Available Information and Data Gaps: Birds, Bats, Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles and Threatened & Endangered Species

• Main Author: Pereksta, David M.
• Other Authors: Oregon Marine Renewable Energy Environmental Science Conference
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English; unknown
• Published: U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
• Subjects: Seabirds; Wave energy; Marine renewable energy; Marine mammals; Receptors; Wind energy; Balaenoptera borealis; Balaenoptera musculus; Balaenoptera physalus; Eubalaena japonica; Orca; Orcinus orca; Physeter macrocephalus
• Online Access: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/technical_reports/dj52w553v

The offshore waters and the coastline of Oregon provide year-round habitat for a number of birds, marine mammals, sea turtles, and possibly bats, at least fifteen of which are federally listed as threatened or endangered. Previous workshops on offshore renewable energy have provided baseline information on the distribution and abundance of these species on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). There are varying amounts of baseline information for offshore species; however, seasonal variability and relative abundance are generally known at a broad scale. Sea turtles are subtropical and tropical breeders and all species found on the Pacific OCS are uncommon north of Mexico. Sea turtles that occur in the waters off of Oregon are primarily leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea); however, loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles could also occur. All of these species are listed as either threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA); there is designated Critical Habitat for the leatherback sea turtle off the Oregon coast. Sea turtles are drawn to offshore waters during the summer upwelling period where they feed on a variety of pelagic and benthic organisms. A diversity of marine mammals occur offshore of Oregon including 24 species of cetaceans and 6 species of pinnipeds. Sea otters are rare, but stragglers from Washington are occasionally seen along the Oregon coast. Among the cetaceans seen in Oregon waters, the north Pacific right (Eubalaena japonica), blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin (Balaenoptera physalus), sei (Balaenoptera borealis), humpback (Megaptera novaengliae), killer (Orcinus orca), and sperm (Physeter macrocephalus) whales are listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA. Federally listed pinnipeds include the Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi) and Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), the latter of which also has designated Critical Habitat off the Oregon coast. Little is known ...