Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary Annual Management Report 2012
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Special Areas Management Report, ADF&G/DWC/SAMR-2013-1 Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary Annual Management Report 2012 Edward W. Weiss Stephanie K. Sell © 2012 ADF&G. Photo by Diane Calamar Okonek. January 2013 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 all standard mathematical signs, deciliter dL abbreviations; e.g., Mr., Mrs., AM, symbols and abbreviations gram g PM, etc. alternate hypothesis HA hectare ha all commonly-accepted professional approximately ~ kilogram kg titles; e.g., Dr., Ph.D., R.N., etc. base of natural logarithm e kilometer km Alaska Administrative Code AAC catch per unit effort CPUE liter L Alaska Department of coefficient of variation CV meter m Fish and Game ADF&G common test statistics (F, t, 2, etc.) milliliter mL at @ confidence interval CI millimeter mm compass directions: correlation coefficient (multiple) R east E correlation coefficient (simple) r Weights and measures (English) north N covariance cov 3 cubic feet per second ft /s south S degree (angular) ° foot ft west W degrees of freedom df gallon gal copyright expected value E inch in corporate suffixes: greater than > mile mi Company Co. greater than or equal to nautical mile nmi Corporation Corp. harvest per unit effort HPUE ounce oz Incorporated Inc. less than < pound lb Limited Ltd. less than or equal to quart qt District of Columbia D.C. logarithm (natural) ln yard yd et alii (and others) et al. logarithm (base 10) log et cetera (and so forth) etc. logarithm (specify base) log2, etc. Time and temperature exempli gratia (for example) e.g. mean x day d Federal Information Code FIC minute (angular) ' degrees Celsius °C id est (that is) i.e. not significant NS degrees Fahrenheit °F latitude or longitude lat. or long. null hypothesis HO degrees kelvin K monetary symbols (U.S.) $, ¢ percent % hour h months (tables and figures): first plus or minus ± minute min three letters (Jan,...,Dec) population size N second s registered trademark probability P trademark sample size n Physics and chemistry United States (adjective) U.S. second (angular) " all atomic symbols United States of America (noun) USA standard deviation σ or s alternating current AC U.S.C. United States Code standard error (of the mean) sx U.S. state use two-letter abbreviations ampere A type I error probability Pa (e.g., AK, WA) 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: Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) disburse from First Beach haul out during thunderstorm July 7, 2012, Round Island, Alaska. Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary. Photo © 2012 ADF&G, by Diane Calamar Okonek. Special Areas Management Report, ADF&G/DWC/SAMR-2013-1 Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary Annual Management Report 2012 Edward W. Weiss, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation 333 Raspberry Road Anchorage, Alaska 99518 and Stephanie K. Sell, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation PO Box 110024 Juneau, AK 99811-0024 ©2013 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. Governor of Alaska: Sean Parnell ADF&G Commissioner: Cora Campbell Division of Wildlife Conservation Acting Director: Doug Vincent-Lang Lands and Refuges Program Coordinator: Joe Meehan It is the mission of the Division of Wildlife Conservation to conserve and enhance Alaska’s wildlife and habitats and provide for a wide range of public uses and benefits. 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. This document should be cited as follows: Weiss, Edward W., and Stephanie K Sell. 2013. Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary Annual Management Report 2012. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation, Special Areas Management Report, ADF&G/DWC/SAMR-2013-1. Anchorage, AK. 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 I. 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 .................................................................................................................................. 12 Marine mammals ................................................................................................................... 13 Terrestrial Mammals.............................................................................................................