Status review of the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in Alaska and British Columbia

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Piatt ◽  
K.J. Kuletz ◽  
A.E. Burger ◽  
Scott A. Hatch ◽  
Vicki L. Friesen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Brachyramphus Marmoratus ◽  
Marbled Murrelet

scholarly journals Techniques for Investigating Breeding Chronology in Marbled Murrelets, Desolation Sound, British Columbia

The Condor ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Lougheed ◽  
Brett A. Vanderkist ◽  
Lynn W. Lougheed ◽  
Fred Cooke
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Brachyramphus Marmoratus ◽  
Marbled Murrelet ◽  
Breeding Synchrony ◽  
Physiological Analysis ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Marbled Murrelets

AbstractWe used several methods to study the chronology and synchrony of breeding events of the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) population at Desolation Sound, British Columbia, from 1996 to 1998. The timing of breeding events varied among years; on average the breeding season lasted from 21 April to 5 September. We assessed the biases of each method used by comparing the results to the estimate of the integrated breeding chronology. Counts of hatch-year birds at sea were biased toward earlier breeders, missing an estimated 24% of the fledglings. Two other methods, physiological analysis of the yolk precursor vitellogenin from blood samples and monitoring by radio-telemetry could produce a complete distribution of breeding events if sampling were done throughout laying. Observations in the forest, date of first observation of a fledgling at sea during the breeding season, and fish-holding behavior produced insufficient data to be used as sole indicators of breeding chronology of this species. In general, breeding synchrony in alcids, assessed using data from a literature review, was unrelated to feeding habits but increased with latitude (41% of the variation was explained by latitude). Marbled Murrelets, however, bred less synchronously than predicted for an alcid at this latitude (50°N).Técnicas para Investigar la Cronología Reproductiva de Brachyramphus marmoratus en Caleta Desolación, Columbia BritánicaResumen. Utilizamos varios métodos para investigar la cronología reproductiva de la población de Brachyramphus marmoratus en la Caleta Desolación de la Columbia Británica desde 1996 a 1998. Encontramos variaciones temporales en la época reproductiva entre años. En promedio, la estación reproductiva se extendió del 21 de abril al 5 de septiembre. Evaluamos el sesgo de los métodos utilizados comparando los resultados individuales con los resultados de la cronología obtenida al integrar todos los métodos. Los conteos de juveniles en el mar estuvieron sesgados hacia aquellas aves que anidan temprano, no detectando aproximadamente 24% de los juveniles producidos en la estación reproductiva. Los otros dos métodos, análisis fisiológico de muestras de sangre para detectar el precursor de vitelogenina en la yema y monitoreo por telemetría, podrían producir una distribución completa de las etapas reproductivas siempre que el muestreo se lleve a cabo a lo largo de todo el período de puesta. Las observaciones directas en los sitios de anidación, la fecha de la primera observación de juveniles en el mar y las observaciones de aves con pescado en el pico produjeron datos insuficientes para ser considerados indicadores únicos de la cronología reproductiva para esta especie. Con base en una revisión bibliográfica se investigó la sincronía reproductiva en álcidos, encontrándose que ésta no está relacionada con hábitos alimenticios pero que aumenta con la latitud (41% de la variación fue explicada por cambios latitudinales). Sin embargo, B. marmoratus se reprodujo menos sincrónico que lo predicho para un álcido a esta latitud (50°N).

Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) foraging with gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) off Vancouver Island, British Columbia

2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (12) ◽  
pp. 847-852
Author(s):  
K.A. Muirhead ◽  
C.D. Malcolm ◽  
D.A. Duffus
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Eschrichtius Robustus ◽  
Brachyramphus Marmoratus ◽  
Seabird Species ◽  
Gray Whales ◽  
Marbled Murrelet ◽  
Marbled Murrelets

Seabirds are known to associate with marine mammals to facilitate prey capture. These occur when mammals either force prey near the surface or provide small scraps of larger prey victims. Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus (Lilljeborg, 1861)) have been observed to provide invertebrate prey to a variety of seabird species; however, there are no published reports of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus (Gmelin, 1789)) feeding in association with gray whales. We observed Marbled Murrelets foraging within several metres of gray whales off Vancouver Island, British Columbia, feeding on epibenthic zooplankton in 2006 and 2008. Join-count statistics identified significant clustering (p = 0.1) of 258 Marbled Murrelets within 300 m of 39 feeding gray whales in June of 2006, and no association between 3 gray whales and 34 Marbled Murrelets in June and July of 2008, marking a foraging association conditional on the abundance of both gray whales and their prey, but potentially significant to Marbled Murrelet survival and fecundity.

