Gulf of Alaska | Seabirds
Oceanographic correlates of the non-breeding movements and distribution of tufted puffins throughout the northeast Pacific Ocean Presenter: Anne Schaefer , aschaefer@pwssc.org, Prince William Sound Science Center Kristen Gorman , kbgorman@alaska.edu, University of Alaska Fairbanks Mary Anne Bishop , mbishop@pwssc.org, Prince William Sound Science Center We report on a two-year, over-winter (2018/19 - 2019/20) field and laboratory study designed to resolve the annual pelagic distribution of tufted puffins ( Fratercula cirrhata ) between a major nesting colony located in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA, Middleton Island) and this population’s heretofore unknown migration routes and wintering areas (NPRB project 1812). We deployed 60 light-level geolocators (GLS) on nesting adult tufted puffins to quantify migration routes, wintering distribution, and phenology, and to examine marine habitat associations with a suite of oceanographic features. Geolocator data from 42 complete migration routes showed that tufted puffins were short-distance migrants, wintering 615.67 km on average from their Middleton Island breeding colony. Puffins departed the breeding grounds in early September and wintered primarily in GOA waters south and southeast of Middleton Island, with spring migrations starting by late March. Preliminary analysis indicated that distance to Middleton Island, distance to the continental shelf, distance to seamounts, and bathymetry were predictive of tufted puffin marine habitat selection during winter. Final oceanographic correlate results will be reported as part of this presentation. Our study provides useful information on the at-sea, non-breeding distribution of tufted puffins in the GOA to inform risk assessments for this species including vulnerability to spatially-explicit marine pollution, disease, and fisheries by-catch.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium 2023 23
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