundamental is- year; it was valued at $119,512 on 1 Janu- and Game Commission has removed sue facing PSG. ary 2005. Conservative and prudent measures from the state’s Market Squid PSG is extremely fortunate, as a pro- methods have been devised by the Trust- Fishery Management Plan that would fessional society dedicated to both basic ees to protect the principal of the Endow- have protected the Xantus’s Murrelet and and applied seabird ecology, to have a ment Fund, while also allowing a signifi- other seabirds in the Channel Islands. core of highly committed, dedicated, and cant contribution in support of PSG pub- PSG continues to support and encourage hard-working volunteers. This is the re- lications costs (up to $6,387 in fiscal year the creation of a México Seabird Con- source that will sustain our group and 2004-05). servation Committee; Xico Vega and help it grow in strength during the diffi- Memberships have declined during Eduardo Palacios are currently consid- cult times ahead, and will allow it to con- the past decade, to 397 from a peak of ering serving as co-coordinators of this tinue making major contributions to the over 450. Part of this slump reflects the new PSG committee. study and conservation of seabirds. departure of members whose interests On a somber note, one of the mem- Please join me in thanking out-going were restricted to Marbled Murrelet work bers of PSG’s Executive Council, Mark members of the PSG Executive Coun- after ESA listing in the early 1990s. Be- Pierson, Regional Representative from cil. I also welcome the incoming Execu- cause PSG’s annual income depends so Southern California, was stricken with cancer and is fighting for his life. PSG’s tive Council members; as outgoing Chair, heavily on membership dues, it is impor- Executive Council and its membership I am very pleased to have someone of tant for us to recruit new members and wish to offer their support and sympa- to re-attract members who have let their Bob Day’s abilities and dedication tak- thies to Mark and his partner, Cathie ing over as Chair of PSG. This coming memberships lapse. Dunkel, during this difficult time. Mark Several of PSG’s committees have has been a long-term active supporter of year promises to be another good one for had a busy year. The Seabird Monitor- PSG and its mission. [Editor’s note: Mark PSG. Finally, many thanks to all of PSG’s ing Committee, under the leadership of died on 15 April 2005; please see his members for your various investments in coordinator Scott Hatch, has made sig- obituary elsewhere in this issue.] the future of PSG.

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 30 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MINUTES

SUMMARY OF MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING OF THE PACIFIC SEABIRD GROUP, 19 JANUARY 2005 Hilton Portland and Executive Tower, Portland, Oregon, USA

[These minutes were approved by PSG Handbook be too expensive. A suggestion was made the Executive Council at its meeting on The PSG Handbook is often con- to meet in Barcelona in autumn 2007, 13 July 2005. The full minutes are avail- sulted about meeting procedures and when the Waterbird Society and Medi- able from the secretary, Ron Ydenberg other matters, but it has been updated ir- terranean seabird groups will be there. ([email protected]).] regularly. A motion was approved that the Xavier Ruiz appeared before the Exco Secretary and Past Chair will update the to discuss the Barcelona meeting. A mo- The January 2005 meeting of the Handbook soon after each PSG meeting. tion was approved that PSG consider in- PSG Executive Council (Exco) was volvement in the Barcelona meeting, but called to order by President Dan Roby. Fiscal management hold our regular annual meeting else- In attendance were Roby, Bob Day, Craig A motion was approved to maintain where in early 2008. Arcata, California Harrison, Ron LeValley, Ron Ydenberg, $30,000 (three years’ budget) in the Gen- was proposed for the 2008 meeting (last Shiway Wang, David Irons, Tony Gaston, eral Account. Funds in excess of this will year the site was proposed for 2009). Louise Blight, Malcolm Coulter, Beth be transferred to the Endowment Fund. Sites were suggested for future Flint, and Katie O’Reilly. Verena Gill Guidelines for accounting formats meetings: 2009—Victoria, British Co- joined some discussions by telephone. that should make it easier to follow PSG’s lumbia; 2010—somewhere in México; Vivian Mendenhall’s proxy was held by income and expenditures will be added 2011—Hawaii. George Divoky. Committee chairs Pat to the Handbook, at the suggestion of Baird and Pat Jodice also were present. Ron LeValley and David Irons. Silent auctions Dues will be raised in 2006. Regu- Silent auctions are held at some PSG MINUTES AND FINANCIAL REPORTS lar membership will be $30, student dues meetings, but there has been no regular A motion was approved to accept the $20, and lifetime membership $900. chair. A motion was approved that the minutes from the January 2004 meeting. Student Representative will be Chair for The Treasurer’s Report and the Endow- Long-range planning the Silent Auctions. Duties will include ment Fund Trustees Report were pre- A motion was approved to establish soliciting donations of auction items sented and accepted. a PSG 2020 Strategic Planning Commit- from businesses, arranging displays, and tee. It will recommend to the Exco how overseeing bidding. PSG ADMINISTRATION PSG might improve its activities for Elections studying Pacific seabirds and conserving PSG AT OTHER MEETINGS Pat Baird reported on the 2004 elec- species and their environment. To this The North American Ornithological tion for the Exco [see “PSG News,” this end, it will review meetings, publica- Congress (NAOC) is planned for August issue]. It is always difficult to find nomi- tions, conservation activities, structure of 2006 in Veracruz, México. Lisa Ballance nees to run in elections; regional repre- the Exco, and membership, among other reviewed the Exco’s 2004 decision that sentatives should become proactive in things. An initial subcommittee was as- PSG will not hold an annual meeting in finding candidates. signed to report to the Exco on a detailed conjunction with the NAOC. PSG might proposal. support part of the scientific program, if EXCO MEETINGS a PSG member volunteers to do this and A motion was approved to hold a PSG MEETINGS if the Exco agrees. second Exco meeting each year in July, The 2006 meeting will be held at the For the meeting in Barcelona in August, or September. The agenda would Alyeska Prince Hotel, Girdwood, Alaska, 2007, see above. include time-sensitive matters that can- on 15-19 February. not wait until the next Annual Meeting, The 2007 meeting is proposed for AWARDS items left unresolved at the Annual Meet- 7-11 February in Asilomar, California. Special Awards procedure ing, and (as time allows) new items that The 2008 meeting had been pro- In the past, nominations for Special are not time-sensitive. [The draft Min- posed for Hawaii, in conjunction with a Achievement Awards and Lifetime utes from the 2005 midyear meeting are World Seabird Conference, but this was Achievement Awards have been submit- summarized below.] reconsidered because some felt it would ted by members to the Awards Commit-

