Status Assessment and Conservation Plan for the Yellow-Billed Loon (Gavia Adamsii)
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Prepared in Cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Status Assessment and Conservation Plan for the Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii). Scientific Investigations Report 2004-5258. U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Geological Survey. Status Assessment and Conservation Plan for the Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii) By Susan L. Earnst U.S. Geological Survey. Prepared in Cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Scientific Investigations Report 2004–5258 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior Gale A. Norton, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Charles G. Groat, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2004 For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services Box 25286, Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 For more information about the USGS and its products: Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/ Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Suggested citation: Earnst, S.L. 2004, Status Assessment and Conservation Plan for the Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii). U.S. Geological Survey, Scientific Investigations Report 2004-5258, 42 p. Key words: 1. Yelllow-billed Loon. 2. Gavia adamsii. 3. Arctic. 4. Population size. 5. Population trend. 6. Distribution. 7. Alaska. 8. National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Acknowledgments iii Acknowledgments. Funding to prepare this report was provided by the Nongame Bird Office, Division of Migra- tory Birds, Region 7, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Kent Wohl, Brad Andres, Russ Oates, and Robert Leedy have been instrumental in supporting research and monitoring of Yellow-billed Loons and other loon species throughout Alaska. Discussions during annual Alaska Loon and Grebe Working Group meetings provided the framework for the Conservation Plan. I am grateful to the many individuals who shared unpublished materials and their expertise: Julian Fischer, Rodney King, Kathy Kuletz, William Larned, Ed Mallek, Philip Martin, Robert Platte, Robert Stehn, Ted Swem, Cynthia Wentworth, Debbie Wong (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service); Amy Van Atten, Brian Fadely, and Kim Rivera (National Marine Fisheries Service); Suzanne Georgette and Sverre Pedersen (Alaska Department of Fish and Game); Jon Bart and Joel Schmutz (U.S. Geological Survey); Jeremy Kerr and Richard Fernandes (Canada Centre for Remote Sensing); Rick Johnson (ABR Inc.); David Evers (BioDiversity Research Institute); Kate Taylor (Loon Preser- vation Committee, Audubon Society of New Hampshire); Jeff Fair (Fairwinds Wildlife Services); and Tracey Gotthardt (Alaska Natural Heritage Program). The manuscript benefited from careful reviews by David Evers, Jeff Fair, Philip Martin, Judith McIntyre, Tamara Mills, Michael North, Robert Platte, Joel Schmutz, Kent Wohl, and 3 anonymous reviewers. Thanks to Ed Starkey and Ruth Jacobs (U.S. Geological Survey) for facilitating publication, to Erik Ackerson (Earth Design, Ink) for patiently and professionally preparing the layout and design, and to Ariel Pearlson for technical editing. Thanks to our many field assistants who made the Colville loon study possible and enjoyable. Photographs on back cover by Paul Anderson (airplane over North Slope lakes), Charles Eldermire (loon landing on the Colville River Delta), and NASA (infrared imagery of the Colville River Delta purchased from AirMap U.S., Inc, Anchorage, Alaska). Other photographs taken by the author on the Colville River Delta. Thanks to Jeff Stephens for the illustration of the adult and chicks on page 36. iv Status Assessment and Conservation Plan for the Yellow-billed Loon Contents v Contents. Abstract. ......................................................................................................................................................... 1. Status Assessment. ...................................................................................................................................... 2. 1. Taxonomy. ......................................................................................................................................... 2. 2. Legal Status. .................................................................................................................................... 2. 3. Description. ...................................................................................................................................... 2. 4. Range. ............................................................................................................................................... 3. 5. Life-history Summary. .................................................................................................................... 4. A. Habitat Requirements. .......................................................................................................... 4. B. Reproductive Ecology. .......................................................................................................... 7. C. Demography. ........................................................................................................................... 9. D. Feeding Ecology. .................................................................................................................... 9. E. Movements and Migration. ................................................................................................ 10. F. Breeding Philopatry and Juvenile Dispersal. .................................................................. 10. G. Mortality. ............................................................................................................................... 11. 6. Population Distribution, Size, and Trends. ................................................................................ 11. A. Relative Abundance and Distribution in Alaska. ............................................................ 11. B. Relative Abundance and Distribution in Canada. .......................................................... 13. C. Relative Abundance and Distribution in Russia. ............................................................ 13. D. Relative Abundance and Distribution on Wintering Sites. ........................................... 13. E. Population Size. ................................................................................................................... 14. F. Population Trends. ............................................................................................................... 15. 7. Potential Threats to the Population. .......................................................................................... 17. A. Habitat Loss on the Breeding Grounds. ........................................................................... 17. B. Habitat Conservation on the Breeding Grounds . .......................................................... 20 C. Habitat Loss and Mortality on the Wintering Grounds. ................................................. 21. D. Human Utilization: Subsistence Harvest and Fisheries Bycatch. ............................... 21. E. Disease or Predation. ......................................................................................................... 22. F. Other Anthropogenic and Natural Factors—Contaminants. ....................................... 23. 8. Current Protection of Populations and Habitats. ..................................................................... 24. A. Current Protective Status of Yellow-billed Loons. ......................................................... 24. B. Land Ownership and Existing Habitat Protection. ......................................................... 24 9. Current Conservation, Monitoring, and Research Actions. ................................................... 24 A. Conservation and Education. ............................................................................................. 24. B. Monitoring Abundance on the Breeding Grounds. ........................................................ 25. C. Other Monitoring . ............................................................................................................... 27. D. Research. .............................................................................................................................. 30. Conservation Plan . ..................................................................................................................................... 33. Conservation Goal. ............................................................................................................................ 33. Research and Monitoring Goal. ...................................................................................................... 33. Research and Monitoring Objectives and Strategies. ............................................................... 33. Literature Cited. ........................................................................................................................................... 37. vi Status Assessment and Conservation Plan for the Yellow-billed Loon List of Figures. 1. World-wide Yellow-billed Loon breeding and wintering range. .................................................... 3. 2. Yellow-billed Loon breeding and wintering range in Alaska. ......................................................... 4. 3. Relative abundance of Yellow-billed Loons on the North Slope of Alaska during 1992–2003.. ..........................................................................................................................