An Estimate of the World Breeding Population of the Razorbill Clare S
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An estimate of the world breeding population of the Razorbill Clare S. Uoyd INTRODUCTION The Razorbill Alca tarda is confined to the northern Atlantic, breeding on the west coast from about 730 N (west Greenland) to 430 N (Maine) and in the east from about 780 N (Spitsbergen) to 49°N (Brittany) (Voous i960). Razorbills and Guillemots Uria aalge suffer heavy mortality through oil and other pollution at sea (e.g. Bourne and Bibby 1975) and declines have been reported in many breeding populations since the war (Cramp et al. 1974). Available estimates of various populations are given in table 1. Owing to extreme difficulties in counting Razorbills accurately, the figures must be regarded only as approximate, but they do form a basis for comparison with future counts, which, it is hoped, will be considerably more accurate. Most published counts are expressed as 'pairs' although there is sometimes doubt as to how these figures were obtained. In order to use comparable figures for all areas, I have converted the few counts given as 'individual birds' (actually the better counting unit) to pairs. Observations of birds present at one breeding colony in south Wales in 1972 and 1973 showed that, on average, a count of 100 birds on the cliffs during the main part of the breeding season (June) represented 56 breeding pairs; about 35% of the birds on land at this time were non-breeders and a small number of off-duty mates were also present throughout the day (Lloyd 1973, 1976). Observations at other colonies in Britain and Ireland since have given broadly similar results. Thus, where counts of birds are clearly indicated, I have multiplied these by 0.56 to obtain an estimate of the number of pairs. THE COLONIES West Greenland, Canada and USA Bedard (1969) gave a total of 47,000 pairs of Razorbills in the western Atlantic colonies but some of the counts he included were outdated. A more complete survey of these colonies by Brown et al. (1975) amounted to only 20,664 pairs, although figures for 33 of the 59 colonies they listed, which account for 39% of the total, were pre-1967. Earlier counts are available for 14 of the colonies covered by Nettleship et al. in 1967-74 and these suggest extensive changes in the last 10 to 20 years. Numbers had apparently de• clined at seven colonies, remained stable at three and increased at the rest; there had been a general reduction of about 50%. 298 {Brit. Birds, 69: 298-304, August *9?6] World Razorbill population 299 Table 1, An estimate of the world breeding population oi the Razorbill Alca tarda Figures for Greenland, Canada and Maine include estimated numbers of pairs (in brackets) from counts of individuals. The figure for north USSR is incomplete; that for Norway a maximum, assuming a 33% decline in only 12% of the popu• lation; and for Britain and Ireland a minimum (see text). Year of census is given only if known to be different from that in reference. Nomenclature after Salomonsen (1944) Approximate no. Year of Area Subspecies of breeding pairs Reference census Greenland A. 1. pica 567(417) Joensen and Preuss 1965 1972 Salomonsen 1950/51 1936,1949 Canada A. t, pica 20,636(4,688) Brown et at. 1975 1928-74 Maine A. t. pica 38(28) Brown et at. 1975 »97«-74 North USSR A. t. pica 2,200 Gerasimova 1961 Norway A, t. pica 25,440 Brun 1969, 1971 1968-70 Sweden A. t. tarda 4,000 V, Olsson in lift. «975 Finland A. t. tarda 875 Lippens and Wille 1972 Denmark A. t. tarda 200 Franzmann 1974 Iceland A, t. islandica 5,000 see text Faeroe Islands A. t. islandka 5,000 B. Olsen in lilt. 1974 Britain and Ireland A. t. islandica 144,000 Cramp et al. 1974 1969-70 France A. t. islandica 100 Brien 1970 ESTIMATED TOTAL 208,046 The best documented change in the North American Razorbill population has occurred on the north coast of the Gulf of St Law• rence, where regular surveys at seven sites have shown a decline from 16,216 individuals in i960 (Moisan 1962) to 14,950 indivi• duals (92%) in 1965 (Moisan and Fyfe 1967) and only 4,320 individuals (27%) in 1972 (Nettleship and Lock 1973). This decline has been tentatively attributed to the effects of oil pollution and of toxic chemicals in the birds' diet. Spitsbergen 'Small numbers of Razorbills bred in southern Spitsbergen up to 1968' (Lovenskiold 1963), though there has been no recent count. At least eight pairs bred on Bear Island in 1970 (Brun 1970) where 'very small numbers' had been reported in 1932 (Bertram and Lack 1933). USSR The only available record of the size of the breeding population in northern USSR (Gerasimova 1961) is outdated and refers