Project Information

Title: Prince William Sound Marine Bird Surveys, Synthesis and Restoration 080751

Project Year and Number: 2008: 080751

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2010: 10100751, 2007: 070751, 2005: 050751, 2004: 040159, 2002: 02159, 2001: 01159, 2000: 00159, 1999: 99159, 1998: 98159, 1997: 97159-CLO, 1996: 96159, 1994: 94159, 1993: 93045

Principal Investigator (PI): David Irons (US Fish & Wildlife Service)

Managing Agency: USFWS

Assisting Personnel: None

Research Location: Prince William Sound, Alaska

Restoration Category: Monitoring

Injured Resources Addressed: Bald Eagles, Black Oystercatchers, Common Loons, Common Murres, Cormorants, Harlequin Ducks, Kittlitz's Murrelets, Marbled Murrelets, Pigeon Guillemot

Abstract: We propose to write a report for the survey that was conducted to monitor abundance of marine birds in Prince William Sound, Alaska during March and July 2007. Eight previous surveys have monitored population trends for >65 bird and 8 marine mammal species in Prince William Sound after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. We will use data collected in 2007 to examine trends from summer and from winter to determine whether populations in the oiled zone are increasing, decreasing, or stable. We will also examine overall population trends for the Sound. Continued monitoring of marine birds and synthesis of the data are needed to determine whether populations injured by the spill are recovering. Data collected from 1989 to 2005 in the oiled area indicated that bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), common loons (Gavia immer), and cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp) are increasing in winter. Numbers of all other injured species are either not changing or are declining in the oiled area. Populations of harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus), black oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) and common murres (Uria aalgae) are showing no trend in the oiled area; pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba), marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus), and Kittlitz’s murrelets (Brachyramphus brevirostris) are declining in the oiled areas of Prince William Sound. Results of all surveys have been summarized in reports and results through 1998 have been published by Irons et al. (2000) and Lance et al. (2001). Analyses and synthesis of these survey data are the only ongoing means to evaluate the recovery of most of these injured species. Please note: The cost of report writing was not included in the original proposal because I was told that in FY 2007 the Trustees wanted only a one year proposal and the report cannot be written in the same year as the surveys because of timing of the surveys.


Proposal: View (30 KB)

Reports:
Final Report: View (7,089 KB)

Publications from this Project: None Available

Datasets:
EVOSTC Data Archive: Submitted on 4/14/09. Aly McKnight created metadata file, which is archived with the data.