The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Headquarters Region 7 is offering this grant to support the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s study of raptor predation on Kittlitz’s Murrelets.

PURPOSE:

The continued monitoring, management, and study of factors limiting Kittlitz’s Murrelets in Icy Bay, Alaska. This species is currently a candidate for listing as a Priority 2 under the Endangered Species Act (69 FR 24875-24904). Thus an understanding the factors limiting Kittlitz’s Murrelet populations is fundamental in the Department’s management decisions regarding this species. The purpose of this agreement is to provide support and assistance to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to continue their work examining raptors as possible predators limiting murrelet populations in Icy Bay.

OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of this agreement are to provide support and assistance to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for 2010–2011 studies of raptor predation of Kittlitz’s Murrelets in Icy Bay, Alaska.

BACKGROUND

The Kittlitz’s Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) is a small seabird endemic to coastal Alaska and eastern Russia where populations are geographically clustered and small in size. The current global population is estimated to be 10,000–20,000 birds with the majority (>75%) occurring in Alaska where declines of up to 18% per year have been documented. If the current rate of decline continues, the species is expected to be extirpated in some core areas of its range by 2030. This species is currently a candidate for listing as a Priority 2 under the Endangered Species Act (69 FR 24875-24904). The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) has collaborated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the National Park Service (NPS) to study the ecology of KIMU in Icy Bay since 2005. Preliminary results suggest that murrelets suffer from low and unsustainable recruitment and adult survival rates. Predation of radio-marked murrelets by peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) and bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) alone exceeded annual murrelet production; thus raptors may be a major factor limiting murrelet populations in the area.

The field work for this study will be conducted in Icy Bay, Alaska in 2010–2011. Raptors will be surveyed to assess their distribution, abundance, trends, diet, and movements relative to Kittlitz’s Murrelets. Funding will be provided for salary, travel to and field costs in those areas, and subsequent analyses. The Department requested the assistance of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to accomplish this work in the summers of 2010 and 2011.

REASON FOR SINGLE SOURCE:
(1) Continuation – The activity to be funded is necessary to the continuation of an activity presently being funded, and for which competition would have a significant adverse effect on the continuity or completion of the activity. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) has been working in cooperation with the Service’ Juneau Field Office since 2005 on research assessing factors limiting Kittlitz’s Murrelets in Icy Bay, Alaska. This has included assessing
(1) movements and mortality of murrelets from various factors, (2) raptor distribution, and (3) raptor nests for prey remains of murrelets. This funding will allow ADFG to complete an assessment of the distribution, abundance, population trends, diets, and movements of raptors relative to the distribution, movements, and mortality of murrelets in Icy Bay, Alaska.

(2) Unique Qualifications – The applicant is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based upon a variety of demonstrable factors. ADFG has had the primary responsibility of assessing raptor distribution, abundance, and diet in Icy Bay since 2005. ADFG therefore has unique knowledge of raptors and their interactions with murrelets in Icy Bay. ADFG personnel currently working on the Kittlitz’s Murrelet study are experts in the field of raptor ecology in southeast Alaska and are uniquely qualified to assess raptor diets and to monitor raptor movements using telemetry.

(3) In addition, the ADFG meets other criteria which preclude competition for this cooperative agreement, including location, property ownership, technical expertise, and support capacity.