Nesting Activity of the Kittlitz's Murrelet in the Kakagrak Hills, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Northwestern Alaska
Kissling ML and Lewis SB. 2014. Nesting Activity of the Kittlitz's Murrelet in the Kakagrak Hills, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Northwestern Alaska
Kittlitz’s Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) is a broadly-distributed, but uncommon seabird endemic to coastal Alaska and eastern Russia. Compared to south-coastal Alaska where this species reaches its’ highest densities during the breeding season, little is known about Kittlitz’s Murrelets in northern Alaska, yet this region constitutes a large portion of its range. Unlike most seabird species, the Kittlitz’s Murrelet does not nest in colonies, but instead nests solitarily at low densities. We studied nesting activity of Kittlitz’s Murrelets in the Kakagrak Hills, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, in summer 2014. Between June 15 and 26, we located two active Kittlitz’s Murrelet nests by walking line transects in 28 sampling blocks (250 m2) that were stratified by two habitat types (alpine alkaline barren, alpine dryas dwarf shrub) and selected randomly. We found one additional active nest opportunistically while walking between blocks. All three nests were located in alpine alkaline barren habitat and all failed during the egg stage; causes of failure were apparent nest abandonment (n=1), depredation (n=1), and unknown (n=1). Overall mean nest density was 0.80 nests per km2 (SE=0.52) and apparent nesting success was zero. Our results add to evidence suggesting that northern Alaska may serve as sink habitat to nesting Kittlitz’s Murrelets, although the mechanism remains unclear.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Kissling, Michelle; Lewis, Stephen
- Date of Issue
- 2014
- Units
- CAKR
- Keywords
- Alaska, apparent nesting success, Brachyramphus, Kittlitz's Murrelet, reproduction, sampling design, sink patch
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Birds