Identifying trophic level and isotopic signatures of Kittlitz’s murrelets and their prey in Icy Bay, Wrangell St-Elias National Park and Preserve
Project ID: J8W07080016
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Partner Institution: Oregon State University
Fiscal Year: 2008
Initial Funding: $24,205
Total Funding: $24,205
Project Type: Research
Project Disciplines: Biological
National Park: Wrangell-St.Elias National Park and Preserve
Principal Investigator: Roby, Daniel
Agreement Technical Representative: Gende, Scott
Abstract: The Kittlitz’s Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostrus; KIMU) is a small, poorly understood seabird endemic to the Alaskan coast and eastern Russia. Icy Bay, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, may support up to 14% of the world’s population of KIMU, with the highest density found in any surveyed areas. KIMU populations have declined by up to 75% across their range, including within Icy Bay, prompting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to elevate KIMU to a Listing Priority 2 for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Yet very little is known regarding the diet and foraging habits of KIMU, resulting in an inability to track changes in prey base and connect known changes in physical landscapes due to climate change with dynamics of prety and resulting KIMU response, including now reproductive success may be influenced by prey changes.
The overall intent of this project is to describe the current diet of KIMU in Icy Bay, Alaska in order to better understand the nutritional ecology and energetic demands during the pre- and post-breeding seasons. Ratios of stable carbon can be used as an index of nearshore versus offshore foraging. This project will be embedded as part of a larger related effort in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the summer of 2008 where adult KIMU will be captured at sea to deploy radio tags to identify and monitor active nest sites and important foraging areas. Isotopic ratios of carbon and nitrogen will be calculated from feather and blood samplees collected from murrelets captured during the spring of 2008 and from fish collected from beach seines conducted throughout Icy Bay during the summer of 2008. Both the fish and feather isotopic values will allow us to construct multivariate and mixed models to evaluate temporal shifts in trophic level (pre- and post-breeding) of KIMU. Funding as part of the agreement will cover salary and laboratory expenses for a graduate student at Oregon State University to conduct the stable isotope analyses at the stable isotope lab at Oregon State University. Depending upon future need and funding availavility this task agreement may be modified in future years.
Deliverables: