Seasonality of Seabird Distribution in Lower Cook Inlet
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OCS Study BOEM 2017-011 Seasonality of Seabird Distribution in Lower Cook Inlet US Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Headquarters OCS Study BOEM 2017-011 Seasonality of Seabird Distribution in Lower Cook Inlet Final Report Authors Martin Renner Katherine J. Kuletz Elizabeth A. Labunski Prepared under BOEM Award M14PG00031 by Tern Again Consulting 811 Ocean Drive Loop Homer, AK 99603 and Migratory Bird Management U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1011 E. Tudor Rd. Anchorage, Alaska 99503 US Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Headquarters January 10, 2017 DISCLAIMER This study was funded, in part, by the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program, Washington, DC, through Intra- Agency Agreement Number M14PG00031with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This report has been technically reviewed by BOEM and it has been approved for publication. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the US Government, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. REPORT AVAILABILITY To download a PDF file of this Alaska OCS Region report, go to the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program Information System website http://www.boem.gov/Environmental-Stewardship/Environmental-Studies-Program-Information- System.aspx and search on OCS Study BOEM 2017-011. This report can be viewed at select Federal Depository Libraries. It can also be obtained from the National Technical Information Service; the contact information is below. US Department of Commerce National Technical Information Service 5301 Shawnee Rd. Springfield, VA 22312 Phone: (703) 605-6000, 1(800)553-6847 Fax: (703) 605-6900 Website: http://www.ntis.gov/ CITATION Renner, M, Kuletz, K. J, Labunski, E. 2017. Seasonality of Seabird Distribution in Lower Cook Inlet. US Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Alaska OCS Regional Office, Anchorage, AK. OCS Study BOEM 2017-011. 46 pp. ii Acknowledgements We are grateful for the hospitality and professionalism of the crews of the R/V Pandalus and Dream Catcher. In addition to the authors, the following observers worked on this project: Luke DeCicco, Nick Hajdukovich, and Declan Troy — thank you all! This project would not have been possible without the collaboration of Angela Doroff of the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and Kris Holderied of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. iii Seasonality of Seabird Distribution in Lower Cook Inlet Contents List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................... iii Abbreviations and Acronyms .............................................................................................................. iv 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Study Chronology ...................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 History of research and available datasets ................................................................................ 3 2 Project Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 4 3 Methods ......................................................................................................................................... 5 3.1 Study area ................................................................................................................................. 5 3.2 Data collection .......................................................................................................................... 9 3.3 Survey effort ............................................................................................................................ 10 3.4 Data processing ........................................................................................................................ 12 3.5 Data analysis ............................................................................................................................ 12 4 Results .......................................................................................................................................... 13 4.1 Spatial and seasonal patterns of marine birds .......................................................................... 13 4.2 Seasonality of seabird community composition ........................................................................ 14 4.3 Comparing closely related species ............................................................................................ 18 4.4 Marine Mammals ..................................................................................................................... 19 4.5 Kachemak Bay survey ............................................................................................................... 21 5 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 22 5.1 Management Implications and Recommendations ................................................................... 23 5.2 Recommendations: ................................................................................................................... 24 6 Literature cited .............................................................................................................................. 25 7 Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 29 7.1 Appendix A. Latin names of marine bird species ....................................................................... 29 7.2 Appendix B. Latin names of marine mammal species ................................................................ 29 7.3 Appendix C Maps marine bird distribution in LCI ....................................................................... 30 i List of Figures Figure 1. Circulation patterns of surface water modeled after the patterns from satellite drifters (Figure supplied by Angela Doroff, KBRR). These patterns largely match those described by Burbank (1977). ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Figure 2. Interpolation of CTD casts along the Anchor Point line, across Lower Cook Inlet, 2 May 2012, going west (left) to east (right). Warm, oceanic water (reds) entering the inlet is visible on the right and cold inlet water (blues) flowing south can be seen on the left. No stratification is apparent, indicating that the water column is still well mixed. Unpublished figure, provided by Kris Holderied, NOAA. .................................................................................................................................................. 6 Figure 3. Interpolation of CTD casts in the middle of Kachemak Bay, 2012-2016. The build-up of stratification during summer (warm surface water, cooler bottom water) and the unusually high temperatures seen since 2014 are evident. Unpublished figure, provided by Kris Holderied, NOAA. 7 Figure 4. Study area in LCI, showing key geographic locations and location of major seabird colonies (triangles; based on Beringian Seabird Colony Catalog, Stephensen and Irons, 2003). Red lines mark NOAA and KBRR transects for the Lower Cook Inlet (LCI) monitoring project. Black lines mark survey tracks from previous coordinated studies (Piatt, ed., 2002, Speckman et al. 2005). The blue line separates the western and eastern portions of LCI, corresponding to inflowing water (east) and outflowing water (west). Map based on Speckman et al. (2005). ......................................................... 8 Figure 5. Pre-defined NOAA/KBRR transects for the Lower Cook Inlet monitoring project (left) and actual USFWS marine bird and marine mammal transects 2012–2016, conducted in conjunctions with NOAA/KBRR surveys (right). ...................................................................................................... 9 Figure 6. Kachemak Bay transects surveyed in July 2016. These survey transects were initially used in July 2005-2007 and 2011. ................................................................................................................... 10 Figure 7. Annual distribution of marine bird surveys, 1975-2016 in Lower Cook Inlet. Data archived in the NPPSD (gray) and BOEM-funded survey effort, submitted to NPPSD (blue). .................................. 11 Figure 8. Survey effort (length [km] surveyed) by season and west/east portion of LCI, comparing effort for the KBRR-FWS with previous surveys archived in the NPPSD. .................................................. 12 Figure 9. Observed apparent densities [birds km-2] of all marine bird species combined from 2012-2016 in Lower Cook Inlet. ..............................................................................................................................