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SouthPugetSoundandNisquallyReachAquaticReserve
PigeonGuillemotBreedingSurveys
2016-2018MonitoringReport
Preparedfor:
NisquallyReachAquaticReserveCitizenStewardshipCommittee
Preparedby:
TerenceLee
&
JeniphrGrant
NisquallyReachNatureCenter
April2018
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SouthPugetSoundandNisquallyReachAquaticReservePigeonGuillemotBreedingSurveys2016-2018MonitoringReport
PublicationInformationThismonitoringreportdescribestheresearchandmonitoringstudyofpigeonguillemotbreedingsurveysconductedinthesummersof2016-2018inSouthPugetSound,includingtheNisquallyReachAquaticReserve.ThisprojecthasbeenfundedwhollyorinpartbyNationalEstuaryProgram(NEP)oftheUnitedStatesEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)underassistanceagreement#PC-00J90701throughtheWashingtonStateDepartmentofFish&Wildlife(WDFW).ThecontentsofthisreportdonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsandpoliciesoftheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency,nordoesmentionoftradenamesorcommercialproductsconstituteendorsementorrecommendationforuse.Copiesofthisreportwillbeavailableat:WashingtonStateDepartmentofNaturalResources(WDNR)AquaticReserveswebsitehttps://www.dnr.wa.gov/managed-lands/aquatic-reserves,aswellastheNisquallyReachAquaticReserve(NRAR)webpagefoundathttps://www.aquaticreserves.org/,andontheNisquallyReachNatureCenter(NRNC)websitewww.nisquallyestuary.org.AuthorandContactInformationTerenceLeeScienceDirectorNisquallyReachNatureCenter4949D’MilluhrDrNEOlympia,WA98516terencelee@nisquallyestuary.orgJeniphrGrantVolunteerNisquallyReachNatureCenter4949D’MilluhrDrNEOlympia,WA98516Reviewedby:DanielHullExecutiveDirectorNisquallyReachNatureCenternrnc@nisquallyestuary.org
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SouthPugetSoundandNisquallyReachAquaticReservePigeonGuillemotBreedingSurveys2016-2018MonitoringReport
AcknowledgementsTheprotocolsandproceduresarederivedfromtheworkoftheWhidbeyIslandPigeonGuillemotResearchGroup(currentlyknownastheGuillemotResearchGroup).Wethankthemfortheirguidanceandcollaboration.Inparticular,wethankFrancesWoodandGovindaRoslingfortheirassistance.WealsothankourpartnerScottPearsonattheWashingtonStateDepartmentofFishandWildlifeforcontinualguidanceonrefiningprotocolandprocedures.WethankDr.SarahConverseofUniversityofWashington/WashingtonFish&WildlifeCooperativeResearchUnitforheradviceonrefiningthedatasheettomakeitmorestatisticallyrobust.Surveys,dataentry,qualitycontrol,andreportwritingweremadepossiblebyanamazinggroupofinternsandvolunteers.Internswereinvolvedinallaspectsoftheprojectincluding:logisticalplanning,volunteertraining,surveys,volunteercoordination,datamanagement,andreportwriting.Thefollowinginternshavehelpedimmensely:SpencerJohnson,AlisonFlury,KarlaKelly,RachelHardin,AdamGreen,RobinBazan,AlexDurney,WilliamWiskes,KeithAdams,JustinBrown,EmilyWilke,andEmilyCain.EditorialassistancewasprovidedbyvolunteersJeniphrGrant,AnneMills,andDanielHull,ExecutiveDirector,NisquallyReachNatureCenter.VolunteerAnneMills,whofoundedthisproject,continuedtoprovideinstrumentalassistancewithvolunteerrecruitment,training,andcoordinationaswellasconductingsurveys,performingqualitycontrol,analyzingdata,andreportediting.Administrationconsistedofreportwritingandediting.AdditionalfinancialsupportviaagrantfromtheRoseFoundationhasbeencriticalforsupportingthecitizenscienceprogramsoftheNisquallyReachNatureCenter.Surveyswereconductedwithtrainedcitizensciencevolunteers.Themostdedicatedvolunteers,whosurveyedasiteforthemajorityoftheseasonfortwoorthreeyears,arelistedinbold.Thesecondcategoryincludesvolunteerswhosurveyedforoneyear,substitutes,support,andotherpart-timepersonnel.Thethirdcategoryisforthosewhoparticipatedonalimitedbasisasindicatedinitalics.Wewouldliketorecognizetheeffortsofthefollowingindividualswhoaidedusbetween2016and2018: Volunteers: ColleenAllender StuAtwood SharonBergquist-Moody JustinBrown BriennaBrownawell ErikaBowers MicheleBurton PeggyButler SusanCampbell CindyCoble LeslieCushman LeslieDemich CindyEaton EvaFitz
JawadFrangieh WoodyFranzen HernanGonzalez RaeganGoff JoyGold GailGriswold JaneGroppenberger DianeHaslund JackHavens LianneHeckmanKristinaHill DelenaHolcer KatitzaHolthaus RileyHoyle-Dodson JuliHoza SueHuseby
AnnIngham BobIngham NikkiJohnson WendyJohnson ElinorJordan AngelaKaurin ShellyKaurin SallyKirouac LisaKnorowski LauraKoerber LauraKraig AnnLamb RockyLamb BenLamirand MattLamirand ZackLamirand
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SouthPugetSoundandNisquallyReachAquaticReservePigeonGuillemotBreedingSurveys2016-2018MonitoringReport
BillLangford CarolLangford JeffreyLee WendyLippmann MelodyMayer JudyMcGinty JeanneMcGoldrick DawnMcHugh ConnorMcNutt MerryMcNutt MikeMelton NoraMena PaulMena MikelineMeurs HalMichael PatMichael AnneMills BonnieMills BobbieMoody PaulMoody MatthewMorassutti SusanMorgan JudyMurphy BiancaOlds JudyOlsen CarolPaschal DeborahPetersen
KathyProsser RudyProsser JudyPust MikeRaitt EdithRice MariaRuth SueSalo TraceyScalici SaimaScott TobySeiler LeslieSikora LarrySiminski MelodySiminski PamelaSiminski SuzanneSimons RossSkinner UrsulaSmircich BradSmith CathySmith GarySquires BertStevens CathyTarabulski JoziTolle SusieVanderburg VickiVoss LoisWard LesleyWillardson
JimWitteInterns: KeithAdams RobinBazan JustinBrown EmilyCain AlexDurney AlisonFlury AdamGreen RachelHardin SpencerJohnson KarlaKelly EmilyWilke WilliamWiskes Administration: JeniphrGrant MatthewHaney AnneMills
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TableofContentsPublicationInformation 1
AuthorandContactInformation 1
Acknowledgements 2
TableofContents 4
Figures,Tables,Photos,andAppendices 5
Figures 5
Tables 5
Photos 5
Appendices 5
Abstract 6
Introduction 6
PigeonGuillemotDescription 6
ProjectBackground 7
ReserveBackground 8
GoalsandObjectives 10
Methods 10
BasisandProtocols 10
SurveysandProcedures 11
Sites 12
Recordkeeping 13
ReportingIndividualAbundanceData 14
CitizenScienceTraining 14
Results 15
Sites 15
IndicationofMaximumAbundance 17
Burrows 19
PreyDelivery 21
Discussion 24
RecommendationsandImprovements 26
References 28
AppendixA:DataSheet 30
AppendixB:DataCollectionProtocolsUsed 32
AppendixC:QualityAssuranceProjectPlan(QAPP) 35
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Figures,Tables,Photos,andAppendicesFigures
Figure1:NisquallyReachAquaticReserveandsurroundingareasmap(WDNR,2011).
Figure2:Typicalsurveysite;exposedsedimentarybluffwithmoderatesizedholespreferredbyPIGU
(NRAR,n.d.).
Figure3:Mapof2016-2018SouthSoundPigeonGuillemotsurveylocations(Lee,2019).
Figure4:SumofindicationofmaximumabundanceofPigeonGuillemots.
Figure5:3-Yearsummaryofreportablepreydeliveriesbyweek,allpreycombined.
Figure6:Adjusted3-Yearsummaryofpreydeliveriesbyweek,allpreycombined.
Figure7.Reportable3-Yeartotalpreydeliveredtoburrows.
Figure8.Adjusted3-Yeartotalpreydeliveredtoburrows.
Tables
Table1:NumberofVolunteersTrainedbyYearandLocation.
Table2:NumberofVisitsPerReportableSiteasSurveyed2016-2018andTotalNumberofSurveyed
Sites.
Table3:ReportableIndicationofMaximum(HighCount)bySiteasSurveyed2016-2018.
Table4:ReportableOccupiedandChickBurrowsbySiteasSurveyed2016-2018.
Table5:RateofFishDeliverytoHatchlingsperHouratReportableSitesSurveyed2016-2018.
Table6:AdjustedRateofFishDeliverytoHatchlingsperHouratallSitesSurveyed2016-2018.
