| MMS ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM: ONGOING STUDIES | ||||||
| MMS OCS Region: | Alaska | |||||
| Title: | Monitoring Beaufort Sea Waterfowl and Marine Birds (AK-99-05) | |||||
| Total Cost: | MMS - $164,000 BRD - $1,000,000 |
Period of Performance: | FY 1999-2003 | |||
| Conducting Organization: | USGS Biological Resources Division | |||||
| MMS Contact: | ||||||
| Description: | ||||||
| Background | ||||||
| Oldsquaw, eiders, and other waterbirds feed, molt, stage and/or migrate in various Beaufort Sea marine habitats. Recent data shows that threatened spectacled eiders, as well as other species of concern, stage in nearshore and offshore Beaufort Sea waters. An existing protocol, entitled "Design and Testing of a Monitoring Program for Beaufort Sea Waterfowl and Marine Birds" (OCS Study MMS 92-0060), was developed and tested in the Beaufort Sea area that includes the Northstar, Sandpiper, and Liberty Units. This study covers the areas and species most likely to be affected by activities associated with oil and gas development in these units. | ||||||
| Objectives | ||||||
The overall goal of this study is to monitor the effects of
potentially disturbing activities associated with oil and gas development on the
distribution and abundance of waterfowl and other waterbirds using marine habitats in the
east-central Beaufort Sea. Specific objectives are to:
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| Methods | ||||||
| Waterfowl and marine bird populations will be monitored in the vicinity of ongoing and proposed oil industry activities in the east-central Beaufort Sea through three open-water seasons using an existing protocol that involves replicate aerial surveys of established transects and other areas indicated above. Specifically, Use an existing protocol (Johnson and Gazey, 1992) to monitor numbers of oldsquaw and other species in industrial and control areas defined by these investigators. Perform replicate aerial surveys along previously established transects in a manner that will allow comparison with the earlier results. Expand the survey to include nearshore areas between the original industrial (Jones-Return Islands) and control (Stockton-Maguire-Flaxman Islands) areas. Define the range of variation for area waterfowl and marine bird populations, and correlate with environmental factors and oil and gas development activities. Expand aerial monitoring about 50 km offshore to determine the extent of use of this habitat by eiders, in particular, where they would be vulnerable to oil spills originating in the Northstar and Liberty Units; determine if the use of specific areas is predictable. | ||||||
| Importance to MMS | ||||||
| Data on waterfowl distribution and abundance from this study will be used in USFWS and MMS efforts to model the effect of various oil spill scenarios on Beaufort Sea waterfowl populations. A monitoring protocol will be developed that can be used to study the effects of offshore developments. Information from this study also will provide the basis for mitigation measures. | ||||||
| Current Status: | ||||||
| Field work has been completed by the FWS on the aircraft waterfowl surveys and analysis is underway. Field work, on the population ecology of common eiders and old squaw ducks, is underway on barrier islands along the Beaufort Sea coastline by biologists from the BRD/USGS. | ||||||
| Final Report Due: | December 2002 | |||||
| Publications: | Draft Final Report - Monitoring Beaufort Sea Waterfowl and Marine Birds, Aerial Survey Component | |||||
| Affiliated WWW Sites: | Alaska Biological Science Center | |||||
| Revised date: | March 2002 | |||||
| ESPIS |
ESPIS - All completed
ESP Studies: |
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