Nine Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Effects on Marine Bird Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Abstract We compared post Exxon Valdez oil-spill densities of marine birds in Prince William Sound from 1989–1991, 1993, 1996, and 1998 to pre-spill densities from 1984–1985. Post-spill densities of several species of marine birds were lower than expected in the oiled area of Prince William Sound wh...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/condor/102.4.723 http://academic.oup.com/condor/article-pdf/102/4/723/29710014/condor0723.pdf |
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/condor/102.4.723 2023-05-15T18:07:12+02:00 Nine Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Effects on Marine Bird Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska Irons, David B. Kendall, Steven J. Erickson, Wallace P. McDonald, Lyman L. Lance, Brian K. 2000 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/condor/102.4.723 http://academic.oup.com/condor/article-pdf/102/4/723/29710014/condor0723.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) The Condor volume 102, issue 4, page 723-737 ISSN 0010-5422 1938-5129 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 2000 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/condor/102.4.723 2022-04-15T06:17:13Z Abstract We compared post Exxon Valdez oil-spill densities of marine birds in Prince William Sound from 1989–1991, 1993, 1996, and 1998 to pre-spill densities from 1984–1985. Post-spill densities of several species of marine birds were lower than expected in the oiled area of Prince William Sound when compared to densities in the unoiled area. These negative effects continued through 1998 for five taxa: cormorants, goldeneyes, mergansers, Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba), and murres. Black Oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) and Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) exhibited negative effects in 1990 and 1991. Loons showed a weak negative effect in 1993. Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) showed relative decreases in 1989, 1996, and 1998 which may have been caused by shifts in foraging distribution rather than declines in populations. Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) showed positive effects in most post-spill years. Murrelets and terns showed relative increases in 1993, 1996, and 1998. Generally, taxa that dive for their food were negatively affected, whereas taxa that feed at the surface were not. Effects for some taxa were dependent upon the spatial scale at which they were analyzed. Movements of birds and the mosaic pattern of oiling reduced our ability to detect oil-spill effects, therefore our results may be conservative. Several marine bird species were negatively affected at the population level and have not recovered to pre-spill levels nine years after the oil spill. The reason for lack of recovery may be related to persistent oil remaining in the environment and reduced forage fish abundance. Article in Journal/Newspaper rissa tridactyla Alaska Oxford University Press (via Crossref) The Condor 102 4 723 737 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Oxford University Press (via Crossref) |
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croxfordunivpr |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Irons, David B. Kendall, Steven J. Erickson, Wallace P. McDonald, Lyman L. Lance, Brian K. Nine Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Effects on Marine Bird Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Abstract We compared post Exxon Valdez oil-spill densities of marine birds in Prince William Sound from 1989–1991, 1993, 1996, and 1998 to pre-spill densities from 1984–1985. Post-spill densities of several species of marine birds were lower than expected in the oiled area of Prince William Sound when compared to densities in the unoiled area. These negative effects continued through 1998 for five taxa: cormorants, goldeneyes, mergansers, Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba), and murres. Black Oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) and Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) exhibited negative effects in 1990 and 1991. Loons showed a weak negative effect in 1993. Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) showed relative decreases in 1989, 1996, and 1998 which may have been caused by shifts in foraging distribution rather than declines in populations. Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) showed positive effects in most post-spill years. Murrelets and terns showed relative increases in 1993, 1996, and 1998. Generally, taxa that dive for their food were negatively affected, whereas taxa that feed at the surface were not. Effects for some taxa were dependent upon the spatial scale at which they were analyzed. Movements of birds and the mosaic pattern of oiling reduced our ability to detect oil-spill effects, therefore our results may be conservative. Several marine bird species were negatively affected at the population level and have not recovered to pre-spill levels nine years after the oil spill. The reason for lack of recovery may be related to persistent oil remaining in the environment and reduced forage fish abundance. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Irons, David B. Kendall, Steven J. Erickson, Wallace P. McDonald, Lyman L. Lance, Brian K. |
author_facet |
Irons, David B. Kendall, Steven J. Erickson, Wallace P. McDonald, Lyman L. Lance, Brian K. |
author_sort |
Irons, David B. |
title |
Nine Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Effects on Marine Bird Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska |
title_short |
Nine Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Effects on Marine Bird Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska |
title_full |
Nine Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Effects on Marine Bird Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Nine Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Effects on Marine Bird Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nine Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Effects on Marine Bird Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska |
title_sort |
nine years after the exxon valdez oil spill: effects on marine bird populations in prince william sound, alaska |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2000 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/condor/102.4.723 http://academic.oup.com/condor/article-pdf/102/4/723/29710014/condor0723.pdf |
genre |
rissa tridactyla Alaska |
genre_facet |
rissa tridactyla Alaska |
op_source |
The Condor volume 102, issue 4, page 723-737 ISSN 0010-5422 1938-5129 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/condor/102.4.723 |
container_title |
The Condor |
container_volume |
102 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
723 |
op_container_end_page |
737 |
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1766179161259376640 |