Menu

Volume 51, No. 2

Volumes > 38 (2010-->)

Volumes 28-37 (2000-09)

Volumes 18-27 (1990-99)

Volumes 5-17 (1978-89) a.k.a 'Cormorant'

Search by author or title:

Reproductive indices of Common Murres Uria aalge and Marbled Murrelets Brachyramphus marmoratus indicate murrelets are more resilient during poor years


Authors

CRAIG S. STRONG1 & ADAM DUARTE2
1Crescent Coastal Research, 260 Hazeltime Road, Crescent City, California, 95531, USA (strongcraig1@gmail.com)
2USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Olympia, Washington, 98512, USA (adam.duarte@usda.gov)

Citation

STRONG, C.S. & DUARTE, A. 2023. Reproductive indices of Common Murres Uria aalge and Marbled Murrelets Brachyramphus marmoratus indicate murrelets are more resilient during poor years. Marine Ornithology 51: 187 - 194
http://doi.org/10.5038/2074-1235.51.2.1533

Received 07 September 2022, accepted 10 April 2003

Date Published: 2023/10/15
Date Online: 2023/08/03
Download PDF
Download Appendix 1
Key words: Common Murre, Uria aalge, Marbled Murrelet, Brachyramphus marmoratus, ENSO, California Current, seabird productivity, marine climate

Abstract

Fledgling encounter rates at sea were used as measures of annual reproductive performance for Common Murres Uria aalge and Marbled Murrelets Brachyramphus marmoratus over 29 years in two marine biogeographic regions off the coast of Oregon, USA, north and south of Cape Blanco. In both bioregions, the adult murre population was much larger and the encounter rate of murre fledglings was much higher than for murrelets overall, but the apparent decline in productivity during El Niño events and years of poor foraging was significantly greater in murres than in murrelets. We conclude that murrelets are better at coping with variations in food availability as a function of ocean conditions. Different foraging strategies and body sizes may explain the differential success rates during years of low prey availability.

References


AINLEY, D.G., SPEAR, L.B., ALLEN, S.G. & RIBIC, C.A. 1996. Temporal and spatial patterns in the diet of the Common Murre in California waters. The Condor 98: 691–705.

AINLEY, D.G., SYDEMAN, W.J., & NORTON, J. 1995. Upper trophic level predators indicate interannual negative and positive anomalies in the California Current food web. Marine Ecology Progress Series 118: 69–79.

BECKER, B.H. & BEISSINGER, S.R. 2003. Scale-dependent habitat selection by a nearshore seabird, the Marbled Murrelet, in a highly dynamic upwelling system. Marine Ecology Progress Series 256: 243–255.

BEISSINGER, S.R. 1995. Population trends of the Marbled Murrelet projected from demographic analyses. In: RALPH, C.J., HUNT, G.L., JR., RAPHAEL, M.G. & PIATT, J.F. (Eds.). Ecology and Conservation of the Marbled Murrelet. General Technical Report PSW-GTR-152. Albany, USA: US Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station.

BENTIVOGLIO, N., BALDWIN, J., JODICE, P.G.R. ET AL. 2002. Northwest Forest Plan Marbled Murrelet Effectiveness Monitoring: 2000 Annual Report. Portland, USA: US Fish & Wildlife Service.

BETTS, M.G., NORTHRUP, J.M., BAILEY-GUERRERO, J.A. ET AL. 2020 Squeezed by a habitat split: Warm ocean conditions and old-forest loss interact to reduce long-term occupancy of a threatened seabird. Conservation Letters 13: e12745. doi:10.1111/conl.12745

BJORKSTEDT, E.P., GARCÍA‐REYES, M. LOSEKOOT, M., SYDEMAN, W., LARGIER, J. & TISSOT, B. 2017. Oceanographic context for baseline characterization and future evaluation of MPAs along California's North Coast. Technical report to California Sea Grant for Projects. R/MPA‐31A, R/MPA‐31B, and R/MPA‐31C. Arcata, USA: California Polytechnical University, Humboldt.

