MARINE BIRDS OF ALASKA AMARIE BREMEL, CONNOR HALL & HAYDEN WALCOTT Avian Evolution
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http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/images/evograms/bird_evo.jpga Avian Evolution
•Birds evolved from small, carnivorous dinosaurs called theropods from the late Jurassic as supported by modern birds diapsid skulls and tetradiate pelvises, among other skeletal similarities •Some of these theropods evolved the first, hair-like feathers possibly for thermoregulation, waterproofing, or insulation with different likely sexually selected color patterns similar to modern birds. •Contrary to popular belief feathers did not likely evolve from scales and instead evolved from a “ primitive archosaur skin structure” homologous to hair-like pycnofibers of pterosaurs and early developmental scales of crocodilians. •Modern birds’ theropod ancestors also show several other key adaptations in the evolutionary line including the loss of the 4th and 5th digit and modification of wrist bones to allow for flight, the loss of a long bony tail, fusing of bones, evolution of the keel and wishbone, loss of teeth among other adaptations
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evograms_06
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feather#Evolution Avian Flight Adaptations
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http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Birds/Avian-Muscles.jpg Avian Flight Adaptations
•Birds have several specialized adaptations for flight including hollow bones, a light but very strong muscular system, very efficient circulatory and respiratory systems capable of a high metabolism, and feathers •Like many other vertebrates, birds have a four chambered heart, however they also have air sacs in addition to their small lungs which help to constantly move oxygenated air through their lungs during flight in a bellows like system •Their pectoralis and supracoracoideus muscles responsible for flight and swimming make up 25 to 35 % of their body weight •While other vertebrates’ supracoracoideus attach to their spine and back, birds’ supracoracoideus muscles attach to their keel in a pulley like system over their scapula
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_anatomy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird Avian Skeletal System Puffin Skeleton Chicken Skeleton
http://www.savalli.us/BIO370/Anatomy/AnatomyImages/PuffinSkeletonLabel.jpg http://www.savalli.us/BIO370/Anatomy/AnatomyImages/ChickenSkeletonLabel.jpg Avian Skeletal System
•Diving birds have more solid bones than purely flying ones. For example Puffins and loons do not have pneumatized (hollowed) bones at all while gliding and soaring birds have the most pneumatized bones •Many bird bones are fused to help give strength and support for the demands of flying -leading them to have less bones than other land vertebrates •A fused collarbones and keeled sternum -both of which are unique to birds- are important for flight muscle attachment and can be used to help identify birds • Flightless: reduced keel, Swimming and Diving: wide keel, Walking: long high keel, Flying: equal width and height squared keel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_anatomy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird ALCIDAE
Source: Source: http://cornforthimages.com/wp- http://www.mendosa.com/fitnessblog/?p=11562 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pigeon_Guillemot content/uploads/2012/11/Horned-Puffin-Couple-1.jpg _at_Living_Coasts.jpg Horned Puffin Tufted Puffin Pigeon Guillemont Fratercula corniculata Fratercula cirrhata Cepphus columba
http://sdakotabirds.com/species_photos/photos/common_ Source:https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rhinocero Source: Doug Sonerholm murre_4.jpg s_Auklet/id Common Murre Rhinoceros Auklet Parakeet Auklet Uria aalge Cerorhinca monocerata Aethia psittacula Horned Puffin
FRATERCULA CORNICULATA Length Weight 15 in 17–22.9 oz
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/horned_Puffin/id
Source: Terry Sohl Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/horned_Puffin/id Horned Puffin
FRATERCULA CORNICULATA
• The Horned puffin spends its time along the coast in the summer for breeding season then heads out to the open ocean for winter • It dives under water and uses its wings to swim • The Horned Puffin carries small fish crosswise in its bill and delivers them to its nestlings. One individual was observed carrying 65 fish at once. • Stable population Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/horned_Puffin/id Tufted Puffin
