Use and History of the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD)
Data on the distribution and abundance of seabirds at sea have been used for many decades to assist in understanding the marine ecology of seabirds away from their breeding colonies, measure population status and trends, assess the impact of human activities on ocean habitats and fish stocks, and to identify critical marine habitats for seabirds.
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Pubs that have used NPPSD data | History of NPPSD | PDF version of this web page
Use of the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD)
Data on the distribution and abundance of seabirds at sea have been used for many decades to assist in understanding the marine ecology of seabirds away from their breeding colonies, measure population status and trends, assess the impact of human activities on ocean habitats and fish stocks, and to identify critical marine habitats for seabirds. To facilitate these efforts— and in collaboration with colleagues in many different governments (US, Canada, Russia, Japan) and agencies (particularly U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management), universities, and non-profits— we compiled data that was collected over 47 years (1973-2019) by dozens of organizations and hundreds of biologists to create the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD). Published online in 2005, and upgraded in 2015 and 2020 (see History below), the current version of the NPPSD contains data on >20 million marine birds and >360 thousand mammals observed at sea during >460,000 strip survey transects (“samples”) in an area spanning the North Pacific from the Arctic to Hawaii, and from California to South Korea (Figure 1), an area that is about 50% larger than the continental United States.
Since the NPPSD was published in 2005, it has been used 85 times (we know of) to address questions (Figure 2) that pertain mostly to “wildlife management” (relating to monitoring and conserving seabird populations, and regulating threats), “ecosystem dynamics” (response of seabirds and communities to changing environments), “fisheries management” (mitigating impacts of fisheries and bycatch on populations), or studies of “animal ecology” (documenting species biology, trophic ecology and biogeography). Primary users of the NPPSD have been government (52%) and university (25%) scientists. Remaining users were graduate students (6%, 3 PhD, 2 MSc), consulting companies (9%) and non-profits (7%). Products that report on analyses of NPPSD data were mostly peer-reviewed journals (55%), graduate theses (6%), and agency or institution reports (39%), of which most were published internally and are available online (see bibliography below).
Within these major categories of use, a variety of specific issues have been examined by investigators. About half of all issues investigated using NPPSD data (Figure 3) have related to anthropogenic impacts, including “threats to populations” (e.g., from oil spills, offshore energy developments, bycatch in fishing gear, natural disasters), “climate change” (e.g., effects of global warming on seabirds due to sea-ice loss, changing migratory behavior, shifting habitat boundaries, altered food webs), and issues concerning “endangered species” (e.g., population status and trends, hotspots, monitoring strategies, conservation and recovery plans). The remaining issues of interest relate to the natural history and ecology of species and communities, including “distribution and abundance” (e.g., ecological niches, abundance patterns at different spatial scales), “trophic relationships” (e.g., prey diversity, consumption and energy flow), “habitat use or quality” (e.g., habitat characteristics defined by currents, oceanography, topography, productivity), and “community ecology” (e.g., structure and functional relationships with and among seabird communities living in variable environments). Finally, the NPPSD has been used as a source for “information transfer” to both public and scientific community users (e.g., seabird atlases, database user guides and status reports, workshop support).
Following this summary about NPPSD users is a bibliography of user citations (to date), and a brief history of development of the NPPSD. There may be citing documents we have missed.
Published papers, theses and reports that have used NPPSD data (as of 2022-02-10)
Ardron, A. J., D. Dunn, C. Corrigan, K. Gjerde, P. Halpin, E. Vanden Berghe, M. Vierros, P. N. Halpin, E. Fujioka, B. Best, J. Roberts, et al. (2009). Defining ecologically or biologically significant areas in the open oceans and deep seas: Analysis , tools , resources and illustrations. Convention on Biological Diversity, Background Document:1–112. doi: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.469.901&rep=r…
Bond, A. L., and J. L. Lavers (2015). Flesh-footed shearwaters (Puffinus carneipes) in the northeastern Pacific Ocean: Summary and synthesis of records from Canada and Alaska. Canadian Field-Naturalist 129:263–267. doi: 10.22621/cfn.v129i3.1725
Carter, H. R., S. K. Nelson, S. G. Sealy, and G. B. Van Vliet (2011). Occurrences of Kittlitz’s Murrelets south of the breeding range along the west coast of North America. Northwestern Naturalist 92:186–199.
Clairbaux, M. (2021). Energetic landscapes of migratory seabirds in the North Atlantic Ocean in a context of climate change. Ph.D. Thesis, Université Montpellier.
Clairbaux, M., J. Fort, P. Mathewson, W. Porter, H. Strøm, and D. Grémillet (2019). Climate change could overturn bird migration: Transarctic flights and high-latitude residency in a sea ice free Arctic. Scientific Reports 9:1–13. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-54228-5
COSEWIC (2013). Assessment and status report Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada:1–67. doi: https://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/document/default_e.cfm?docum…
COSEWIC (2014). Assessment and Status Report Cassin’s Auklet Ptychoramphus aleuticus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada:1–79. doi: https://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/document/default_e.cfm?docum…
Cunningham, J. T. (2017). The use of seabirds as indicators of changes in the marine environment through provisioning and population trends. M.Sc.. Thesis, University of Guelph.
Day, R. H., A. E. Gall, T. C. Morgan, J. R. Rose, J. H. Plissner, M. S. Peter, J. D. Fenneman, K. J. Kuletz, and B. H. Watts (2013a). Seabirds new to the eastern Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, Alaska: Response to a changing climate? Western Birds 44:174–182.
Day, R. H., A. E. Gall, A. K. Prichard, G. J. Divoky, and N. A. Rojek (2011). The status and distribution of Kittlitz’s Murrelet Brachramphus brevirostris in northern Alaska. Marine Ornithology 39:53–63.
Day, R. H., T. J. Weingartner, R. R. Hopcroft, L. A. M. Aerts, A. L. Blanchard, A. E. Gall, B. J. Gallaway, D. E. Hannay, B. A. Holladay, J. T. Mathis, B. L. Norcross, et al. (2013b). The offshore northeastern Chukchi Sea, Alaska: A complex high-latitude ecosystem. Continental Shelf Research 67:147–165. doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2013.02.002
Denlinger, L. M. (2006). Alaska Seabird Information Series. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, Region 7, Alaska, Nongame Program Report:1–104.
Dietrich, K. S., and E. F. Melvin (2007). Alaska trawl fisheries: potential interactions with North Pacific Albatrosses Alaska. Sea Grant Washington, Final Report NFFS7200-6-00063 December:1–50.
Drew, G., J. F. Piatt, and J. Williams (2018). Biological responses of Crested and Least auklets to volcanic destruction of nesting habitat in the Aleutian Islands , Alaska. The Auk 135:477–485. doi: 10.1642/AUK-17-180.1
Drew, G. S., D. E. Dragoo, M. Renner, and J. F. Piatt (2010). At-sea observations of marine birds and their habitats before and after the 2008 eruption of Kasatochi volcano, Alaska. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 42. doi: 10.1657/1938-4246-42.3.325
Drew, G. S., and J. F. Piatt (2005). North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD): Compiling datasets and creating and archive, accessible database and pelagic seabird atlas. North Pacific Marine Research Institute Project No. NPMRI 18 (T2110):1–59.