Photos
Cover-Rosling,G.,(n.d.)PigeonGuillemotonrock.
Figure3-NRAR,(n.d.)Typicalsurveysite;exposedsedimentarybluffwithmoderatesizedholes
preferredbyPIGU.
Appendices
AppendixA:DataSheets
AppendixB:DataCollectionProtocolsUsed
AppendixC:QualityAssuranceProjectPlan(QAPP)
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SouthPugetSoundandNisquallyReachAquaticReservePigeonGuillemotBreedingSurveys2016-2018MonitoringReport
SouthPugetSoundandNisquallyReachAquaticReservePigeonGuillemotBreedingSurveys
2016-2018MonitoringReportAbstractTheNisquallyReachAquaticReserveCitizenStewardsconductedPigeonGuillemotsurveysbeginningin2013through2018inSouthPugetSound,todocumentnumberofadultsobserved,burrowoccupancy,chickfeeding,disturbances,andseasonalchangesatamaximumof41sitesperyear.EachweekfromJunethroughSeptemberforanhouratatime,thehighestnumberofPigeonGuillemotswerecountedateachsitealongwithburrowvisits,fishdeliveries,anddisturbances.ThepurposeofthemonitoringistocollectbaselinedataforSouthPugetSoundaspartofalargerregionalefforttodetecttrendsandchangesinPigeonGuillemotpopulations.IntroductionPigeonGuillemotDescriptionThePigeonGuillemot(PIGU)(Cepphuscolumba)isasmalldivingseabirdthatbreedswidelyinPugetSound.TheyareintheAlcidaefamilyofseabirds,andrelatedtopuffins,auks,andmurres,amongothers.PIGUarestockydarkmonomorphicseabirdswithroundedwings,straightbills,andbrightredfeetandmouthlining(SeattleAudubonSociety,n.d.).Duringthebreedingseason,adultbirdsdevelopadistinctivedarkbrownplumagewithblackiridescenceandawhitewingpatchwithablackwedge;however,theyappearamottledgreyandblackwithwhiteunderpartsintheirnon-breedingphaseandasjuveniles(SeattleAudubonSociety,n.d.).Theyusuallyarebetween3-5yearsoldbeforebreeding(SeattleAudubonSociety,n.d.)andwillliveabout4.5yearsaftertheonsetofbreeding(Nelson,1991).Theyareburrow-nesters,andutilizehighbluffsalongshorelinesofrockyshoresandmainlandcliffsclosetoshallowwater.Eggsareincubatedbybothsexes,andusuallyhatchafter26to32days(NationalAudubonSociety,n.d.).Chicksfledgebetween34to42daysafterhatching(Vermeer,Morgan,J.R.,&Smith.,1993).AstudyofPIGUbreedingcoloniesandpopulationsindicatedastrongpartialitytowardssand/claybluffsasnestinghabitat(Evenson,etal.,2003).Theirpreferrednestingsitesaretheirownnatalcavitiesorburrowswithin200mofnatalsites(Nelson,1991),exhibitingastrongsitefidelitywithinthespecies.Theydifferfromotheralcidsbyusuallylayingtwoeggsinanest(SeattleAudubonSociety,n.d.).PIGUdivefortheirbenthicprey,usuallybetween10to30mdeep(Ewins,1993),and,fromourdata,usuallyselectgunnelorsculpinwithintheSouthSound,althoughotherpreyspeciesaretaken(Bishop,Rosling,Kind,&Wood,2016).PIGUareoneofthekeymarinebirdindicatorsinPugetSound;thevitalityoftheirpopulationcanserveasameasureofenvironmentalhealth,biodiversity,habitatcondition,andclimatechange(PearsonandHamel,2013).Thisbecomesevenmoreevidentbecausetheyare“especiallysensitivetothequalityofthemarineenvironment”(Pyle,2001)andareconsidereda“climatethreatened”speciesbytheNationalAudubonSociety(n.d.,2014).ThespeciesissosensitivethatBixler(2010)assertsthattheyare“currentlytheonlyavianspeciesthatislistedas‘notrecovering’ontheExxonValdezOilSpillTrusteeCouncil’sInjuredResourcesList,”20yearslater.ThehealthofthePIGUpopulationreflectsthehealthoftheSalishSeamarineecosystem,andcaninfluenceenvironmentalpolicychanges,whenbackedbysolidresearchanddata(Pyle,2001).ThePugetSoundPartnership,PugetSoundEnvironmentalMonitoring
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Program,MarineBirdsWorkgroupselectedthePIGUasavitalsignspeciesbecausethesebirdsarePugetSound-dependentthroughouttheyear.PIGUsarecommoninthewatersoftheNRARduringthesummerbreedingseasonandforageinnear-shorewaters.PastandcurrentstudieshavealsoidentifiedthepresenceofPIGUsthroughouttheSoundinthefall,winterandspringseasons(Nysewander,etal,2005;PugetSoundSeabirdSurvey,2018).PopulationsinSouthPugetSoundwerefoundbyPearson(2016)toberelativelystableoveraperiodofabout16years,butsmalleronaveragecomparedtopopulationsonWhidbeyIslandwherethesebirdshavebeenstudiedforalongerperiodoftime.Breedingandnon-breedingPIGUsmingleasagrouponthewater,onthebeach,andonthebluffsneartheburrows,andshowstrongsocialinteractionsincludingvocalizing,synchronizedflying,billing,andmating(USFishandWildlifeService(USFWS),2006).Bothmaleandfemalebirdsincubateeggsandcareforchicks(Drent,1965).ChickstypicallyhatchinlateJuneandfledgeinAugust,between29-37daysafterhatching(Thoresen&Booth,1958;USFWS,2006).ProjectBackgroundIn2006,AnneMills,asProgramCoordinatorforSouthSoundGREEN,awatershededucationprogram,arrangedforFrancisWood,founderofWhidbeyIslandGuillemotResearchGroup,togiveapresentationaboutPigeonGuillemots(PIGU)tolocalwatershededucatorsinSouthSoundforaworkshoponMarineBirds.Inspiredbythetalk,Anneresolvedtobecomeinvolvedinresearchingthesebirdsandthusaddedittoherretirementbucketlist.AcountofPIGUaroundAndersonIslandhadbeendocumentedbyLindsayK.RaabandGovindaRoslingin2010aspartofestablishingtheNisquallyDeltaImportantBirdArea(IBA).TheNisquallyReachAquaticReservewasestablishedin2011andincludedthetheIBAandcoloniesalongtheNisquallyReach.ResearchandnetworkingsuggestedmultiplecolonieswerenearorintheotherSouthSoundinlets.WhenAnneretiredin2012,shevisitedWhidbeyIslandtoviewPIGUbreedinghabitat,participatedintheirtraining,metvolunteers,andheardresultsoftheirsurveywork.TheSouthSoundPIGUBreedingSurveywasinitiatedin2013,serendipitously,whenAnnefoundasponsorinDanielHull,ExecutiveDirectorofNisquallyReachNatureCenter(NRNC).Shewasseekinganorganizationforsupportinordertobegintheresearch,andhewasactivelyseekinganappropriatecitizenscienceprojecttobeconductedwithintheNisquallyReachAquaticReserve.SubstantialandongoingsupporthasbeenprovidedbyWhidbeyIslandGuillemotResearchGroup,includingcomingtoOlympiatopresentandassistwithvolunteertraining,sharingofsurveymaterials,suchassurveyprotocolanddatasheets,answeringquestions,andcoordinatingregionalconsistency.ThefirstyearofthePIGUBreedingSurveyinSouthSoundwascoordinatedbyAnne,withadditionalsupportfromtheNisquallyReachAquaticReserveCitizenStewardshipCommitteeandWashingtonEnvironmentalCouncil.TerenceLeebegantomanageNRNC’scitizenscienceprojects,includingthisstudy,in2014asthesciencetechnicianfortheCenter.Currently,NRNCiscompilinganextendeddatasetonthebreedingecologyofPIGUcoloniesthroughoutSouthPugetSound,toinformbestpracticesinecologicalconservationbyestablishingbaselinedataforhistoricalpopulationchangesandtrends(thoughanindexofmaximumabundance)overmultipleyears.Conductingthisstudy,inadvanceofevidentdeclinesofthePIGU,isarareexerciseinpopulationecologystudies,andtheabilitytoaffectsuchstudiesinalong-termmonitoringeffortisdifficulttosustainformoststudygroups(Bonebrake,Christensen,Boggs,&Erlich,2010).
