Exxon Vuldez Oil Spill Restoration Project Final Report Common
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Exxon Vuldez Oil Spill Restoration Project Final Report Common Murre Population Monitoring at the Barren Islands, Alaska, 1999 Restorat.ion Project 99144 Final Report This final report was submitted for peer review as part of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council restoration program to assess project progress. Peer review comments have been addressed in this version of the report. David G. Roseneau Arthur B. Kettle G. 'Vernon Byrd U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Maritime: National Wildlife Refuge 2355 Kachemak Bay Drive (Suite 101) Homer, Alaska 99603-8021 The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 'Trustee Council conducts all programs and activities free from discrimination, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This publication is available in alternative communication formats upon request. Please contact the Restoration Office to make any necessary arrangements. Any person who believes she or he has been discriminated against should write to: EVOS Trustee Council, 645 G Street, Suite 401, Anchorage, AK 99501; or O.E.O. US. Department of Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240. Common Murre Population Monitoring at the Barren Islands, Alaska, 1999 Restoration Project 99144 Final Report Studv Historv: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Tntstee Council-sponsored common murre damage assessment studies were initiated at the Barren Islands in 1989 as part of Department of Interior - Fish and Wildlife Service (DOI-FWS) Bird Study No. 3 (Population surveys of seabird nesting colonies in Prince William Sound, the outside coast of the Kenai Peninsula, Barren Islands, and other nearby colonies, with emphasis on changes in numbers and reproduction of murres). During the damage assessment work, three progress reports were written (Nysewander and Dipple 1990, 1991; Dipple and Nysewander 1992), and a final report of 1989-1991 results was completed in 1993 (see Nysewander et al. 1993, Effects of the TNExxon Valdez oil spill on murres: A perspective from observations at breeding colonies). In 1992, murre restoration monitoring work began at the Barren Islands as part of Restoration Project No. 11 (see Dragoo et al. 1995, Effects of the TN Exxon Valdez oil spill on murres: A perspective from observations at breeding colonies four years after the spill), and two additional restoration monitoring projects were conducted there in 1993-1994 (Restoration Projects 93049 and 94039, respectively-see Roseneau et al. 1995, Common murre restoration monitoring in the Barren Islands, Alaska, 1993; and Roseneau et al. 1996a, Common murre restoration monitoring in the Barren Islands, Alaska, 1994). In 1996 and 1997, the Barren Islands murre colonies were censused again to reassess the recovery status of this injured species in the spill area (Projects 96144 and 97144; see Roseneau et al. 1997a, common murre population monitoring at the Barren Islands, Alaska, 1996; and Roseneau et al. 1998a, common murre population monitoring at the Barren Islands, Alaska, 1997, respectively). The study continued as Project 99144 in 1999 (see DOf-FWS FY 99 common murre population monitoring detailed project description). Abstract: Murres were censused at the East Amatuli Island - Light Rock and Nord Island - Northwest Islet Barren Islands colonies by th.e same methods used during the 1993- 1994 and 1996-1997 restoration monitoring projects. Counts were pooled and averaged with estimates obtained during the 1989-1997 US. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1990-1992 University of Washington, and 1991 Dames & Moore postspill studies, and analyzed for trends. Positive trends were present at a small East Amatuli Island - Light Rock plot set and Light Rock, and a significant increase was also found at the Nord Island - Northwest Islet colony. The increasing strength of the East Amatuli Island - Light Rock trends c:oupled with the Nord Island - Northwest Islet increase indicated that murre populations were continuing to recover at these important northern Gulf of Alaska nesting locations. Kev Words: Barren Islands, common murres, East Amatuli Island, East Amatuli Light Rock, Exxon Valdez, Gulf of Alaska, Nord Island, oil spill, population monitoring, Prince William Sound, restoration monitoring, thick-billed murres, Uria aalge, Uria lomvia. Proiect Data: The 1989-1999 Barren Islands census data have been compiled in Excel spread sheets and are available on Mac or PC disks, or in printed form upon request. These data can also be found in tables and appendices attached tcl the 1993-1999 annual and final reports. Citation: Roseneau, D.G., A.B. Kettle, and G.V. Byrd. 2000. Common murre population monitoring at the Barren Islands, Alaska, 1999. Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Project Final Report (Restoration Project 99144), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Homer, Alaska. Table of Contents ... List of Tables ............................................................................................... 111 ... List of Figures .............................................................................................. 1u ... List of Appendices .......................................................................................... 1u EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................... v INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................. 2 METHODS ................................................................................................. 2 RESULTS ................................................................................................... 4 East Amatuli Island - Light Rock ..................................................................... 4 Nord Island - Northwest Islet ........................................................................ 4 DISCUSSION .............................................................................................. 5 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................... 5 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................. 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................. 6 LITERATURECmD .................................................................................... 6 List of Tables Table 1. Average counts of murres on the primary East Amatuli Island - Light Rock and Nord Island - Northwest Islet multicount plots at the Barren Islands, Alaska nesting colonies during 1.989-1999 ................................................... 9 Table 2. Average counts of murres on East Amatuli Island - Light Rock multicount plots BMP 3-4 and the four UW OSTR plots at the Barren Islands, Alaska during 1989-1999 .............................................................................. 11 Table 3. Average counts of murres at The Barren Islands, Alaska East Amatuli Island - Light Rock and Nord Island .. Northwest Islet colonies during 1989- 1999 . 13 List of Figures Figure 1. Location of the Barren Island.s, Alaska .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 15 Figure 2. The East Amatuli Island - East Amatuli Light Rock and Nord Island - Northwest Islet study areas, Barren Islands, Alaska ..... ...... .... ..... ... .... .... .... .... .. 16 Figure 3. Murre nesting habitat, population census plots, and multicount plots at the East Amatuli Island - Light Rock and Nord Island - Northwest Islet seabird colonies, Barren Islands, Alaska .... .... ......... .... ..... ...... .... .__...__ __ . ..... ___ 17 Figure 4. Average counts of murres on (a) East Amatuli Island - Light Rock multicount plots BMP 1-8 and (b) BMP 3-4, Barren Islands, Alaska 1989-1999 . , . , . , .. , , , 18 Figure 5. Average counts of murres on (a) the University of Washington (UW)Oval, Swatch, Triangle Rock NW,and Triangle Rock S (OSTR) plots, and (b) Light Rock, Barren Islands, Alaska 1989-1999 _____ .___._..., , .... , .. , , .. , ... , .. , .. , , , ... 19 Figure 6. Average counts of murres at 'East Amatuli Island - Light Rock , Barren Islands, Alaska 1991-1997 ...................................................................... 20 Figure 7. Average counts of murres on (a) Nord Island - Northwest Islet multicount plots BMPl-11 and (b) Nord Island - Northwest Islet, Barren Islands, Alaska 1989- 1999 ...................................................................................... 21 List of Appendices Appendix 1. Counts of murres at East Amatuli Light Rock, 17 July 1999 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 22 Appendix 2. Counts of murres at East Amatuli Light Rock, 19 July 1999 .._,. , , .. .. , .. , , ... , .. 23 Appendix 3. Counts of murres at East Amatuli Light Rock, 20 July 1999 ___.. ._. .. , ... , , .. 24 Appendix 4. Counts of murres at East Amatuli Light Rock, 22 July 1999 ___.. .__ __. , . , __. , _.. 25 Appendix 5. Counts of murres at East Amatuli Island, 28 July 1999 .. ... ... .. .. ... ... ... 26 Appendix 6. Counts of murres on multicount plots at East Amatuli Island - Light Rock, 1998 27 iii Appendix 7 . Counts of murres on multicount plots at East Amatuli Island .Light Rock. 1999 ...................................................................................... 29 Appendix 8 . Counts of murres on multicount plots at the Nord Island - Northwest Islet and East Amatuli Island - Light Rock colonies, Barren Islands, Alaska, 1989- 1999 .....................................................................................