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 31 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MINUTES tee (Past Chair, current Chair, and Chair- STUDENT ISSUES Publications Committee. The committee elect). George Divoky plans to meet with Shiway Wang presented the report will be responsible for decisions on for- all Past Chairs and develop better conti- of the Student Representative. Discus- mat and content. Funding by PSG will nuity for the Awards Committee and will sion followed on Student Travel Awards, continue to be approved by the Exco. present a proposal to the Business Meet- student mentoring, and how students Another motion was approved to create ing. might get more involved in meetings. a Pacific Seabirds page on the web site, where PDFs of past issues will be posted. Travel awards PUBLICATIONS A motion was approved that the Past Pacific Seabirds Symposia Chair will solicit and review applications The editor’s report was received and Members who want to organize a for awards to two types of attendees at accepted. The Treasurer said many sub- symposium or special paper session at Annual Meetings: students from the U.S. scribers have inquired why their journals an Annual Meeting must get approval and Canada, and biologists (students or have not arrived; this will be investigated. from PSG. In recent years, proposals non-students) from any other country. Pacific Seabirds is still awaiting a write- have been submitted to both the Scien- up from Bill Sydeman on the Lifetime Travel for the U.S./Canada student will tific Chair for the meeting, and the Co- Achievement Awardee for 2004. be supported from the budget for each ordinator of the Publications Committee The Exco clarified their 2004 deci- meeting, and that for the non-U.S./ (since that person oversees publication sion on publishing of Pacific Seabirds. Canada biologist from the General Fund. Subscribers should be able to choose of symposia). A motion was approved for The Past Chair will solicit grants and whether they prefer to read Pacific Sea- a Symposium Selection Subcommittee donations to help support the awards and birds on PSG’s Web site or to receive it under the Publications Committee. The will recommend expenditures to the in the mail. The journal will be posted subcommittee will develop a process for Awards Committee. on the Web site in PDF format, as well soliciting, approving, and publishing as sent as “hard copy” in the mail; mem- symposia. The Publications Chair will COMMITTEE REPORTS bers will be asked to state which way they publicize the new application process. Reports were presented by the Con- prefer to receive it. servation Committee (by Craig PSG support of publications Harrison), Japan Seabird Conservation Marine Ornithology A motion was approved to support Committee (Kim Nelson, for Koji Ono), The editor’s report was received and publication of the Special Paper Session Marbled Murrelet Technical Committee accepted. The Exco clarified their 2004 on Beached Bird Surveys in Marine Or- (Ann Harfenist), Xantus’s Murrelet Tech- decision on publication of Marine Orni- nithology ($2200), scanning PSG’s out- nical Committee (Gerald McChesney), thology. PSG will support the journal of-print symposia as PDF files ($900; Seabird Monitoring Committee (Scott with up to $6000 each year, if needed. both from the Endowment Fund), and Hatch), Corresponding Members The societies that publish Marine Orni- publication of the American White Peli- (Malcolm Coulter), and PSG’s represen- thology will review their joint venture can Symposium in Waterbirds ($3300; tatives to other organizations—the before PSG’s 2008 meeting. from the General Fund). The Endowment American Bird Conservancy, Ornitho- Fund is restricted by the PSG Bylaws to logical Council, and International Union PSG web site supporting PSG publications. There was for the Conservation of Nature (Malcolm A motion was approved to place discussion of what criteria define such a Coulter and Craig Harrison). management of the web site under the publication.

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 32 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MINUTES

SUMMARY OF DRAFT MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING OF THE PACIFIC SEABIRD GROUP, 13 JULY 2005 By telephone conference call

[The full text of the draft minutes Three plenary Speakers are planned but AWARDS are available from the secretary, Ron not yet confirmed. Verena Gill will pro- Achievement awards Ydenberg ([email protected]). The min- vide a budget for Exco review by Sep- The Awards Committee has received utes will become official after approval tember. a list of nominees from the newly-formed at the Exco’s February 2006 meeting.] subcommittee of Past Chairs. On their PROPOSED INTERNATIONAL SEABIRD CON- recommendation, motions were approved to give the 2006 Lifetime MINUTES AND FINANCIAL REPORTS GRESS Achievement Award to Vernon Byrd and A motion was approved to accept the Ron Ydenberg reported on tentative the Special Achievement Award to Mark minutes from the January 2005 meeting, plans for an international seabird con- Rauzon. It remained to be decided who with several minor corrections. gress to be held in Taiwan. Taiwan is keen will write articles on the awards for Pa- to host international scientific meetings cific Seabirds. PSG MEETINGS 2005 meeting and can subsidize some expenses. The target date would be late October 2006. Travel awards The financial report for PSG’s an- The Past Chair, Dan Roby, was as- nual meeting in Portland in January 2005 PSG could be involved in planning the signed at the previous Exco meeting to was presented by Local Chair Katie scientific program. We would hold our raise funds for travel awards. He is seek- O’Reilly. regular meeting elsewhere. The Exco ing ideas for donors. aired concerns over the short time avail- 2006 meeting able to plan and other issues, but ADJOURNMENT Katie O’Reilly reported on plans for The Chair adjourned the meeting at Ydenberg was given an enthusiastic ap- the Girdwood meeting, to be held 15-19 12:10. He thanked Ron LeValley for or- February 2006. One symposium and proval to continue preliminary negotia- ganizing the conference call procedure, three special paper sessions are planned. tions with Taiwanese colleagues. which worked very smoothly.

COMMITTEE REPORT

MARBLED MURRELET habitat at high elevations, and the options proposed global Marbled Murrelet TECHNICAL COMMITTEE that are being considered to overcome model. Those who would like to partici- difficulties they encountered. MMTC pate in the development of the model Anne Harfenist members interested in discussing this should contact Carolyn or Falk for more topic have formed a working group; if details. Finally, Clint Smith discussed The Marbled Murrelet Technical interested, you can contact Peter at habitat enhancement and restoration; a Committee (MMTC) met at the 2005 [email protected] working group has been set up to con- PSG conference in Portland. We began Lynn Roberts then brought us up to tinue this effort. Please contact Clint with a presentation by Peter Harrison on date on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- ([email protected]) if you would the Washington Department of Natural vice (USFWS) 5-year status review of like to get involved in the group. Resources conservation strategy for Marbled Murrelets, and on USFWS dis- If you would like further informa- Marbled Murrelets on state lands. Peter turbance guidelines. A working group on tion about any of the activities of the McBride then led a discussion on trying disturbance is being set up. Carolyn MMTC, please contact Danielle to use the Inland Survey Protocol (ISP) Meyer ([email protected]) and Falk Prenzlow Escene, the new coordinator to assess potential Marbled Murrelet Huettmann ([email protected]) described a ([email protected]).

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 33 REGIONAL REPORTS FOR 2004 (CONTINUED)