FRATERCULA CIRRHATA
Wingspan Length Weight 29.1 in 14.2-15.7 in 18.3-35.3 oz
Source: http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Birds/Likely/thumbs-Puffin-Tufted.html
Source: http://aquarium.org/tag/tufted-puffin/ Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Puffin/id Tufted Puffin FRATERCULA CIRRHATA
• Stocky, large-headed, dark seabird. Breeding adult all black except for white face and long golden plumes curling over back of head and neck. Bill large and red-orange, with a bright-orange yellow plate over the base. • Nonbreeding adult has dark gray face with no head plumes or bill plate. • The Tufted Puffin can capture and hold multiple small fish crosswise in its bill, routinely 5 to 20 fish at a time, for delivery to chicks at the nest. Adults eat their own food while still under water. • The Tufted Puffin nests mostly in deep burrows that it digs into cliff edges and slopes. These burrows can be more than 1.5 meters (5 feet) deep. • Stable population
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Puffin/id Pigeon Guillemont CEPPHUS COLUMBA
Weight 15.9–19.4 oz
Length Wingspan 11.8–13.8 in 21.7–23.2 in
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pigeon_Guilemont/id
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pigeon_Guilemont/id Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pigeon_Guilemont/id Pigeon Guillemont CEPPHUS COLUMBA
• Bright red feet. • Relatively long, thick neck. • All black with white wing patches in summer. • The Pigeon Guillemot is one of the few members of the auk and puffin family to lay two eggs. • They also spend more time closer to shore than their puffin relatives, but they do dive and use their wings to swim • Stable population
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pigeon_Guilemont/id Common Murre URIA AALGE Length Weight Wingspan 15–16.9 in 28.2–39.7 oz 25.2–28 in • The penguin of the north • Black back and head, white underside. • Rather long, slender, pointed bill.
• Face and throat white in Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Murre/id nonbreeding plumage. • The high degree of variation in color and markings of Common Murre eggs may allow parent Murres to recognize their own egg when they return to the colony from time at sea. • Its population is stable Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Murre/id
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Murre/id Rhinoceros Auklet
CERORHINCA MONOCERATA
Length 11–11.4 in
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/rhinoceros_auklet/id
Wingspan 23.2–24.4 in
Weight 12.3–21.9 oz
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/rhinoceros_auklet/id Rhinoceros Auklet CERORHINCA MONOCERATA
• Named for the vertical white plate at the base of its bill, the Rhinoceros Auklet is a bird of the coastlines and open seas of the north Pacific. The only member of its genus, it is closely related to puffins. • All dark gray, except for white belly. Breeding adult has vertical white projection at base of orange bill, and two thin white plumes on face. • The Rhinoceros Auklet delivers food to its nest site largely by night. This behavior may be an adaptation to keep gulls and other species from stealing its food. • Not endangered
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rhinoceros_Auklet/id Parakeet Auklet AETHIA PSITTACULA
Length Weight 9.1–10.2 in 8.4–12.2 oz
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Parakeet_auklet/id
Source: http://www.tringa.org/image/1717_Parakeet_Auklet_06-21-2011_3 Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Parakeet_auklet/id Parakeet Auklet AETHIA PSITTACULA
• This bird hasn’t been studied very much • Unusual bill structure is probably an adaptation for handling slimy gelatinous prey, like jellyfish, although it is unclear exactly how the bill is used. • On land, Parakeet Auklets walk mostly on their legs and not their toes. • Feeds offshore in deep waters, not at up-wellings. • Instead of eating full-sized fish they eat invertebrates and larval fish • Not endangered
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/parakeet_Auklet/id Black Oystercatcher HAEMATOPUS BACHMANI
Crow-sized, short-tailed, bright reddish-orange bill and red ring around it’s eye. -While they do eat oysters, they are not their primary food, which is weird to me, but the eat mostly mussels and limpets (aquatic snails).
