Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary Annual Management Report 2013
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Special Areas Management Report, ADF&G/DWC/SAMR-2014-2 Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary Annual Management Report 2013 Edward W. Weiss Ryan P. Morrill © 2013 ADF&G. Photo by Benjamin Histand. February 2014 Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation Symbols and Abbreviations The following symbols and abbreviations, and others approved for the Système International d'Unités (SI), are used without definition in the reports by the Division of Wildlife Conservation. All others, including deviations from definitions listed below, are noted in the text at first mention, as well as in the titles or footnotes of tables, and in figure or figure captions. Weights and measures (metric) General Mathematics, statistics centimeter cm all commonly-accepted abbreviations; e.g., Mr., Mrs.,all AM standard, PM, etc. mathematical signs, deciliter dL all commonly-accepted professional titles; e.g., Dr., symbolsPh.D., R.N., and etc.abbreviations gram g Alaska Administrative Code AAC alternate hypothesis HA hectare ha Alaska Department of approximately ~ kilogram kg Fish and Game ADF&Gbase of natural logarithm e kilometer km at @ catch per unit effort CPUE liter L compass directions: coefficient of variation CV meter m east E common test statistics (F, t, χ2, etc.) milliliter mL north N confidence interval CI millimeter mm south S correlation coefficient (multiple) R west W correlation coefficient (simple) r Weights and measures (English) copyright covariance cov 3 cubic feet per second ft /s corporate suffixes: degree (angular) ° foot ft Company Co. degrees of freedom df gallon gal Corporation Corp. expected value E inch in Incorporated Inc. greater than > mile mi Limited Ltd. greater than or equal to ≥ nautical mile nmi District of Columbia D.C. harvest per unit effort HPUE ounce oz et alii (and others) et al. less than < pound lb et cetera (and so forth) etc. less than or equal to ≤ quart qt exempli gratia (for example) e.g. logarithm (natural) ln yard yd Federal Information Code FIC logarithm (base 10) log id est (that is) i.e. logarithm (specify base) log2, etc. Time and temperature latitude or longitude lat. or long. mean x day d monetary symbols (U.S.) $, ¢ minute (angular) ' degrees Celsius °C months (tables and figures): first not significant NS degrees Fahrenheit °F three letters (Jan,...,Dec) null hypothesis HO degrees kelvin K registered trademark percent % hour h trademark plus or minus ± minute min United States (adjective) U.S. population size N second s United States of America (noun) USA probability P U.S.C. United States Code sample size n Physics and chemistry U.S. state use two-letter abbreviations second (angular) " all atomic symbols (e.g., AK,standard WA) deviation σ or s alternating current AC standard error (of the mean) sx ampere A type I error probability Pa calorie cal type II error probability Pb direct current DC variance σ2 or s2 hertz Hz horsepower hp hydrogen ion activity (negative log of) pH parts per million ppm parts per thousand ppt, ‰ volts V watts W Cover Photo: A black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) perches on top of a Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) resting on the Flat Rock haulout August 30, 2013, Round Island, Alaska. Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary. Photo © 2013 ADF&G, by Benjamin Histand. Special Areas Management Report, ADF&G/DWC/SAMR-2014-2 Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary Annual Management Report 2013 Edward W. Weiss, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation 333 Raspberry Road Anchorage, Alaska 99518 and Ryan P. Morrill, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation 333 Raspberry Road Anchorage, Alaska 99518 February 2014 ©2014 Alaska Department of Fish and Game Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation 333 Raspberry Road Anchorage, AK 99518 The State of Alaska’s wildlife refuges, sanctuaries, and critical habitat areas are managed by the Lands and Refuges program of the Division of Wildlife Conservation in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Funding for the program and and its publications comes from appropriations made by the Alaska Legislature. Special Area Management Reports address management activities and goals within specific Refuges, Critical Habitat Areas and Sanctuaries managed by the division. The Special Areas Management Reports are intended for biologists or other technical professionals, as well as to inform the general public about the special areas. Reports are available through the Alaska State Library and through the department’s Internet website at www.adfg.alaska.gov. This publication was reviewed and approved for publication by Joe Meehan, Lands and Refuges Program Coordinator, Anchorage, Alaska. It was published and is provided in electronic PDF format only. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game does not endorse or recommend any specific company or their products. Product names used in this publication are included for completeness but do not constitute product endorsement. Special Areas Management Reports are available from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Wildlife Conservation, PO Box 115526, Juneau, Alaska 99811-5526; phone (907) 465-4190; email: [email protected]; website: www.adfg.alaska.gov. The report may also be accessed through most libraries, via interlibrary loan from the Alaska State Library or the Alaska Resources Library and Information Service (www.arlis.org). This document should be cited as follows: Weiss, E. W., and R. P. Morrill. 2014. Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary Annual Management Report 2013. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation, Special Areas Management Report ADF&G/DWC/SAMR-2014-2, Anchorage, Alaska. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) administers all programs and activities free from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, or disability. The department administers all programs and activities in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility please write: ADF&G ADA Coordinator, P.O. Box 115526, Juneau, AK, 99811-5526 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042, Arlington, VA, 22203 Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW MS 5230, Washington D.C., 20240 The department’s ADA Coordinator can be reached via telephone at the following numbers: (VOICE) 907-465-6077 (Statewide Telecommunication Device for the Deaf) 1-800-478-3648 (Juneau TDD) 907-465-3646, or (FAX) 907-465-6078 For information on alternative formats and questions on this publication, please contact: ADF&G, Division of Wildlife Conservation, Lands and Refuges Program. 333 Raspberry Road, Anchorage, AK 99518-1565. Email [email protected]; phone (907) 267-2257. Table of Contents List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... ii List of Appendices ................................................................................................................... ii Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... iii Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 Wildlife Research & Monitoring ........................................................................................... 2 Walrus Monitoring Surveys .................................................................................................. 2 Observer variability counts ................................................................................................ 5 Walrus Disturbance Monitoring ............................................................................................ 7 Steller Sea Lion Monitoring .................................................................................................. 8 Seabird Monitoring ............................................................................................................. 10 Pelagic cormorant productivity monitoring ..................................................................... 10 Black-legged kittiwake productivity monitoring ............................................................. 10 Common murre productivity monitoring ........................................................................ 12 Population counts ............................................................................................................ 12 Other Observations .............................................................................................................. 12 Weather ............................................................................................................................ 13 Marine mammals ............................................................................................................. 13 Terrestrial Mammals .......................................................................................................