Most Regional Reports for 2004 were published in Pacific Seabirds 31(2). Reports for two regions could not be published at that time and are presented below. Regional reports for 2005 will appear in the autumn issue, as usual.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Pat Baird, Kim Mathot, and Kathy Keane is continuing to moni- Compiled by Dan Robinette Audrey Taylor are investigating the mi- tor the California Least Tern (Sterna gration ecology of Western Sandpipers antillarum) at the Port of Los Angeles, Cheryl Baduini continues to be (Calidris mauri) along the west coast of and to conduct Least Tern foraging sur- greatly involved in undergraduate teach- Central and North America. Research veys as part of mitigation monitoring for ing and research at the Claremont Col- includes attaching radio telemetry tags the creation of shallow-water habitat. At leges. Current research projects with un- to the birds in Panama and Mexico and the Port of Los Angeles, Least Tern nest dergraduates include: (1) use of molecu- following their northward migration numbers have increased from an aver- lar techniques for gender identification through California. age of 41 pairs and 27 fledglings per year in seabirds; (2) tracking the trans-equa- Lisa T. Ballance and Robert L. Pit- from 1973 through 1996, to an average torial movements, migration, and genetic man (National Oceanographic and At- of 432 nests and 306 fledglings per year structure of Sooty Shearwaters (Puffinus mospheric Administration [NOAA] Fish- since 1997, including over 1000 nests in griseus) using satellite telemetry, in col- eries, La Jolla) participated in a French 2004. This increase is attributed to the laboration with Josh Adams and Jim expedition to Clipperton Island during increase overall in the statewide popula- Harvey, Moss Landing Marine Labora- March, 2005, to study the foraging ecol- tion, to more effective but focused preda- tories, and with David Hyrenbach of the ogy of the Masked Booby ( Sula tor management, and possibly to en- Duke Marine Laboratory; (3) gender bias dactylatra). Clipperton is the world’s hanced foraging opportunities in the vi- of Beachcast Sooty Shearwaters in largest colony for this species. They col- cinity of Los Angeles Harbor. Kathy is Monterey Bay, in collaboration with lected diet samples from over 200 adults also monitoring the few remaining Least Hannahrose Nevins, Moss Landing Ma- and quantified over 1700 prey items. Tern nesting areas near San Felipe on the rine Laboratories; (4) population struc- They also participated in a joint study east coast of Baja California, Mexico, ture and sex bias of Ashy Storm-petrels using satellite and accelerometer tags to where she now resides part-time. (Oceanodroma homochroa) off the compare foraging behavior of Masked, Holly Gellerman is currently fin- Southern California Channel Islands in Brown (S. leucogaster), and Red-footed ishing her Master’s thesis on the mitiga- collaboration with Josh Adams; and (5) (S. sula) Boobies. More details are at tion and reintroduction of the Anacapa quantifying Black-footed Albatross http://www.jeanlouisetienne.com/ Island deer mouse ( Peromyscus (Diomedea nigripes) habitats and over- clipperton/default.cfm. Ballance and Pit- maniculatus anacapae) following eradi- lap with longline fisheries, in collabora- man also plan to conduct two oceanic cation of rats (Rattus rattus). Rat eradi- tion with Oikonos Organization, with the surveys of seabird distribution and abun- cation at Anacapa appears to have been goal of reducing bycatch off California dance (each part of a larger ecosystem a success, and deer mice are well re-es- and across the North Pacific. This semes- project). The first will cover the Exclu- tablished. Holly is also working for the ter, Baduini also has assisted Pitzer Col- sive Economic Zone of California, Or- U.S. Navy at San Nicolas Island, moni- lege in setting up a study abroad site and egon, and Washington, and the second toring the disturbance of Brandt’s Cor- field station near Dominical, Costa Rica. will cover Central Pacific waters between morants (Phalacrocorax penicillatus), In collaboration with her colleague Don the main Hawaiian islands and Johnston California sea lions ( Zalophus McFarlane, Cheryl will teach a tropical and Palmyra Atolls. Both surveys will be californianus), elephant seals (Mirounga ecology course at the field station for a conducted from NOAA research vessels angustirostis), and harbor seals (Phoca portion of each semester. Cheryl and her during June-July through December. See vitulina) during missile launches. She family (including 4 month old Alec) trav- http://swfsc.nmfs.noaa.gov/PRD/PRO- also conducts window surveys of breed- eled to Costa Rica in March to visit the GRAMS/ecology/default.htm for more ing Snowy Plovers ( Charadrius field site. details. alexandrinus) on the island. The goal for

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 34 REGIONAL REPORTS FOR 2004

2005 is to begin monitoring breeding clude investigating the use of Pigeon days it had to be euthanized because of colonies of Brandt’s Cormorants and Guillemots as indicators of sanddab irreversible neurological damage. The Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis). (Citharichthys sp.) recruitment to waters third bird is currently under rehabilita- Dan Robinette, Julie Lanser, and on the leeward and windward sides of tion with a broken leg. The leg was Elizabeth Rogan (PRBO Conservation the Point Arguello Promontory, and ini- pinned by a local vet, and the bird ap- Science, Marine Ecology Division) are tiating an investigation into the effects pears to be doing well; however, it will beginning their sixth year of an antici- of northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) be several more weeks before the bird is pated long-term research program at abundance and physical oceanographic ready for release. Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), variables on the reproductive success of Biologists from Alaska Biological California. Nancy Read Francine California Least Terns statewide. PRBO Research, Inc. (ABR) have been conduct- (VAFB) has been fundamental in keep- has identified a significant positive rela- ing flyway studies of the ‘Ua’u at ing this project funded. Species of inter- tionship between the proportion of north- Haleakala to evaluate risks posed by est include Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus ern anchovies in the diet and the repro- wind power development on nearby occidentalis), Pigeon Guillemots ductive success of Least Terns at VAFB. lands. (Cepphus columba), Brandt’s Cormo- In 2004, anchovies were virtually absent Brenda Zaun, Wildlife Biologist rants, Pelagic Cormorants in diet samples and the terns failed to nest for the Kauai (NWR) Complex, ex- (Phalacrocorax pelagicus), California at VAFB. panded her Newell’s Shearwater Least Terns, Black Oystercatchers (Puffinus auricularis newelli) study this (Haematopus bachmani), Western Gulls year to include passive integrated tran- (Larus occidentalis), Ashy Storm-petrels, sponder (PIT) tags. The tags are attached Rhinoceros Auklets (Cerorhinca HAWAI‘I AND PACIFIC RIM monocerata), Sooty Shearwaters, and to the bands of nesting adults. They will Compiled By Elizabeth Flint Pacific Loons (Gavia pacifica). Research add information to that from the includes data collection on population Trailmaster active infrared transmitter/ dynamics, breeding biology, foraging HAWAI‘I AND U.S. PACIFIC ISLANDS receiver and camera used last year at the The status of the ‘Ua’u (Hawaiian habits, diet, roost utilization, and migra- burrows. These two systems recorded tion. Most data are collected during the Petrel, Pterodroma sandwichensis) con- date and times of burrow entry and exit breeding season, but data on roost utili- tinues to improve in Haleakala National by nesting pairs as they returned nightly zation are collected year around. Signifi- Park, according to Cathleen Natividad to feed their chick, as well as the inci- cant results include the discovery of a Bailey, Wildlife Biologist for the park. dence of potential predators at burrows. possible Ashy Storm-petrel breeding Biologists continue to find new nests Incubation length, incubation intervals, population at VAFB. Ashy Storm-petrels each year, and the number of known nests chick provisioning frequency, and chick have been caught in mist nets for the has exceeded 1000. Growth in the popu- growth were obtained this year in addi- lation is attributed to the park’s active fourth consecutive year. PRBO is coor- tion to other aspects of the breeding ecol- control programs for feral animals and dinating with Josh Adams of the U.S. ogy of this species. Zaun also monitored predators. Most nests are located using Geological Survey, who is conducting a populations of all other seabird species Global Positioning System (GPS) tech- radio telemetry study on petrels breed- nesting at Kilauea Point NWR. nology. Much of Haleakala Crater still ing at the Channel Islands (CIs). PRBO’s Roberta Swift continues her work needs to be surveyed, but biologists sus- goal is to determine whether petrels at Hawaii Volcano National Park on the pect that as many as a few hundred more caught at VAFB are breeding at VAFB, biology of the Hawaiian Petrel and re- or are breeding at the CIs and just forag- nests exist there. As in previous years, cently defended her Masters Thesis at ing in waters adjacent to VAFB. young ‘Ua‘u were rescued during the Oregon State University. PRBO has also completed the fifth “grounding” season in October, when Lindsay Cooper Young, University year of a nearshore foraging study moni- young birds leave their nests for the first of Hawaii at Manoa, is examining the toring the use of the Vandenberg Marine time, become confused by urban lights, Ecological Reserve by seabirds and ma- and fall to the ground. Three birds needed oceanic distribution and population dy- rine mammals. In 2004, they expanded rehabilitation this year. One was found namics of the Laysan Albatross this study to include monitoring the use by a jogger and had been bitten on the (Phoebastria immutabilis) through the of rocky intertidal areas inside and adja- head by either a mongoose or a cat. The use of geolocation telemetry and cent to the marine reserve by Black Oys- group was proud to say that after brief microsatellite genetics. She is studying tercatchers. PRBO’s goal is to further treatment by a local veterinarian, the bird oceanic distribution by: (1) comparisons expand this work to include monitoring was successfully rehabilitated and re- between different breeding colonies, (2) the use of newly established marine pro- leased by park biologists. The second correlation with oceanographic condi- tected areas at the CIs. Other goals in- bird was not as fortunate; after several tions that are indicators of primary pro-