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TherecordofSouthSounddatamaypromotefuturestudieswithintheregion,beusedforcomparisons,orassiststudiesinothersimilarhabitatsthroughdata-sharing.Mostofthedatacollectionoccursduringthesummerbreedingseason,butwintermonitoringofresidentbirdsisalsoconducted(howeveritisnotreportedherein).Acquireddatamaybeusedfornaturalresourcedamageprevention,mitigation,andassessment;naturalresourcemanagement;andprotectionofcriticalhabitatsandprotectedspecies.ReserveBackgroundTheNRARispartoftheWashingtonStateDepartmentofNaturalResources(WDNR)AquaticReservesProgram.Anaquaticreservecanbedesignatedforanyofthefollowingpurposes,singlyorincombination:educational,environmental,orscientific.Educationalreservesareaccessibleareasofaquaticlandstypicalofselectedhabitattypeswhicharesuitableforeducationalprojects.Environmentalreservesareareasofenvironmentalimportance,sitesestablishedforthecontinuanceofenvironmentalbaselinemonitoring,and/orareasofhistorical,geologicalorbiologicalinterestrequiringspecialprotectivemanagement.Scientificreservesaresitessetasideforscientificresearchprojectsand/orareasofunusuallyrichplantandanimalcommunitiessuitableforcontinuingscientificobservation(WDNR,2011).NRARwasdesignatedasaneducational,environmental,andscientificreserve.TheNRARencompassesapproximately6,000hectares(14,826acres)ofstate-ownedandDNR-managedtidelandsandbedlands.Theownershipofadjacentlandsisdiverse:TolmieStatePark,theBillyFrankJr.NisquallyNationalWildlifeRefuge(formerlyknownasNisquallyNationalWildlifeRefuge),localparkdistricts,andprivate,tribal,WDFW,military,city,andcountylands.Therearenearly63km(39miles)ofshorelineadjacenttothereserve,themajoritybeingprivatelyowned.TheNRARareaisshowningreenonFigure1.
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Figure1.NisquallyReachAquaticReserveandsurroundingareasmap(WDNR,2011).
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SouthPugetSoundandNisquallyReachAquaticReservePigeonGuillemotBreedingSurveys2016-2018MonitoringReport
GoalsandObjectivesThegoalsofthepigeonguillemotbreedingsurveysinSouthPugetSound,neartheNRAR,areto:
1) Provideabaselinefordetectingchangesandtrendsinlocalpigeonguillemotpopulations.2) Createamulti-yeardatasetcontaining:
● ThenumberofPigeonGuillemotbreedingsitesthroughoutSouthPugetSound.● ColonyandSouthSoundpopulationestimates.● Thenumberofactiveburrowsateachsite.● Preytypedeliveredtochicks.● Nestingdisturbancesandcolonyreactiontothesame.
3) ContinuevitalmonitoringeffortsbyeducatingandtrainingvolunteerstomonitorPigeonGuillemotbreedingsites.
Inordertoaccomplishthegoalsabove,thefollowingobjectivesarenecessarytobeaccomplished:
● Trainandretainateamofatleast30volunteerstoidentifyandmonitoractivebreedingburrowsofPIGUandbeavailableeachyearforthesurveys.
● RecordweeklyobservationsofPIGUbehaviorduringthebreedingseasononthedatasheet(AppendixA)at30ormoreSouthSoundsites.
● Providedataandfindingstoappropriatelocalandstateagenciesandthepublic,viawebsiteandotheroutreach,suchaspresentationstocommunitygroups.
MethodsBasisandProtocolsThePigeonGuillemotstudy,conductedbytheNisquallyReachNatureCenter,hasproducedadatasetofsixdiscreteelementsofthebreedingecologyofthesebirdsatcoloniesthroughoutSouthPugetSound(seegoal2,above),withtheintentofestablishingbaselinedataforfuturestudiesandtoestimateeffectsfrombothnaturalandanthropogenicdisturbances,shouldtheyarise.ThesurveyprotocolsusedforthisprojectaredetailedinAppendixBaswellastheQualityAssuranceProjectPlan(QAPP)(AppendixC).Monitoringsurveysconductedbyvolunteers,interns,andstaffgeneratedthedatausedinthisreport.ThesurveytechniquewasbasedonthemethodestablishedbytheGuillemotResearchGroup,formerlyWhidbeyIslandPigeonGuillemotResearchGroup.IntheSouthSound,ourmethodsdeviatefromtheGuillemotResearchGroupintwoways.First,webeginoursurveyvisitstotheselectedcolonysitesaboutoneweekearlierthanisdoneonWhidbeyIsland.Second,oursurveysbeginonanydaynolaterthan7:45am,ratherthan8:45amasonWhidbeyIsland.Bothofthesedeviationsfromthebaseandestablishedmethodsareduetoourdiscoveriesthatfeedingactivitywasalreadyoccurringuponarrivalofthevolunteersinthefirststudyweek,andthatourbirdsareactiveearlierinthedayandhavealreadylefttheburrowsifwestartlater.Notwishingtomisscollectinggooddatapointsforthebaseline,weoptedtomakethechangesdescribed.
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Threetypesofdatawerecollected:
1. Populationdata-CountsofPIGUaretakenatthebeginningofthesurvey,atthemiddle,andattheend.Throughoutthesurveyhour,atallyofthehighestnumberofbirdsobservedatagivenpointintimeisrecorded.Thismayormaynotcoincidewithoneofthethreecounts.Emphasisisplacedoncountingonlybirdsthatareassociatingwiththesitebeingmonitored.
2. Burrowdata-Timeswhenbirdsenterorleaveburrowswithpreyarerecordedasarefishdeliveries,andenteringwithoutpreyisrecordedasanopreyvisit.Fishareidentifiedtogeneraltypes(gunnel,sculpin,other)withtimesforeachtyperecordedseparately.Alltimesofvariousburrowactivitiesarerecordedbyburrownumber.
3. Disturbancedata-Eventsthatcancauseunnaturalchangesinbehaviorarecategorizedbytypeandduration.Startandendtimesforeacheventarerecordedasapplicable.
SurveysandProceduresMonitoringsurveyswereconductedbetweenthefirstweekofJunethroughthefirstweekofSeptemberin2016,2017,and2018,tocapturedatapointswithinbreedingcoloniesatamaximumof41sitesperyear.Thiseffortwaspossibleasaresultofthemorethan600hoursperyearbyatotalof61volunteers.Thesehoursincludebothtransportationandon-sitetime.Asitesurveyteamconsistsofatleastoneperson,butideallytwoormore,arrivingatthedesignatedsitenolaterthan7:45amtoconductunadjustedpointcensusofPIGUatthesite(Bibby,Jones,&Marsden,1998;Gregory,Gibbons,&Donald,2004)andrecordvariousdataelementsforonehour.Anobserver/surveyteamwillgototheirdesignatedsiteonceaweek,foratleasttenweeksfromthestartdate.Eachsiteisclosedaftertenweeks,iftherehavebeenatleasttwoconsecutiveweekswithoutburrowactivity(thedeliveryofpreytotheburrow).Ifthetwoweekshavenotbeenmetattheten-weektimeframe,thesurveyscontinueuntiltherearetwoconsecutiveweekswithoutburrowactivity.Sitesmaybeclosedearlierthan10weeksiftherehasbeennoburrowactivity,withthepermissionoftheScienceDirector.Mostsurveysitesareaccessibleviabeachaccessbyfoot,butallofthesitesonKetronIslandareonlyaccessiblebyboat(KetronFerry,KetronNE,andKetronSW).Visualobservationsofbirdsandburrowactivityaretypicallyaugmentedbytheuseofbinoculars.InordertominimizedisturbanceandinfluenceonthePIGUs,volunteerstypicallysitofftothesideofthesite,positionedinsuchamannerthatitispossibletosimultaneouslymonitoralltheburrowsandactivityonthewater.SincePIGUaremoreapttobeattheirburrowsonmorningswithahightide(Vermeer,Morgan,K.H.,&Smith,1993),thiscancauseaccessdifficultyduringespeciallyhightideswhileobservingtheBeachcrest,ButterballCove,LylePoint,SandyPoint,Totten,andZanglecolonies;andadjustmentsofsurveydatesisallowabletomitigatetheseeffects.Withineachsite,burrowswerenumbered,andburrowactivitywasattributedtothespecificburrowsastheyoccurred.PIGUenteringburrowswithoutfoodwasconsideredasanattempttochooseasiteforlayingorincubation,andtheburrowwasdesignated“occupied.”Whenfishwerebroughttotheburrowitwasdesignatedasa“chickburrow.”Preywereidentifiedaseithergunnel(Pholidae)orsculpin(Cottidae).Anyunidentifiedfish,orthosefromotherfamilieswerereportedas“otherprey”delivered.
