Project Information

Title: Pigeon Guillemot Restoration Research in Prince William Sound, Alaska 11100853

Project Year and Number: 2011: 11100853

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2023: 23110853 , 2022: 22110853 , 2021: 21110853, 2020: 20110853, 2019: 19110853, 2018: 18100853, 2017: 17100853, 2016: 16100853, 2015: 15100853, 2014: 11100853-Am.8.29.13

Principal Investigator (PI): David Irons (USFWS), Dan Roby (Oregon State University)

Managing Agency: USFWS

Assisting Personnel: None

Research Location: Prince William Sound

Restoration Category: General Restoration, Monitoring, Research

Injured Resources Addressed: Pigeon Guillemot

Abstract:

This amendment to project 070853, Pigeon Guillemot Restoration Research in Prince William Sound, Alaska, provides an opportunity to restore the population of Pigeon Guillemots (Cepphus columba) in Prince William Sound, Alaska, which has declined by more than 90% at the Naked Island group since 1989. A restoration plan for Pigeon Guillemots in PWS was prepared to address the species’ lack of population recovery following injury by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Predation on nests and adults by mink is now the primary limiting factor for guillemot reproductive success and population recovery at the most important historical nesting site for guillemots in PWS (i.e., the Naked Island group). Mink on the Naked Island group are descended in part from fur farm stock and apparently were introduced to the island group during the 1980s. Eradication of mink at these islands was selected as the preferred restoration alternative because it is feasible and most likely to result in the recovery of guillemots in PWS. Other alternatives are either currently unavailable or unlikely to be effective. An eradication effort is likely to be successful due to both well-developed methods and the low likelihood of re-colonization. Potential negative effects of the preferred alternative are either negligible or largely avoidable. The guillemot population at the Naked Island group would likely double within the first 10 years following mink eradication, and the Sound-wide population of guillemots would likely increase within 15 years of mink eradication at the Naked Island group, once guillemots nesting at the Naked Island group had become a source population for other parts of PWS.


Proposal: View (716 KB)

Reports:
Annual Report FY11: View (28 KB)
Final Report: See Project 23110853

Publications from this Project: None Available