BOEKELHEIDE, R.J., AINLEY, D.G, MORRELL, S.H., HUBER, H.R. & LEWIS, T.J. 1990. Common Murre. In: AINLEY, D.G. & BOEKELHEIDE, R.J. (Eds.). Seabirds of the Farallon Islands: Ecology, Dynamics, and Structure of an Upwelling-System Community. Stanford, USA: Stanford University Press.

BROOKS, M.E., KRISTENSEN, K. & VAN BENTHEM, K.J. ET AL. 2017. glmmTMB balances speed and flexibility among packages for zero-inflated generalized linear mixed modeling. The R Journal 9: 378–400.

BURKE, C.M. & MONTEVECCHI, W.A. 2008. Fish and chicks: Forage fish and chick success in co-existing auks. Waterbirds 31: 372–384.

BURKETT, E.E. 1995. Marbled Murrelet food habits and prey ecology. In: RALPH, C.J., HUNT, G.L., JR., RAPHAEL, M.G. & PIATT, J.F. (Eds.). Ecology and Conservation of the Marbled Murrelet. General Technical Report PSW-GTR-152. Albany, USA: US Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station.

CARTER, H.R., WILSON, U.W., LOWE, R.W. ET AL. 2001. Population trends of the Common Murre (Uria aalge californica). In: MANUWAL, D.A., CARTER, H.R. ZIMMERMAN, T.S. & ORTHMEYER, D.L. (Eds.). Biology and Conservation of the Common Murre in California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Volume 1: Natural History and Population Trends. Information and Technology Report USGS/BRD/ITR-2000-0012. Washington, USA: US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division.

FELIS, J.J., KELSEY, E.C., ADAMS, J., HORTON, C. & WHITE, L. 2020. Abundance and productivity of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) off central California during the 2019 breeding season. Data Series 1123. Santa Cruz, USA: US Geological Survey. doi:10.3133/ds1123

GULKA, J. & DAVOREN. G.K. 2019. High individual flexibility in the foraging behavior of a marine predator, the Common Murre. Marine Biology 166: 83. doi:10.1007/s00227-019-3530-4

HARDING, A.M.A., PIATT, J. F., SCHMUTZ, J.A. ET AL. 2007. Prey density and the behavioral flexibility of a marine predator, the Common Murre (Uria aalge). Ecology 88: 2024–2033. doi:10.1890/06-1695.1

HARTIG, F. 2018. DHARMa: Residual Diagnostics for Hierarchical (Multi-Level/Mixed) Regression Models. R package version 0.2.0. Regensburg, Germany: University of Regensburg. [Accessed at https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=DHARMa on 06 February 2021.]

HODDER, J. & GRAYBILL, M.R. 1985. Reproduction and survival of seabirds in Oregon during the 1982–1983 El Niño. The Condor 87: 535–541.

HORTON, C.A., SURYAN, R.M., DUGGER, K.M. ET AL. 2014. Return of a native predator: Colonial seabird response to an expanding Bald Eagle population. In: HORTON, C.A. Top-Down Influences of Bald Eagles on Common Murre Populations in Oregon. MSc thesis. Corvallis, USA: Oregon State University.

LIERNESS, J., ADAMS, J., BALLANCE, L.T. ET AL. 2021. Modeling At-Sea Density of Marine Birds to Support Renewable Energy Planning on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf of the Contiguous United States. OCS Study, BOEM 2021-014. Camarillo, USA: US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

LORENZ, T.J. & RAPHAEL, M.G. 2018. Declining Marbled Murrelet density, but not productivity, in the San Juan Islands, Washington, USA. The Condor 120: 201–222. doi:10.1650/CONDOR-17-122.1

LORENZ, T.J., RAPHAEL, M.G., YOUNG, R.D., LYNCH, D., NELSON, S.K. & MCIVER, W.R. 2021. Status and trend of nesting habitat for the Marbled Murrelet under the Northwest Forest Plan, 1993 to 2017. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-998. Portland, USA: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.

