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12 results for “Marbled Murrelet”
City of Seattle, Seattle Public Utilities, Marbled Murrelet Baseline Surveys 2005-2007, Cedar River Municipal Watershed, King County, WA
From 2005 to 2007, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) hired consultants to use ornithological radar and protocol audio-visual (AV) surveys to establish baseline information on the distribution and abundance of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in the Cedar River Municipal Watershed (CRMW), Washington. Across the three years, radar surveys were conducted on 100 mornings at 18 sites, and AV surveys on 92 mornings at 12 sites. The study recorded murrelet targets via radar in all years, with 65 detections in 2005, 89 in 2006, and 25 in 2007. Mean daily landward radar counts ranged between 0 and 4 per morning, and did not differ significantly across years. Although overall radar counts were low, high day-to-day variability was observed (coefficients of variation from 130% to 173%). Monte Carlo simulations showed that with repeated surveys using the same methods, the monitoring program could detect an annual increase of 2–3% in Marbled Murrelet abundance over approximately 25–50 years. AV surveys confirmed murrelet occupancy at two sites: the Rex River in 2005 and the South Fork Cedar River in 2006. No murrelets were detected by AV in 2007, though radar data suggested low-level murrelet presence at several additional sub-basins. The findings indicate that Marbled Murrelets occur at low densities in the CRMW, likely limited by both high inland distance and relatively sparse old-growth forest structure suitable for nesting. The four radar stations established and resampled during the study provide an opportunity for long-term monitoring, offering sufficient power to detect changes in murrelet activity as ongoing forest restoration efforts in the CRMW progress.
City of Seattle, Seattle Public Utilities, Marbled Murrelet Habitat Enhancement Experiment 2010, Cedar River Municipal Watershed, King County, WA
This experimental project aims to enhance nesting habitat for the marbled murrelet through active habitat restoration in second-growth forests. The project was conducted within the Cedar River Municipal Watershed (CRMW) in Washington State, with the goal of determining if silvicultural treatments, such as creating canopy gaps and tree topping, can accelerate the growth of tree branches suitable for murrelet nesting. The project was implemented in 2010 at a 75-acre site within CRMW. Treatments included removing surrounding trees to increase canopy openness ("gaps"), topping trees to stimulate branch growth, and combining both methods. The site was specifically chosen for its proximity to the murrelet detections in nearby old growth stands, and site suitability in terms of tree age, species composition, and manageable topography. Data collected focused on tree growth and structure characteristics critical to murrelet nesting. A total of 48 trees received treatments, which were systematically compared to untreated controls to assess outcomes. The initial implementation confirmed logistical feasibility and budget adherence, with plans for monitoring and resampling established for the 2020s. If successful, these techniques could be replicated across various environmental conditions to expand viable nesting habitat for the marbled murrelet, directly supporting conservation objectives outlined in the CRMW Habitat Conservation Plan.
Dataset for: A 31-year time series of at-sea counts shows a non-significant decline of Marbled Murrelets at Laskeek Bay, Haida Gwaii, 1990-2020
<p>This dataset includes counts of Marbled Murrelets (<em>Brachyramphus marmoratus</em>) conducted from a small boat near Laskeek Bay on the east coast of Louise Island, and north of Lyell Island in Haida Gwaii, from 1990 to 2020. The dataset includes counts of Marbled Murrelets observed on the water or flying by. Information is also included on the date, time of day, survey width, and spatial coordinates of the transects where the observation took place.</p>
Experimental evidence that social information affects habitat selection in Marbled Murrelets
<p>Habitat selection decisions can impact individual fitness and ultimately scale up to mediate population dynamics. Understanding how birds select habitat is thus critical for discerning the biological processes structuring populations and developing conservation strategies, particularly for species in decline. Marbled Murrelet (<i>Brachyramphus marmoratus</i>; hereafter murrelet) populations have declined in recent decades due to loss of late-successional forest nesting habitat and changing ocean conditions that impact foraging success. Most other seabirds in the family Alcidae nest colonially and evidence suggests nesting murrelets may aggregate in stands, yet no studies have examined murrelet use of social information in nest site selection. In 2016 we experimentally simulated presence of murrelets at 14 randomly chosen potential breeding sites by broadcasting murrelet calls throughout the breeding period. Between broadcasting bouts, we recorded calls of wild murrelets and compared call rates with those recorded at 14 control sites (no broadcast). One year after playbacks ceased (2017) we conducted breeding season surveys to document behaviors indicative of murrelet breeding activity. Broadcasting murrelet calls in 2016 increased daily odds of wild murrelets vocalizing during the treatment period by up to 15.4× (95% CI = 2.3, 125.4) relative to control sites. During the 2017 breeding season, the odds of occupancy were 10.0× (CI = 1.2, 81.4) greater at treatment sites than control sites. These results indicate that social information influences murrelet breeding site selection because simulated conspecific presence in potential nesting habitat appeared to attract prospectors in 2016 that continued occupying treatment sites the following year. This conspecific attraction implies murrelet nesting sites are likely to remain occupied over time and that large tracts of nesting habitat may be important for supporting murrelet populations. Murrelets may also be susceptible to information-mediated Allee effects whereby a lack of conspecific information about nesting habitat could exacerbate long-term population declines.</p>
Marbled Murrelets prefer stratified waters close to freshwater inputs in Haida Gwaii, BC, Canada
