Download Seabird Monitoring Program for the California Current

Seabird Monitoring in the
California Current System
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
U.S. Geological Survey
Regional Seabird
Conservation Plan
Objectives
• Review seabird
resources, threats, and
management issues
• Identify priorities for
management,
monitoring, research and
outreach
• Develop a
comprehensive strategy
to direct future FWS
actions
Seabird Monitoring Program for
the California Current System
USFWS is working with USGS and seabird experts throughout the
Pacific to develop a monitoring program for seabirds breeding in the
California Current System.
• Monitoring at a variety of scales,
using a hierarchical approach
• Scientifically rigorous, and
logistically and fiscally feasible
• Cooperatively with other federal,
state, and private partners
NWR
State
Oceanographic sub-region
California Current System
Geographic Scope
California Current System:
coastal and marine habitats from
Scott Islands, British Columbia,
Canada to Punta Eugenia, Baja
California Sur, Mexico
Initial effort is focused on the U.S.
portion of the CCS.
Seabird Monitoring Workshops
• Experts in seabird monitoring
convened for two workshops
Oregon - September 2004
Southern California - April 2005
• Participants from Canada,
Alaska, Washington, Oregon,
and California
• Experts from USGS, USFWS,
State Agencies, University, and
private sector
Objectives of Seabird Monitoring
Workshops
• Develop specific objectives for
seabird monitoring in the CCS
• Outline the underlying design
or framework for a seabird
monitoring program
• Select focal species for
monitoring
• For each of these species
recommend: monitoring locations,
population parameters,
measurement variables, and field
methodologies.
Goals for Seabird Monitoring
• GOAL 1
Detect and understand
changes in the status and
trends of seabird
populations in support of
conservation strategies in
the CCS.
• GOAL 2
Integrate seabird
monitoring into an overall
assessment of the health of
the marine/coastal
ecosystem in the CCS.
Goals for Seabird Monitoring
GOAL 1: Detect and understand changes in the status and trends of
seabird populations in support of conservation strategies in the CCS.
OBJECTIVES
• Monitor trends of seabird populations.
• Determine conservation status of seabird populations, incorporating
abundance, distribution, trends, and threats to seabird populations.
• Gain insight as to causes of population change.
• Collaborate with partners to achieve and advance all objectives.
Goals for Seabird Monitoring
GOAL 2: Integrate seabird monitoring into an overall assessment of the
health of the marine/coastal ecosystem in the CCS.
OBJECTIVES
• Use seabirds as indicators of CCS health (i.e. structure,
function, and productivity).
• Collaborate with partners to integrate seabird monitoring with
other marine monitoring efforts.
Considerations for Species
Selection
• Birds of Conservation Concern
• Stewardship species – those species
and subspecies for which the CCS
supports the majority of the global
population
• Representation from each foraging
guild
• Species with broad distribution across
the oceanographic sub-regions of the
CCS
• Species that can provide data to
address the Goals and Objectives
TARGET SPECIES
Leach's Storm-Petrel
Ashy Storm-Petrel
Pelagic Cormorant
Brandt's Cormorant
Western Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Elegant Tern
Black Skimmer
Common Murre
Xantus's Murrelet
Cassin's Auklet
Rhinoceros Auklet
Basic Framework of the
Monitoring Program
Two tiered approach
• Inventory of all colonies at infrequent
intervals (e.g., every 10-15 years)
• More intensive monitoring
of population parameters
of target species
at selected colonies
Schedule
2005Draft manual developed:
Species specific recommendations for monitoring,
monitoring locations, population parameters,
measurement variables, and field methodologies.
Spring 2006 Review by team of experts
Summer 2006 Peer review
Fall 2006
Final Manual