just to 300 World Razorbill population the Murmansk coast; no records have been found for the White Sea, where the species also breeds (Voous i960). Iceland Hachisuka (1927) reported Razorbills to be more common in the south; however 'although the Razorbill is a fairly common bird ... it is less numerous than both the Common and Brunnich's Guillemots [U. lomvid]' (F. Gudmunsson in lift. 1973). The popu• lation is tentatively estimated here as 5,000 pairs. Faeroe Islands Little is known of the population on the Faeroe Islands. In 1974 Guillemots outnumbered Razorbills by about 100:1 on the cliffs and 100-150:1 on the sea, and the total population of Razorbills was estimated to be 5,000 pairs (B, Olsen in lift,). Norway Brun (1969) gave details of all colonies in Norway in about 1968, but by 1970 numbers had declined by 33% in at least one colony in southern Norway (Runde) which previously held 12% of the total population (Brun 1971). Brun suggested that this order of decline could be expected for other colonies in the area, owing to pressures from oil pollution and hunting and to birds becoming caught in fishing nets. Finland Merikallio (1958) suggested that the Razorbill breeding population was half what it had been in the 1930's, as the cold winters of 1939/40 and 1941/42 had had a disastrous effect on the birds (von Haartman 1947; see also Lloyd 1976). The total population is now about 875 pairs (Lippens and Wille 1972). Sweden Wohler (1919) reported 7,500 pairs of Razorbills breeding in the largest colonies on the islands of Stora Karlso in 1918, although it is probable that this figure was greatly exaggerated. About 1,500 pairs were estimated to be nesting there in 1975 (V. Olsson in lift,). Human disturbance and adverse weather conditions are the main causes of the low numbers and breeding success at other colonies (Olsson 1974). Denmark The Danish breeding population was also affected by the cold winters. Paludan (1947) gave the following counts of numbers breeding at Christians© in the south Baltic: 318 pairs in 1939 World Razorbill population 3DI (Salomonsen 1943 put it at 2,200 pairs), 161 pairs in 1940, 175 pairs in 1941, 59 pairs in 1942 and 64 pairs in 1943. Numbers appeared to recover at this and other Baltic colonies, and Kartashev (i960) gave a count of 318 pairs, which may have declined since (see table I)- Germany Twelve pairs of Razorbills bred on the island of Heligoland in 1939, though by 1956 these had declined to a single pair (Vauk 1957); this colony is now extinct (Dr W. R. P. Bourne in litt.). Britain and Ireland 'Operation Seafarer' in 1969/70 gave a total of 144,000 pairs of Razorbills. This consisted of 108,736 pairs and 35,147 individual birds (approximately 19,682 pairs), but excluded two colonies of order 1 (1 to 9 pairs), six colonies of order 2 (10 to 99 pairs), three colonies of order 3 and three colonies of upper order 3 (100 to 999 pairs), one colony of low order 4 (1,000 to 9,999 pairs) and one colony of order 5 (10,000 to 999,999 pairs). Together these ac• counted for an estimated minimum of 17,310 pairs. Thus the total population was probably in the region of 145,730 pairs. Results from an annual monitoring scheme at about 50 sites since suggest that numbers are currently stable. France About 450 pairs of Razorbills bred on Les Sept lies in Brittany before the Torrey Canyon oil spill in 1967, but these were reported to have declined to only 50 pairs (Monnat 1969) and unfortunately the colony has shown little sign of recovery. DISCUSSION At least 70% of the world population of Razorbills breeds in Britain and Ireland; the coasts of Canada/New England and Norway also hold 9% and 12% respectively of the total. By contrast, roughly about 10% of the world population of the far more numerous Puffin Fratercula arctica also breeds in Britain and Ireland (Harris 1976), although all these figures must be regarded as approximate since auks are notoriously difficult to count accurately. Throughout much of its range, the Razorbill, like the Puffin, is reported to have declined in breeding numbers in recent years, though the timing and magnitude of these declines are impossible to assess in the absence of reliable early counts. Razorbill populations are especially vulnerable to increased mortality. Usually only about 10% of the breeding birds die each year (Lloyd 1974, 1976, Lloyd and Perrins in prep.); a slight increase 302 World Razorbill population in mortality of pre-breeding or breeding birds can drastically affect breeding population size. Moreover, because relatively few young are normally recruited into the breeding population each year, this can take several years to recover from one 'bad' year.