Drew, G. S., J. F. Piatt, and D. F. Hill (2013). Effects of currents and tides on fine-scale use of marine bird habitats in a Southeast Alaska hotspot. Marine Ecology Progress Series 487: 275–2. doi: 10.3354/meps10304
Drew, G. S., J. F. Piatt, and M. Renner (2015). User ’s Guide to the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database 2.0. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report:1–52. doi: 10.3133/ofr20151123
Environment Canada (2008). Recovery strategy for the short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) and the pink-footed shearwater (Puffinus creatopus) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Environment Canada, Ottawa.:1–57. doi: https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/consultations/1354
Gall, A. E., R. H. Day, and T. C. Morgan (2013). Distribution and abundance of seabirds in the northeastern Chukchi Sea, 2008–2012. ABR Environmental Research and Services, Fairbanks, AK, Final Report for ConocoPhillips, Shell and Statoil:1–100.
Gall, A. E., R. H. Day, and T. J. Weingartner (2012). Structure and variability of the marine-bird community in the northeastern Chukchi Sea. Continental Shelf Research:1–20. doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2012.11.004
Gall, A. E., T. C. Morgan, R. H. Day, and K. J. Kuletz (2016). Ecological shift from piscivorous to planktivorous seabirds in the Chukchi Sea, 1975–2012. Polar Biology 40:1–18. doi: 10.1007/s00300-016-1924-z
Gould, P. J., D. J. Forsell, and C. J. Lensink (1982). Pelagic distribution and abundance of seabirds in the Gulf of Alaska and eastern Bering Sea. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service Report FWS/OBS-82/48:1–294.
Holland-Bartels, L., and B. Pierce (2011). An evaluation of the science needs to inform decisions on Outer Continental Shelf energy development in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1370:1–278.
Huettmann, F., Y. Artukhin, O. Gilg, and G. Humphries (2011). Predictions of 27 Arctic pelagic seabird distributions using public environmental variables, assessed with colony data: a first digital IPY and GBIF open access synthesis platform. Marine Biodiversity 41:141–179. doi: 10.1007/s12526-011-0083-2
Humphries, G. R. W. (2010). The ecological niche of storm-petrels in the North Pacific and a global model of dimethylsulfide concentration. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Alaska, Fairbanks:1–103.
Humphries, G. R. W., F. Huettmann, G. A. Nevitt, C. Deal, and D. Atkinson (2012). Species distribution modeling of storm-petrels (Oceanodroma furcata and O. leucorhoa) in the North Pacific and the role of dimethyl sulfide. Polar Biology 35:1669–1680. doi: 10.1007/s00300-012-1207-2
Hunt, G. L., A. L. Blanchard, P. L. Boveng, P. Dalpadado, K. F. Drinkwater, L. B. Eisner, R. R. Hopcroft, K. M. Kovacs, B. L. Norcross, P. E. Renaud, M. Reigstad, et al. (2013). The Barents and Chukchi Seas: Comparison of two Arctic shelf ecosystems. Journal of Marine Systems 109–110:43–68. doi: 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2012.08.003
Hunt, G. L., G. S. Drew, J. Jahncke, and J. F. Piatt (2005). Prey consumption and energy transfer by marine birds in the Gulf of Alaska. Deep Sea Research Part II: 52:781–797. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2004.12.024
Hunt, G. L., H. Kato, and S. M. Mckinnell (2000). Predation by marine birds and mammals in the subarctic North Pacific Ocean. PICES Scientific Report No. 14:1–168.
Hunt, G. L., M. Renner, and K. Kuletz (2014). Seasonal variation in the cross-shelf distribution of seabirds in the southeastern Bering Sea. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 109:266–281. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.08.011
Hunt, G. L., M. Renner, K. J. Kuletz, S. Salo, L. Eisner, P. H. Ressler, C. Ladd, and J. A. Santora (2018). Timing of sea-ice retreat affects the distribution of seabirds and their prey in the southeastern Bering Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 593:209–230. doi: 10.3354/meps12383
Jahncke, J., L. S. Vlietstra, M. B. Decker, and G. L. Hunt (2008). Marine bird abundance around the Pribilof Islands: A multi-year comparison. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 55:1809–1826. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2008.04.003
Kuletz, K. J., M. C. Ferguson, B. Hurley, A. E. Gall, E. A. Labunski, and T. C. Morgan (2015). Seasonal spatial patterns in seabird and marine mammal distribution in the eastern Chukchi and western Beaufort seas: identifying biologically important pelagic areas. Progress in Oceanography 136:175–200. doi: 10.1016/j.pocean.2015.05.012
Kuletz, K. J., and E. A. Labunski (2017). Seabird distribution and abundance in the offshore environment. OCS Study BOEM 2017-004:1–59. doi: https://tethys.pnnl.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Seabird-distri…
Kuletz, K. J., E. A. Labunski, M. Renner, and D. B. Irons (2008a). The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Observer Program. NPRB Final Rep. Project 637:1–88.
Kuletz, K. J., E. A. Labunski, and S. G. Speckman (2008b). Abundance, distribution, and decadal trends of Kittlitz’s and marbled murrelets and other marine species in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service , Region 7, Anchorage AK, Final Report:1–127.
Kuletz, K. J., M. Renner, E. A. Labunski, and G. L. Hunt (2014). Changes in the distribution and abundance of albatrosses in the eastern Bering Sea: 1975-2010. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 109:282–292. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2014.05.006
Livingston, P., R. Brodeur, L. Conners, C. Coon, M. Doyle, S. Gaichas, J. Gharrett, K. Goldman, S. Hare, J. Heifetz, J. Ingraham, et al. (2002). Ecosystem Considerations for 2002. NOAA Ecosystem Status Report for North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, Anchorage, AK:1–183. doi: https://apps-afsc.fisheries.noaa.gov/refm/docs/2001/ecosyscon.pdf
Mckeon, C. S., M. X. Weber, S. E. Alter, N. E. Seavy, E. D. Crandall, D. J. Barshis, E. D. Fechter-Leggett, and K. L. L. Oleson (2016). Melting barriers to faunal exchange across ocean basins. Global Change Biology 22:465–473. doi: 10.1111/gcb.13116
Melvin, E. F., M. D. Wainstein, K. S. Dietrich, K. L. Ames, T. O. Geernaert, and L. L. Conquest (2006). The distribution of seabirds on the Alaskan longline fishing grounds: Implications for seabird avoidance regulations. Washington Sea Grant Program, Final Report WSG-AS 06-01:41.
MMS (2003). Cook Inlet Planning Area, oil and gas lease sales 191 and 199: Final environmental Impact statement. Minerals Management Service OCS EIS/EA MMS 2003-055 3:1–363. doi: https://www.boem.gov/sites/default/files/about-boem/BOEM-Regions/Alaska…
Nelson, S. K., K. J. Kuletz, and S. M. Gende (2015). A monitoring plan for Brachyramphus murrelets in Alaska. U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service Monitoring Report:1–98.
Nishizawa, B., K. Matsuno, E. A. Labunski, K. J. Kuletz, A. Yamaguchi, and Y. Watanuki (2017). Seasonal distribution of short-tailed shearwaters and their prey in the Bering and Chukchi seas. Biogeosciences 14:203–214. doi: 10.5194/bg-14-203-2017
NOAA/NMFS (2009). Bering Sea chinook salmon bycatch management. North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Volume I Final Environmental Impact Statement:1–237.
