AMNWR 2011/14 BIOLOGICAL MONITORING AT ST. PAUL ISLAND, ALASKA IN 2011 Gregory Thomson and Brie Drummond Key words: Aethia pusilla, Bering Sea, black-legged kittiwake, breeding biology, common murre, least auklet, Otter Island, Phalacrocorax urile, populations, Pribilof Islands, productivity, red-faced cormorant, red-legged kittiwake, Rissa brevirostris, Rissa tridactyla, St. Paul Island, thick-billed murre, Uria aalge, Uria lomvia, Walrus Island. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge 95 Sterling Highway, Suite 1 Homer, AK 99603 October 2011 Cite as: Thomson, G. and B. Drummond. 2011. Biological monitoring at St. Paul Island, Alaska in 2011. U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. Rep., AMNWR 2011/14. Homer, Alaska. Plot 48 at High Bluffs, St. Paul Island TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1 STUDY AREA ......................................................................................................................................... 1 METHODS .............................................................................................................................................. 2 INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS ............................................................................................................ 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................................... 3 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................ 4 ISLAND MAPS ........................................................................................................................................ 7 FIGURES AND TABLES.......................................................................................................................... 9 Northern fulmar ............................................................................................................................... 10 Populations ............................................................................................................................... 10 Food habits ............................................................................................................................... 13 Red-faced cormorant ....................................................................................................................... 14 Breeding chronology ................................................................................................................. 14 Reproductive performance ........................................................................................................ 18 Populations ............................................................................................................................... 23 Chick banding ........................................................................................................................... 28 Food habits ............................................................................................................................... 34 Black-legged kittiwake ..................................................................................................................... 36 Breeding chronology ................................................................................................................. 36 Reproductive performance ........................................................................................................ 40 Chick growth ............................................................................................................................. 44 Populations ............................................................................................................................... 46 Survival ..................................................................................................................................... 50 Food habits ............................................................................................................................... 55 Red-legged kittiwake ....................................................................................................................... 59 Breeding chronology ................................................................................................................. 59 Reproductive performance ........................................................................................................ 63 Chick growth ............................................................................................................................. 67 Populations ............................................................................................................................... 68 Food habits ............................................................................................................................... 73 Common murre ............................................................................................................................... 75 Breeding chronology ................................................................................................................. 75 Reproductive performance ........................................................................................................ 79 Populations ............................................................................................................................... 83 Food habits ............................................................................................................................... 86 Thick-billed murre ............................................................................................................................ 88 Breeding chronology ................................................................................................................. 88 Reproductive performance ........................................................................................................ 92 Populations ............................................................................................................................... 96 Survival ..................................................................................................................................... 99 Food habits ............................................................................................................................. 103 Parakeet auklet ............................................................................................................................. 106 Food habits ............................................................................................................................. 106 Least auklet................................................................................................................................... 107 Survival ................................................................................................................................... 107 Food habits ............................................................................................................................. 121 i TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Page Crested auklet ............................................................................................................................... 124 Food habits ............................................................................................................................. 124 Horned puffin ................................................................................................................................ 125 Food habits ............................................................................................................................. 125 Tufted puffin .................................................................................................................................. 126 Food habits ............................................................................................................................. 126 Miscellaneous ............................................................................................................................... 127 Beach transects ...................................................................................................................... 127 COASST surveys .................................................................................................................... 129 Annotated list .......................................................................................................................... 145 Plants ..................................................................................................................................... 157 Sea surface temperature ......................................................................................................... 160 Seabird necropsies ................................................................................................................. 162 STAMP program ..................................................................................................................... 163 Observations at Otter Island .................................................................................................... 164 Observations at Walrus Island 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