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 35 REGIONAL REPORTS FOR 2004 ductivity, and (3) correlation with known Maeyama, a colleague from Japan who scale insect (Pulvenaria urbicola) that is North Pacific fisheries to determine the had done much field work on Short-tailed destroying important habitat for tree- amount of overlap. Albatross. nesting seabirds at Palmyra Atoll and Young is using microsatellites to Early in 2005, Brenda Zaun facili- Rose Atoll. determine: (1) the population structure tated the rescue of 27 Laysan Albatross Katie Swift, Ecological Services of different breeding colonies, (2) the eggs that were scheduled to be destroyed Division, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service colony of origin for birds caught as because they had been laid at the Pacific (USFWS), Honolulu, Continues her bycatch in the longline fishery, and (3) Missile Range Facility (PMRF), where work with the Invasive Species program source population(s) for recent the policy is to remove albatross eggs to of that office. She attended the Rodent recolonization events across the Pacific. reduce the hazard of bird air strikes. A Summit in Fort Collins Colorado in Oc- These data will be used to form a more cooperative arrangement with the Navy tober 2004, and she is on the team de- complete picture of the population dy- enabled her to take those eggs and chicks signing the plan for eradicating rats (Rat- namics of the Laysan Albatross, and ul- from PMRF and place them under incu- tus sp.) from Palmyra Atoll. She contin- timately it will aid in their conservation. bating birds at Kilauea Point that had ues her work on getting rodenticides reg- Bob Pitman and Bill Walker are been identified as having non-viable istered for aerial broadcast on islands and studying the diet composition of Laysan eggs. wildlands in Hawai‘i. Chris Swenson of and Black-footed (Phoebastria nigripes) Monitoring of seabird populations Coastal Programs, Ecological Services, Albatrosses, using regurgitated boluses continued in the Pacific Remote Islands USFWS, is actively involved in the res- of undigested squid beaks from Laysan National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Com- toration of Lehua Island through remov- Island, French Frigate Shoals, and Mid- plex. Staff and volunteers visited the ing rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and way Atoll. They also have gone back to eight refuges of the Complex (Hawaiian rats (Rattus exulans) and subsequent food samples from fresh food regurgita- Islands NWR, Johnston Atoll NWR, translocation of native species to the site. tions collected in the early 1980s and Howland Island NWR, Baker Island Michelle Reynolds and John Citta identified all squid beaks from the study NWR, Jarvis Island NWR, Kingman (Biological Resources Division, U.S. by Harrison et al. in the 1980s. Pitman Reef NWR, Palmyra Atoll NWR, and Geological Survey) are working under and Walker will be able to compare di- Rose Atoll NWR). Monitoring staff are contract to the Migratory Bird Division etary composition from those earlier col- present year-round at several refuges, of USFWS to produce a seabird moni- lections with present day samples. They including French Frigate Shoals and toring manual for the Pacific Islands. also hope to expand their study to the Laysan Island in the Hawaiian Islands Robert L. Pyle continues his work Short-tailed Albatross (P. albatrus). NWR and Palmyra Atoll NWR. All other on a summary of all bird occurrences and Jeremy Bisson, University of Ha- sites were visited only briefly, as the op- distribution in the Hawaiian Islands. He waii at Manoa, is continuing his research portunity arose to take advantage of ves- also continues to assist all biologists in on the trophic relationships of Laysan sels going to those sites. Hurricane Ivan Hawaii with questions on identification and Black-footed Albatrosses, as well as passed close to Rose Atoll in November and the ornithological history of Hawai‘i. his work with National Marine Fisheries and caused damage to the plant commu- Beth Flint and Maura Naughton Service’s Observer Program. nity; damage was visible from the air, but presented a paper at the Northwestern The annual albatross nest count was there has been no opportunity yet to as- Hawaiian Islands Third Scientific Sym- successfully completed in early January sess the effects to the seabird populations. posium (November 2004) entitled 2005 at French Frigate Shoals, Laysan Seabird monitoring will be included “Populations and conservation status of Island, and Midway Atoll. These counts in the long-term ecological monitoring seabirds nesting in the Northwestern indicated that both Laysan and Black- being developed for the network of Ha- Hawaiian Islands.” footed Albatross numbers have remained waii and Pacific Island National Parks, The International Bird Rescue Re- relatively stable, relative to the first such according to Darci Hu, Wildlife Biolo- search Center (IBRRC) has closed its count done by these methods in 1991. gist at Hawaii Volcano National Park. Hu Hawaii/Pacific Islands Regional Office, The populations at the 3 sites represent plans to include Hawaiian Petrels and after a decade of work there. Linda roughly 93% of the entire world popula- Band-rumped Storm-petrels Elliott remains in Hawai‘i and is work- tion of Laysan Albatross and 77% of the (Oceanodroma castro) in the main Ha- ing on filling the void by developing lo- world’s Black-footed Albatross. Several waiian Islands and other species nesting cal resources. This includes the Hawaii Pacific Seabird Group members and in American Samoa. Wildlife Center project, a wildlife cen- former members participated in the count Lee Ann Woodward continues her ter that cares for sick and injured native at Midway this year, including Beth studies of the effects of contaminants on wildlife, does emergency response on Flint, Holly Freifeld, Greg Balogh, albatross health at Midway Atoll and their behalf, and carries out conservation, Tomohiro Deguchi, and Lindsey French Frigate Shoals. She also is coor- education and research. The center will Hayes. Another participant was Ryo dinating the effort to battle an introduced emphasize seabird care and conservation.