NOAA/NMFS (2010). Require Trawl Sweep Modification in the Bering Sea Flatfish Fishery , Establish a Modified Gear Trawl Zone , and Revise Boundaries of the Northern Bering Sea Research Area and Saint Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area. National Marine Fisheries Service, Environmental Assessment/ Regulatory Impact Review:1–239.
NOAA/NMFS (2014). Chinook salmon prohibited species catch in the Gulf of Alaska non-pollock trawl fisheries. National Marine Fisheries Service, Environmental Assessment and Regulatory Impact Review:1–122.
Petersen, A., D. Irons, H. G. Gilchrist, D. Boertmann, H. Strom, M. Gavrilo, Y. Artukhin, D. Clausen, K. Kuletz, and M. Mallory (2015). The status of Glaucous Gulls Larus hyperboreus in the circumpolar Arctic. Arctic 68:107–120.
Piatt, J., and G. Drew (2004). Preliminary assessment of marine bird abundance and species composition in the vicinity of the Selendang Ayu grounding , based on historical data from the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database. USGS Alaska Science Center, Report to USFWS Reg. 7:10.
Piatt, J. F. (1992). Mapping pelagic seabird distribution in Alaska. Minerals Management Service OCS Study MMS 92-0046 (J. Geiselman and K. Mitchell, eds.). Anchorage, pp. 155–162.
Piatt, J. F., and R. G. Ford (1993). Distribution and Abundance of Marbled Murrelets in Alaska. The Condor 95:662–669.
Piatt, J. F., and R. G. Ford (2000). A computerized pelagic seabird atlas for Alaska. Minerals Management Service Final Report OCS Study MMS 2000-072:1–53. doi: https://espis.boem.gov/final%20reports/4849.pdf
Piatt, J. F., K. J. Kuletz, A. E. Burger, S. A. Hatch, V. L. Friesen, T. P. Birt, M. L. Arimitsu, G. S. Drew, A. M. A. Harding, and K. S. Bixler (2006a). Status Review of the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in Alaska and British Columbia. USGS Open-File Report 1387:2006–1387.
Piatt, J. F., C. J. Lensink, W. Butler, M. Kendziorek, and D. R. Nysewander (1990). Immediate impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on marine birds. The Auk 107:387–397.
Piatt, J. F., and A. M. Springer (2003). Advection, pelagic food webs and the biogeography of seabirds in Beringia. Marine Ornithology 31:141–154.
Piatt, J. F., J. D. Wetzel, K. Bell, A. R. DeGange, G. R. Balogh, G. S. Drew, T. O. Geernaert, C. Ladd, and G. V. Byrd (2006b). Predictable hotspots and foraging habitat of the endangered short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) in the North Pacific: Implications for conservation. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 53:387–398. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2006.01.008
Renner, M., M. L. Arimitsu, and J. F. Piatt (2012). Structure of marine predator and prey communities along environmental gradients in a glaciated fjord. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 69. doi: 10.1139/f2012-117
Renner, M., G. L. Hunt, J. F. Piatt, and G. V. Byrd (2008). Seasonal and distributional patterns of seabirds along the Aleutian Archipelago. Marine Ecology Progress Series 357:301–311. doi: 10.3354/meps07325
Renner, M., and K. Kuletz (2017). Seasonality of seabird distribution in Lower Cook Inlet. Bureau of Ocean Energy Managment, OCS Study 2017-011:1–46. doi: https://www.boem.gov/sites/default/files/boem-newsroom/Library/Publicat…
Renner, M., and K. J. Kuletz (2014). An assessment of the risk of shipping traffic on seabirds in the Aleutian Archipelago. Tern Again Consulting, Homer AK, Final Report:1–262.
Renner, M., and K. J. Kuletz (2015). A spatial–seasonal analysis of the oiling risk from shipping traffic to seabirds in the Aleutian Archipelago. Marine Pollution Bulletin 101:127–136. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.007
Renner, M., J. K. Parrish, G. V. Byrd, K. J. Kuletz, and G. L. Hunt (2009). Is the pelagic distribution of seabirds in the Bering Sea driven by climate change? North Pacific Research Board, Final Report, Project 609:1–32.
Renner, M., J. K. Parrish, J. F. Piatt, K. J. Kuletz, A. E. Edwards, and G. L. Hunt (2013). Modeled distribution and abundance of a pelagic seabird reveal trends in relation to fisheries. Marine Ecology Progress Series 484:259–277. doi: 10.3354/meps10347
Renner, M., S. Salo, L. B. Eisner, P. H. Ressler, C. Ladd, K. J. Kuletz, J. A. Santora, J. F. Piatt, G. S. Drew, G. L. Hunt, and M. Renner (2016). Timing of ice retreat alters seabird abundances and distributions in the southeast Bering Sea. Biology Letters 12:7. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0276
Rivera, K., L. T. Ballance, L. Benaka, E. R. Breuer, G. Brooke, S. M. Fitzgerald, P. L. Hoffman, N. Leboeuf, and G. T. Waring (2014). National Seabird Workshop: Building a national plan to improve the state of knowledge and reduce commercial fisheries impacts on seabirds. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-F/SPO-139:1–88.
Rubidge, E., J. Nephin, K. Gale, and J. Curtis (2018). Reassessment of the ecologically and biologically significant areas (EBSAs) in the Pacific Northern Shelf Bioregion. Fisheries and Oceans Canada - Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Doc 2018/053:1–97.
Santora, J. A., L. B. Eisner, K. J. Kuletz, C. Ladd, M. Renner, and G. L. Hunt (2018). Biogeography of seabirds within a high-latitude ecosystem: Use of a data-assimilative ocean model to assess impacts of mesoscale oceanography. Journal of Marine Systems 178:38–51. doi: 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2017.10.006
Schacter, C. (2017). Migration dynamics: testing ecological theory with tracking data for Aethia auklets in the North Pacific. Ph.D. Thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada:1–267.
Sigler, M. F., M. Renner, S. L. Danielson, L. B. Eisner, R. R. Lauth, K. J. Kuletz, E. A. Logerwell, and G. L. Hunt (2011). Fluxes, fins, and feathers: relationships among the Bering Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas in a time of climate change. Oceanography 24:250–265.
Smith, M. A., B. K. Sullender, W. C. Koeppen, K. J. Kuletz, and M. Heather (2019). An assessment of climate change vulnerability for Important Bird Areas in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Arc. PloS One 14:1–33. doi: https://doi.org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.0214573
Smith, M. A., N. D. Walker, C. Free, M. D. Kirchhoff, N. Warnock, A. Weinstein, T. Distler, and I. J. Stenhouse (2012). Marine Important Bird Areas in Alaska: Identifying globally significant sites using colony and at-sea data. Audubon Alaska, Final Report, Anchorage AK:1–54. doi: ak.audubon.org/sites/default/files/documents/marine_ibas_report_final_sep_2012.pdf
Smith, M. A., N. J. Walker, C. M. Free, M. J. Kirchhoff, G. S. Drew, N. Warnock, and I. J. Stenhouse (2014). Identifying marine Important Bird Areas using at-sea survey data. Biological Conservation 172:180–189. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2014.02.039
Springer, A. M., J. F. Piatt, V. P. Shuntov, G. B. Van Vliet, V. L. Vladimirov, A. E. Kuzin, and A. S. Perlov (1999). Marine birds and mammals of the Pacific Subarctic Gyres. Progress in Oceanography 43. doi: 10.1016/S0079-6611(99)00014-2
Stafford, B. K. M., E. V Farley, M. Ferguson, and K. J. Kuletz (2022). Northward Range Expansion of Subarctic Upper Trophic Level Animals into the Pacific Arctic Region. Oceanography 35:1–9.
