Ivory Gull Pagophila Eburnea
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COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Ivory Gull Pagophila eburnea in Canada SPECIAL CONCERN 2001 COSEWIC COSEPAC COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF COMITÉ SUR LA SITUATION DES ENDANGERED WILDLIFE ESPÈCES EN PÉRIL IN CANADA AU CANADA COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. This report may be cited as follows: Please note: Persons wishing to cite data in the report should refer to the report (and cite the author(s)); persons wishing to cite the COSEWIC status will refer to the assessment (and cite COSEWIC). A production note will be provided if additional information on the status report history is required. COSEWIC 2001. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the Ivory Gull Pagophila eburnea in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. iv + 10 pp. (www.sararegistry.gc.ca/status/status_e.cfm) Alvo, R, and S.D. MacDonald. 1996. Update COSEWIC status report on the Ivory Gull Pagophila eburnea in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. 1-10 pp. Previous report: MacDonald, S.D. 1979. COSEWIC status report on the Ivory Gull Pagophila eburnea in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. 20 pp. Production note: During the course of the reassessment of the species’ status in 2001, the Bird Specialist Subcommittee also considered information provided in the report by J.A. Akearok, M.L. Mallony and A.J. Fontaine. Community knowledge on Ivory Gull near the Brodeur Peninsula, Banff Island (CWS Technical Report Series Number 378). Please note that the status recommended in the section “Evaluation and Recommended Status” of the report may differ from the latest status assigned to the species by COSEWIC. For additional copies contact: COSEWIC Secretariat c/o Canadian Wildlife Service Environment Canada Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Tel.: (819) 997-4991 / (819) 953-3215 Fax: (819) 994-3684 E-mail: COSEWIC/[email protected] http://www.cosewic.gc.ca Ếgalement disponible en français sous le titre Évaluation et Rapport de situation du COSEPAC sur la mouette blanche (Pagophila eburnea) au Canada – Mise à jour. Cover illustration: Ivory Gull — Photograph provided by Grant Gilchrist, Environment Canada. ©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada 2004 Catalogue No. CW69-14/13-2004E-PDF ISBN 0-662-38998-0 HTML: CW69-14/13-2004E-HTML 0-662-38999-9 Recycled paper COSEWIC Assessment Summary Assessment Summary – November 2001 Common name Ivory Gull Scientific name Pagophila eburnea Status Special Concern Reason for designation Small numbers in Canada are most likely part of a large Holarctic population. In summer, the species is susceptible to human activities and disturbance, while in other seasons its tendency to congregate make it vulnerable to oil pollution. Occurrence Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Newfoundland-Labrador Status history Designated Special Concern in April 1979. Status re-examined and confirmed in April 1996 and November 2001. Last assessment based on an existing update status report. iii COSEWIC Executive Summary from the 1996 Status Report Ivory Gull Pagophila eburnea The Ivory Gull is a medium- sized, long-lived (15 years) gull which has a circumpolar distribution and breeds in widely separated colonies throughout the arctic regions of the world. In Canada, the Ivory Gull has a restricted breeding range. Since the first status report of 1979, several studies in the Arctic have provided additional information on the status of the Ivory Gull in Canada. In addition to the known active Canadian colonies on Seymour Island (near Bathurst Island) and south eastern Ellesmere Island confirmed in the first status report, two small nesting colonies of Ivory Gulls have also been confirmed on the Brodeur Peninsula in 1983, an area long suspected of harbouring breeding Ivory Gulls. Following aerial surveys, conducted in the eastern Canadian High Arctic from 1981 to 1985 to determine the distribution and size of breeding populations, it has been estimated that there is a single Canadian population of 2,400 adult birds. Roughly 35,000 Ivory Gulls (presumably including all age groups) have been estimated from aerial censuses over Davis Strait between Canada and Greenland in early 1982. The large discrepancy between this last number and the 2,400 breeding birds estimate for Arctic Canada suggests either that a considerable proportion of the Ivory Gulls wintering in the northwest Atlantic breed outside North America, such as in Greenland or the European Arctic, or that North American breeding populations are much larger than currently estimated. Ivory Gull colonies are frequently found adjacent to polynyas, limited areas where the sea is kept ice free in winter. These marine "oases" provide conditions that attract invertebrates, fish, seabirds, seals and polar bears, and are important feeding areas for Ivory Gulls. If polynyas are affected in the future by global warming, it might also affect Ivory Gulls. In addition, as the Ivory Gulls have specialized nesting requirements and intolerance to disturbance on their nesting grounds, this will make them vulnerable to human activities and the related encroachment of technology in the exploitation of Arctic resources. iv COSEWIC MANDATE The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) determines the national status of wild species, subspecies, varieties, and nationally significant populations that are considered to be at risk in Canada. Designations are made on all native species for the following taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, lepidopterans, molluscs, vascular plants, lichens, and mosses. COSEWIC MEMBERSHIP COSEWIC comprises representatives from each provincial and territorial government wildlife agency, four federal agencies (Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Federal Biosystematic Partnership), three nonjurisdictional members and the co-chairs of the species specialist groups. The committee meets to consider status reports on candidate species. DEFINITIONS Species Any indigenous species, subspecies, variety, or geographically defined population of wild fauna and flora. Extinct (X) A species that no longer exists. Extirpated (XT) A species no longer existing in the wild in Canada, but occurring elsewhere. Endangered (E) A species facing imminent extirpation or extinction. Threatened (T) A species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed. Special Concern (SC)* A species of special concern because of characteristics that make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events. Not at Risk (NAR)** A species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk. Data Deficient (DD)*** A species for which there is insufficient scientific information to support status designation. * Formerly described as “Vulnerable” from 1990 to 1999, or “Rare” prior to 1990. ** Formerly described as “Not In Any Category”, or “No Designation Required.” *** Formerly described as “Indeterminate” from 1994 to 1999 or “ISIBD” (insufficient scientific information on which to base a designation) prior to 1994. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) was created in 1977 as a result of a recommendation at the Federal-Provincial Wildlife Conference held in 1976. It arose from the need for a single, official, scientifically sound, national listing of wildlife species at risk. In 1978, COSEWIC designated its first species and produced its first list of Canadian species at risk. Species designated at meetings of the full committee are added to the list. Environment Environnement Canada Canada Canada Canadian Wildlife Service canadien Service de la faune The Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, provides full administrative and financial support to the COSEWIC Secretariat. v Update COSEWIC Status Report on the Ivory Gull Pagophila eburnea in Canada Robert Alvo Stewart D. MacDonald 1996 TABLE OF CONTENTS SPECIES INFORMATION............................................................................................... 3 Population Size and Trend .......................................................................................... 3 HABITAT .........................................................................................................................5 EVALUATION ................................................................................................................. 6 TECHNICAL SUMMARY................................................................................................. 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... 9 REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 9 BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY OF AUTHOR(S) ............................................................. 10 List of figures Figure 1. Known breeding sites of the Ivory Gull in Canada — past and present. ......... 3 SPECIES INFORMATION Population Size and Trend The Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) was assigned "vulnerable" status in Canada by COSEWIC in 1979 (MacDonald and Cooper 1979). At that time it was known that: • A survey of the Canadian breeding records from 1819 to 1979 indicated that all breeding places reported prior to 1971 were abandoned (Figure 1) except for occasional, isolated nests (MacDonald and Macpherson 1962; MacDonald