hello tweets,

some more bird news follows ...

regards,

Devorah A. N. Bennu, PhD
Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow
Molecular Systematics Laboratories
Department of Ornithology
The American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West at West 79th Street
New York, NY 10024-5192
212.313.7784 (office) 212.313.6962 or 212.313.7773 (lab)
email:nyneve at amnh.org or nyneve at myUW.net
work page http://research.amnh.org/ornithology/personnel/bennu.htm
personal pages http://research.amnh.org/users/nyneve/

---------- Forwarded message ----------
May 7, 2004
Rare Seabird Disappearing From Alaska
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/science/AP-Rare-Seabird.html

Filed at 10:09 p.m. ET

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A rare seabird found only in Alaska
and eastern Russia is a candidate for protection under the
Endangered Species Act after its numbers dropped sharply over
the last 15 years. The Kittlitz's murrelet is a small, diving
bird related to puffins, murres and auklets. The birds feed on
small fish and plankton near tidewater glaciers. Federal
biologists say the reduced number of birds may be tied to
Alaska's receding glaciers, but no one knows for sure.

``The most interesting thing is that we know so little about
these little guys,'' Bruce Woods of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service said Friday. The entire North American population of
Kittlitz's murrelets lives in Alaska waters, migrating from
near shore in breeding season to offshore in winter.

Even that's a guess, said Audubon Alaska executive director Stan
Senner. ``They leave some of their nesting areas and maybe they
move out to the open ocean, but I don't think we really know
that,'' Senner said.

Estimates of the total world population range from 9,000 to 25,000
birds. The Fish and Wildlife Service designated them as a
candidate for Endangered Species Act protection after agency
studies showed startling drops in the Alaska population.

The agency's research indicates Kittlitz's murrelets in Prince
William Sound have declined by 84 percent since 1989 and could
disappear from the region in 30 years. The agency recorded serious
declines at Glacier Bay and the Malaspina Forelands. In the Kenai
Fjords, the population may be down 83 percent since 1976. Senner
said the birds feed on fish and plankton found in what's often
cloudy water where fresh water from glaciers mixes with ocean water.

``They're very much a specialist to that kind of habitat,'' Senner
said. Woods said future research will be aimed at filling in
information gaps. Federal biologists want to find out the population
of the birds from Cape Suckling to Icy Bay in Southeast Alaska. And
they want to confirm their suspicions that the drop in numbers is
tied to glaciers backing off the coastline.

``We speculate that it is,'' Woods said. ``What are the environmental
conditions caused by the retreating glaciers that are impacting this
population?''

Most glaciers in Alaska, including many of those surrounding Glacier
Bay and Prince William Sound, have been receding for the last
century. Studies in other regions have recorded low biological
productivity in fjords with receding glaciers as a result of increased
sedimentation and lowered salinity, according to the agency. The
factors could result in fewer forage fish for the murrelets.
Sedimentation might reduce the birds' ability to see and catch prey.
Both possibilities are untested hypotheses. The agency said it's also
possible that breeding birds are disturbed by marine vessel traffic,
or even by helicopter flights over their mountain scree nesting
areas. The Kenai Fjords, Prince William Sound and Glacier Bay have
seen increases in tour operations, and the preferred habitat of
Kittlitz's murrelets near tidewater glaciers are prime destinations
for tour and cruise ships.

The agency said at least two sources of human-caused mortality for
Kittlitz's murrelets have been identified: gillnet fisheries and
oil spills. Species named as candidates for protection are not
subject to the regulatory protections of the Endangered Species
Act, and human activities that may affect them are not restricted.
However, naming a species to candidate status signals that there
are conservation concerns and the agency encourages other groups
and organizations to participate in research and conservation that
could keep the species off the endangered list.

``The listing determination needs to be made on the biology, not
whether there is something we can do as a way to reduce the trend,''
Senner said.
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Copyright 2004 The Associated Press