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U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Scientific Investigations Report 2007–5278

Distribution of Ground-Nesting Marine Birds Along Shorelines in Glacier Bay, Southeastern Alaska: An Assessment Related to Potential Disturbance by Back-Country Users

Prepared in cooperation with the National Park Service

By M.L. Arimitsu, J.F. Piatt, and M.D. Romano

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Figures

Figure 1. Locations of Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, and place names mentioned in this report.

Figure 2. Shoreline surveyed for ground-nesting birds in Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska.

Figure 3. High visitor use areas, defined as 30 or more overnight camping visits, and areas identified in Hunn and others (2002) as historical egg-collection sites by Huna Tlingit, Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska.

Figure 4. Distribution of Arctic Tern (ARTE) nests, Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, 2003–05.

Figure 5. Distribution of Black Oystercatcher (BLOY) nests, Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, 2003–05.

Figure 6. Distribution of Black Oystercatcher (BLOY) territorial pairs, Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, 2003–05.

Figure 7. Distribution of Mew Gull (MEGU) nests, Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, 2003–05.

Figure 8. Distribution of Mew Gull (MEGU) territorial pairs, Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, 2003–05.

Figure 9. Distribution of Glaucous-winged Gulls (GWGU) nests, Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, 2003–05.

Figure 10. Distribution of Herring Gull (HEGU) and unidentified gull (UNGU) nests, Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, 2003–05.

Figure 11. Nest locations for Red Throated Loons (RTLO), Canada Goose (CAGO), Willow Ptarmigan (WIPT), Spotted Sandpipers (SPSA), Least Sandpipers (LESA), Parasitic Jaegers (PAJA), and Aleutian Terns (ALTE), Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, 2003–05.

Figure 12. Distribution of Semipalmated Plover (SEPL) nests and territorial pairs, Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, 2003–05.

Figure 13. Areas of concern owing to concentrated nesting activities at high and low visitor use areas, Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, 2002–05.

Figure 14. Total area of primary substrate classes that constituted Glacier Bay shoreline types during coast mapping, southeastern Alaska, 1997–2003.

Figure 15. Substrate used by common ground-nesting marine birds in Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, 2003–05.

Figure 16. Number of Arctic Tern nests at three revisit sites, Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, 2005.

Figure 17. Nests in Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska.

Tables

Table 1. Survey dates and effort by year during the ground-nesting marine bird survey in Glacier Bay, Alaska, 2003–05.

Table 2. Number of nests and territorial pairs for common species in Glacier Bay Alaska, 2003–05.

Table 3. Nests and territorial pair counts at areas of concern, Glacier Bay, Alaska, 2003–05.

Table 4. Location, date, number of active nests by species, and total nest count for sites that were visited more than one time in a season, Glacier Bay, 2004–05.

Table 5. Species, adult count, number of active nests, and territorial pairs for wildlife areas closed to human use, Glacier Bay, Alaska, 2003 and 2005.

Table 6. Number of active nests and territorial pairs at traditional native egg-collection sites identified in Hunn and others (2002), Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska.

Table 7. Frequency of occurrence for active nests by shoreline type, Glacier Bay, Alaska, 2003–05.

Table 8. Summary of Arctic Tern nests and contents in Glacier Bay, Alaska, 2003–05.

Table 9. Summary of Black Oystercatcher nests and contents in Glacier Bay, Alaska, 2003–05.

Table 10. Summary of Mew Gull nests and contents in Glacier Bay, Alaska, 2003–05.

Table 11. Summary of Mew Gull nests and contents in Glacier Bay, Alaska, 2003–05.

Table 12. Historical information on seabirds breeding on South Marble Island, Glacier Bay, Alaska.

Table 13. Historical information on seabirds breeding on North Marble Island, Glacier Bay, Alaska.

This report is available online in Portable Document Format (PDF). If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader, it is available for free download from Adobe Systems Incorporated.

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Send questions or comments about this report to the author, M.L. Arimitsu, (907) 364-1593.

For more information about USGS activities in Alaska, visit the USGS Alaska Science Center home page.