Seabirds and Forage Fish Ecology
Science Center Objects
Alaska's coastal and offshore waters provide foraging habitat for an estimated 100 million birds comprising more than 90 different species; from loons and seaducks that nest inland, to petrels and puffins that breed on islands off shore. All these birds depend on the sea to provide a wide variety of food types— from clams, crabs and urchins nearshore— to krill, forage fish, and squid offshore. The availability of nesting habitat and suitable prey are important natural factors that regulate the distribution and abundance of marine birds. But seabird populations are also affected by human activities that have direct impacts (pollution, bycatch in fishing gear) and indirect effects (global warming alters food availability) on birds.
Return to Ecosystems >> Marine Ecosystems
Common Murres in a colony in Cook Inlet, Alaska in 2017.
(Credit: Sarah Schoen, USGS. Public domain.)
The Department of Interior (DOI) is mandated by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act to conserve and protect all seabirds. Seabirds also serve as practical indicators of change in the marine environment— natural or human induced— because they can be readily monitored at colonies and at sea. For all these reasons, marine bird research is a vital part of the DOI mission in Alaska and the North Pacific. We study population biology and feeding ecology of a variety of seabird species, including threatened and endangered species. We use a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates study of marine habitats and food webs so that we can better understand why seabird populations fluctuate over time. This website highlights some of the research conducted by the Seabird, Forage Fish and Marine Ecology Project at the Alaska Science Center.
Projects
The R/V Alaskan Gyre in Katmai National Park, Alaska.
(Credit: George Esslinger, USGS. Public domain.)
- Terrestrial Influence on Glacial-marine Food Webs
- Cook Inlet Seabird and Forage Fish Study
- Detecting Long-term Changes in Forage Fish Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska (Exxon Valdez Oil Spill)
- Harmful algal bloom toxins in Alaska seabirds [PDF handout]
- Seabird Die-offs in Alaska
- USGS Research Vessel Alaskan Gyre
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Date published: September 11, 2019Status: ActiveSeabird Die-offs in Alaska
Beginning in 2015, large numbers of dead seabirds have been appearing on beaches in most marine areas of Alaska. Although seabird die-offs are known to occur sporadically (e.g. 1970, 1989, 1993, 1997/1998, and 2004) in Alaska, these recent die-offs have been distinguished from past events by their increased frequency, duration, geographic extent, and number of different species involved.
Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: August 2, 2019Status: ActiveCook Inlet Seabird and Forage Fish Study
A massive die-off of Common Murres was documented in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) during the fall and winter of 2015-2016 in association with a record-breaking marine heat wave in the GOA.
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Date published: August 1, 2019Status: ActiveNorth Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) includes more than 460,000 survey transects that were designed and conducted by numerous partners primarily to census seabirds at sea.
Contacts: Gary S Drew, Ph.D., John Piatt, Ph.D.Attribution: Ecosystems, Energy & Wildlife, Wildlife Program, Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: July 11, 2019Status: ActiveHarmful Algal Bloom Toxins in Alaska Seabirds
Elevated ocean temperatures are linked to the development of harmful algal blooms (HABs). Toxins from these blooms may pose health threats to marine organisms, including seabirds. Since 2015, the USGS has worked with a variety of stakeholders to develop testing methods and research projects to better understand the geographic extent, timing and impacts of algal toxins in Alaska marine...
Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: August 2, 2018Status: ActiveDetecting Long-term Changes in Forage Fish Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Forage fish are small pelagic schooling fish that play a key role in transferring energy between plankton and top marine predators. Many seabirds, marine mammals, and commercial fish species depend on forage fish to grow and survive.
Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: August 1, 2018Status: ActiveTerrestrial Influence on Glacial-Marine Food Webs
Where glaciers meet the sea in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), they create unique and productive marine habitats. Ringed by the continent’s tallest coastal mountains, 20% of the GOA coastal watershed is covered by glacial ice and the annual freshwater discharge into the GOA from glacial melt is comparable to that of the Mississippi river.
Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center -
Date published: January 10, 2018Status: ActiveUSGS Research Vessel Alaskan Gyre
The R/V Alaskan Gyre is a 50-foot fiberglass seiner that has been converted into a versatile research vessel to provide USGS scientists and collaborators with access to remote marine areas of Alaska and serve as a mobile laboratory. The vessel was built by Ledford Marine of Marysville, Washington in 1989 and is named after the Alaskan Gyre, a series of wind driven currents that...
Contacts: George G EsslingerAttribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center
Integrating seabird dietary and groundfish stock assessment data: Can puffins predict pollock spawning stock biomass in the North Pacific?
Information on the annual variability in abundance and growth of juvenile groundfish can be useful for predicting fisheries stocks, but is often poorly known owing to difficulties in sampling fish in their first year of life. In the Western Gulf of Alaska (WGoA) and Eastern Bering Sea (EBS) ecosystems, three species of puffin (tufted and horned...
Sydeman, William J.; Thompson, Sarah Ann; Piatt, John F.; Zador, Stephani; Dorn, Martin W. Ecosystem response persists after a prolonged marine heatwave
Some of the longest and most comprehensive marine ecosystem monitoring programs were established in the Gulf of Alaska following the environmental disaster of the Exxon Valdez oil spill over 30 years ago. These monitoring programs have been successful in assessing recovery from oil spill impacts, and their continuation decades later...
Suryan, Robert M.; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Coletti, Heather A.; Hopcroft, Russell R.; Lindeberg, Mandy; Barbeaux, Steven J.; Batten, Sonia; Burt, William J.; Bishop, Mary Anne; Bodkin, James L.; Brenner, R.; Campbell, Robert W.; Cushing, Daniel A.; Danielson, Seth L.; Dorn, Martin W.; Drummond, Brie; Esler, Daniel N.; Gelatt, Thomas S.; Hanselman, Dana H.; Iken, Katrin; Irons, David B.; Hatch, Scott A.; Haught, Stormy; Holderied, Kris; Kimmel, David G.; Konar, Brenda H.; Kuletz, Kathy J.; Kettle, Arthur B.; Laurel, Benjamin J.; Maniscalco, John M.; Monson, Daniel; Matkin, Craig O.; McKinstry, Caitlin; Moran, John; Olsen, D.; Piatt, John F.; Palsson, Wayne A.; Pegau, W. Scott; Rogers, Lauren A.; Rojek, Nora A.; Schaefer, Anne; Spies, Ingrid B.; Straley, J.M.; Strom, Suzanne L.; Szymkowiak, Marysia; Weitzman, Ben P.; Sweeney, Kathryn L.; Yasumiishi, Ellen M.; Zador, Stephanie Heatwave-induced synchrony within forage fish portfolio disrupts energy flow to top pelagic predators
During the Pacific marine heatwave of 2014–2016, abundance and quality of several key forage fish species in the Gulf of Alaska were simultaneously reduced throughout the system. Capelin (Mallotus catervarius), sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), and herring (Clupea pallasii) populations were at historically low levels, and within this community...
Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Piatt, John F.; Hatch, Scott; Suryan, Robert M.; Batten, Sonia; Bishop, Mary Anne; Campbell, Rob W.; Coletti, Heather; Cushing, Dan; Gorman, Kristen; Hopcroft, Russell R.; Kuletz, Kathy J.; Marsteller, Caitlin Elizabeth; McKinstry, Caitlin; McGowan, David; Moran, John; Pegau, W. Scott; Schaefer, Anne; Schoen, Sarah K.; Straley, Jan; von Biela, Vanessa R. Forecasting community reassembly using climate-linked spatio-temporal ecosystem models
Ecosystems are increasingly impacted by human activities, altering linkages among physical and biological components. Spatial community reassembly occurs when these human impacts modify the spatial overlap between system components, and there is need for practical tools to forecast spatial community reassembly at landscape scales using monitoring...