KULETZ, J.K. & PIATT, J.F. 1999. Juvenile Marbled Murrelet nurseries and the productivity index. The Wilson Bulletin 111: 257–261.

MANUWAL, D.A. & CARTER, H.R. 2001. Natural history of the Common Murre. In: MANUWAL, D.A., CARTER, H.R., ZIMMERMAN, T.S. & ORTHMEYER, D.L. (Eds.). Biology and Conservation of the Common Murre in California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Vol. 1: Natural History and Population Trends. Information and Technology Report USGS/BRD/ITR-2000-0012 Washington, USA: US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division.

MARSHALL, D.B. 1988. Status of the Marbled Murrelet in North America: With Special Emphasis on Populations in California, Oregon, and Washington. Biological Report 88, US Fish & Wildlife Service. Portland, USA: Audubon Society of Portland.

MATTHEWS, D.R. 1983. Feeding ecology of the Common Murre, Uria aalge, off the Oregon Coast. MSc thesis. Corvallis, USA: Oregon State University.

MCIVER, W.R., PEARSON, S.F., STRONG, C.S. ET AL. 2021. Status and Trend of Marbled Murrelet Populations in the Northwest Forest Plan Area, 2000 to 2018. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-996. Portland, USA: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.

MCSHANE, C., HAMER, T., CARTER, H. ET AL. 2004. Evaluation Report for the 5-Year Status Review of the Marbled Murrelet in Washington, Oregon and California. Unpublished report. Seattle, USA: EDAW, Inc.

MEADE, J., HATCHWELL, B.J., BLANCHARD, J.L. & BIRKHEAD, T.R. 2013. The population increase of Common Guillemots Uria aalge on Skomer Island is explained by intrinsic demographic properties. Journal of Avian Biology 44: 55–61.

NAUGHTON, M.B., PITKIN, D.S., LOWE, R.W., SO, K.J. & STRONG, C.S. 2007. Catalog of Oregon Seabird Colonies. Biological Technical Publication BTP-R1009-2007. Washington, USA: US Fish and Wildlife Service.

NELSON, S.K. 1997. Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus). In: POOLE, A.F. & GILL, F.B. (Eds.) The Birds of North America, No. 276. Philadelphia, USA: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, USA: The American Ornithologists' Union.

PARRISH, J.K., MARVIER, M. & PAINE, R.T. 2001. Direct and indirect effects: Interactions between Bald Eagles and Common Murres. Ecological Applications 11: 1858–1869.

PEERY, M.Z., BECKER, B.H. & BEISSINGER, S.R. 2006. Combining demographic and count-based approaches to identify source–sink dynamics of a threatened seabird. Ecological Applications 16: 1516–1528.

PEERY, M.Z., BECKER, B.H. & BEISSINGER, S.R. 2007. Age ratios as estimators of productivity: Testing assumptions on a threatened seabird, the Marbled Murrelet. The Auk 124: 224–240.

PIATT, J.F., PARRISH J.K., RENNER H.M. ET AL. 2020. Extreme mortality and reproductive failure of Common Murres resulting from the northeast Pacific marine heatwave of 2014–2016. PLoS One 15: e0226087. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0226087

PRATTE, I., ROBERTSON, G.J. & MALLORY, M.L. 2017. Four sympatrically nesting auks show clear resource segregation in their foraging environments. Marine Ecology Progress Series 572: 243–254. doi:10.3354/meps12144

R CORE TEAM. 2019. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.

RALPH, C.J. & MILLER, S.L. 1995. Offshore population estimates of Marbled Murrelets in California. In: RALPH, C.J., HUNT, G.L., JR. RAPHAEL, M.G. & PIATT, J.F. (Eds.). Ecology and Conservation of the Marbled Murrelet. General Technical Report PSW-GTR-152. Albany, USA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service.

RAPHAEL, M.G., BALDWIN, J., FALXA, G.A. ET AL. 2007. Regional Population Monitoring of the Marbled Murrelet: Field and Analytical Methods. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-716. Portland, USA: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.

RAPHAEL, M.G., FALXA, G.A., LYNCH, D. ET AL. 2016. Status and trend of nesting habitat for the Marbled Murrelet under the Northwest Forest Plan. In: FALXA, G.A. & RAPHAEL, M.G. (Eds.). Northwest Forest Plan—The First 20 Years (1994–2013): Status and Trend of Marbled Murrelet Populations and Nesting Habitat. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-933. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.

RAPHAEL, M.G., SHIRK, A.J., FALXA, G.A. & PEARSON S.F. 2015. Habitat associations of Marbled Murrelets during the nesting season in nearshore waters along the Washington to California coast. Journal of Marine Systems 146: 17–25. doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2014.06.010

RONCONI, R.A. & BURGER, A.E. 2008. Limited foraging flexibility: Increased foraging effort by a marine predator does not buffer against scarce prey. Marine Ecology Progress Series 366: 245–258.

SCHMIDT, A.E., BOTSFORD, L.W., EADIE, J.M. ET AL. 2014. Non-stationary seabird responses reveal shifting ENSO dynamics in the northeast Pacific. Marine Ecology Progress Series 499: 249–258. doi:10.3354/meps10629

SCHNEIDER, S.R. 2018. Reproductive Performance, Foraging Effort, and Diet of an Apex Predator, the Common Murre, at One of the Largest Nesting Colonies in the California Current System. MSc thesis. Moss Landing, USA: San Jose State University.

SCHRIMPF, M.B., PARRISH, J.K. & PEARSON, S.F. 2012. Trade-offs in prey quality and quantity revealed through behavioral compensation of breeding seabirds. Marine Ecology Progress Series 460: 247–259.

SIBLEY, D.A. 2003. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. New York, USA: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

STRONG, C.S. 1998. Techniques for Marbled Murrelet age determination in the field. Pacific Seabirds 25: 6–8.

STRONG, C.S. 2003. Decline of the Marbled Murrelet population on the central Oregon coast during the 1990s. Northwestern Naturalist 84: 31–37.

STRONG, C.S. 2009. Seabird Abundance and Distribution during Summer off the Oregon and Southern Washington Coast. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Contract no. 2005-0127-006. Report prepared for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon State Fish and Wildlife Office. Crescent City, USA: Crescent Coastal Research.

STRONG, C.S. 2013. Marine micro-habitat selection by fledgling and older Marbled Murrelets in Oregon and northern California coastal waters: Where are the kids? Abstract presented to the Pacific Seabird Group at their 40th annual meeting, 20–24 February 2013. Portland, Oregon: Pacific Seabird Group.

STRONG, C.S. 2019. Marbled Murrelet Population Monitoring at Sea during 2019: Results from Southern Oregon and Northern California. US Fish & Wildlife Service cooperative agreements no. F16AC00554 and F18AC00326. Crescent City, USA: Crescent Coastal Research. Available upon request to strongcraig1@gmail.com

THOMAS, S.M. & LYONS, J.E. 2017. Population trends and distribution of Common Murre Uria aalge colonies in Washington, 1996–2015. Marine Ornithology 45: 95–102.

USFWS (US FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE). 1997. Recovery Plan for the Threatened Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in Washington, Oregon, and California. Portland, USA: USFWS.

WARD, P. & ZAHAVI, A. 1973. The importance of certain assemblages of birds as “information-centres” for food-finding. Ibis 115: 517–534.

WARZYBOK, P., SANTORA, J.A., AINLEY, D.G. ET AL. 2018. Prey switching and consumption by seabirds in the central California Current upwelling ecosystem: Implications for forage fish management. Journal of Marine Systems 185: 25–39.

WEIMERSKIRCH, H., BERTRAND, S., SILVA, J., MARQUES, J.C. & GOYA, E. 2010. Use of social information in seabirds: Compass rafts indicate the heading of food patches. PLoS One 5: e9928. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009928

Search by author or title:

Browse previous volumes:

Volumes > 38 (2010-->)

Volumes 28-37 (2000-09)

Volumes 18-27 (1990-99)

Volumes 5-17 (1978-89) a.k.a 'Cormorant'