Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Kittlitz’s murrelet monitoring protocol: Version KM-2012.1

Hoekman, Steven; Moynahan, Brendan; Johnson, William; Sergeant, Christopher

The Kittlitz’s murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris, hereafter “KIMU”) is a seabird endemic to Alaska and northeastern Russia. Because of their role as integrators of marine and terrestrial ecosystems and intrinsic conservation concern, breeding season populations of KIMU and co-occurring marbled murrelets (B. marmoratus) in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve were selected for the Southeast Alaska Network (SEAN) Vital Signs Monitoring Program. Primary murrelet monitoring objectives are annual estimation of on-water abundance and spatial distribution for populations of each species and high power to detect 33% KIMU population decline over 15 years. In early July each year, SEAN staff conduct boat-based line transect surveys totaling approximately 250 km within 1,170 km2 of Glacier Bay proper. Sampling challenges inherent to our study system include incomplete detection and species identification of murrelets, large spatial and temporal variation in populations, and complex topography of glacial fjords. Key mitigating elements of the monitoring protocol include an augmented serially alternating panel design, spatially-balanced ampling stratified by expected KIMU density, transects 4-8 km in length oriented from shore-to-shore, and analytic methods accounting for incomplete detection and species identification of murrelets. We projected that meeting monitoring objectives was plausible but uncertain, depending largely on future magnitude of annual variation in KIMU abundance. This protocol provides information necessary to implement and sustain a long-term murrelet monitoring program, including context and justification for monitoring, description of survey methods, delineation of staff roles, and detailed instructions for field set-up, maintenance, training, data collection, storage, analysis, and reporting. Data and report products concerning murrelet monitoring in Glacier Bay will be disseminated to NPS personnel and outside parties on the SEAN web site. Please refer to the synthesis and program review report for monitoring of Kittlitz's murrelets in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve which contains important findings that may affect the interpretation of abundance estimates (Hoekman, S. T. 2019. Kittlitz’s murrelet monitoring in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve 2010–2018: Synthesis and program review. Natural Resource Report NPS/SEAN/NRR—2019/1957. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2265288). The report summarizes the results of murrelet monitoring from 2010-2018, assesses monitoring performance and capacity to meet protocol objectives, and provides recommendations for potential enhancements to the monitoring protocol. Hoekman (2019) identifies misidentification and partial identification of murrelets which can bias abundance estimation and spatially-explicit density estimates, particularly for rare species, such as Kittlitz’s murrelets.

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Kittlitz’s murrelet monitoring protocol: Version KM-2012.1

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