A STATUS ASSESSMENT of the DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax Auritus) in WESTERN NORTH AMERICA: 1998-2009

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A STATUS ASSESSMENT of the DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax Auritus) in WESTERN NORTH AMERICA: 1998-2009 A STATUS ASSESSMENT OF THE DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax auritus) IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICA: 1998-2009 Final Report March 2010 A STATUS ASSESSMENT OF THE DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax auritus) IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICA: 1998-2009 Final Report Submitted to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District 333 SW First Avenue Portland, OR 97204 Prepared by Jessica Y. Adkins and Daniel D. Roby USGS – Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit 104 Nash Hall Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon 97331-3803 Internet: [email protected] Telephone: 541-737-1957 See Appendix 4 for a complete list of co-authors 31 March 2010 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................. 8 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................................... 9 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 10 SPECIES DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................................. 12 TAXONOMY ................................................................................................................................................. 12 LEGAL AND CONSERVATION STATUS .......................................................................................................... 13 Canada ........................................................................................................................................... 13 United States .................................................................................................................................. 13 Mexico ............................................................................................................................................ 14 MANAGEMENT UNITS ................................................................................................................................. 14 NATURAL HISTORY ...................................................................................................................................... 15 Breeding ......................................................................................................................................... 15 Nesting Chronology........................................................................................................... 15 Nesting Habits ................................................................................................................... 16 Diet .................................................................................................................................... 16 Predators........................................................................................................................... 17 Population Limiting Factors .............................................................................................. 17 Habitat Requirements .................................................................................................................... 18 Breeding ............................................................................................................................ 18 Non-breeding .................................................................................................................... 18 GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION IN THE PACIFIC REGION ................................................................................ 18 Breeding ......................................................................................................................................... 18 Non-breeding ................................................................................................................................. 19 POPULATION ESTIMATES AND TRENDS FOR THE WESTERN POPULATION ................................................ 19 Breeding ......................................................................................................................................... 19 British Columbia ................................................................................................................ 20 Washington ....................................................................................................................... 21 Oregon .............................................................................................................................. 23 California ........................................................................................................................... 24 Interior States ................................................................................................................... 25 Western Population of Double-crested Cormorants ........................................................ 26 Non-breeding ................................................................................................................................. 27 Christmas Bird Count Data ................................................................................................ 27 CONNECTIVITY AMONG COLONY SITES ...................................................................................................... 27 Range ............................................................................................................................................. 27 Movements .................................................................................................................................... 27 3 Overwintering ................................................................................................................................ 28 Locations Utilized ........................................................................................................................... 28 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 29 STATUS EVALUATION .................................................................................................................................. 29 Threats ........................................................................................................................................... 29 Predation .......................................................................................................................... 29 Human Disturbance .......................................................................................................... 30 Environmental Contaminants ........................................................................................... 30 Oil Pollution ...................................................................................................................... 31 Disease .............................................................................................................................. 31 Forage Base ....................................................................................................................... 32 Habitat Status ................................................................................................................................ 33 RESEARCH NEEDS AND INFORMATION GAPS ............................................................................................. 33 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................................. 34 LITERATURE CITED ...................................................................................................................................... 51 Appendix 1. Locality coordinates, date of most recent census, most recent number of nests (i.e., breeding pairs), and data reference for double-crested cormorant colonies at marine and estuarine sites from southern British Columbia to the U.S.-Mexico border through 2009. B indicates breeding. ............ 59 Appendix 2. Locality coordinates, dates of most recent census dates, most recent numbers of nests (i.e., breeding pairs), and data references for double-crested cormorant colonies at inland sites in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, and the portions of Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico west of the Continental Divide, through 2009. B indicates breeding; PB indicates possible breeding. .................................................................................................. 64 Appendix 3. Data and personal communication sources and affiliations. ................................................ 68 Appendix 4. List of co-authors in alphabetical order. ................................................................................. 69 4 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Numbers of double-crested cormorant breeding pairs at marine and estuarine sites in British Columbia, 1998-2009. Years with few or no data are omitted. A dash indicates no data recorded at that site in that year. Totals in parentheses are incomplete due to missing data because of either (1) a lack of estimates for a large number of sites, (2) no estimate for a site likely to represent a large portion of breeding pairs for the area, or (3) only a visual approximation of breeding pairs was available for a given site(s), rather than a precise count. See Appendix 1 for a complete
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