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 36 REGIONAL REPORTS FOR 2004

Congressman Ed Case and State Repre- analyses to determine not only trophic of Korea. His main subject is the corre- sentative Dwight Takamine are support- structure of the seabird community but lation between wind velocity and the ing the center and working towards fis- also the diet of rats and mice. We also gulls’ foraging strategies. Saunders’ cal assistance in their respective 2006 satellite tracked breeding Pink-footed Gulls change their foraging behavior ac- budgets. Surety Kohala has donated the Shearwaters during the chick cording to environmental changes, as do land. West Hawaii Concrete and its par- provisioning stage of the season. other seabirds. In particular, wind veloc- ent company are donating all of the con- Preliminary analyses suggest that these ity affects which foraging strategies they crete, through the MDU Foundation, and shearwaters typically feed several choose. Kim is studying habitat selection, will supply labor to build the facility. Jack hundred kilometers to the east and optimal foraging theory, wintering ecol- Hoyt and Ray Chavez are donating the southeast of the archipelago while ogy, and human disturbance relative to design and architecture services. The provisioning chicks. Their research conservation strategies for this species. University of California Davis, School program is collaborating with two Dr. Young-Soo Kwon of Veterinary Medicine is collaborating graduate students on their Ph.D. research: ([email protected]) has been studying on design specifications for the building. Joanna Smith (University of on the ecological aspects of breeding and Cornell University also has agreed to Washington) is studying the foraging conservation in Black-tailed Gulls (Larus collaborate on the project. And the first ecology and provisioning strategies of crassirostris). In particular, his recent private foundation grant has been re- Juan Fernández Petrels, and Matthew research is concerned with breeding suc- ceived through the North Kohala Com- McKown (University of North Carolina, cess in relation to offspring sex ratio and munity Resource Center. Anyone inter- Chapel Hill) is investigating vocal intra-specific nest parasitism. ested in the Hawaii Wildlife Center repertoires and communication in both Who-Seung Lee project can contact Linda via e-mail at Juan Fernández and Stejneger’s Petrels. ([email protected]) is continuing his [email protected]. work on the Black-tailed Gull, examin- Elliot also continues working with ing factors that affect their nest-site char- KOREA acteristics and habitat selection on other members of the oil spill response Dr. Heon-Woo Park community in Hawaii providing training Hongdo Island. [Editor’s note: see report ([email protected]) and Prof. ] He is also researching eco- for state wildlife responders. in this issue. Sooil Kim ([email protected]) at the logical modeling for conservation of Korean National University of Education Black-tailed Gulls using Artificial Neu- SOUTH AMERICA have been studying the status of the ral Networks. Peter Hodum, California State breeding grounds of Saunders’ Gulls Jeong-Hoon Kim University, Long Beach (Larus saundersi) at the Songdo recla- ([email protected]) studied the ef- ([email protected]) and Michelle mation area and Youngjongdo area in fect of prey size on courtship feeding and Wainstein, University of Washington Inchon bay, on the west coast of Korea. kleptoparasitism in the Little Tern completed their third consecutive year of This year, breeding sites at Youngjongdo (Sterna albifrons) during the mating pe- ecological and conservation research on were partially damaged by people con- riod, at a breeding colony at Ganweol the threatened seabird community of the structing an airport. However, breeding Lake on the west coast of Korea. He is Juan Fernández Islands, Chile, in March sites at the Songdo reclamation area have going to study nest site selection and the 2004. Their efforts focus on the Pink- not been disturbed during the last sev- distribution of nests of Brown and South footed Shearwater (Puffinus creatopus), eral years. Most birds have now moved Polar Skuas (Catharacta lonnbergi, C. Kermadec Petrel (Pterodroma neglecta), to the south from the breeding area, but maccormicki) on Barton Peninsula, King Juan Fernández Petrel (Pterodroma some still remain at Inchon bay. Next George Island, Antarctica from Dec 2004 externa) and Stejneger’s Petrel year, Park and Kim plan to track breed- to Jan 2005. (Pterodroma longirostris). General ing site shifts which might occur due to Kyung-Gyu Lee research objectives include investigating human disturbance. ([email protected]) and Ki-Back Nam breeding biology parameters, the status This year, many seabird studies were ([email protected]) surveyed the of populations, foraging ecology, and the conducted by colleagues at Kyung Hee breeding status of Streaked Shearwaters impacts of introduced mammals. University, supervised by Prof. Jeong- (Calonectris leucomelas) on Sasudo Is- Mammalian impacts include predation Chil Yoo ([email protected]). land during the late chick-rearing period. by cats (Felis sylvestris), coatimundis Hark-Jin Kim ([email protected]), Out of 127 burrows surveyed, 45 (37%) (Nasua narica), and possibly rats (Rattus in the course of working for his Ph.D. had a full-grown chick that arrived at the rattus and R. norvegicus) and mice, as has been studying the foraging behavior stage of body-mass reduction. This fig- well as competition with rabbits and wintering ecology of Saunders’ Gulls ure, and last year’s data (27%, 97 bur- (Oryctolagus cuniculus) for breeding for 10 years at migrating sites on the Kum rows out of 354 surveyed) collected dur- burrows. We are using stable isotope River Estuary on the mid-western coast ing a similar period of the year, have

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 37 REGIONAL REPORTS FOR 2004 made Lee and Nam reconsider the ex- provisioning of Streaked Shearwaters JAPAN tent of predation by Norway Rats (Rat- (Calonectris leucomelas) during the early Haruo Ogi, Hiroshi Hasegawa, tus norvegicus). Previously they thought nestling stage. Journal of Yamashina Institute for Ornithology Hiroyoshi Higuchi, and Kiyoaki Ozaki, that predation’s harmful impact was more 35:105-119. For are all members of the Short-tailed Al- severe. copies, please contact the author. batross Recovery Team, which met in Nam is presently writing articles on To see beautiful pictures and stories Chiba, Japan in May of 2004. Along with the incubation routine and desertion about Korean birds, including gulls, other team members from the US and behavior of Streaked Shearwaters, and please check the following web sites: Australia, they discussed recovery ac- his preparing to study abroad for PhD http://home.megapass.co.kr/~skua/ and tions and goals for this species. (For work by Hiroshi Hasagawa on course. Lee wrote a paper: Lee, K. G. http://www2.kongju.ac.kr/srcho/pintail/ Short-tailed Albatrosses, see the Conser- and Yoo, J. C. 2004. Variation in chick index.html vation Report in this issue.)

ERRATUM

In the Conservation Report of Fall 31:50, 2004) said that a salvaged bird gravia) from New Zealand. DNA analysis later proved it to be a Wedge-tailed 2004, the item entitled “Wake Atoll Ap- specimen from Wake Island was identi- Shearwater (Puffinus pacificus). Wake parently Cat-Free” (Pacific Seabirds fied as a Fluttering Shearwater (Puffinus Island apparently still remains cat-free.