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Figure2.Typicalsurveysite;exposedsedimentarybluffwithmoderatesizedholespreferredbyPIGU(NRAR,n.d.).SitesA“site”isthelocationfromwhichobservationsaremadeofthePIGU“colony”inthatlocation.Eachcolonyisadiscretesample,andthesurveyteamsconductacensusforthatsampleduringeachvisit(Gregory,etal.,2004).Acolonycanhavemultiplesitesdesignatedusingaletteringsystem(A,B,C),baseduponthetimeofburrowactivitydiscovery.Therefore,thecolonyisnamedforthesite,andsitevisitsareofthatcolony.Namesaretypicallyassociatedwithgeographiclandmarksmarkedonmapssuchaspoints,coves,bays,orincaseswherethereisn’taprominentland/waterfeature,roadnamesorneighborhoodnamesareused.Siteselectionwasdeterminedusingreportsandobservation.Initialeffortswerebasedonanecdotal,wordofmouthreportsof‘historical’breedingcolonies,whichwerevisitedbeginninginfallof2012tolocateandassessthehabitat.Validationofsitesforusecontinuesannually,andincludesobservingnewlyreportedpotentialsites.Siteswerechosenbyvisitinglikelybreedingareas.IfPIGUwereobservedintheimmediatevicinityofburrows,visitingburrows,ordeliveringfish,thelocationwasselectedforsurvey.Colonyaccesswas,andstillcontinuestobe,asignificantdriverofsurveyinclusionsincemostsitesarelocatedonprivatebeaches.
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SitesaretypicallycharacterizedbyhighbankswithexposedfacespockmarkedwithburrowsofvaryingsizesasseeninFigure2.Thesmallestburrowsareusedbyswallows,whilekingfishersusesmalltomediumburrows,withPIGUsusingmediumtolargeburrows.
Figure3.Mapof2016-2018SouthSoundPigeonGuillemotsurveylocations(Lee,2019).Numberedsitesareconsideredreportable,andletteredsiteswereincompletelysurveyed.ParentheticalnumbersonTable2correlatesreportablesitenumbersonmapwithsitename.Siteswithmultiplenumbersareduetomapscale.Siteswereaddedorremovedfrommonitoringeachyear.Thenumberofunmonitoredsiteswas27in2016,14in2017,and16in2018.Theseunmonitoredsitesaresubtractedfromthetotalnumberofsiteswehavesurveyed(n=53)overthetotaldurationofthestudy.Asanexample,ifanewsitewasaddedin2018,itiscountedasanunmonitoredsitefor2016and2017,eventhoughitdidnotexistasasiteatthosetimes.Figure3representsthegeographicextentofourstudyarea,andlabelsthevastmajorityofsurveyedsites.Labellingexceptionsareforthosecombinedsiteswhichareincloseproximitytooneanotherandidentifiedonlyasthecombinedsitelocation.TheinsetindicatesthethreesitesonthenorthernendofHarstineIsland(b,d,andf),andthesiteonHopeIsland(e).RecordkeepingSurveyobservationsarerecordedonastandardizeddatasheet(AppendixA)pertheprotocolestablishedatWhidbeyIsland(AppendixB),andenteredintothewww.pigeonguillemotdata.orgdatabase,thatisoperatedbytheWhidbeyIslandgroup.ThesheetisrequestedtobeturnedintotheNRNCwithinoneweekofthesurveydatebythesitevolunteers.
Notshownatthisscale, see2ReportablesiteCombinedsitewithallsites
reportableCombinedsitewithout allsites
reportable,butcombined isreportable
Othersite/other combined site
*
HarstineIsland
SeeInsetMapEnlargement
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Thesurveydatasheetrequestsbasicinformationaboutthesurveysite,suchasthenameofthesite,dateofsurvey,andtimeofsurveystart,tideinformationatthestartofthesurvey.Italsohasspaceforinformationabouttheobserversatthesitethatday;capturingtheteamleadnameandemail,namesofotherobservers,andthetotalvolunteertimeforthatsurvey.EachdatasheetismailedoremailedtotheNRNCforfilingandqualityassuranceandcontrolmeasures.Theactualdataentriescapturedonthesheetinclude:
• thesurvey’shighestPIGUabundancecount,withcountsatthebeginning/middle/endoftheallottedtime;
• burrownumberidentificationandnotesonusebytimestampofoccurrence(describedeitherasa“nopreydelivery,”orbyindicatingthetypeofpreydelivered);
• disturbancesexperiencedduringthesurvey,thetimeofoccurrence,typeanddurationofPIGUresponse;and
• additionalnotesabouttheburrowsorthecolony/site.Qualityassuranceandqualitycontrol(QA/QC)measuresstatedintheQAPP(AppendixC)areimplementedinallprojectsteps,includingensuringeachsheetiscomplete,thatthedataisenteredintothedatabase,andthesheetsareproperlyfiledwithintheNRNC.OneofthemostdifficultQA/QCtasksistoensureeachsurveyhastherespectivedatasheetonfileasabackuptotheonlinerecord,andthatlackhascausedsomepotentialdatatobeexcluded.ReportingIndividualAbundanceDataIncolonieswithmultiplesites,thebirdsarewellabletotraveltothoseothersitesnearby.Wherebirdscomingleandcouldpotentiallybedoublecounted,onlythehighestcountofPIGUatanyoneofthesiteswasdesignatedasthehighcountforthecombinedcolony(Gregory,etal.,2004,pp.41,44)(seebelowlist).Thiswouldonlybeshowniftherewasdataforthosesites.Thehighcountsofbirdsdidnotattempttodifferentiatebetweenbreedingpairsandnon-breedingbirdsinthismonomorphicspecies.Belowisalistofsitesforwhichtheindividualabundancedatawouldbereportedonlyunderthecombinedsitename:Andy’sMarineParkSouth+Andy’sMarineParkWest-->Andy’sMarineParkCombinedButterballCoveSouthA+ButterballNorth-->ButterballCoveCombinedEdgewaterA+B+C+D-->EdgewaterCombinedKetronSE+KetronSW-->KetronCombined(KetronFerryRemainsseparate)MillBightA+B-->MillBightCombined(MillBightCremainsseparate)Totten@ElizanATower+ANorth+ASouth+B-->Totten@ElizanCombinedTotten@Legacy+C-->Totten@LegacyCombinedWalnutRdA+B+C-->WalnutRdCombinedYoung’sCoveA+AWest+B-->Young’sCoveABCombinedYoung’sCoveC+D+F-->Young’sCoveCDFCombined(Young’sCoveEremainsseparate)ZangleCoveA+B+C-->ZangleCoveCombinedCitizenScienceTrainingSinceinceptionofthisproject,theNisquallyReachNatureCenterprovidedtrainingforvolunteersinatri-countyarea:inThurstonCountyattheNRNC,inPierceCountyonAndersonIsland,andinMasonCountyonHarstineIsland.Table1providesinformationonthenumberofvolunteerstrainedbysitebyyear,andindicatesiftheywerenewthatyearorareturningvolunteer.Atotalof31citizenscientists
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weretrainedin2016,47in2017,and24in2018.Returningvolunteersareencouragedtoattendthetraining,buttheirattendanceisnotrequired.Trainingprovidesaccesstodiversepopulationoflearnersatdifferentskilllevelsthroughuseofmultiplemethods,andincludes:backgroundinformationaboutPIGU,breedinghabitat,preyidentification,datacollection,anddataentry.Classroomsessionslastedanaverageoffourhours.Fieldorientationsareincludedaspartofthetrainingtodemonstratesitelocations,associatedburrows,andbestpracticesforsiteuseduringobservations/surveys.Table1.NumberofVolunteersTrainedbyYearandLocation.NumberofVolunteersTrainedbyYearandLocation.TrainingSite 2016 2017 2018 New Returning New Returning New Returning NRNC 9 8 24 15 9 10AndersonIsland 5 3 7 1 0 2 HarstineIsland 2 4 - - 2 1