<p>The Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) is a small seabird that is currently listed as threatened in Canada. Understanding this species' marine habitat preferences plays a vital role in our ability to focus conservation planning. We used the longest-running at-sea survey dataset available in British Columbia to examine hotspot persistence and habitat use at Laskeek Bay, Haida Gwaii, BC. The Laskeek Bay Conservation Society has been conducting spring and summer surveys along fixed transect routes in open and shoreline waters from 1997‒2018. Along with analyzing this long-term dataset, we conducted surveys to measure oceanographic variables (2018–2019) and tested whether murrelets in the same area used prey and oceanographic information to select marine habitat in conjunction with physical habitat features. Our hotspot persistence map, defined as areas that repeatedly had counts above a 75% threshold relative to other areas during a given survey, showed that murrelets consistently preferred shoreline transects. Murrelets also preferred shallow marine areas closer to streams, above higher proportions of sandy substrate and closer proximity to abundant nesting habitat. Modeling weather and time variables contributed little additional predictive power. Nonetheless, models that included physical environmental, oceanographic, and prey variables outperformed those with only physical environmental variables. Stratified water was the oceanographic variable most strongly related to higher counts. Our study suggests that stratified waters could work with stream systems to create productive zones for foraging murrelets, and highlights the importance of murrelets having access to marine areas with the preferred physical features. </p>
Characterizing the diet of a threatened seabird, the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), using high-throughput sequencing
<p class="blockindent">Understanding prey consumption patterns is critical to understanding the ways in which seabirds cope with a changing ocean. However, characterizing the dietary habitats of seabirds can be challenging. In this study, we investigated the diet of the Marbled Murrelet (<span class="bodyitalic"><em>Brachyramphus marmoratus</em>) </span>population that lives in waters off California, Oregon, and Washington, USA, using fecal DNA, custom metabarcoding, and high-throughput sequencing. Murrelets were captured at sea by dip-netting at night. Across this region, murrelets consumed highly diverse prey types including 17 fish species and 10 invertebrate species, in accord with previous work indicating the species' forage on a wide range of prey. Pacific Herring (<em><span class="bodyitalic">Clupea pallasii</span></em><span class="bodyitalic">)</span> was the most common prey in Washington and Oregon (frequency of occurrence = 0.84 and 0.69, respectively), replaced by Northern Anchovy <span class="bodyitalic">(Engraulis <em>mordax</em>) </span>in California (frequency of occurrence = 0.77). In Oregon, where our sample size was sufficient, diet composition differed between the 2017 and 2018 breeding seasons, with an apparent decline in the proportional consumption of energy-dense prey. Common and energy-dense prey were consumed in equal proportions by males and females, perhaps because of foraging in the same habitat. Diet did not vary between breeders and non-breeders. Our study offers the first detailed report on the diet of adult Marbled Murrelets in waters where they are listed as Threatened by the US federal government. This indicates that managing fisheries and conserving spawning habitat for high-occurrence prey species could benefit murrelet populations.</p>
Experimental evidence that social information affects habitat selection in Marbled Murrelets
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Marbled Murrelets prefer stratified waters close to freshwater inputs in Haida Gwaii, BC, Canada
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Characterizing the diet of a threatened seabird, the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), using high-throughput sequencing
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Dataset for: A 31-year time series of at-sea counts shows a non-significant decline of Marbled Murrelets at Laskeek Bay, Haida Gwaii, 1990-2020
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Assessing the effectiveness of a forest Habitat Conservation Plan for a threatened seabird, the marbled murrelet
<p>Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) commonly facilitate habitat conservation on private land in the United States, yet the effectiveness of individual HCPs is rarely evaluated. Here, we assess the effectiveness of a high-profile HCP created by a lumber company to protect old-growth forest used for breeding by Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) on private land. We used 17 years of HCP-monitoring data to compare trends in murrelet occupancy and inland counts between private HCP areas and public reference areas over time. Based on occupancy models applied to audio-visual survey data, average occupancy was higher in public reference areas (0.85; 85% CI: 0.79-0.90) than in private HCP areas (0.46; 85% CI: 0.38-0.54). Numerically, trends in occupancy were slightly positive in public areas (λ=1.01; 85% CI: 0.94-1.08) and slightly negative in private areas (λ=0.97; 85% CI: 0.87-1.06), but confidence intervals did not preclude stable occupancy on both ownerships. Based on generalized linear mixed models applied to inland radar survey data, murrelet counts in private HCP areas (LS mean=8.7; 85% CI: 6.2-12.2) were lower than those in public reference areas (LS mean=14.8; 85% CI: 10.1-21.7), but confidence intervals overlapped. Murrelet counts declined by 12-17% annually on both ownerships over the study period based on the top model, but a closely competing interactive model suggested more rapid declines in public reference (14-20%) than in private HCP (10-15%) areas. Both models indicated that murrelet counts were negatively related to sea surface temperature, suggesting that warm ocean conditions negatively affect murrelet breeding effort. Collectively, these results suggest that while HCP habitat may be lower quality than public reference areas, the HCP has likely not exacerbated ongoing declines of murrelets in the region. This work highlights the importance of including reference areas when evaluating conservation policies. </p>
Assessing the effectiveness of a forest Habitat Conservation Plan for a threatened seabird, the marbled murrelet
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