Stephansen, C., A. Bjørgesæter, O. W. Brude, U. Brönner, T. W. Rogstad, G. Kjeilen-Eilertsen, J.-M. Libre, and C. Collin-Hansen (2021). Assessing environmental risk of oil spills with ERA Acute : A new methodology. SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science:1–127.
Suryan, R. M., and K. J. Kuletz (2018). Distribution, habitat use, and conservation of albatrosses in Alaska. Iden (in Japanese) 72:156–164.
Sydeman, W. J., M. Losekoot, J. A. Santora, S. A. Thompson, K. H. Morgan, T. Distler, A. Weinstein, M. A. Smith, N. Walker, C. Free, and M. Kirchhoff (2012). Hotspots of seabird abundance in the California Current: implications for important bird areas. Farallon Instiitute, Final Report for the National Audubon Society:1–48.
Tessler, D. F., J. A. Johnson, B. A. Andres, S. Thomas, and R. B. Lanctot (2014). A global assessment of the conservation status of the Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani). International Wader Studies 20:83–96.
Tessler, D., J. A. Johnson, B. A. Andres, S. Thomas, and R. Lanctot (2007). Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) conservation action plan. International Black Oystercatcher Working Group, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska:1–120.
Thorson, J. T., M. L. Arimitsu, Lewis Barnettt, W. Cheng, L. Eisner, A. Haynie, A. Hermann, K. K. Holsman, D. G. Kimmel, M. W. Lomas, J. Richar, and E. Siddon (2021). Forecasting community reassembly using climate-linked spatio-temporal ecosystem models. Ecography 44:1–14. doi: 10.1111/ecog.05471
Todd, V. L. G., and L. D. Williamson (2021). Cetacean distribution in relation to oceanographic features at the Kerguelen Plateau. Polar Biology. doi: 10.1007/s00300-021-02977-3
Watanuki, Y., R. M. Suryan, H. Sasaki, T. Yamamoto, E. L. Hazen, M. Renner, J. A. Santora, P. D. O’Hara, and W. J. Sydeman (2016). Spatial ecology of marine top predators in the North Pacific: Tools for integrating across datasets and identifying high use areas. In PICES Scientific Report No. 50.
Watanuki, Y., Y. Yamamoto, M. Sato, T. Yamamoto, K. Yoda, and A. Takahashi (2018). Using seabirds to delineate ecologically or biologically significant marine areas in offshore pelagic waters. Japanese Journal of Ecology 68:81–99.
Zador, S. G. (2007). Management implications of factors influencing seabird populations. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Washington, Seattle.
Zador, S. G., J. K. Parrish, A. E. Punt, J. L. Burke, and S. M. Fitzgerald (2008). Determining spatial and temporal overlap of an endangered seabird with a large commercial trawl fishery. Endangered Species Research 5:103–115. doi: 10.3354/esr00152
Zimmerman, C. E., N. Hillgruber, S. E. Burril, M. A. St. Peters, and J. D. Wetzel (2005). Offshore marine observation of Willow Ptarmigan, including water landings, Kuskokwim Bay, Alaska. The Wilson Bulletin 117:12–14. doi: 10.1676/04-074
History of NPPSD Development
The need for a comprehensive geographic database on the pelagic distribution of seabirds in the North Pacific has long been recognized. During the Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP), financially supported by the Bureau of Land Management and administered by agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), millions of dollars were provided from 1973 through 1982 to conduct at-sea surveys of biological resources in advance of oil development on the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), and to report on that work. This culminated in an atlas on the "Pelagic Distribution and Abundance of Seabirds in the Gulf of Alaska and Eastern Bering Sea" (Gould et al., 1982), which documented the at-sea distribution and abundance of about 65 seabird species in Alaska. This atlas was based on 11,400 ship-based and aerial transects conducted in the Gulf of Alaska and SE Bering Sea between 1975-1978. It was one of the earliest marine bird atlases produced worldwide. It was also among the first to use computer generated maps, although the field data were all entered onto datasheets and then later keypunched onto cards for transfer to computer.
After OCSEAP funding ended, surveys in Alaska continued to be funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and under a few institutional research programs. Most of the original OCSEAP surveys and other surveys conducted in the 1970s and early 1980s were archived on a single mainframe computer at FWS headquarters in Anchorage. As personal desktop personal computers came into wide use through the 1980s, the FWS mainframe was retired and these data became inaccessible (although data were stored on tapes, and subsequently retrieved by us). Consequently, after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, pelagic survey data that might be used to estimate birds at risk in the path of the spill were not readily available. However, R. Glenn Ford (Ecological Consulting Inc., Portland OR) had compiled some OCSEAP Alaska datasets for his own research, and these data were used to estimate birds at risk in the oil spill zone (Piatt et al. 1990). Piatt and Ford (1993) used this same database to estimate the distribution and abundance of threatened Marbled Murrelet populations in Alaska, as well as to estimate population size of some other common seabird species. Outside the original atlas, these were the first uses of a computerized Alaska seabird database for addressing wildlife management issues.
Galvanized by these efforts, and with support from the Minerals Management Service (MMS, now Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; BOEM), we began in earnest to compile pelagic seabird datasets into a single, accessible database, and created the first “Computerized Pelagic Seabird Atlas for Alaska” in 2000 (Piatt and Ford 2000). For this database, we were able to retrieve digital records of all pelagic surveys that were retained on archived mainframe tapes at FWS in Anchorage, and at the National Ocean Data Center (NODC) in Washington, D.C., to create database with records obtained between 1973 and 1982 (Figure 4) This effort was initiated while we worked for the FWS Research Division (Region 8), but by the time it was completed the Research Division had been moved from FWS to the Biological Division of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the research agency for the Department of Interior. The USGS continues to archive and maintain pelagic seabird data for studies funded and/or conducted by FWS, USGS, BOEM and the National Park Service (NPS).
With further support from the North Pacific Marine Research Institute (later renamed the “North Pacific Research Board”, or NPRB) in 2002, USGS and USFWS scientists created the first version of the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) by compiling a variety of digital datasets from many individual investigators and organizations, including DOI agencies (FWS, USGS, BOEM, NPS), NOAA, and several universities (e.g., University of Alaska, Fairbanks; University of California, Irvine) that engaged in large-scale multidisciplinary studies that included seabird surveys as part of their studies, such as ISHTAR (Inner Shelf Transfer and Recycling in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, late 1980s) and PROBES (Processes and Resources of the eastern Bering Sea Shelf, 1990s). We also entered hand-written data records obtained from thousands of transects recorded on OCSEAP or FWS field data forms by observers in the 1970s and 1980s. We then integrated these new datasets with the OCSEAP, NODC, and FWS data that had been compiled earlier. Notably, these new records included surveys conducted far outside Alaska continental shelf waters, e.g., from a research cruise to Hawaii, NOAA research vessel transits to Alaska from California and Washington, and extensive surveys of the western Central Pacific to Japan as part of an observer program of high-seas drift net fisheries in that region. Published in 2005, and distributed on CD, the NPPSD v.1 included data from 465 individual cruises conducted between 1974 and 2002, during which 61,195 strip transects were surveyed for birds and mammals (Drew and Piatt 2005; see Table 1, Figure 5). Methods and formats used in recording bird observations were not well standardized in the 1970s-1990s, and we had to reformat every new dataset, translate (cross-walk) and standardize codes for environmental conditions, platforms, species names, behaviors, etc., compile and report metadata for each survey, create an Microsoft ACCESS relational database, and develop queries for extracting standardized data from the raw database. All of this was documented in a user’s manual (Drew and Piatt 20015).
| NPPSD | Version 1 | Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release | 2005 | 2015 | 2020 |
| Time Span | 1974-2003 | 1973-2012 | 1973-2019 |
| # Transects | 61,195 | 351,674 | 460, 298 |
| # Seabirds | 6,995,932 | 16,988,138 | 20,098,635 |
| # Mammals | 29,739 | 235,545 | 365,227 |
More data were collected during the 2000s and 2010s and added to create NPPSD v.2 (Drew and Piatt 2015, Drew et al. 2015), containing surveys from a broader geographic range within the North Pacific, including new observations made offshore of the Russian Federation, Japan, Korea, Canada, Oregon, and California. The largest contribution external to Alaska waters were from Canada, where a pelagic database for British Columbia had just been published (Morgan et al. 1991) and was included in its entirety; from California, where repeated offshore transects have been conducted for decades (e.g., CalCOFI surveys; Sydeman et al. 2015); and from the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia (unpublished data from V. Shuntov, TINRO). In Alaska, a huge effort to survey Bering Sea seabirds was undertaken by FWS with funding from the NPRB (Kuletz et al. 2008), and USGS conducted surveys in multiple coastal National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges in the GOA and Bering Sea. While still not completely standardized, most data were collected on field computers using just a few different versions of data-logging software, which made assimilation and reformatting into NPPSD less difficult than in the past. After these data were proofed and structured in a common format, the NPPSD v.2 contained 351,674 transects collected between 1973 and 2012, representing a total sampled area of 270,259 square kilometers and extended the time series of samples in some areas—notably the Bering Sea—to four decades (Figure 5).
A substantial body of new survey data were collected in the 2010s under the FWS Pelagic Seabird Survey Program (K. Kuletz) in the Bering and Chukchi seas with funding from BOEM (Kuletz and Labunski 2017); from BOEM-funded environmental assessments in the Arctic (Gall et al. 2013); and from EVOSTC Gulf Watch Alaska surveys conducted in the Gulf of Alaska by USGS, FWS and NPS. With these and other datasets, the NPPSD was upgraded to v.3 in 2020 (Drew and Piatt, 2020), and now includes about 460,298 survey transects that contain abundance and distribution information on over 20 million birds comprising 160 species or other taxa groups observed over 40 years in a region of the North Pacific exceeding 25 million square kilometers. This area includes more than 80% of U.S. continental shelf waters, the most productive U.S. commercial fishery, all Pacific U.S. marine sanctuaries, and Alaska Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing areas. An update to NPPSD v.4 is underway, which will substantially increase the number of transects in NPPSD, include an update on taxonomic codes, and a new database structure (using SQL).
Research related to this project.
North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database
Data on the distribution and abundance of seabirds at sea have been used for many decades to assist in understanding the marine ecology of seabirds away from their breeding colonies, measure population status and trends, assess the impact of human activities on ocean habitats and fish stocks, and to identify critical marine habitats for seabirds.
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Pubs that have used NPPSD data | History of NPPSD | PDF version of this web page
Use of the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD)
Data on the distribution and abundance of seabirds at sea have been used for many decades to assist in understanding the marine ecology of seabirds away from their breeding colonies, measure population status and trends, assess the impact of human activities on ocean habitats and fish stocks, and to identify critical marine habitats for seabirds. To facilitate these efforts— and in collaboration with colleagues in many different governments (US, Canada, Russia, Japan) and agencies (particularly U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management), universities, and non-profits— we compiled data that was collected over 47 years (1973-2019) by dozens of organizations and hundreds of biologists to create the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD). Published online in 2005, and upgraded in 2015 and 2020 (see History below), the current version of the NPPSD contains data on >20 million marine birds and >360 thousand mammals observed at sea during >460,000 strip survey transects (“samples”) in an area spanning the North Pacific from the Arctic to Hawaii, and from California to South Korea (Figure 1), an area that is about 50% larger than the continental United States.
Since the NPPSD was published in 2005, it has been used 85 times (we know of) to address questions (Figure 2) that pertain mostly to “wildlife management” (relating to monitoring and conserving seabird populations, and regulating threats), “ecosystem dynamics” (response of seabirds and communities to changing environments), “fisheries management” (mitigating impacts of fisheries and bycatch on populations), or studies of “animal ecology” (documenting species biology, trophic ecology and biogeography). Primary users of the NPPSD have been government (52%) and university (25%) scientists. Remaining users were graduate students (6%, 3 PhD, 2 MSc), consulting companies (9%) and non-profits (7%). Products that report on analyses of NPPSD data were mostly peer-reviewed journals (55%), graduate theses (6%), and agency or institution reports (39%), of which most were published internally and are available online (see bibliography below).
Within these major categories of use, a variety of specific issues have been examined by investigators. About half of all issues investigated using NPPSD data (Figure 3) have related to anthropogenic impacts, including “threats to populations” (e.g., from oil spills, offshore energy developments, bycatch in fishing gear, natural disasters), “climate change” (e.g., effects of global warming on seabirds due to sea-ice loss, changing migratory behavior, shifting habitat boundaries, altered food webs), and issues concerning “endangered species” (e.g., population status and trends, hotspots, monitoring strategies, conservation and recovery plans). The remaining issues of interest relate to the natural history and ecology of species and communities, including “distribution and abundance” (e.g., ecological niches, abundance patterns at different spatial scales), “trophic relationships” (e.g., prey diversity, consumption and energy flow), “habitat use or quality” (e.g., habitat characteristics defined by currents, oceanography, topography, productivity), and “community ecology” (e.g., structure and functional relationships with and among seabird communities living in variable environments). Finally, the NPPSD has been used as a source for “information transfer” to both public and scientific community users (e.g., seabird atlases, database user guides and status reports, workshop support).
Following this summary about NPPSD users is a bibliography of user citations (to date), and a brief history of development of the NPPSD. There may be citing documents we have missed.
Published papers, theses and reports that have used NPPSD data (as of 2022-02-10)
Ardron, A. J., D. Dunn, C. Corrigan, K. Gjerde, P. Halpin, E. Vanden Berghe, M. Vierros, P. N. Halpin, E. Fujioka, B. Best, J. Roberts, et al. (2009). Defining ecologically or biologically significant areas in the open oceans and deep seas: Analysis , tools , resources and illustrations. Convention on Biological Diversity, Background Document:1–112. doi: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.469.901&rep=r…
Bond, A. L., and J. L. Lavers (2015). Flesh-footed shearwaters (Puffinus carneipes) in the northeastern Pacific Ocean: Summary and synthesis of records from Canada and Alaska. Canadian Field-Naturalist 129:263–267. doi: 10.22621/cfn.v129i3.1725
Carter, H. R., S. K. Nelson, S. G. Sealy, and G. B. Van Vliet (2011). Occurrences of Kittlitz’s Murrelets south of the breeding range along the west coast of North America. Northwestern Naturalist 92:186–199.