Thorson, James; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Barnett, Lewis; Cheng, Wei; Eisner, Lisa; Haynie, Alan; Hermann, Albert; Holsman, Kirsten; Kimmel, David; Lomas, Michael; Richar, Jon; Siddon, Elizabeth Seabird‐induced natural mortality of forage fish varies with fish abundance: Evidence from five ecosystems
Forage fish populations often undergo large and rapid fluctuations in abundance. However, most of their predators are buffered against such fluctuations owing to their slower pace of life, which allows them to maintain more stable populations, at least during short periods of food scarcity. In this study, we investigated top‐down processes exerted...
Saraux, Claire; Sydeman, William J.; Piatt, John F.; Anker-Nilssen, Tycho; Hentati-Sundberg, Jonas; Bertrand, Sophie; Cury, Philippe M.; Furness, Robert W.; Miller, James A.; Österblom, Henrik; Passuni, Giannina; Roux, Jean-Paul; Shannon, Lynne; Crawford, Robert J.M. Can oceanic prey effects on growth and time to fledging mediate terrestrial predator limitation of an at‐risk seabird?
Most seabird species nest colonially on cliffs or islands with limited terrestrial predation, so that oceanic effects on the quality or quantity of prey fed to chicks more often determine nest success. However, when predator access increases, impacts can be dramatic, especially when exposure to predators is extended due to slow growth from...
Knudson, Timothy; Lovvorn, James R.; Lawonn, M. James; Corcoran, Robin; Roby, Dan; Piatt, John F.; Pyle, William Extreme mortality and reproductive failure of common murres resulting from the northeast Pacific marine heatwave of 2014-2016
About 62,000 dead or dying common murres (Uria aalge), the trophically dominant fish-eating seabird of the North Pacific, washed ashore between summer 2015 and spring 2016 on beaches from California to Alaska. Most birds were severely emaciated and, so far, no evidence for anything other than starvation was found to explain this mass mortality....
Piatt, John F.; Parrish, Julia K.; Renner, Heather M.; Schoen, Sarah K.; Jones, Timothy; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Kuletz, Kathy J.; Bodenstein, Barbara; Garcia-Reyes, Marisol; Duerr, Rebecca; Corcoran, Robin; Kaler, Robb S.A.; McChesney, Gerard J.; Golightly, Richard T.; Coletti, Heather A.; Suryan, Robert M.; Burgess, Hillary K.; Lindsey, Jackie; Lindquist, Kirsten; Warzybok, Peter; Jahncke, Jaime; Roletto, Jan; Sydeman, William J. Spatial and temporal dynamics of Pacific capelin Mallotus catervarius in the Gulf of Alaska: Implications for ecosystem-based fisheries management
Pacific capelin Mallotus catervarius are planktivorous, small pelagic fish that serve an intermediate trophic role in marine food webs. Due to the lack of a directed fishery or monitoring of capelin in the Northeast Pacific, there is limited information on their distribution and abundance, and how spatio-temporal fluctuations in capelin...
David W. McGowan; Esther Goldstein; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Alison Dreary; Olav Ormseth; Alex DeRobertis; John Horne; Lauren Rogers; Matt Wilson; Kenneth Coyle; Holderied, Kris; Piatt, John F.; Stockhausen, W.T.; Stephani Zador Algal toxins in Alaskan seabirds: Evaluating the role of saxitoxin and domoic acid in a large-scale die-off of Common Murres
Elevated seawater temperatures are linked to the development of harmful algal blooms (HABs), which pose a growing threat to marine birds and other wildlife. During late 2015 and early 2016, a massive die-off of Common Murres (Uria algae; hereafter, murres) was observed in the Gulf of Alaska coincident with a strong marine heat wave. Previous...
Van Hemert, Caroline R.; Schoen, Sarah K.; Litaker, R. Wayne; Smith, Matthew M.; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Piatt, John F.; Holland, William C.; Hardison, Ransom; Pearce, John M. Effects of ocean climate on the length and condition of forage fish in the Gulf of Alaska
Climatic drivers of the size and body condition of forage fish in the North Pacific are poorly known. We hypothesized that length and condition of forage fish in the Gulf of Alaska (GoA) should vary in relation to ocean temperature on multiple scales. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed morphometric data for capelin (Mallotus catervarius) and...