TotalbyYear 31 47 24 Note:Table1onlyrecordsvolunteersattendingtheformaltrainingsessions,itdoesnotprovidetotalnumbersofvolunteers.ResultsSitesSiteswithsurveysthatmettheQAPPguidanceoftenweeks,withtwoconsecutiveweeksofnoburrowactivitytocloseouttheseason,wereconsidered‘reportable’sites(aslistedinTable2,andthroughoutthisdocument).DespitehavingninesurveysBigFishTrapwasincludedinthislist,becausethesitewasclosedwithintheQAPPguidelinesforlowactivity.Therewere15reportablesitesin2016,17in2017,and22in2018.Othersitessurveyed(15sitesin2016,24sitesin2017,and15sitesin2018)throughoutthethreeyearsdidnotmeetthecriteriaofproviding10weeksofdata.However,theseothersiteshadgoodobservationsofbirdnumbers,preydeliverybytypeandnumber,andburrowusage,andareincludedasadditionaldatainthe‘adjusted’figuresthatareusedthroughoutthereportinordertopresentamorecompletepictureoftotalPIGUactivityintheSouthSound.Ofthe53totalpotentialsites,notallsitesweresurveyedeachyear,norweretheycompletelysurveyedeachyear.In2016,31separatesitesweresurveyed.Ofthesesites,20werecompletedbutfourwerenotinaccordancewithQAPPguidelinesandarenotconsideredinthe‘reportable’category(seeTable2forreportablesitesbyyear).Additionally,four2016siteswereincompletelysurveyedduetositeinactivity,threebecauseofvolunteerissues,twowereprematurelyclosed,andoneduetolatestart.Tensiteswereaddedin2017foratotalof41whichweresurveyed.Twenty-onewerecompleted,howeverfoursiteswereagainnotinaccordancewiththeQAPPandarenotreportable.NinesiteswereclosedduetolackofPIGUactivity,fivesiteswereincompletelysurveyedduetovolunteerissues,threewereprematurelyclosed,andtwohadlatestarts(anadditionaleffectofthevolunteerissuesforthesites).In2018therewere37sitessurveyed.Twenty-fiveofthesewerecompleted,22arereportableandthreewerenotreportable.SixsiteswereclosedduetolackofPIGUactivity,fourexperiencedvolunteerissues,twowerestartedlate,andonewasprematurelyclosed.SincetheKetronsitesmustbe
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accessedbyboat,thelackofboatcaptainsseverelyhampersourmonitoringabilityinthoselocations.Table2,below,showsthenumberofvisitstoeachofthereportablesitesoverthreeyears,andthenumberofothersitessurveyedbyyear,withasummationofthetotalsitessurveyedperyear.Table2.NumberofVisitsPerReportableSite.NumberofVisitsPerReportableSiteasSurveyed2016-2018andTotalNumberofSurveyedSites(dataextractedfromannualreportsathttp://www.pigeonguillemotdata.org)._____________________________________________________________________________________ SiteName NumberofVisits 2016 2017 2018 (1)Andy’sMarineParkSouth 14 (1)Andy’sMarineParkWest 10(2)BeachcrestWest 12(3)BigFishTrap 9 11 10(4)BriscoePoint 10(5)BurfootPark 11 11 16(6)ButterballCoveSouthA 14 12 12(6)ButterballNorth 16 10(7)ColePoint 10(8)EdgewaterA 11(8)EdgewaterB 12(8)EdgewaterC 10(8)EdgewaterD 10(9)Flapjack 11(10)Hearthfire 11 10(11)HigginsCove 10(12)LylePoint 12 11(13)MillBightA 12 13 11(13)MillBightB 13 12 12(14)MillBightC 11(15)SandyPoint 14(16)Totten@ElizanANorth 10(17)Totten@ElizanC 10(17)Totten@Legacy 10(18)WalnutRoadA 10 10(18)WalnutRoadB 12 11(18)WalnutRoadC 10 11(19)Young’sCoveA 11 11 13(20)Young’sCoveC 11 11 12(20)Young’sCoveD 10 10 12(21)Young’sCoveE 15
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(22)ZangleCoveA 15(23)Zittel’sMarina 11
TotalReportableSites 16 17 22TotalOtherSites 15 24 15 TotalSitesSurveyed 31 41 37
Note:ParentheticalnumbersbeforethesitenamecorrespondtolocationsindicatedonFigure2;notallsitesarereportableandareconsidered“othersites,”indicatedbylettersonFigure2.These“othersites”include:a.BeachcrestEast;b.FernCreek;c.GullHarbor;d.HarstinePointeLagoon;e.HopeIslandNE;f.JarrellCoveStatePark;g.KetronFerry;h.KetronCombined;andi.PriestPointPark.IndicationofMaximumAbundanceTheabundanceofPIGUwascalculatedbyaddingthehighestcountofPIGUseenthroughouttheyear’sweeklysurveysateachreportedsite(Table3),followingthemethodologyfromWhidbeyIsland(Bishop,etal.,2016).AsonWhidbeyIsland(Bishop,et.al.,2016),thenumbersofbirdscountedandtheresultingindicationsofmaximumabundancedonotincludebirdswhowerenotseenforthereasonsofremainingwithinburrows,orabsentfromthecolonyfortheentiresurveytime,nordotheyattempttoexcludebirdswhomayhavetraveledfromanothercolonytothesitebeingsurveyed.Themethodssection,above,indicateswhichcolonieshavemultiplesitesandwhicharelistedas“combined”(inTable3)forthepurposesofcountingthenumberofPIGU;thehighcountisdeemedtobethesinglehighestvaluefromanyofthesiteswithinthecolony.Table3,below,providesPIGUhighcountsperreportablesite.OthersitehighcountswereaddedtothereportablesitestoprovideanaggregateannualtotalasanindicatorofPIGUindividualabundanceintheSouthSound,asshownatthebottomofTable3.Table3.ReportableIndicationsofMaximumAbundance.ReportableIndicationofMaximumAbundance(HighCount)bySiteasSurveyed2016-2018(dataextractedfromannualreportsathttp://www.pigeonguillemotdata.org). SiteName HighCountofPIGU 2016 2017 2018 Andy’sMarineParkCombined 20 BeachcrestWest 19BigFishTrap 12 6 16BriscoePoint 18BurfootPark 13 14 10ButterballCoveCombined 20 29 33ColePoint 19EdgewaterCombined 26Flapjack 15
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Hearthfire 8 3HigginsCove 20LylePoint 28 27MillBightCombined 15 26 24MillBightC 7SandyPoint 22Totten@ElizanCombined 5Totten@Legacy 6WalnutRoadCombined 32 41Young’sCoveABCombined 11 9 10Young’sCoveCDFCombined 10 10 9Young’sCoveE 6ZangleCoveCombined 6Zittel’sMarina 6TotalReportableSiteHighCount 172 182 257TotalOtherSitesHighCount 144 209 69 TotalAdjustedAnnualHighCount 299 374 313 (IndicationofPIGUMaximumAbundanceinSouthPugetSound)
Note:Onlythehighestvalueforofallsub-siteswaslistedastheentryforacombinedsiteandincludedintothetotals.TheinclusionofthevaluesforothersitesintotheAdjustedHighCountisnotstraightadditionofthereportableandothersitestotals,asseveraloftheothersitesweresub-sitesreportedunderacombinedsite.Aone-wayANOVAwasrunforthethreeyears’datafromreportablesitesandindicatedtherewasnostatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenorwithinthemeasuresofmaximumabundancereported[F(2,35)=1.07,p=0.353963],norbetweenorwithintheadjustedmaximumabundancefigures[F(3,70)=0.29,p=0.749158].TheseresultslendcredencetothehypothesisthatthenumbersarerepresentativeoftheabundanceofPIGUoverthestudyperiodandarea.TheadjustedaverageyearlyindexofmaximumabundancefortheSouthSoundwas329individuals.ThesitewithlargestabundancewastheWalnutRoadCombinedcolony,withahighcountof41PIGUin2018,andthesmallestwastheHearthfirecolonywith3PIGUalsoin2018.Anaverageabundancepersite(usingeachdailyhighcount)wasnotcalculatedsincehighcountswereconsideredthepeakfortheseason.Asadditionaldataiscollected,itwillbepossibletocompareabundancedatafromyeartoyearateachspecificsite.