source:Peter Chadwick
-Their range is all the way from the Aleutian islands to the Baja Peninsula. -Although these birds are widespread, they are on the 2014 state of birds watch list, due to human cause disturbances and habitat loss. However their populations has seen an increase for the first time in 10 years thanks to the strong conservation efforts of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/images/bloymap.gif LARIDAE
Red-Legged Kittiwake Black-Legged Kittiwake Glaucous-winged Gull Rissa brevirostris Rissa tridattila Larus glaucescens http://www.eagle- Source: Hayden Walcott https://leesbirdblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/23-66- eye.com/sites/default/files/image_rotations/Black- 1668-red-legged-kittiwake-rissa-brevirostris-by-ian2.jpg legged%20Kittiwake_0.jpg http://sdakotabirds.com/species/maps/red_legged_kittiwake_map_large.jpg
Red-Legged Kittiwake RISSA BREVIROSTRIS
http://www.alanmurphyphotography.com/K64/Red-legged-Kittiwake-2.jpg Source: Hayden Walcott Red Legged Kittiwake
-In Russian their name means “The Bird that talks a lot” These birds have a tiny range, they’re only found in places in or bordering the Bering Sea. They nest on St. George, St. Paul, and the Otter islands in the Pribilof Islands, and on Bogoslof and Buldir islands in the Aleutian Island chain, and the Commander Islands off of Russia. -They can not fly under water like other pelagic birds, they can only plunge. -They eat fish, squid, northern lanternfish, marine zooplankton. -They have extra large eyes to see fish at night, they especially like to hunt at night during the squid migration. Wing span- just under 3 feet source: Alaska Sea Life Center -This species is highly imperiled due to unreliable food source possibly linked to overfishing.
23 http://animalia-life.com/image.php?pic=/data_images/black-legged-kittiwake/black-legged-kittiwake3.jpg
Black-Legged Kittiwake RISSA TRIDATTILA
http://sdakotabirds.com/species/maps/black_legged_kittiwake_map_big.jpg https://res-3.cloudinary.com/ebirdr/image/upload/s--MNihcUol--/f_auto,t_full/1462-black-legged-kittiwake.jpg Black-legged Kittiwake
-They spend most of their time out to sea, but come back to the rocky cliffs to mate. -The ledges that they nest on are usually so small that they face the cliff with their tails sticking out. -They eat fish primarily but, they will eat krill when fish are unavailable. -Like there red-legged buddies they can only plunge dive, they can’t fly under water, but as a trade off, they can fly in the air much better than the deep diving fish, like puffins and murres. -They are not endangered, a species of least concern.
source:Jeff Poklen
25 Glaucous-winged Gull LARUS GLAUCESCENS
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Glaucous-winged_Gull_RWD2.jpg
http://www.tsuru-bird.net/a_species/gull_glaucous-winged/gull_glaucous-winged_first- http://sdakotabirds.com/species/maps/glaucous_winged_gull_map_big.jpg cycle_winter_california_1a.jpg Glaucous-winged Gull
-They birds are more of what people would think of as a classic Gull, they steal food from people's tables and out of their hands and trash cans. -They also drop shellfish from high in the air onto rocks to crack them open. Sometimes they steal food from other sea birds or even prey on baby seabirds of all species. -They have a 4 foot wingspan a bit larger than the kittiwakes. -They take the upper ground on the rocks and the smaller Black-legged Kittiwakes get pushed to the lower levels source: Birding Frontiers -A species of low concern, not endangered.
27 BAIT BALL
source:Pinterest
-These balls of bait fish swarm together because of an instinctual defense mechanism, creating a spherical shape in the water, with all of the fish rotating around a center point -Nearly all of the birds that are talked about in this presentation feed on bait balls, but especially gulls
Bait Ball Video source: Hayden Walcott ANATIDAE Ducks, Geese, & Swans
King Eider Smew Long Tailed Duck Somateria spectabilis Mergellus albellus Clangula hyemalis • Live in aquatic habitats • Precocial chicks: hatch with open eyes and down, can walk in swim within hours of hatching, forage for themselves • Largely herbivorous although will also forage on other aquatic life • Most species migrate • Vocal with calls usually being important to courtship and establishing http://www.ejphoto.com/images_CA/CA_KingEider07.jpg http://www.audubon.org/sites/default/files/Smew%2520p25-4-054_l_1.jpg territory http://www.arturstankiewicz.com/assets/Uploads/birds/scoters-sawbills-and-other-sea-ducks/long- http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Anatidae/ tailed-duck-clangula-hyemalis/Long-tailed%20duck-Hel-Poland-2013-4.jpg King Eider SOMATERIA SPECTABILIS
Length Weight 18.5–25.2 in 42.3–74.1 oz https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/King_Eider/id Female
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Male
