Marine Birds
Southwest Alaska Network. 2018. Marine Birds. Southwest Alaska Network
Many marine birds rely heavily on habitats and prey associated with the marine nearshore ecosystem of park coastlines. These species are top-level consumers of fish and marine invertebrates, such as mussels, clams, snails, and limpets. Because of these characteristics, these birds are good indicators of change in the marine ecosystem. Our monitoring focuses on birds that are trophically linked to the nearshore food web, such as sea ducks (harlequins, Barrow’s goldeneye, mergansers, and scoters) and black oystercatchers as well as various guilds of other marine birds (e.g., pigeon guillemots, blacklegged kittiwakes, and cormorants) that occupy other food webs or habitats. Monitoring these various guilds simultaneously improves our ability to discriminate among potential causes of change in seabird populations and the nearshore ecosystem. For example, some of the species we monitor were impacted by the Exxon Valdez oil spill and exhibited protracted recovery periods as a consequence of lingering oil in nearshore habitats. Public concern exists for the welfare of marine birds because they are currently affected by human activities like pollution and commercial fishing.
- Type
- Resource Brief
- Authors
- Southwest Alaska Network
- Date of Issue
- 2018-03
- Publisher
- Southwest Alaska Network
- Units
- KATM , KEFJ , SWAN
- Keywords
- Barrow’s goldeneye, black oystercatchers, common murre, harlequin ducks, marine birds, mergansers, scoters
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Intertidal Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Birds