Sarah Ann Thompson; Marisol Garcia-Reyes; William Sydeman; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Scott Hatch; Piatt, John F. Extreme reduction in nutritional value of a key forage fish during the Pacific marine heatwave of 2014–2016
Pacific sand lance Ammodytes personatus are a key forage fish in the North Pacific for many species of salmon, groundfish, seabirds, and marine mammals and have historically been important to predators in relatively warm years. However, extreme declines in the nutritional value of sand lance in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA, during...
von Biela, Vanessa R.; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Piatt, John F.; Heflin, Brielle; Schoen, Sarah K.; Trowbridge, Jannelle; Clawson, Chelsea Biogeography of pelagic food webs in the North Pacific
The tufted puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) is a generalist seabird that breeds throughout the North Pacific and eats more than 75 different prey species. Using puffins as samplers, we characterized the geographic variability in pelagic food webs across the subarctic North Pacific from the composition of ~10,000 tufted puffin meals (~56,000 prey items...
Piatt, John F.; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Sydeman, William J.; Thompson, Sarah Ann; Renner, Heather; Zador, Stephani; Douglas, David C.; Hatch, Scott A.; Kettle, Arthur B.; Williams, Jeffrey C.-
Date published: February 16, 2021Pelagic Forage Fish Distribution Abundance and Body Condition
Monitoring long-term changes in forage fish distribution, abundance and body condition in the Prince William Sound 2012-2019.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: February 11, 2020North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD)
The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) was created in 2005 to consolidate data on the oceanic distribution of marine bird species in the North Pacific. Most of these data were collected using at-sea strip-transect surveys within defined areas and at known locations. The NPPSD also contains observations of other bird species and marine mammals. The original NPPSD combined data from...
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: January 13, 2020Data Associated With Algal Toxin Testing of Common Murres (Uria aalge) and Forage Fish in Alaska, 2015–2017
This data set is comprised of two tables with results of algal toxin screening for saxitoxin and domoic acid. We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to screen seabirds, forage fish, and marine invertebrates from the Gulf of Alaska, 2015-2017.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: January 10, 2020Data from Common Murre Die-off Surveys and Necropsies Following the North Pacific Marine Heatwave, 2015-2016
These data are in two tables relating to a die-off of Common Murres in the north Pacific, 2015-2016. The tables provide: 1) beach survey locations, date, time, distance surveyed (kilometers), and number of Common Murre carcasses observed during surveys conducted along the coastline of Alaska to document the 2015-2016 die-off of Common Murres coincident with the North Pacific mar
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: July 31, 2019USGS Alaska Science Center Wildlife Tracking Data Collection
Understanding the short- and long-distance movements of wildlife is critical for a wide variety of ecological research studies and management decisions. Since the mid-1980s, the USGS Alaska Science Center has collected data from wildlife tracking devices to: determine locations of animals throughout their annual cycles, understand patterns of habitat use, quantify time spent on various be
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: February 1, 2018Hydroacoustic Surveys, North Pacific and Bering Sea, 2012 and 2014
These data comprise of hydroacoustic backscatter data along transects in the North Pacific and Bering Sea conducted in August 2012 and 2014. We echointegrated hydroactoustic backscatter and used that as a proxy for forage fish biomass. The dataset consists of comma delimited files for 120Hz frequency. Each file contains analysis exports from EchoView Software Pty Ltd. ver. 5.4.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: February 1, 2018
Marine Bird and Mammal Surveys, North Pacific and Bering Sea 2012-2014
This dataset describes marine bird and mammal surveys conducted in August 2012-2014 in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Data were collected to document the at-sea distribution and abundance of marine birds and mammals, and were conducted using standard strip width transect protocols (Gould and Forsell 1989). One observer and one recorder identified and counted birds on transect at al...
