Download Black-legged Kittiwake - Alaska Center for Conservation Science

Alaska Species Ranking System Summary Report - Black-legged Kittiwake
Black-legged Kittiwake
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Rissa tridactyla (pollicarus)
Conservation Status
Heritage
G Rank: G5
Agency
USFWS/NOAA:
BLM:
AA:
S Rank: S5B,S5N
SOA: Species of Greatest Conservation Need
USFS:
IUCN: Least Concern
Final Rank
Conservation category: IX. Blue
IX = low status and low biological vulnerability and action need
Category
Score
Status:
Range
-20 to 20
Biological:
-50 to 50
-22.5
Action:
-40 to 40
-16
-6
Higher numerical scores denote greater concern
Status - variables measure the trend in a taxon’s population status or distribution. Higher status scores denote taxa with
known declining trends. Status scores range from -20 (increasing) to 20 (decreasing).
Score
Population Trend (-10 to 10)
-6
Population trends in Alaska mixed (Hatch et al. 2009). Local population fluctuations. Middleton Island population declined
from 160,000 to 20,000 since 1980. Other colonies have displayed similar trends, while others are stable or increasing
(USFWS 2006a). Although declines more prevalent than population increases or stasis, no clear evidence of overall change in
kittiwake numbers (Hatch et al. 2009).
Distribution Trend (-10 to 10)
0
Unknown.
Status Total:
Biological - variables measure aspects of a taxon’s distribution, abundance and life history. Higher biological scores suggest
greater vulnerability to extirpation. Biological scores range from -50 (least vulnerable) to 50 (most vulnerable).
Population Size (-10 to 10)
-6
Score
-10
Population in Alaska ~1,322,000 (USFWS 2006a).
Range Size (-10 to 10)
-8
Breeding range most limited and includes coastal areas along Gulf of Alaska, Bering and Chukchi seas, and Aleutian Islands
(Sowls et al. 1978, Baird and Gould 1985). Pelagic during winter occurring from just north of Aleutians south (Baird 1994).
Breeding range ~203,000 km2.
Population Concentration (-10 to 10)
-10
Colonial nester with 371 colonies identified in Alaska (USFWS 2006).
Reproductive Potential
Age of First Reproduction (-5 to 5)
-3
Breed at 3 to 4 years (Coulson 1966).
Number of Young (-5 to 5)
2.5
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Alaska Species Ranking System Summary Report - Black-legged Kittiwake
1 to 3 eggs (Cullen 1957, Coulson and White 1960).
Ecological Specialization
Dietary (-5 to 5)
1
Feeds on surface fish, mainly Pacific herring, sandlance, capelin, and walleye pollock (Coulson and Macdonald 1962,
USFWS 2006).
Habitat (-5 to 5)
5
Nests on steep narrow ledges of cliffs on offshore islands, sea stacks, or inaccessible areas on coastal mainland (Baird
1994). Forages at upwellings or oceanic fronts not far from colonies (Baird and Moe 1978, Hunt et al. 1981a, Schneider et
al. 1990). Distances range from 1 km to >40 km from colonies (Biderman et al. 1978, Hunt et al. 1981a). Pelagic during
nonbreeding (Baird 1994).
Biological Total:
-23
Action - variables measure current state of knowledge or extent of conservation efforts directed toward a given taxon. Higher
action scores denote greater information needs due of lack of knowledge or conservation action. Action scores range
from -40 (lower needs) to 40 (greater needs).
Score
Management Needs (-10 to 10)
2
Protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA 1918). A large portion of the Alaska population occurs with the Alaska
Maritime NWR, Kenai Fjords National Park, and the Chugach National Forest.
Monitoring Needs (-10 to 10)
2
Monitored at index locations.
Research Needs (-10 to 10)
-10
Population numbers and reproductive success strongly influenced by food supply (Drury 1978, Gaston 1982, Springer et al.
1984, Baird 1990, Harris and Wanless 1990, Ford and Piatt 1993). Nest site availability may also limit populations (Baird
and Moe 1978). In Alaska, nest predation increases in years of low food availability due to absence from nest (Biderman et
al. 1978, Baird 1990). Cause of persistent breeding failure unknown. Eggs and adults taken for subsistence; impact unknown,
but not thought to be large (USFWS 2006c).
Survey Needs (-10 to 10)
-10
Colony distribution information available in the Beringian Seabird Colony Catalog (USFWS 2006a). Marine distribution yearround captured by shipboard and aerial censuses in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea (Gould et al. 1982).
Action Total: -16
Supplemental Information - variables do not receive numerical scores. Instead, they that are used to sort taxa to answer specific
biological or managerial questions.
Harvest:
Not substantial
Seasonal Occurrence:
Year-round
Taxonomic Significance:
Monotypic species
% Global Range in Alaska:
>10%
% Global Population in Alaska:
<25%
Peripheral:
No
Range Map
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Alaska Species Ranking System Summary Report - Black-legged Kittiwake
References
Alaska Migratory Bird Co-management Council (AMBCC). 2007. Subsistence harvest survey data 1995-2000. Available
online at: http://alaska.fws.gov/ambcc/harvest.htm.