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Figure4.SumofindicationofmaximumabundanceofPigeonGuillemots.AnnualandaverageindicationsofmaximumabundanceofPigeonGuillemotsatreportablecoloniesduringJunetoSeptember,2016through2018inSouthPugetSound(2016:nsites=16;2017:nsites=17;2018:nsites=22)ascomparedtoadjustedcolonydata(2016:nsites=31;2017:nsites=41;2018:nsites=37)inthesecondcolumnofeachyear.BurrowsNumberofoccupiedburrows(identifiedbyvisitsintoburrowswithoutpreydelivery)werecomparedtothenumberburrowswithpreydeliveryvisits,identifiedas‘chickburrows.’Occupiedburrows,forreportablesites,numbered27in2016,25in2017,and44in2018.Chickburrowswere25in2016,29in2017,and36in2018.Theadjustedoccupiedburrowswere48,61,and52,and39,49,and40forchickburrows,ineachyearrespectively,beginningat2016.IndividualresultsbyreportablesitearepresentedinTable4.Aone-wayANOVAwasrunforthethreeyears’dataandindicatedtherewasnostatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenorwithintheamountofoccupiedversuschickburrowsreported[F(2,52)=0.73,p=0.487].Table4.ReportableOccupiedandChickBurrowsbysite.ReportableOccupiedandChickBurrowsbySiteasSurveyed2016-2018(dataextractedfromannualreportsathttp://www.pigeonguillemotdata.org). SiteName BurrowType 2016 2017 2018 Occupied Chick OccupiedChick Occupied Chick Andy’sMarineParkSouth * * 3 3 * *Andy’sMarineParkWest * * 1 1 * *
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BeachcrestWest Note Note Note Note 0 2BigFishTrap 1 0 0 0 1 1BriscoePoint Note Note Note Note 8 3BurfootPark 4 3 5 4 5 4ButterballCoveSouthA 6 3 4 4 4 4ButterballNorth * * 1 2 0 0ColePoint 3 3 * * * *EdgewaterA * * * * 0 1EdgewaterB * * * * 2 3EdgewaterC * * * * 1 0EdgewaterD * * * * 1 1Flapjack Note Note Note Note 3 3Hearthfire * * 0 0 0 0HigginsCove 2 2 Note Note Note NoteLylePoint 3 4 Note Note 5 2MillBightA 1 1 0 1 1 2MillBightB 2 2 2 2 2 2MillBightC 0 0 Note Note Note NoteSandyPoint * * 3 3 * *Totten@ElizanANorth 0 1 Note Note Note NoteTotten@ElizanC 0 1 Note Note * *Totten@Legacy 0 1 Note Note Note NoteWalnutRoadA Note Note 2 3 0 1WalnutRoadB Note Note 0 1 3 2WalnutRoadC Note Note 1 1 1 1Young’sCoveA 3 2 0 2 2 2Young’sCoveC 1 1 1 1 2 0Young’sCoveD 1 1 2 0 1 1Young’sCoveE Note Note Note Note 2 1ZangleCoveA Note Note 0 1 Note NoteZittel’sMarina 0 0 * * * *TotalReportableSites 27 25 25 29 44 36TotalOtherSites 21 14 36 20 8 4
AdjustedAnnualTotal 48 39 61 49 52 40
*Sitenotsurveyedduringtheyearindicated.Note.Sitenotreportablefortheyearindicated,burrowfiguresforthesesitesareincludedinthe“othersites”categoryfortheindicatedyear.Datagatheredatnon-reportablesitesisincludedinthe“totalothersites”calculationsofburrowusagebyyear,theresultsofwhicharelistedinTable4.Theinclusionofthisdatachangedthenumberof
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burrowsinbothcategories,adding21,36,and8occupiedburrows,aswellas14,20,and4chickburrows,respectively.Therewasnostatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenorwithinthereportableoccupiedburrowsbyyear[one-wayANOVAproducedF(2,50)=0.2,p=0.819383],orfortheadjustedoccupiedburrowsbyyear[one-wayANOVAproducedF(2,94)=1.11,p=0.333839].Thisisalsotrueofthereportablechickburrows[F(2,50)=0.41,p=0.665861]ascomparedtotheadjustedchickburrows[F(2,940)=2.1,p=0.128165].The3-yearmeansforeachburrowtypeare32.00forreportableoccupied,30foradjustedoccupied,53.57forreportablechick,and42.67adjustedchickburrows.Theannualtotalsofreportableactiveburrows(thosewitheithertypeofactivity:occupiedorchickburrowdesignations)were:2016–31,2017–32,and2018–55.ThisdiffersfromthetotalsinTable4,becausesomeburrowsmayhaveonlybeenreportedasachickburrow,andwerenotobservedasoccupiedburrows,andarebasedonthediscreteburrowidentificationnumbersassigned.Adjustedactiveburrowsnumbered:2016–56,2017–75,and2018–64.Overall,theoccupancypercentageofreportableoccupiedburrowswas89.29%andreportablechickburrowswas76.27%.Whenusingallavailabledata,thepercentageofadjustedoccupiedburrowswas76.27andadjustedchickburrowswas65.64%.PreyDeliveryThedateoffishdeliverytoburrowswasmonitoredandrecorded,andthedatawasusedtocalculatereportableandadjustedratesoffishdeliveryperhouracrossthethreeyears,andtodeterminethree-yearmeanratesofdelivery.Prey-typedeliveryrecordswereusedtodeterminethedeliveryproportionsbetweengunnel,sculpin,andotherprey.IneachyearthePIGUatthereportablecoloniesdeliveredover2fishperhourtotheirburrows,withameanvalueof2.53fishperhour(Table5).TherewasnostatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenorwithintheamountofreportedpreydeliveredbyyearasshowninTable5[F(2,42)=1.37,p=0.265228].Thetwositeswiththehighestdeliveryratesin2016wereBurfootPark(2.33)andButterballCoveSouthA(2.78);in2017theywereButterballCoveSouthA(5.67)andMillBightB(8.67);andin2018theywereFlapjack(4.75)andButterballCoveSouthA(6.50).Thethelowestdeliveryratesin2016were1.00atfourseparatesites;in2017thelowestwasalso1.00atWalnutRoadB,followedbyAndy’sMarineParkWest(1.33);andin2018Young’sCoveAhadthelowestdeliveryrate(1.17)andBigFishTrap(1.33)justabove.Table5.RateofFishDeliverytoHatchlingsperHouratReportableSites.RateofFishDeliverytoHatchlingsperHouratReportableSitesSurveyed2016-2018(dataextractedfromannualreportsathttp://www.pigeonguillemotdata.org).
ReportableFishDeliveryRate 2016 2017 2018 3-YearMeanValues HourswithFishDelivery 49 62 69 60.00NumberFishDelivered 102 175 178 151.67Rate 2.08 2.82 2.58 2.53
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Table6providestheadjustedrateofdeliveryforallfishovertheyearsofthisstudy.TheadditionaldatadidnotchangetheratesmuchfromthereportablefiguresinTable5.Theseresultswerenotstatisticallydifferentinaone-wayANOVA[F(2,63)=1.81,p=0.313977].Theadditionallyreportedothersitesvariedbetweentheyearswith8in2016,10in2017,and3in2018.Forthethree-yeartotal,thesesitesadded59hourswith136fishdelivered.Table6.AdjustedRateofFishDeliverytoHatchlingsperHour.AdjustedRateofFishDeliverytoHatchlingsperHouratallSitesSurveyed2016-2018(dataextractedfromannualreportsathttp://www.pigeonguillemotdata.org).
AdjustedFishDeliveryRate 2016 2017 2018 3-YearMeanValues HourswithFishDelivery 69 93 77 79.67NumberFishDelivered 145 249 197 197.00Rate 2.10 2.68 2.56 2.47
Thetotalpreydeliverieswerenotsignificantlydifferentbetweenandwithinthethreeyearsofthisreportinaone-wayANOVA(F(2,45)=1.16,p=0.322682).Theadditionoftheexcludedsitesincreaseddeliveriesofpreyspeciesbyalmost300,andisatFigure6.Theadjustedpreydeliverieswerenotsignificantlydifferentforthethreereportedyears(F(2,45)=1.06,p=0.354946).
Figure5.3-Yearsummaryofreportedpreydeliveriesbyweek,allpreycombined.Thepeakinthepreydeliverychartscoincidewiththetimingbetweenincubationandfledging,anddecreasesafterfledging.Thetotaltimeforincubationandfledgingisbetween60to74days(National
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AudubonSociety,n.d.;Vermeer,Morgan,K.H.,&Smith,1993).SinceadultPIGUeatwhilstonthewater,allpreydeliveriestoburrowsareconsideredtobeforchickconsumption.
Figure6.Adjusted3-Yearsummaryofpreydeliveriesbyweek,allpreycombined.PIGUdeliveredatotalof328gunnels,95sculpins,and32otherprey(Figure7)overthethree-yearperiod,tochicksinreportedburrows,withoutstatisticaldifferencebetweentheyearsbyfishtypedelivered[gunnelone-wayANOVA(F(2,51)=0.7,p=0.501293),sculpinone-wayANOVA(F(2,52)=0.42,p=0.659256),andotherpreyone-wayANOVA(F(2,52)=0.13,p=0.878380)].Preychoice,basedonnumbersdeliveredtoburrowsareshowninFigures7and8.IntheSouthSound,PIGUarehighlyselectiveofgunnelsastheirpreferredspecies(71-72%),withsculpinstheirnextpreference(21-22%),andfinally,anyotherspeciesataconsistent7%,despiteadjustments.
Figure7.Reportable3-Yeartotalpreydeliveredtoburrows.PreydeliveredtoburrowsatreportablesitesduringJunetoSeptember,2016through2018inSouthPugetSound(2016:nsites=16;2017:nsites=17;2018:nsites=22).