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 38 BOOK REVIEW

Sea of Glory: America’s voy- known in shorthand as the “Ex. Ex” was Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans), and the age of discovery, the U.S. Ex- designed to outdo all 58 previous explor- Samoan Storm-petrel (Nesofregetta ing expeditions of the European powers. fuliginosa). The expedition frequently ploring Expedition, 1838-1842. In 1838, six naval vessels manned by 346 saw the latter bird within the torrid zone By Nathan Philbrick. 2003. Penguin sailors, including nine scientists and art- on the Pacific Ocean. A single specimen Books, New York. xxv + 452 pp. 42 il- ists, set forth on the expedition. Four was obtained at the Island of Upolu, from lustrations, 8 maps. Hardback (ISBN 0- years and 87,000 miles later, 2 ships had a native who told the collectors that they 670-03231-X), paperback (ISBN 0 14- been lost and 28 sailors were dead. But bred in holes, very high up in the moun- 20.0483 9). $16.00 (paper). over 280 islands were surveyed and tains. charted for the first time, as well as the My own work in the South Seas has Reviewed by Mark Rauzon Columbia River and part of Antarctica. led me to delve into some of the original Thousands of artifacts and specimens materials from the Ex. Ex., using Sea of Lewis and Clark are renowned were collected by the scientists and Glory as a springboard. Quite a few in- American explorers, and rightfully so. would become the basis of the cidents that did not make it into Sea of But who has heard of Wilkes and Peale? Smithsonian Institution. Mark Twain, Glory are recounted by Wilkes, Peale, It is little wonder that landlubbers are Herman Melville and Henry David and others. For example, I was interested familiar with the travels and travails of Thoreau were each inspired by this to read that on Tutuila (now in American Lewis and Clark, owing to Undaunted American odyssey. As Philbrick says, Samoa), as elsewhere throughout Courage, the recent, well-regarded book “By all rights, the Ex. Ex. should have Polynesia, the expedition was cordially by Stephen Ambrose (Simon & Schuster, become an enduring source of national greeted and entertained. On October 11, 1996). But seabirders, at least, ought to pride” (Sea of Glory :xxiii). 1839, the flagship Vincennes anchored know about Wilkes and Peale. This lack Yet the Ex. Ex. is little known to the in a harbor that was, according to Wilkes, has recently been remedied by a new public because of the human foibles in- “one of the most singular in all the book and new website offerings. volved. Wilkes had poor interpersonal Polynesian isles” (Wilkes 1844:75). The book is Nathaniel Philbrick’s skills, to say the least. He led as a marti- Wilkes explored Tutuila from the harbor Sea of Glory, which has recently ap- net, a strict disciplinarian. “At some point at Pago Pago and completed the survey peared in paperback. Philbrick revisits in the expedition, Wilkes became known in a little more than a week, as we our- the story of the U.S. Exploring Expedi- as the Stormy Petrel, a nickname that selves did during our seabird surveys. tion of 1838-1842, one of the most am- would stay with him for the rest of his The expedition arrived at Ta’u in the bitious undertakings of the nineteenth life, and as any sailor knows, the appear- nick of time to prevent a bloody fight century, and one of the largest voyages ance of a stormy petrel means rough between the “missionary party, and the weather is ahead” ( :129). ‘Devil’s Men’.” Eight “very bad” white of discovery the western world has ever Sea of Glory When the expedition concluded, the vic- men, who had earlier deserted an English seen. It was commanded by a brash torious expedition members moved right whaler, had “plenty of fight”; but on see- young Navy lieutenant named Charles into bitter recriminations among the crew ing the “manawa [man of war] arrive, Wilkes. toward their captain, charges and they had gone into the bush” (Wilkes Philbrick is a maritime author and counter–charges, and a series of courts- 1844:69). The next day, three of these director of the Egan Institute of Maritime martial. Data were jealously guarded. It “devils” wanted to join the Ex. Ex Studies in Nantucket, Massachusetts. His took many years for the final reports to (Wilkes 1844:70) previous book, In the Heart of the Sea: be issued, and by then the country’s fo- Conflict on Ta’u got so bad that the The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, cus had shifted to the slavery issue and King of Manu’a (Tuimanu’a) had to flee won the National Book Award and was civil war. for his life. Wilkes dined with the king, on the New York Times’s best-seller list. For seabirders, the Ex. Ex.’s impor- but he inadvertently insulted the monarch The story of a whaling vessel that was tance lies in its scientific staff, John by refusing to drink kava in the tradi- stove in by a sperm whale inspired Cassin and Titian Peale. They collected tional ceremony. Wilkes had observed Melville’s Moby Dick. And Melville de- the first known specimens of the Cassin’s how it was made, and he wanted no part veloped his Ahab character from the real Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus), of it—women masticated the root and Charles Wilkes. Peale’s Fulmar (Tahiti Petrel; spit it into bowls, where it fermented and The U.S. Exploring Expedition, (Pterodroma rostrata), the Pacific or made a mild intoxicant. Wilkes’s depar-

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 39 BOOK REVIEW ture also was uncomfortable. He sus- much esteemed for a while, until the In addition, visit the Smithsonian pected the natives of acting suspiciously; other pets were destroyed by them; website, where the original documents he had their canoe stopped. However, the after which Pussy (a name generally and artwork have recently been put natives’ “eyes were full of tears when adopted by the Polynesians for cats), online. The site offers a glimpse of fu- overtaken. They had nothing at all in their not liking yams or taro…preferring ture possibilities for archiving the past canoe, and after examination it proved Manu-mea, and took to the mountains on the Internet. Of particular interest are we had lost nothing. To console them for in pursuit of them. There the cats have Peale (1848) and Cassin (1858). The this alarm, I gave them a few trifles, and multiplied and become wild, and live URL is http://www.sil.si.edu/ they became easy and cheerful.” (Wilkes upon our Didunculus, or little Dodo, digitalcollections/usexex 1844:19). the Manu-mea of the natives, which is believed will in a very few years In spite of his tendency to paranoia, cease to be known…” (Peale LITERATURE CITED Wilkes found the natives to be “a finely- 1848:211) Cassin, J. 1858. Mammalogy and ornithol- formed race, and appeared lively and ogy. Vol. 8. C. Sherman, Philadelphia. well-disposed, although in a much wilder Happily the bird is not extinct now, (Seen at http://www.sil.si.edu/ state than those in the Society Islands” just very rare. digitalcollections/usexex, June 2005) (Wilkes 1844:19). “When the islands The “firsts” that were accomplished Peale, T.R. 1848. Mammalia and Ornithol- were first visited, the natives were rep- by the Ex. Ex. are nonpareil. It was the ogy. U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838- resented as ferocious and treacherous. first expedition to ascend Mauna Loa 1842. C. Sherman, Philadelphia. (Seen at This arose in a great degree from the volcano in Hawaii, to map the Columbia http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/ bloody conflict they had with the boats River (and lose a ship in the process), to usexex, June 2005) of La Perouse’s squadron; and the opin- hike from the Columbia to San Francisco Wilkes, C. 1844. Narr (Seen at http:// ion was kept up [by] the just resentment Bay, to penetrate as far south as 65˚ 20', www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/usexex, they in some cases manifested for wrongs to sight the main Antarctic continent, and June 2005) committed on them by lawless visitors.” to map Fiji and 250 other islands. (Wilkes 1944:132.) Along the way the expedition dis- OTHER WORKS ON THE EX. EX. And of invasive and endangered covered Wake Atoll, where I also have Jenkins, J. S. 1854. Voyage of the U.S. Ex- species, they had this observation refer- had the opportunity to work. There are ploring Squadron, commanded by Cap- ring to the Tooth-billed Pigeon three islets there named Wake, Wilkes, tain Charles Wilkes, of the United States (Didunculus strigirostris), but it could and Peale. The names were bestowed in Navy, in 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and also apply to any seabird: 1924 by Alexander Wetmore of the 1842: together with explorations and dis- Smithsonian, and they are one of the few The bird formerly abounded at the coveries made by Admiral D’Urville, memorials to the men who helped estab- Captain Ross, and other navigators and island of Upolu, one of the Samoan Islands, but now it is considered a rare lish that institution. travelers; and an account of the expedi- species by the natives, and one which In summary, read Sea of Glory for tion to the Dead Sea, under Lieutenant will be entirely destroyed in the course historical background on the region Lynch. Burnett & Bostwich, New Or- of a few years, if the same causes ex- where we work. Read Sea of Glory to leans. ist which are now operating to their see what the American hero-explorers Viola, H.J., and C. Margolis, editors, 1985. destruction…A few years since a pas- accomplished four years before the Magnificent Voyagers: The U.S. Explor- sion arose for cats, and they were ob- mast—and to learn about human frailty ing Expedition, 1838-1842. Smithsonian tained by all possible means from the and political machinations on an expe- Institution Press, Washington, D.C. whale ships visiting the islands, were dition.