A population-viability-based risk assessment of Marbled Murrelet nesting habitat policy in British Columbia

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 3075-3086 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Douglas Steventon ◽  
Glenn D Sutherland ◽  
Peter Arcese
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Simulation Modelling ◽  
Population Viability ◽  
Nesting Habitat ◽  
Persistence Probability ◽  
Marbled Murrelet ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Independent Population ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Nesting Density

The Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus Gmelin) is a small threatened seabird of the Pacific coast of North America. Through simulation modelling we varied the long-term minimum amounts and quality (nesting density) of old-forest nesting habitat to examine effects on murrelet population viability, our measure of population resilience. Applying diffusion approximations we estimated population longevity and persistence probability under uncertainties of at-sea demography and onshore edge effects affecting nesting success, time scale, spatial scale, and subpopulation structure. We cast our analysis in a Bayesian belief and decision network framework. We also applied the framework to spatially explicit land-use and murrelet inventory data for the northern mainland region of the British Columbia coast. We found a diminishing expected value of persistence probability (EVP), for a single independent population, below a nesting capacity of ≈5000 nesting pairs (≈15 000 birds), accelerating below 2000 pairs. A strategy of multiple semi-independent subpopulations provided a higher joint EVP across a wide range of total nesting capacity. There was little improvement in EVP, for any number of subpopulations, above 10 000 – 12 000 pairs (≈36 000 birds, 45%–60% of coastwide population estimate in 2001). Depending on estimates of nesting density, 12 000 pairs would require between 0.6 and 1.2 million ha of potential old-forest nesting habitat.

Stable isotopes reveal strategic allocation of resources during juvenile development in a cryptic and threatened seabird, the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus)

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (9) ◽  
pp. 859-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. Janssen ◽  
Peter Arcese ◽  
T. Kurt Kyser ◽  
Douglas F. Bertram ◽  
D. Ryan Norris
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotopes ◽  
Brachyramphus Marmoratus ◽  
Marbled Murrelet ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Nesting Behaviour ◽  
Strategic Allocation ◽  
Single Capture ◽  
Juvenile Development

Identifying factors that influence growth throughout development is important for understanding the consequences of variation in resource quality on recruitment. Marbled Murrelets ( Brachyramphus marmoratus (J.F. Gmelin, 1789)) are threatened seabirds that are extremely cryptic in their nesting behaviour, which makes it challenging to understand how juveniles allocate resources during development. From a single capture at sea, we analyzed stable carbon isotopes in feathers and blood of juvenile murrelets to infer diet composition during both the pre- and the post-fledging periods. Consistent with the challenges juveniles face during their first year of life, we found that wing and bill growth were prioritized in the nest, whereas development of energy stores was delayed until after nest departure. We also found that diet quality after nest departure influenced bill size and body condition, two body components that continue to grow after independence. Our results provide evidence that murrelets strategically allocate resources according to their stage of development and that the availability of high-quality prey is likely to be important to juvenile development. These results identify a potential mechanism through which feeding conditions may influence reproduction of murrelets and demonstrate the utility of stable isotopes to examine the influence of diet quality on growth over multiple stages of development.

Re-Evaluation of the First Three Marbled Murrelet Nests Reported in British Columbia

2010 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry R. Carter ◽  
Spencer G. Sealy
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Marbled Murrelet

Morphometric Variation in Marbled Murrelets, Brachyramphus Marmoratus, in British Columbia

2001 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy L. Hull ◽  
Brett A. Vanderkist ◽  
Lynn W. Lougheed ◽  
Gary W. Kaiser ◽  
Fred Cooke
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Brachyramphus Marmoratus ◽  
Morphometric Variation ◽  
Marbled Murrelets

Cloning and characterization of 29 tetranucleotide and two dinucleotide polymorphic microsatellite loci from the endangered marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus)

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 241-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARY BETH REW ◽  
M. ZACHARIAH PEERY ◽  
STEVEN R. BEISSINGER ◽  
MARTINE BERUBE ◽  
JEFFREY D. LOZIER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microsatellite Loci ◽  
Brachyramphus Marmoratus ◽  
Marbled Murrelet ◽  
Polymorphic Microsatellite
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