Arctic | Seabirds DOCTORATE ORAL PRESENTATION
Seabird-vessel traffic risk analysis for Alaska’s oceans Presenter: Kelly Kapsar , kelly.kapsar@gmail.com, Michigan State University Ben Sullender , ben.sullender@gmail.com, Kickstep Approaches Kathy Kuletz , Kathy_Kuletz@fws.gov, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Globally significant populations of seabirds use Pacific Arctic marine waters for breeding, foraging, and migration. These waters also serve increasing levels of international maritime commerce as sea ice declines, expanding the spatial and temporal extent of shipping. Marine birds thus face greater risks of disorientation from lights, vessel collisions, disturbance, and oil spills. We examined the overlap between vessel traffic and seabirds using satellite Automatic Information System vessel traffic data (2015-2020) and at-sea seabird survey data (2007-2019). Data were gridded into 25 km (625km2) hexagons for summer (June–August) and fall (September–November) seasons. We focused on three seabird groups that experience vessel collisions: sea ducks, auklets, and shearwaters. Using bird and ship densities of cells with sufficient data (n = 1340), we classified cells as below, above, or greater than above-average (+ 1 standard deviation), with overlap of the latter designated as highest risk. During summer, areas of highest risk to seabird-vessel interactions were concentrated around Unimak Pass in the Aleutian Islands and the northern coast of the Alaska Peninsula, with smaller clusters of risk near underwater features and port approaches. During fall, the number and spatial extent of highest risk areas generally declined except in Unimak Pass, and to lesser extent Bering Strait, and increased or remained high from Kodiak to Cook Inlet. In the Bering Strait region, sea duck risk was highest in fall, a period of migration, and extended through the eastern inner shelf from Point Barrow to Norton Sound. For auklets, high-risk areas were patchily distributed, but generally shifted from southern Bering Strait in summer to the northern Chukchi Sea in fall. For shearwaters, high risk occurred in fall, along inner shelf waters from the western Beaufort to Norton Sound. Statewide, the Aleutians remain the highest risk waters to seabirds from vessel traffic. However, we show that both northern Gulf of Alaska and Bering Strait are of regional consequence and should be managed to reduce risk, particularly during fall months. We will refine results by focusing on regional hotspots and using nighttime-only vessel data. We also suggest developing modeled estimates of seasonally critical seabird distribution.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium 2023 73
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