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 40 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. ORDER FROM: Ornithologi- cal Societies of North America, PO Box 1897, Lawrence, Kansas 66044; phone (800) 627-0629; $12.00.

ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR OF GULLS. Judith L. Hand, William E. Southern, and Kees Vermeer (Editors). Proceedings of an Interna- tional 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. ORDER FROM Allen Press, Lawrence, Kansas 66044; $18.50.

AUKS AT SEA. Spencer G. Sealy (Editor). Proceedings of an International Symposium of the Pacific Seabird Group, Pacific Grove, Califor- nia, December 1987. Published December 1990 in Studies in Avian Biology, Number 14. ORDER FROM Allen Press, Lawrence, Kansas 66044; $16.00.

STATUS AND CONSERVATION OF THE MARBLED MURRELET IN NORTH AMERICA. Harry R. 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. ORDER FROM PSG TREASURER; $20.00.

THE STATUS, ECOLOGY, AND CONSERVATION OF MARINE BIRDS OF THE NORTH PACIFIC. Kees Vermeer, Kenneth T. Briggs, Ken H. Morgan, and Douglas Siegel-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. ORDER FROM Publications Division, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A OH3, Canada. Free of charge.

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, Num- ber 1. ORDER FROM PSG TREASURER; $12.00.

BEHAVIOUR AND ECOLOGY OF THE SEA DUCKS. Ian Goudie, Margaret R. Peterseen and Gregory J. Robertson (editors). Proceed- ings 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. ORDER FROM Publications Division, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A OH3, Canada. Free of charge.

SEABIRD BYCATCH: TRENDS, ROADBLOCKS AND SOLUTIONS. Edward F. Melvin and Julia K. Parrish (editors). Proceedings of an International Symposium of the Pacific Seabird Group, Blaine, Washington, 26-27 February 1999. Published 2001 by University of Alaska Sea Grant, Fairbanks, Alaska. Publication no. AK-SG-01-01. ORDER FROM PUBLISHER; $40.00.

BIOLOGY, STATUS, AND CONSERVATION OF JAPANESE SEABIRDS. Nariko Oka (editor). Proceedings of an International Sympo- sium of the Japanese Seabird Group and Pacific Seabird Group, Lihue, Hawaii, February 2001. Journal of the Yamashina Institute of Ornithol- ogy 33(2); Symposium (5 papers), pp 57-147, other papers pp. 148-213. In English with Japanese abstracts. ORDER FROM PSG TREASURER; $75.00.

OIL AND CALIFORNIA’S SEABIRDS. Harry R. Carter (convener) and Anthony J. Gaston (editor). Proceedings of a symposium fo the Pacific Seabird Group, Santa Barbara, California, February 2002. Published 2003 in Marine Ornithology 31(1). AVAILABLE ONLINE at www.marineornithology.org; free of charge. ______Information on presenting symposia: Pacific Seabird Group Symposia are initiated by any PSG member with interest in a particular topic. The goal is to present a collection of papers that explore and review this topic, usually at an annual meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group. In some cases the papers are then edited and published as a PSG Symposium. Anyone interested in organizing a symposium must first contact both the Coordinator of the Publications Committee and the Scientific Program Chair for an annual meeting. Guidelines will be provided on obtaining approval and on organizing, presenting, and publishing a PSG Symposium, including the responsibilities involved.

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 41 PACIFIC SEABIRD GROUP COMMITTEE COORDINATORS ______Committees do much of PSG’s business, as well as the conservation work for which PSG is respected. The committees welcome (and need) participants; contact the coordinators for information. ______

CONSERVATION COMMITTEE Craig S. Harrison,4953 Sonoma Mountain Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, USA. Telephone: (202) 778-2240, e-mail: [email protected] ELECTION COMMITTEE Pat Baird, Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, CA 90840 USA. Telephone: (562) 985-1780, fax: (562) 985-8878, e-mail: [email protected] JAPAN SEABIRD CONSERVATION COMMITTEE Koji Ono, office: Hokkaido Seabird Center, Kita 6-1, Haboro, Tomamae 078-4116 Japan. Telephone: 011-81-1646-9-2080, fax: 011-81-1646-9-2090; home: 2-506, Sakaemachi 93-12 Haboro, Tomamae 078-4123 Japan. Telephone and fax: 011-81-1646-2- 1324, e-mail: [email protected]; and John Fries, Laboratory for Wildlife Biology, University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi Bunkyo- ku, 113 Tokyo, Japan. Telephone/fax: 011-81-356-89-7254, e-mail: [email protected] MARBLED MURRELET TECHNICAL COMMITTEE Danielle Prenzlow Escene, Washington Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 47014, Olympia, Washington 98504- 7014. Telephone: (360) 902-1638; fax: (360) 902-1789; e-mail: [email protected] PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE Patrick Jodice, 2002 Forestry Scientces Laborataory, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331. Telephone: (541) 750-7393, e-mail: [email protected] SEABIRD MONITORING COMMITTEE Scott Hatch, Biological Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Biological Science Center, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503 USA. Telephone: (907) 786-3529, fax: (907) 786-3636, e-mail: [email protected] XANTUS’S MURRELET TECHNICAL COMMITTEE Brad Keitt and Shaye Wolf, Island Conservation, 100 Shaffer Road, University of California, Santa Cruz, Calfironia 95060. Keitt: telephone (831) 459-1565, e-mail [email protected]; Wolf: telephone (831) 459-4581, e-mail [email protected]. LOON/GREBE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE Dan Anderson, Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, University of Californai, Davis, California 95616-5270. Telephone (916) 752-2108; fax: (916) 752-4154; e-mail: [email protected] PSG DELEGATES TO THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY Craig S. Harrison, 4953 Sonoma Mountain Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, USA. Telephone: (202) 778-2240, e-mail: [email protected]; and Malcolm C. Coulter, P.O. Box 48, Chocorua, NH 03817 USA. Telephone: (603) 323-9342, e- mail: [email protected] AWARDS COMMITTEE The Awards Committee consists of the Past Chair, Chair, and Chair-elect. Committee members for 2005 are Katie O’Reilly, Robert Day, and Dan Roby; contact information is on inside back cover.

