Survey for Arctic-breeding Shorebirds in the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia, March 2003 Prepared by Lee Tibbitts, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, Alaska 99503; Tel 907 786 3340, Email
[email protected] Richard Lanctot, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, Alaska 99503; 907 786 3609,
[email protected] Eric VanderWerf, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services Division, 300 Ala Moana Blvd. Honolulu, Hawaii 96850; 808 792 9400,
[email protected] Verena Gill, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Mammals Management, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., Anchorage, Alaska 99503; 907 786 3584,
[email protected] Information presented here is preliminary and should not be cited without permission of the authors. If cited please use: Tibbitts, T.L., R.B. Lanctot, E. VanderWerf, and V.A. Gill. 2003. Survey for Arctic- breeding shorebirds in the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia, March 2003. Unpublished report for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska. Arctic-breeding Shorebirds in French Polynesia 2 Executive Summary In March 2003, biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey joined an international expedition headed by biologists from La Société d’Ornithologie de Polynésie and Wildland Consultants of New Zealand and traveled to remote atolls in the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. The objectives of this collaborative venture were to (1) determine the presence and approximate numbers of resident and migratory birds and mammalian pests on several, mostly uninhabited, atolls in the central and southern Tuamotu Archipelago, (2) search for color-marked Bristle- thighed Curlews (Numenius tahitiensis), and where possible, capture and collect blood samples from individuals of this species, (3) conduct pelagic surveys for seabirds, and (4) promote cooperative bird research in the Central Pacific.