Clairbaux, M. (2021). Energetic landscapes of migratory seabirds in the North Atlantic Ocean in a context of climate change. Ph.D. Thesis, Université Montpellier.
Clairbaux, M., J. Fort, P. Mathewson, W. Porter, H. Strøm, and D. Grémillet (2019). Climate change could overturn bird migration: Transarctic flights and high-latitude residency in a sea ice free Arctic. Scientific Reports 9:1–13. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-54228-5
COSEWIC (2013). Assessment and status report Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada:1–67. doi: https://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/document/default_e.cfm?docum…
COSEWIC (2014). Assessment and Status Report Cassin’s Auklet Ptychoramphus aleuticus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada:1–79. doi: https://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/document/default_e.cfm?docum…
Cunningham, J. T. (2017). The use of seabirds as indicators of changes in the marine environment through provisioning and population trends. M.Sc.. Thesis, University of Guelph.
Day, R. H., A. E. Gall, T. C. Morgan, J. R. Rose, J. H. Plissner, M. S. Peter, J. D. Fenneman, K. J. Kuletz, and B. H. Watts (2013a). Seabirds new to the eastern Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, Alaska: Response to a changing climate? Western Birds 44:174–182.
Day, R. H., A. E. Gall, A. K. Prichard, G. J. Divoky, and N. A. Rojek (2011). The status and distribution of Kittlitz’s Murrelet Brachramphus brevirostris in northern Alaska. Marine Ornithology 39:53–63.
Day, R. H., T. J. Weingartner, R. R. Hopcroft, L. A. M. Aerts, A. L. Blanchard, A. E. Gall, B. J. Gallaway, D. E. Hannay, B. A. Holladay, J. T. Mathis, B. L. Norcross, et al. (2013b). The offshore northeastern Chukchi Sea, Alaska: A complex high-latitude ecosystem. Continental Shelf Research 67:147–165. doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2013.02.002
Denlinger, L. M. (2006). Alaska Seabird Information Series. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, Region 7, Alaska, Nongame Program Report:1–104.
Dietrich, K. S., and E. F. Melvin (2007). Alaska trawl fisheries: potential interactions with North Pacific Albatrosses Alaska. Sea Grant Washington, Final Report NFFS7200-6-00063 December:1–50.
Drew, G., J. F. Piatt, and J. Williams (2018). Biological responses of Crested and Least auklets to volcanic destruction of nesting habitat in the Aleutian Islands , Alaska. The Auk 135:477–485. doi: 10.1642/AUK-17-180.1
Drew, G. S., D. E. Dragoo, M. Renner, and J. F. Piatt (2010). At-sea observations of marine birds and their habitats before and after the 2008 eruption of Kasatochi volcano, Alaska. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 42. doi: 10.1657/1938-4246-42.3.325
Drew, G. S., and J. F. Piatt (2005). North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD): Compiling datasets and creating and archive, accessible database and pelagic seabird atlas. North Pacific Marine Research Institute Project No. NPMRI 18 (T2110):1–59.
Drew, G. S., J. F. Piatt, and D. F. Hill (2013). Effects of currents and tides on fine-scale use of marine bird habitats in a Southeast Alaska hotspot. Marine Ecology Progress Series 487: 275–2. doi: 10.3354/meps10304
Drew, G. S., J. F. Piatt, and M. Renner (2015). User ’s Guide to the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database 2.0. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report:1–52. doi: 10.3133/ofr20151123
Environment Canada (2008). Recovery strategy for the short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) and the pink-footed shearwater (Puffinus creatopus) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Environment Canada, Ottawa.:1–57. doi: https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/consultations/1354
Gall, A. E., R. H. Day, and T. C. Morgan (2013). Distribution and abundance of seabirds in the northeastern Chukchi Sea, 2008–2012. ABR Environmental Research and Services, Fairbanks, AK, Final Report for ConocoPhillips, Shell and Statoil:1–100.
Gall, A. E., R. H. Day, and T. J. Weingartner (2012). Structure and variability of the marine-bird community in the northeastern Chukchi Sea. Continental Shelf Research:1–20. doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2012.11.004
Gall, A. E., T. C. Morgan, R. H. Day, and K. J. Kuletz (2016). Ecological shift from piscivorous to planktivorous seabirds in the Chukchi Sea, 1975–2012. Polar Biology 40:1–18. doi: 10.1007/s00300-016-1924-z
Gould, P. J., D. J. Forsell, and C. J. Lensink (1982). Pelagic distribution and abundance of seabirds in the Gulf of Alaska and eastern Bering Sea. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service Report FWS/OBS-82/48:1–294.
Holland-Bartels, L., and B. Pierce (2011). An evaluation of the science needs to inform decisions on Outer Continental Shelf energy development in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1370:1–278.
Huettmann, F., Y. Artukhin, O. Gilg, and G. Humphries (2011). Predictions of 27 Arctic pelagic seabird distributions using public environmental variables, assessed with colony data: a first digital IPY and GBIF open access synthesis platform. Marine Biodiversity 41:141–179. doi: 10.1007/s12526-011-0083-2
Humphries, G. R. W. (2010). The ecological niche of storm-petrels in the North Pacific and a global model of dimethylsulfide concentration. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Alaska, Fairbanks:1–103.
Humphries, G. R. W., F. Huettmann, G. A. Nevitt, C. Deal, and D. Atkinson (2012). Species distribution modeling of storm-petrels (Oceanodroma furcata and O. leucorhoa) in the North Pacific and the role of dimethyl sulfide. Polar Biology 35:1669–1680. doi: 10.1007/s00300-012-1207-2
Hunt, G. L., A. L. Blanchard, P. L. Boveng, P. Dalpadado, K. F. Drinkwater, L. B. Eisner, R. R. Hopcroft, K. M. Kovacs, B. L. Norcross, P. E. Renaud, M. Reigstad, et al. (2013). The Barents and Chukchi Seas: Comparison of two Arctic shelf ecosystems. Journal of Marine Systems 109–110:43–68. doi: 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2012.08.003
Hunt, G. L., G. S. Drew, J. Jahncke, and J. F. Piatt (2005). Prey consumption and energy transfer by marine birds in the Gulf of Alaska. Deep Sea Research Part II: 52:781–797. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2004.12.024
Hunt, G. L., H. Kato, and S. M. Mckinnell (2000). Predation by marine birds and mammals in the subarctic North Pacific Ocean. PICES Scientific Report No. 14:1–168.
Hunt, G. L., M. Renner, and K. Kuletz (2014). Seasonal variation in the cross-shelf distribution of seabirds in the southeastern Bering Sea. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 109:266–281. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.08.011
Hunt, G. L., M. Renner, K. J. Kuletz, S. Salo, L. Eisner, P. H. Ressler, C. Ladd, and J. A. Santora (2018). Timing of sea-ice retreat affects the distribution of seabirds and their prey in the southeastern Bering Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 593:209–230. doi: 10.3354/meps12383
Jahncke, J., L. S. Vlietstra, M. B. Decker, and G. L. Hunt (2008). Marine bird abundance around the Pribilof Islands: A multi-year comparison. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 55:1809–1826. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2008.04.003
Kuletz, K. J., M. C. Ferguson, B. Hurley, A. E. Gall, E. A. Labunski, and T. C. Morgan (2015). Seasonal spatial patterns in seabird and marine mammal distribution in the eastern Chukchi and western Beaufort seas: identifying biologically important pelagic areas. Progress in Oceanography 136:175–200. doi: 10.1016/j.pocean.2015.05.012
Kuletz, K. J., and E. A. Labunski (2017). Seabird distribution and abundance in the offshore environment. OCS Study BOEM 2017-004:1–59. doi: https://tethys.pnnl.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Seabird-distri…
Kuletz, K. J., E. A. Labunski, M. Renner, and D. B. Irons (2008a). The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Observer Program. NPRB Final Rep. Project 637:1–88.