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Figure8.Adjusted3-Yeartotalpreydeliveredtoburrows.TotalpreydeliveredtoburrowsateachsurveyedcolonyduringJunetoSeptember,2016through2018inSouthPugetSound,withtheadditionofexcludedsitestothebaseofthereportedsitesinFigure5(2016:nsites=31;2017:nsites=41;2018:nsites=37).DiscussionTodate,wehavesixyearsofdata-threeofwhichareincludedinthisreport.However,asevidencedinTable2,notallsiteswereconsistentlysurveyedoverthattime.Variousfactorscanleadtolessthantheminimumnumberofsurveysconductedincluding:earlybreeding,PIGUinactivity,tideheights,and/orvolunteerissues.Islandlocaleshaveprovenchallengingtorecruitandretainvolunteers.Moreeffortwillberequiredtoresumemonitoringatanumberofsites.Multiplekeysiteshavebeenidentified(Andy’sMarinePark,Higgin’sCove,LylePoint,SandyPoint)andwillbeprioritizedincomingyears,aswellasthoseforwhichwehaveidentifiedadatashortfallinnothavingreportabledatawith10surveydates.Thesearedeemedkeysites,becausePIGUsarefrequentlyobservedusingthebreedinghabitatonanannualbasisbybirdersandbeachgoers.NRNCstaffhaveobservedbirdsattheselocationsduringtransitwhileconductingothersurveysorduringsitevisitsforreasonsotherthantoconductbreedingsurveys.Additionally,10-weekmonitoringforallsiteswouldcreateamorerobustdataset.Improvingtrainingbyemphasizingthehowcrucialitistohave10consecutiveweeksofsurveysinorderforthedatatobeanalyzedwouldprovidebasisforamorecompletedataset.ThenumberofPIGUobservedforsitessurveyedatleast10weeksforallthreeyearsgenerallydidnotvarymuch(Table4).ThisindicatesalevelofstabilityinindividualPIGUnumbers,butmoredataisneededtoverifywhetheritremainstrueornot.AccordingtotheUSFishandWildlifeService(2006),theworldpopulationofthisspeciesisestimated,and“useofunsystematiccensustechniquespermitsdetectionofonlydramaticchangesandlittletrendinformationisavailable.”ThissurveyattemptstorectifythatsituationwithintheNRNCsphereofinfluence.Documentingphysicalhabitatchangesatthebreedingsitescouldpossiblyexplainwhythenumberofbirdsobservedchangesfromyeartoyear,especiallyinlightoftheirpropensitytowardburrowfidelity(Evenson,etal.,2003).Ifthereisadecreaseinavailableburrows,thenumberofbirdswouldchangeunlesstheycouldadaptindifferentwayssuchasdifferentbreedingpairsutilizingburrowsatdifferenttimesduringtheseasonorpotentiallyfindingdifferenthabitatselsewhere.Gunnelsarethemostcommonpreyofchoiceacrossallyearsofthisstudy(Figures7and8).Theyarealmostalwaysobservedatleastthreetimesasoftenassculpins.Thisstabilityinpreycomposition
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suggeststhatPigeonGuillemotpreyspecieshaveremainedatequallyhealthylevelsduringthisstudyperiod.Moredataisneededtodetectanylongtermchangesandtrends.Moreconsistentdatacollectionacrossallsiteswouldgiveamorecompletepictureofthepreycompositionthroughouttheregion.AquestionofthePIGUpreycompositioniswhythereissuchastrongpreferenceforgunneloversculpin.Theyarebothbenthicfishthatutilizesimilarhabitatsandareoftenfoundinthesameareas.AstudyofMandt’sBlackGuillemotsfoundintheArcticshowedthatreproductivesuccesswastiedtopreytype;dietshighincodresultedingreatersuccesswhiledietshighinsculpinresultedingreaterfailure(Waters,2017).Sculpinweredeterminedtorepresentapoordietchoiceduetothebonynatureofthefishanddifficultyindigestion.Retreatingseaiceasaresultofrapidclimatechangeledtodecreasedavailabilityofcod,whichforcedtheguillemotstoseeklessdesirableprey(Waters,2017).Althoughbothbirdsandpreyaredifferentspeciesinthecitedstudy,thesimilaritycouldexplainwhyPIGUsprefergunnelstosculpins.Litzow,Piatt,Prichard,andRoby(2001)conductedastudycomparingthelipidcontentofthelocalPIGUpreythatmayprovidefurtherinsightsintopreferencetowardsgunnels,evenintheSouthSound.TheincreasingpressureofclimatechangecouldpotentiallyhaveaneffectonpreyavailabilityinPugetSoundaswatersbecomewarmer,oronthebirds,themselves.PIGUarelistedbytheNationalAudubonSociety(2014)as“climatethreatened”ontheirwebsite.SomeoftheeffectswecananticipatearethatPIGUwillbeginexperiencingadditionalpopulationpressures,suchasfailedbreedingattemptsin“unusuallywarmwatertemperatures”(NationalAudubonSociety,n.d.).Additionally,theirpopulationnumbersmaydropintheSouthSound,astheymayberequiredtomovenorthtofindmorefavorableclimacticconditionsfortheirsurvival.PIGUarehighlysusceptibletoenvironmentalchanges,suchasoilspills(Bixler,2010;USFishandWildlifeService,2006)duetotheirsensitivitytothemarineenvironment,andtheyexperiencetheeffectslongerthanmanyotherspecies.OilorotherhazardousmaterialsspillsintotheenvironmentthatchangetheirfoodavailabilitywouldaffectPIGUsooner,andlongerthanotherspecies.Itisanticipatedthatthedatacollectedduringthisstudycouldbeappliedtonaturalresourcedamageassessmentintheeventofanoilspillorotheranthropogeniccatastrophe,mitigationofanyconsequencesofthosehazards,andusedforaquaticreservemanagement.TheadoptionofthisCitizenScienceprojectdevelopedwiththeintenttogatherandreportdataregardingaspecificindicatorbirdspecies,toestablishabaselineofdata.Thisbaselinemaybeusetoindicateimpactstothatpopulationviacontinuedobservationwithinthestudyarea,orusedforextrapolationtootherareas,inconjunctionwiththeirstudies.Baselinesareveryimportanttodeterminewhetherornotthereisanissuebeingobservedandagainstwhichonecanmeasurechangeefforts.Baselinesareusuallyanexpressionof“normal”asareferenceframewithanexpectationofsomethingthatisdesirable,andareusedtosetthestandardagainstwhichworktoimproveormaintainthebaselineisset(Bull,Gordon,Law,Suttle,&Milner-Gulland,2014).Intheecologicalmanagementcommunity,baselinesareanattempttodefinethetruenaturalstatusofanecosystem(Bull,etal.,2014;Gattietal,2015),andmaybeusedasagoaltoreturntoaftersomeeventthatdisruptsaspeciesorecosystem-theymaybeatargetforrestorationwork.Baselinesmayalsobeusedformaintenanceofanareaorspecies-monitoringhowincreasingpressuresareeffectingthetargetinordertonotdeviatefromaspecifiedmeasure.Alternatively,baselinesmayinformtheneedforinterventionsasunnecessary,orwhetherspecificmethodsusedareworkingtosolvetheissue.Despitetheneedforbaselinestoincludeinformationoveraperiodoftime,thereisnotaspecifictimerequirementfor
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incorporationintosettingone,althoughatimelineof3-5yearsiscommonlyusedwithinecosystemstudies.Theconceptofshiftingbaselineswasintroducedintheliteratureinthemid-1990sbyPauly(1995),whoidentifiedthatthespanofacareerwasthebaselineusedbyindividualstoevaluatechangesinafishery.Theconceptofshiftingbaselineshasbecomewidelyusedinmanyfields,andisnowusedtodescribedastheincrementalshiftingweexperienceovertimeaschangesoccurandhowthataltersdecisionmakingtodeterminewhatthebaselineisforanareaorspecies.Longer-termstudiescaninformthatlossofinformationandprovidebetter“referencepointsforevaluating...losses...oridentifying...rehabilitation”requirements(Pauly,1995).Withthisinmind,thePIGUmonitoringatNCRCisintendedtocontinueindefinitely,toprovidethebestinformationpossibleintheeventofacatastrophiceventtowardthegoalofrecovery,hereorinotherareasofthePIGUrange.RecommendationsandImprovementsAnumberofrecommendationsweremadeovertheyearstoimprovespatialcoverage,training,datacollection,andqualitycontrol.Theimplementationofsomeoftheserecommendationsincreasedthenumberofsitesmonitored,providedbettertrainedvolunteers,improveddataquality,andmoreenhancedqualitycontrolmeasures.Thereremainsomerecommendationstobefullyimplementedorconsidered,andsomeclarificationstobemade.Recommendationsforfollowingyearswereincludedinreportsattheendofeachseasonusingresultsofinformalsurveyevaluationsanddebriefings.ThefollowingrecommendationsweremadeattheendofYEAR6(2018)andwillbeimplementedinYEAR7(2019):
• Refocussurveyeffortsonsiteswithpreviousdocumentedburrowactivitywherefishdeliverieswereobservedtoensurecompletecoverageofsaidsitesfortheentiretyofthesurveyseason
• Ensureallmonitoringsiteshaveteamsizesadequateforcompletecoverage• Makeastrongerefforttoensurethatsitesaresurveyedfortheamountoftimerequiredto
ensuredataintegrity• Makesureallsurveysareconductedaccordingtotheestablishedprotocolanddesignateteam
leadstoperformfieldlevelqualitycontrol• Continueexploringoptionsforlong-termdatastorageanddatavisualization• Exploreoptionsforadditionalextendedmorningsurveysand/ormid-dayorafternoonsurvey
datawhichmayyieldinformationaboutpatternsandfrequencyoffeeding• Conductpreseasonsurveysonamoreconsistentbasistoensurecompleteness• Hireinternsforfallandwinterterms.Thisshouldresultinearliercompilingandanalysisofdata
andreleaseofresults,provideearlierfeedbackandrewardtovolunteersfortheirefforts,andallowplanningforthefollowingseasontobeginearlier
• Postpastseasons’reportsonNRNCwebsiteand/orcreatea2-pagehighinterestsummaryforthepublic
• Pairnewvolunteersandthosewhorequestitwiththeinternoranexperiencedvolunteerwhowillprovideadditionalmentoring
• Facilitateamoreefficientprocessforsubmittingelectroniccopiesoffielddatasheetstoensurealldataisarchived
• Providedatabasetraining,probablyattwovenues• Changethenon-breedingdatabaseuserinterfacetoobtainmorecompleteanecdotal
observations• Developastandardfortheminimumnumberofsurveysinorderfordatatobeincludedin
statisticalanalysis
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Ourplantocollect10ormoreyearsofdataisintendedtoestablishastrongdatasetofabundance,breedingsites,andpatternsofpreyselection.WehopethisdatacanbeanalyzedfortrendsandpatternsorredflagsthatmightindicateanytroubleforPIGUpopulations.Wecontinuallyaddnewbreedingsitesastheyarediscoveredandwhenvolunteerscanberecruitedtoconductsurveysatthesesites.Somesitesarediscontinuedwhensurveydataindicatesthesitesarenotcurrentlyactiveforatleastonefullseason.Recruitingnewvolunteersisanongoingeffort.Weplanconductadvancedresearchtolearnmoreaboutotherfacetsthatarenotcurrentlybeingaddressedorhaveonlyreceivedcursoryattention.Pre-seasonsurveysareoneofthoseactivitiesthatwouldprovideinsightintohowearlysomesitesbecomeactiveandwhenchicksatthosesitesarehatching.Conductingsurveysduringothertimesofdaymayyieldinformationonhowmuchburrowactivityoccursoutsideofnormalsurveytimes.Wearealsoinitiatingeffortstolearnmoreaboutthepopulationdynamicsbystartingapilotbandingproject.Thiswouldallowustolearnaboutmaletofemaleratios,populationagestructureforasinglebreedingcolony,andsitefidelity.Anotherareaofinterestinthepilotbandingeffortwouldbetolearnmoreaboutmigrationpatterns.Weintendtoexplorethefeasibilityofsuchaproject.WehavechosennottochangemajormethodsintheprotocolswithoutdiscussionswithotherareaPIGUsurveys,especiallyWhidbeyIslandGuillemotGroup,whohavebeentheleadonthesurveyformanyyears.Wehopetokeepthesurveymethodsconsistentregion-wide,soregionalanalysisismorefeasible.Ongoingannualsurveyswillallowcomparisonsfromyeartoyear.Indoingso,changesinpopulationabundanceanddistributionmaybedetected.Ifdetected,causescouldbepotentiallyevaluatedandinvestigated.Additionally,thesesurveyswillfillexistingdatagaps.Synchronicityofdatawillallowforadvanceddataanalysisbyregionalresearchers.ThesesurveysmayalsobeusedinanyNaturalResourceDamageAssessmentintheeventofanoilspillorotherenvironmentaldisaster.
