Project Information

Title: A Genetic Study to Aid in Restoration of Murres, Guillemots, and Murrelets in the GOA 00169-CLO

Project Year and Number: 2000: 00169-CLO

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 1999: 99169, 1998: 98169, 1997: 97169

Principal Investigator (PI): Vicki Friesen (Queen's University)

Managing Agency: USGS

Assisting Personnel: John Piatt

Research Location: Gulf of Alaska and neighboring areas

Restoration Category: Research

Injured Resources Addressed: Common Murres, Kittlitz's Murrelets, Marbled Murrelets, Pigeon Guillemot

Abstract: Populations of common murres, pigeon guillemots, and marbled and Kittlitz's murrelets suffered high mortalities following the oil spill. In FY 00, this project will finish molecular analyses to measure genetic differentiation and gene flow among colonies of these species. The project will aid restoration by (a) determining the geographic limits of populations affected by the spill, (b) identifying sources and sinks, and (c) identifying appropriate reference or control sites for monitoring. As incidental results, it will also reveal cryptic species and subspecies, indicate the importance of inbreeding and small effective population sizes in restricting recovery, and suggest suitable source colonies for translocations.


Proposal: Not Available

Reports:
Final Report: View (3,859 KB)

Publications from this Project: None Available