Kuletz, K. J., E. A. Labunski, and S. G. Speckman (2008b). Abundance, distribution, and decadal trends of Kittlitz’s and marbled murrelets and other marine species in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service , Region 7, Anchorage AK, Final Report:1–127.
Kuletz, K. J., M. Renner, E. A. Labunski, and G. L. Hunt (2014). Changes in the distribution and abundance of albatrosses in the eastern Bering Sea: 1975-2010. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 109:282–292. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2014.05.006
Livingston, P., R. Brodeur, L. Conners, C. Coon, M. Doyle, S. Gaichas, J. Gharrett, K. Goldman, S. Hare, J. Heifetz, J. Ingraham, et al. (2002). Ecosystem Considerations for 2002. NOAA Ecosystem Status Report for North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, Anchorage, AK:1–183. doi: https://apps-afsc.fisheries.noaa.gov/refm/docs/2001/ecosyscon.pdf
Mckeon, C. S., M. X. Weber, S. E. Alter, N. E. Seavy, E. D. Crandall, D. J. Barshis, E. D. Fechter-Leggett, and K. L. L. Oleson (2016). Melting barriers to faunal exchange across ocean basins. Global Change Biology 22:465–473. doi: 10.1111/gcb.13116
Melvin, E. F., M. D. Wainstein, K. S. Dietrich, K. L. Ames, T. O. Geernaert, and L. L. Conquest (2006). The distribution of seabirds on the Alaskan longline fishing grounds: Implications for seabird avoidance regulations. Washington Sea Grant Program, Final Report WSG-AS 06-01:41.
MMS (2003). Cook Inlet Planning Area, oil and gas lease sales 191 and 199: Final environmental Impact statement. Minerals Management Service OCS EIS/EA MMS 2003-055 3:1–363. doi: https://www.boem.gov/sites/default/files/about-boem/BOEM-Regions/Alaska…
Nelson, S. K., K. J. Kuletz, and S. M. Gende (2015). A monitoring plan for Brachyramphus murrelets in Alaska. U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service Monitoring Report:1–98.
Nishizawa, B., K. Matsuno, E. A. Labunski, K. J. Kuletz, A. Yamaguchi, and Y. Watanuki (2017). Seasonal distribution of short-tailed shearwaters and their prey in the Bering and Chukchi seas. Biogeosciences 14:203–214. doi: 10.5194/bg-14-203-2017
NOAA/NMFS (2009). Bering Sea chinook salmon bycatch management. North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Volume I Final Environmental Impact Statement:1–237.
NOAA/NMFS (2010). Require Trawl Sweep Modification in the Bering Sea Flatfish Fishery , Establish a Modified Gear Trawl Zone , and Revise Boundaries of the Northern Bering Sea Research Area and Saint Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area. National Marine Fisheries Service, Environmental Assessment/ Regulatory Impact Review:1–239.
NOAA/NMFS (2014). Chinook salmon prohibited species catch in the Gulf of Alaska non-pollock trawl fisheries. National Marine Fisheries Service, Environmental Assessment and Regulatory Impact Review:1–122.
Petersen, A., D. Irons, H. G. Gilchrist, D. Boertmann, H. Strom, M. Gavrilo, Y. Artukhin, D. Clausen, K. Kuletz, and M. Mallory (2015). The status of Glaucous Gulls Larus hyperboreus in the circumpolar Arctic. Arctic 68:107–120.
Piatt, J., and G. Drew (2004). Preliminary assessment of marine bird abundance and species composition in the vicinity of the Selendang Ayu grounding , based on historical data from the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database. USGS Alaska Science Center, Report to USFWS Reg. 7:10.
Piatt, J. F. (1992). Mapping pelagic seabird distribution in Alaska. Minerals Management Service OCS Study MMS 92-0046 (J. Geiselman and K. Mitchell, eds.). Anchorage, pp. 155–162.
Piatt, J. F., and R. G. Ford (1993). Distribution and Abundance of Marbled Murrelets in Alaska. The Condor 95:662–669.
Piatt, J. F., and R. G. Ford (2000). A computerized pelagic seabird atlas for Alaska. Minerals Management Service Final Report OCS Study MMS 2000-072:1–53. doi: https://espis.boem.gov/final%20reports/4849.pdf
Piatt, J. F., K. J. Kuletz, A. E. Burger, S. A. Hatch, V. L. Friesen, T. P. Birt, M. L. Arimitsu, G. S. Drew, A. M. A. Harding, and K. S. Bixler (2006a). Status Review of the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in Alaska and British Columbia. USGS Open-File Report 1387:2006–1387.
Piatt, J. F., C. J. Lensink, W. Butler, M. Kendziorek, and D. R. Nysewander (1990). Immediate impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on marine birds. The Auk 107:387–397.
Piatt, J. F., and A. M. Springer (2003). Advection, pelagic food webs and the biogeography of seabirds in Beringia. Marine Ornithology 31:141–154.
Piatt, J. F., J. D. Wetzel, K. Bell, A. R. DeGange, G. R. Balogh, G. S. Drew, T. O. Geernaert, C. Ladd, and G. V. Byrd (2006b). Predictable hotspots and foraging habitat of the endangered short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) in the North Pacific: Implications for conservation. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 53:387–398. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2006.01.008
Renner, M., M. L. Arimitsu, and J. F. Piatt (2012). Structure of marine predator and prey communities along environmental gradients in a glaciated fjord. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 69. doi: 10.1139/f2012-117
Renner, M., G. L. Hunt, J. F. Piatt, and G. V. Byrd (2008). Seasonal and distributional patterns of seabirds along the Aleutian Archipelago. Marine Ecology Progress Series 357:301–311. doi: 10.3354/meps07325
Renner, M., and K. Kuletz (2017). Seasonality of seabird distribution in Lower Cook Inlet. Bureau of Ocean Energy Managment, OCS Study 2017-011:1–46. doi: https://www.boem.gov/sites/default/files/boem-newsroom/Library/Publicat…
Renner, M., and K. J. Kuletz (2014). An assessment of the risk of shipping traffic on seabirds in the Aleutian Archipelago. Tern Again Consulting, Homer AK, Final Report:1–262.
Renner, M., and K. J. Kuletz (2015). A spatial–seasonal analysis of the oiling risk from shipping traffic to seabirds in the Aleutian Archipelago. Marine Pollution Bulletin 101:127–136. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.007
Renner, M., J. K. Parrish, G. V. Byrd, K. J. Kuletz, and G. L. Hunt (2009). Is the pelagic distribution of seabirds in the Bering Sea driven by climate change? North Pacific Research Board, Final Report, Project 609:1–32.