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: February 1, 2018
Oceanographic Conditions (Temperature and Salinity), North Pacific and Bering Sea 2012-2014
This dataset contains sea surface temperature and salinity data in August 2012 - 2014 in the North Pacific and Bering Sea. Data were measured continuously during at-sea surveys using a hull-mounted thermosalinograph (SeaBird Electronics Inc® SBE 21). Data are output in a CNV file format to be processed by Seabird Electronics Inc® Software version Seasave V 7.23.2.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: February 1, 2018Tufted Puffin Chick Body Conditions, North Pacific and Bering Sea, 2012-2014
Data were collected to index the body condition of Tufted Puffin chicks on colonies in the North Pacific and Bering Sea during August or 2012-2014. This dataset contains information on every chick measured. Data consists of: colony name, date, wing chord (mm), mass (g), culmen (mm), tarsus (mm), body condition (mass/wing), and burrow observations. Chick body
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: February 1, 2018Tufted Puffin Colony Environmental Data, North Pacific and Bering Sea, 2012-2014
This dataset describes the marine environment surrounding Tufted puffin colonies in the North Pacific and Bering Sea, 2012-2014. Data were derived to assess the geographic variability in puffin diet in relation to variation in marine habitat. This dataset consisting of: colony, date, latitude, longitude, region, depth, slope, tide, and chlorophyll.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center
Two Common Murre chicks
Two Common Murre chicks on rock ledge at Gull Island, Alaska.
A Black-legged Kittiwake with two chicks at Gull Island, Alaska
A Black-legged Kittiwake with two chicks at Gull Island, Alaska.
A Bald Eagle disturbs nesting Black-legged Kittiwakes
A Bald Eagle disturbs Black-legged Kittiwakes nesting on Gull Island, Alaska.
A Common Murre carries a Pacific sand lance
A Common Murre carries a Pacific sand lance, one of the most common prey items for murres, near its colony at Gull Island, Alaska.
Common Murres on the water near their colony at Gull Island, Alaska
Common Murres on the water near their colony at Gull Island, Alaska.
Skinny Common Murre with keel protruding
Skinny Common Murre with keel protruding. Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska
Skinny Common Murre flying with keel protruding
Skinny Common Murre with keel protruding. Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska
A Peregrine Falcon flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake
A Peregrine Falcon flies off with a Black-legged Kittiwake from its colony at Gull Island, Alaska.
Skinny Common Murre (in foreground) with keel protruding
Skinny Common Murre (in foreground) with keel protruding in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska.
Skinny Common Murre with keel protruding (second from the left)
Skinny Common Murre with keel protruding (second from the left) contrasted by normal murres. Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska.
Glaucous-winged Gulls grab eggs abandoned by breeding Common Murres
Glaucous-winged Gulls capitalize upon a disturbance at the Gull Island colony in 2018 to grab eggs abandoned by breeding Common Murres. One lone Common Murre continues incubation despite the rest of the colony flushing.
Common Murre flying in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska
Common Murre flying in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska.
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Date published: March 25, 2021Publication on Ecosystem Response to an Unprecedented Marine Heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska
The 2014-2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska was the longest lasting heatwave globally over the past decade. A new study led by NOAA Fisheries scientists and partners, including four USGS Alaska Science Center scientists, provides an ecosystem-wide look at immediate and lingering effects of the eastern Pacific marine heatwave in the Gulf of Alaska.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: August 5, 2020Story Map on Pacific Marine Heatwave and Seabird Die-off
A story map, developed by the National Park Service, is based on a published article by John Piatt, Sarah Schoen and Mayumi Arimitsu at the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center in collaboration with 20 coauthors from the USFWS, NPS, NOAA, UW, and other research organizations. It describes the massive seabird die-off in the north Pacific and the research findings on this event.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: April 2, 2020'The Blob' - The Story of the Pacific Heatwave
About 62,000 dead or dying common murres, the trophically dominant fish-eating seabird of the North Pacific, washed ashore between summer 2015 and spring 2016 on beaches from California to Alaska. A team of United States Geological Survey scientists have been researching and investigating the cause of this die off.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
Date published: April 25, 2017Responding to Alaska's largest seabird die-off at Katmai National Park & Preserve
In 2015 and 2016, hundreds of thousands of dead and dying Common Murres washed ashore in Alaska. In March of 2016, biologists with the National Park Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and US Geological Survey set out to Katmai National Park & Preserve to document the number of dead and dying seabirds there.
Attribution: Alaska Science Center -
