Seabird Health and Adaptive Management
Dr. Josh Adams and his science team at WERC study seabird health and support adaptive management by quantifying abundance patterns and behaviors associated with habitats at sea, where seabirds spend the overwhelming majority of their lives. Adams’s team also employs conservation science to support resource managers on land, where seabirds are obligated to nest. His group provides scientific analyses to help understand the efficacy of certain conservation practices intended to benefit the preservation and recovery of threatened seabird populations.
Seabirds are vulnerable both at sea and on land
Of primary importance is the need to understand basic population parameters and ecological requirements, including attendance patterns at colonies, diet, reproductive success, and baseline health parameters that affect species during the breeding season and survival of adults overwinter. Additionally, seabirds have habitats at sea and on land that are critical for foraging and nesting or roosting. Seabirds are also abundant, use a diverse variety of niches within marine ecosystems, and provide information on lower-trophic-level ecosystem forcing — as such, they often are recognized as excellent indicators of changing marine ecosystems and ecosystem health. It is important to apply science to better understand biological parameters, ecological requirements, and physical habitats for seabirds in order to support adaptive resource management.
Limiting factors for seabirds include a variety of threats
Depending on the species, seabirds are affected by glacial extent, predation by introduced mammals, alteration of prey abundances and fishing practices, introduced invasive vegetation, and habitat degradation. For example, recovery of vulnerable, threatened, or endangered seabirds including Hawaiian Petrel, Ashy Storm-Petrel, and Marbled and Kittlitz's Murrelet, requires effective methods to detect remote nesting habitats and distributions, determine trends in abundance, and protect or restore existing habitats on land and at sea.
Research objectives include:
- Assessing populations, trends, and vulnerability of marine birds at sea
- Quantifying phenology (timing of life history events) and breeding success among of marine birds
- Quantifying trends and efficacy of management actions to conserve, protect, and recover threatened and endangered seabird species
Recent Research:
Ashy Storm-Petrel Range and Colony Attendance Behavior
Assessing Mammalian Predator Control to Protect Endangered Birds at Haleakalā National Park
Marbled Murrelet Surveys off the Central California Coast
USGS Western Ecological Research Center Seabird Studies Team: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Statement
Our team is committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive workplace that values all aspects of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, socioeconomic status, disability, and all other characteristics that make us who we are. Promoting diversity strengthens collaboration and promotes scientific progress. We will support DEI efforts in our workplace, the USGS, and our field through activities such as participating in diversity trainings, increasing outreach and student opportunities, and supporting and participating in conferences and meetings that highlight our diversity. Everywhere we work, we are committed to engaging with the local first nations people to ask land use permissions, listen, learn, and work collaboratively.
We follow and build upon three guiding policies and statements provided by the USGS:
· USGS Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement
Return to the Santa Cruz Field Station Homepage
Below are other studies associated with this project.
Marbled Murrelet Surveys off the Central California Coast
Assessing Mammalian Predator Control to Protect Endangered Birds at Haleakalā National Park
Ashy Storm-Petrel Range and Colony Attendance Behavior
Dr. Josh Adams and his science team at WERC study seabird health and support adaptive management by quantifying abundance patterns and behaviors associated with habitats at sea, where seabirds spend the overwhelming majority of their lives. Adams’s team also employs conservation science to support resource managers on land, where seabirds are obligated to nest. His group provides scientific analyses to help understand the efficacy of certain conservation practices intended to benefit the preservation and recovery of threatened seabird populations.
Seabirds are vulnerable both at sea and on land
Of primary importance is the need to understand basic population parameters and ecological requirements, including attendance patterns at colonies, diet, reproductive success, and baseline health parameters that affect species during the breeding season and survival of adults overwinter. Additionally, seabirds have habitats at sea and on land that are critical for foraging and nesting or roosting. Seabirds are also abundant, use a diverse variety of niches within marine ecosystems, and provide information on lower-trophic-level ecosystem forcing — as such, they often are recognized as excellent indicators of changing marine ecosystems and ecosystem health. It is important to apply science to better understand biological parameters, ecological requirements, and physical habitats for seabirds in order to support adaptive resource management.
Limiting factors for seabirds include a variety of threats
Depending on the species, seabirds are affected by glacial extent, predation by introduced mammals, alteration of prey abundances and fishing practices, introduced invasive vegetation, and habitat degradation. For example, recovery of vulnerable, threatened, or endangered seabirds including Hawaiian Petrel, Ashy Storm-Petrel, and Marbled and Kittlitz's Murrelet, requires effective methods to detect remote nesting habitats and distributions, determine trends in abundance, and protect or restore existing habitats on land and at sea.
Research objectives include:
- Assessing populations, trends, and vulnerability of marine birds at sea
- Quantifying phenology (timing of life history events) and breeding success among of marine birds
- Quantifying trends and efficacy of management actions to conserve, protect, and recover threatened and endangered seabird species
Recent Research:
Ashy Storm-Petrel Range and Colony Attendance Behavior
Assessing Mammalian Predator Control to Protect Endangered Birds at Haleakalā National Park
Marbled Murrelet Surveys off the Central California Coast
USGS Western Ecological Research Center Seabird Studies Team: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Statement
Our team is committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive workplace that values all aspects of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, socioeconomic status, disability, and all other characteristics that make us who we are. Promoting diversity strengthens collaboration and promotes scientific progress. We will support DEI efforts in our workplace, the USGS, and our field through activities such as participating in diversity trainings, increasing outreach and student opportunities, and supporting and participating in conferences and meetings that highlight our diversity. Everywhere we work, we are committed to engaging with the local first nations people to ask land use permissions, listen, learn, and work collaboratively.
We follow and build upon three guiding policies and statements provided by the USGS:
· USGS Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement
Return to the Santa Cruz Field Station Homepage
Below are other studies associated with this project.