Renner, M., J. K. Parrish, J. F. Piatt, K. J. Kuletz, A. E. Edwards, and G. L. Hunt (2013). Modeled distribution and abundance of a pelagic seabird reveal trends in relation to fisheries. Marine Ecology Progress Series 484:259–277. doi: 10.3354/meps10347
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History of NPPSD Development
The need for a comprehensive geographic database on the pelagic distribution of seabirds in the North Pacific has long been recognized. During the Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP), financially supported by the Bureau of Land Management and administered by agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), millions of dollars were provided from 1973 through 1982 to conduct at-sea surveys of biological resources in advance of oil development on the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), and to report on that work. This culminated in an atlas on the "Pelagic Distribution and Abundance of Seabirds in the Gulf of Alaska and Eastern Bering Sea" (Gould et al., 1982), which documented the at-sea distribution and abundance of about 65 seabird species in Alaska. This atlas was based on 11,400 ship-based and aerial transects conducted in the Gulf of Alaska and SE Bering Sea between 1975-1978. It was one of the earliest marine bird atlases produced worldwide. It was also among the first to use computer generated maps, although the field data were all entered onto datasheets and then later keypunched onto cards for transfer to computer.
After OCSEAP funding ended, surveys in Alaska continued to be funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and under a few institutional research programs. Most of the original OCSEAP surveys and other surveys conducted in the 1970s and early 1980s were archived on a single mainframe computer at FWS headquarters in Anchorage. As personal desktop personal computers came into wide use through the 1980s, the FWS mainframe was retired and these data became inaccessible (although data were stored on tapes, and subsequently retrieved by us). Consequently, after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, pelagic survey data that might be used to estimate birds at risk in the path of the spill were not readily available. However, R. Glenn Ford (Ecological Consulting Inc., Portland OR) had compiled some OCSEAP Alaska datasets for his own research, and these data were used to estimate birds at risk in the oil spill zone (Piatt et al. 1990). Piatt and Ford (1993) used this same database to estimate the distribution and abundance of threatened Marbled Murrelet populations in Alaska, as well as to estimate population size of some other common seabird species. Outside the original atlas, these were the first uses of a computerized Alaska seabird database for addressing wildlife management issues.
Galvanized by these efforts, and with support from the Minerals Management Service (MMS, now Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; BOEM), we began in earnest to compile pelagic seabird datasets into a single, accessible database, and created the first “Computerized Pelagic Seabird Atlas for Alaska” in 2000 (Piatt and Ford 2000). For this database, we were able to retrieve digital records of all pelagic surveys that were retained on archived mainframe tapes at FWS in Anchorage, and at the National Ocean Data Center (NODC) in Washington, D.C., to create database with records obtained between 1973 and 1982 (Figure 4) This effort was initiated while we worked for the FWS Research Division (Region 8), but by the time it was completed the Research Division had been moved from FWS to the Biological Division of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the research agency for the Department of Interior. The USGS continues to archive and maintain pelagic seabird data for studies funded and/or conducted by FWS, USGS, BOEM and the National Park Service (NPS).
With further support from the North Pacific Marine Research Institute (later renamed the “North Pacific Research Board”, or NPRB) in 2002, USGS and USFWS scientists created the first version of the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) by compiling a variety of digital datasets from many individual investigators and organizations, including DOI agencies (FWS, USGS, BOEM, NPS), NOAA, and several universities (e.g., University of Alaska, Fairbanks; University of California, Irvine) that engaged in large-scale multidisciplinary studies that included seabird surveys as part of their studies, such as ISHTAR (Inner Shelf Transfer and Recycling in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, late 1980s) and PROBES (Processes and Resources of the eastern Bering Sea Shelf, 1990s). We also entered hand-written data records obtained from thousands of transects recorded on OCSEAP or FWS field data forms by observers in the 1970s and 1980s. We then integrated these new datasets with the OCSEAP, NODC, and FWS data that had been compiled earlier. Notably, these new records included surveys conducted far outside Alaska continental shelf waters, e.g., from a research cruise to Hawaii, NOAA research vessel transits to Alaska from California and Washington, and extensive surveys of the western Central Pacific to Japan as part of an observer program of high-seas drift net fisheries in that region. Published in 2005, and distributed on CD, the NPPSD v.1 included data from 465 individual cruises conducted between 1974 and 2002, during which 61,195 strip transects were surveyed for birds and mammals (Drew and Piatt 2005; see Table 1, Figure 5). Methods and formats used in recording bird observations were not well standardized in the 1970s-1990s, and we had to reformat every new dataset, translate (cross-walk) and standardize codes for environmental conditions, platforms, species names, behaviors, etc., compile and report metadata for each survey, create an Microsoft ACCESS relational database, and develop queries for extracting standardized data from the raw database. All of this was documented in a user’s manual (Drew and Piatt 20015).
| NPPSD | Version 1 | Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release | 2005 | 2015 | 2020 |
| Time Span | 1974-2003 | 1973-2012 | 1973-2019 |
| # Transects | 61,195 | 351,674 | 460, 298 |
| # Seabirds | 6,995,932 | 16,988,138 | 20,098,635 |
| # Mammals | 29,739 | 235,545 | 365,227 |
More data were collected during the 2000s and 2010s and added to create NPPSD v.2 (Drew and Piatt 2015, Drew et al. 2015), containing surveys from a broader geographic range within the North Pacific, including new observations made offshore of the Russian Federation, Japan, Korea, Canada, Oregon, and California. The largest contribution external to Alaska waters were from Canada, where a pelagic database for British Columbia had just been published (Morgan et al. 1991) and was included in its entirety; from California, where repeated offshore transects have been conducted for decades (e.g., CalCOFI surveys; Sydeman et al. 2015); and from the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia (unpublished data from V. Shuntov, TINRO). In Alaska, a huge effort to survey Bering Sea seabirds was undertaken by FWS with funding from the NPRB (Kuletz et al. 2008), and USGS conducted surveys in multiple coastal National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges in the GOA and Bering Sea. While still not completely standardized, most data were collected on field computers using just a few different versions of data-logging software, which made assimilation and reformatting into NPPSD less difficult than in the past. After these data were proofed and structured in a common format, the NPPSD v.2 contained 351,674 transects collected between 1973 and 2012, representing a total sampled area of 270,259 square kilometers and extended the time series of samples in some areas—notably the Bering Sea—to four decades (Figure 5).
A substantial body of new survey data were collected in the 2010s under the FWS Pelagic Seabird Survey Program (K. Kuletz) in the Bering and Chukchi seas with funding from BOEM (Kuletz and Labunski 2017); from BOEM-funded environmental assessments in the Arctic (Gall et al. 2013); and from EVOSTC Gulf Watch Alaska surveys conducted in the Gulf of Alaska by USGS, FWS and NPS. With these and other datasets, the NPPSD was upgraded to v.3 in 2020 (Drew and Piatt, 2020), and now includes about 460,298 survey transects that contain abundance and distribution information on over 20 million birds comprising 160 species or other taxa groups observed over 40 years in a region of the North Pacific exceeding 25 million square kilometers. This area includes more than 80% of U.S. continental shelf waters, the most productive U.S. commercial fishery, all Pacific U.S. marine sanctuaries, and Alaska Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing areas. An update to NPPSD v.4 is underway, which will substantially increase the number of transects in NPPSD, include an update on taxonomic codes, and a new database structure (using SQL).
Research related to this project.