Baird, P. H. 1990. Influence of abiotic factors and prey distribution on diet and reproductive success in three seabird
species in Alaska. Ornis Scand. 21:224-235.
Baird, P. H. 1994. Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). The Birds of North America. No. 92: American
Ornithologists' Union. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
Baird, P. A. and P. J. Gould (eds.). 1985. The breeding biology and feeding ecology of marine birds in the Gulf of
Alaska. Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program Final Reports of Principal Investigators 45: 121-504.
Baird, P. H. and A. Moe. 1978. The breeding biology and feeding ecology of marine birds in the Sitkalidak Strait area,
Kodiak Island, 1977. Pp. 313-524 in Environmental assessment of the Alaska Continental Shelf Annual Report of Princ.
Investigators, vol.
Biderman, J. O., W. H. Drury, S. Hinckley, and J. B French, Jr. 1978. Ecological studies in the Northern Bering Sea:
Birds of coastal habitats on the south shore of Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Annual Reports of Principal Investigators.
OCSEAP, Boulder, CO.
Coulson, J. C. 1966. The influence of the pair-bond and age on the breeding biology of the kittiwake gull, Rissa
tridactyla. Journal of Animal Ecology 35:269-279.
Coulson, J. C. and A. Macdonald. 1962. Recent changes in the habits of the kittiwake. Br. Birds 55:171-177.
Coulson, J. C. and E. White 1960. The effect of age and density of breeding birds on the time of breeding of the
kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla. Ibis 102:71-86.
Cullen, E. 1957. Adaptations in the Kittiwake to cliff-nesting. Ibis 99:275-302.
Drury, W. H. 1978. Kittiwake workshop. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Unpubl. Rep., Anchorage, AK.
Ford, R. G. and J. Piatt. 1993. Assessment of seabird mortality from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Pacific Seabird Group
Twentieth Annual Meeting, February 1993, Seattle, WA.
Gaston, A. J. 1982. On the seabirds of northern Hudson Bay. Nat. Can. 109:895-903.
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Alaska Species Ranking System Summary Report - Black-legged Kittiwake
Gould, P. J., D. J. Forsell, and G. J. Lensink. 1982. Pelagic distribution and abundance of seabirds in the Gulf of Alaska
and eastern Bering Sea. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biol. Serv. Prog., Anchorage, AK.
Harris, M. P. and S. Wanless. 1990. Breeding success of British Kittiwakes in 1986-1988: evidence for changing
conditions in the northern North Sea. Journal of Applied Ecology 27:172-187.
Hatch, S., G. J. Robertson, and P. H. Baird. 2009. Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). The Birds of North America
Online (A. Poole, ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online:
http://bna.birds.cornell
Hunt, G. L., Jr., Z. Eppley, B. Bergeson, and R. Squibb. 1981a. Reproductive ecology, foods, and foraging areas of
seabirds nesting on the Pribilof Islands, 1975-1979. Pp. 82-83 in Environmental Assessment of Alaskan Continental
Shelf, Final Report, Princ
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of July 3, 1918, Ch. 128, 40 Stat. 755 (1918) (current version at 16 U.S.C. §§ 703712).
Schneider, D., N. Harrison, and G. Hunt, Jr. 1990. Seabird diet at a front near the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Studies in
Avian Biology 14:61-66.
Sowls, A. L., S. A. Hatch, and C. J. Lensink. 1978. Catalog of Alaskan seabird colonies. U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv., No.
FWS/OBS 78/78.
Springer, A., D. Roseneau, E. Murphy, and M. Springer. 1984. Environmental controls of marine food webs and food
habits of seabirds in the Eastern Chukchi Sea. Can. J. Fish. Aquatic Science 41:1202-1215.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2006a. Alaska Seabird Information Series (ASIS) Draft report. Compiled by
Lynn Denlinger. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, Nongame Program, Anchorage, AK.
Available online at: http://alaska
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2006b. North Pacific Seabird Colony Database. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Migratory Bird Management, Anchorage, AK. Available online at:
http://alaska.fws.gov/mbsp/mbm/northpacificseabirds/colonies/default.htm.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2006c. Regulations for the 2006 Alaska subsistence spring/summer Migratory
Bird Harvest. Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Mgt Council, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, AK.
Wetlands International. 2002. Waterbird population estimates - Third edition. Wetlands International Global Series No.
12, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Version date: 12/21/2012
Report authors: K. Walton, T. Gotthardt, and T. Fields
Alaska Natural Heritage Program
University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage, AK 99501
For details on the development of the ASRS and criteria, please see: Gotthardt, T. A., K. M. Walton, and T. L. Fields. 2012.
Setting Conservation Priorities for Alaska's Wildlife Action Plan. Alaska Natural Heritage Program, University of Alaska
Anchorage, AK.
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