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 42 PSG LIFE MEMBERS 2005 ______Alisa Abookire John Grettenberger David R. Nysewander David G. Ainley Lisa Haggblom Haruo Ogi Sarah G. Allen Judith Latta Hand Koji Ono Angela D. Anders Craig S. Harrison Julia K. Parrish Daniel W. Anderson Scott A. Hatch Bete Pfister Pat Herron Baird Paul Henson John Piatt Lisa Ballance Monica Herzig Zürcher Robert Pitman Kenneth T. Briggs Nancy Hillstrand C. John Ralph P.A. Buckley Joel D. Hubbard Martin Renner Joanna Burger David B. Irons William P. Ritchie Ellen W. Chu Berniece Keith Chad Roberts Roger B. Clapp Sarah Keller Daniel D. Roby Cheryl Conel Karl W. Kenyon Gerald A. Sanger Susan Cooper James R. King Palmer C. Sekora Malcolm C. Coulter Kathy Kuletz Nanette Seto Kathy Cousins James Kushlan Kouzi Shiomi Theodore L. Cross Andrea Lawrence Douglas Siegel-Causey Robert H. Day Lora Leschner Kitty Simonds Tui De Roy David B. Lewis Steven Singer Tony DeGange Peter Major William E. Southern Jan Dierks Eugene Y. Makishima Arthur L. Sowls George J. Divoky Gergia Marshall Jeffrey A. Spendelow Stewart Fefer Vivian Mendenhall Craig Strong Myra Finkelstein Gayle Merlen Takaki Terasawa Lloyd C. Fitzpatrick Godfrey Merlen W. Breck Tyler Hazel Flett Pat Mock Enriquetta Velarde Gonzalez Elizabeth Flint Ken Morgan Kees Vermeer Douglas J. Forsell Edward C. Murphy John S. Warriner Michael Fry Maura Naughton Yutaka Watanuki Michael Graybill S. Kim Nelson Jennifer Wheeler Laura Greffenius Kriss Neuman Jeff Williams Hannah Nevins ______

RECIPIENTS OF PSG’S LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD ______

Philip and Myrtle Ashmole Charles Guiguet✝ Spencer G. Sealy James C. Bartonek Thomas R. Howell Robert E. Ricklefs ✝ W.R.P. Bourne George L. Hunt, Jr. Miklos D.F. Udvardy Richard G.B. Brown Karl W. Kenyon John Warham James G. King ______

RECIPIENTS OF PSG’S SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD ______

George J. Divoky Arthur L. Sowls Malcolm Coulter ✝ Craig S. Harrison Steven M. Speich Hiroshi Hasegawa ✝Deceased

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 43 Pacific Seabird Group Membership Application/Publication Order Form (Please copy) ______Membership (includes subscription to Pacific Seabirds) Individual and Family $25.00 $______Student (undergraduate and graduate) $15.00 $______Life Membership1,2 $750.00 (optional payment plan, five $150 installments)(contact treasurer for foreign rates) $______Sponsored Membership $25.00 $______Contributions2 To the Endowment Fund2 $______Other (please specify) $______Back issues of Pacific Seabirds Vols. 1-8 (1974-1981) @ $2.50/issue (two issues/year) Specify Volume(s) and Number(s) ______x $2.50 $______Vols. 9-present @ $5.00/issue (two issues/year) Specify Volume(s) and Number(s) ______x $5.00 $______PSG Symposia (Note: most PSG Symposia are ordered directly from another publisher. Please see full list and ordering information on page 41.) Status and Conservation of the Marbled Murrelet in North America ______x $20.00 $______Biology of Marbled Murrelets: Inland and at Sea ______x $12.00 $______Biology, Status, and Conservation of Japanese Seabirds______x $75.00 $______PSG Technical Publications Number 1, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Seabird Restoration Workshop ______x $18.00 $______Books The Ancient Murrelet ______x30.00 $______TOTAL ENCLOSED (U.S. Dollars) Prices include postage (surface rate) and handling.

SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER (make checks payable to the Pacific Seabird Group) TO: In US dollars (most countries): Ron LeValley, PSG Treasurer, Mad River Biologists, 1497 Central Ave., McKinleyville, CA 95519, USA In Canadian dollars: Ken Morgan, Inst. of Ocean Sciences, Box 6000, 9860 W. Saanich Rd., Sidney, BC, Canada, V8L 4B2 In pounds sterling: Mark Tasker, JNCC, Dunnet House, 7 Thistle Place, Aberdeen AB10 1UZ, Scotland, UK ______1 Contributions may be tax-deductible; see inside front cover for more information. 2 Proceeds from Life Memberships and contributions go to the Endowment Fund, which supports the publications of the Pacific Seabird Group.

Member/Sponsor or Order Deliver/Ship to (if different) Name______Name______Address______Address______Telephone______Telephone______Fax______Fax______E-mail______E-mail______

Pacific Seabirds • Volume 32, Number 1 • Spring 2005 • Page 44 PSG EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 2005 ______

OFFICERS Chair Robert H. Day, ABR, Inc--Environmental Research & Services, P.O. Box 80410, Fairbanks, AK 99708-0420, USA. Telephone: (907) 455-6777; fax (907) 455-6781; e-mail: [email protected].

Chair-Elect Katie O’Reilly, Department of Biology, University of Portland, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd., Port- land, OR 97203. Telephone: (503) 943-7146; fax: (503) 943-7784; e-mail: [email protected]

Past Chair Daniel D. Roby, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Oregon State Univer- sity, 104 Nash hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-3803, USA. Telephone (541) 737-1955; fax (541) 737- 3590; e-mail [email protected]

Vice-Chair for Conservation Craig S. Harrison, 4953 Sonoma Mountain Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, USA. Telephone: (202) 778-2240; e-mail: [email protected]

Treasurer Ron LeValley, Mad River Biologists, 1497 Central Ave., McKinleyville, CA 95519, USA. Tele- phone: (707) 839-0900; fax: (707) 839-0867; e-mail: [email protected]

Secretary Ronald C. Ydenberg,Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Department of Biology, Simon Fraser Uni- versity, 8888 University Dr., Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada. Telephone: (604) 291-4282; fax (604) 291-3496; e-mail: [email protected].

Editor, Pacific Seabirds Vivian Mendenhall, 4600 Rabbit Creek Rd., Anchorage, AK 99516, USA. Telephone: (907) 345-7124; Fax (907) 345-0686; e-mail: [email protected]

REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES Alaska and Russia Verena A. Gill, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Mammals Management, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., MS 341, Anchorage, AK 99503-6199, USA. Telephone: (907) 786-3584; Fax: (907) 786- 3816; cell phone: (907) 250-3721; e-mail: [email protected].

Canada Ken Morgan, Institute of Ocean Sciences. P.O. Box 6000, 9860 W. Saanich Rd., Sidney, B.C., Canada V8L 4B2. Telephone: (250) 363-6537; fax: (250) 363-6390; e-mail: [email protected]

Washington and Oregon Adrian Gall, ABR, Inc., P.O. Box 80410, Fairbanks, AK 99708, USA. Telephone: (907) 455- 6777; fax (907) 455-6781; e-mail: [email protected]

Northern California Esther Burkett, Calfornia Dept. of Fish and Game, 1416 Ninth St., Sacramento, CA 95814. Telephone: (916) 654-4273; fax: (916) 653-2588; e-mail: [email protected]

Southern California Dan Robinette, PRBO Conservation Science, Vandenberg Field Station, 205 N. H St., Suite 217, Lompoc, CA 93436, USA. Telephone (805) 735-7300; fax (805) 735-8817; e-mail [email protected]

Non-Pacific United States Melanie Steinkamp, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 11510 American Holly Dr., Room 206C, Laurel, MD 20708, USA. Telephone (301) 497-5678; fax: (301) 497-5706; e-mail: [email protected].

Pacific Rim Elizabeth Flint, USFWS, Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 50167, Honolulu, HI 96850, USA. Telephone: (808) 792-9553; e-mail: [email protected]

Old World Mark Tasker, JNCC, Dunnet House, 7 Thistle Place, Aberdeen AB10 1UZ, Scotland, UK. Telephone: 011 (from US/Canada) + 44-1224-642863, Fax: 011-44-1224-6214-88; e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

Student Representative Shiway Wang, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska,245 O’Neill Bldg., Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA. Telephone: (907) 474-5939; fax: (907) 474-7204; e-mail: [email protected].