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/King_Eider/i d http://www.ejphoto.com/images_CA/CA_KingEider07.jpg King Eider SOMATERIA SPECTABILIS
•King Eiders spend their winters in marine environments where they dive up to 82 ft deep to feed on bottom dwelling marine life like mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, and algae •In the summer King Eiders migrate to the marshy tundra in flocks of over 10,000 where they feed on aquatic insect larvae and plants •The female nests on the ground and is the sole caretaker of the young •To protect her nest, a King Eider will flatten herself down to the ground on her nest, attempting to blend in to the point where people can sometimes walk right up and touch her •Species of least concern.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/King_Eider/id Smew MERGELLUS ALBELLUS
Size: 38–44 cm (15–17 in) long
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smew
http://www.planetofbirds.com/Master/ANSERIFORMES/Anatidae/maps/Smew.gif Source: Hayden Walcott
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Zwergsaeger_maenchen_weibchen.jpg/220px-Zwergsaeger_maenchen_weibchen.jpg Smew MERGELLUS ALBELLUS
•The Smew migrates each year from the southern areas around the Black and Baltic Seas, Germany, and Great Britain to the northern taiga to breed and nest in tree cavities such as old woodpecker nests •The Smew is a diving bird that uses its serrated beak with a hooked tip to snag small fish in lakes and rivers •The last member of the genus Mergellus, the Smew sometimes interbreeds with the closely related goldeneye duck in the wild (genus Bucephala) but is derived from the genus Mergus, causing some confusion about its taxonomy though the fossil records show that these genera have all been distinct for millions of years •Smew fossils have been found in Great Britain from 1.5 to 2 mill years ago in the Pleistocene, and fossils of a very similar species have been found from 13 mill years ago in the Miocene •Common duck of least concern.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smew Source: Hayden Walcott Long Tailed Duck CLANGULA HYEMALIS
http://www.planetofbirds.com/Master/ANSERIFORMES/Anatidae/pics/Long-tailed%20Duck.gif Length 15–22.8 in Wingspan 28.3 in Weight 17.6–38.8 oz
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Long-tailed_Duck/id Long Tailed Duck CLANGULA HYEMALIS
•The long tailed duck is one of the deepest and longest diving ducks - diving up to 200 ft under water and spending 3 to 4 times as long underwater as above water when foraging for aquatic invertebrates as well as fish and plants •Unusually for ducks, it has 3 distinct plumages: 1) the basic or non breeding in the spring and summer, 2) the alternate or breeding plumage in the winter, and 3) the supplemental in between •The long-tailed duck is almost never seen in one full plumage, spending most of the year in partial molts between different plumages •A vulnerable species, the long tailed duck is a common species recently in decline from fishing nets and difficulty in ascertaining numbers
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Long-tailed_Duck/id PHALACROCORACIDAE Cormorants and Shags
Pelagic Cormorant PHALACROCORAX PELAGICUS •Live in aquatic -mostly marine- habitats, •Altricial chicks: gain down after a week, are brooded and fed by the parents for 1.5 to 3 months until fledging, may continue to be cared for for up to 4 months after fledging •Black with no exposed nostrils and a slender, cylindrical, elongated body, neck,and beak •Feed primarily on fish but may eat other aquatic animals •Seasonally monogamous, Cormorants vocalize loudly during the breeding season
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pelagic_Cormorant/id http://www.audubon.org/sites/default/files/Pelagic_Cormorant_s73-1-018_l.jpg PHALACROCORACIDAE Pelagic Cormorant PHALACROCORAX PELAGICUS
Wingspan Weight Length 39.4–47.6 in 48.3–86.1 oz 20.1–29.9 in
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pelagic_Cormorant/id
http://www.birdinginformation.com/wp-content/gallery/pelagic-cormorant/pelagic-cormorant-feeding-2.jpg https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pelagic_Cormorant/id Pelagic Cormorant PHALACROCORAX PELAGICUS
•The name is a misnomer, this bird prefers to forage in marine inshore areas near the coast for fish, not the open ocean pelagic zone •Cormorants tuck their wings to their sides and use their muscular webbed feet to dive and actively chase down small fish and marine invertebrates •Nest in shallow nests on rocky cliffsides made from debris, dry leaves, and their own guano •Most Cormorants are colony nesters, however the Pelagic Cormorants are some of the least social of the Cormorants and prefer to nest farther away from each other if possible •Common bird of least concern
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pelagic_Cormorant/id