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six-yearmonitoringstudy.NorthwesternNaturalist,97,237-245.Availableathttp://www.pigeonguillemot.org/breeding-survey-resources-and-data.html
Bixler,K.S.(2010).Whyaren’tPigeonGuillemotsinPrinceWilliamSound,AlaskarecoveringfromtheExxonValdezoilspill?(Master’sthesis).Retrievedfromhttps://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/dz010t437
Bonebrake,T.C.,Christensen,J.,Boggs,C.L.,&Erlich,P.R.(2010).Populationdeclineassessment,historicalbaseline,andconservation.ConservationLetters,3(6),371-378.doi:10.1111/j.175-263X.2010.00139.x
Bull,J.W.,Gordon,A.,Law,E.A.,Suttle,K.B.,andMilner-Gulland,E.J.(2014).Importanceofbaselinespecificationinevaluatingconservationinterventionsandachievingnonetlossofbiodiversity.ConservationBiology,28(3),799-809.doi:10.1111/cobi.12243
Drent,R.H.(1965).BreedingbiologyofthePigeonGuillemot,Cepphuscolumba.Ardea,53(3-4),99-160.Evenson,J.R.,Nysewander,D.R.,Mahaffy,M.,Murphie,B.L.,&Cyra,T.A.(2003).Status,abundance,
andcolonydistributionofbreedingPigeonGuillemots(Cepphuscolumba)fromtheinlandmarinewatersofWashingtonState,asdocumentedbyPSAMPefforts,2000-2002inProceedingsfromGeorgiaBasin/PugetSoundResearchConference.
Ewins,P.J.(1993).PigeonGuillemot(Cepphuscolumba),version2.0.InTheBirdsofNorthAmerica(A.F.Poole&F.B.Gill,Eds.).CornellLabofOrnithology,Ithaca,NY,USA.doi:10.2173/bna.49
Gatti,G.,Biabchi,C.N.,Parravicini,V.,Rovere,A.,Peirano,A.,Montefalcone,M.,...Morri,C.(2015).Ecologicalchange,slidingbaselinesandtheimportanceofhistoricaldata:Lessonsfromcombiningobservationalandquantitativedataonatemperatereefover70years.PLoSONE10(2):e0118581.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118581
Gregory,R.D.,Gibbons,D.W.,&Donald,P.F.(2004).Birdcensusandsurveytechniques.InW.J.Sutherland,I.Newton,&R.Green,BirdEcologyandConservation,pp.17-56.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198520863.003.0002
Lee,T.(2019).Mapof2016-2018SouthSoundPigeonGuillemotbreedingsurveycolonylocations.Litzow,M.A.,Piatt,J.F,Prichard,A.K.,&Roby,D.D.(2002).ResponseofPigeonGuillemotstovariable
abundanceofhigh-lipidandlow-lipidprey.Oecologia,132,286-295.doi:10.1007/s00442-002-0945-1.
NationalAudubonSociety.(n.d.).Audubonfieldguide:PigeonGuillemot.Retrievedfromhttps://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/pigeon-guillemot
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Nelson,D.A.(1991).DemographyofthePigeonGuillemotonSoutheastFarallonIsland,California.TheCondor,93(3),765-768.doi:10.2307/1368213.
NisquallyReachAquaticReserve.(n.d.).Typicalsurveysite;exposedsedimentarybluffwithmoderatesizedholespreferredbyPIGU(photo).
NisquallyReachNatureCenter.(2016).Qualityassuranceprojectplan.Availableathttps://www.aquaticreserves.org/wp-content/uploads/2016-Pigeon-Guillemot_QAPP-NRNC-FINAL_0201UPDATE.pdf
Nysewander,D.R.,Evenson,J.R.,Murphie,B.L.,&Cyra,T.A.(2005).Reportofmarinebirdandmammalcomponent,PugetSoundambientmonitoringprogram,forJuly1992toDecember1999period
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[Unpublishedreport].Olympia,WA:WashingtonStateDepartmentofFishandWildlife,WildlifeManagementProgram,181pp.Retrievedfromhttps://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01135/
Pauly,D.(1995).Anecdotesandshiftingbaselinesyndromeoffisheries.TrendsinEcologyandEvolution,10(10),430.doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(00)89171-5
Pearson,S.F.,&Hamel,N.J.(2013).MarineandterrestrialbirdindicatorsforPugetSound.WashingtonDepartmentofFishandWildlifeandPugetSoundPartnership,Olympia,WA,55pp.Retrievedfromhttp://www.psp.wa.gov/vitalsigns/documents/Pearson%20and%20Hamel%20Bird%20Indicators%202013_Final.pdf
Pearson,S.F.(2016).Marinebirdpopulationabundance:Indicatorstatusandprogress.Retrievedfromhttp://www.psp.wa.gov/vitalsigns/in-marine-bird-population-abundance.php
PugetSoundSeabirdSurvey.(2018).MapofobservationsofPigeonGuillemotsinPugetSoundRetrievedfromhttp://seattleaudubon.org/seabirdsurvey/bird_detail.aspx?bird_id=222
Pyle,P.(2001).BeyondtheGoldenGate-Oceanography,geology,biology,andenvironmentalissuesintheGulfoftheFarallones:Seabirds(chapter)(USGeologicalSurveyCircular1198),pp.150-161.Retrievedfromhttps://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/c1198/chapters/150-161_Seabirds.pdf
Rosling,G.(n.d.).PigeonGuillemotonrock(sharedpersonalphoto).SeattleAudubonSociety.(n.d.).PigeonGuillemot.Retrievedfrom
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columba(Pallas).WallaWallaCollegePublications,DepartmentofBiologicalSciences,23,1-36.Vermeer,K.,Morgan,J.R.,&Smith,G.E.J.(1993).NestingbiologyandpredationofPigeonGuillemots
intheQueenCharlotteIslands,BritishColumbia.ColonialWaterbirds,16,119-127.Vermeer,K.,Morgan,K.H.,&Smith,G.E.J.(1993)."Colonyattendanceofpigeonguillemotsasrelated
totideheightandtimeofday".ColonialWaterbirds,16,1–8.USFishandWildlifeService(USFWS).2006.Alaskaseabirdinformationseries:PigeonGuillemots.
Retrievedfromhttps://www.fws.gov/alaska/mbsp/mbm/seabirds/pdf/pigu.pdfWashingtonDepartmentofNaturalResources(WDNR).2011.NisquallyReachAquaticReserve
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AppendixA:DataSheetBelowisthetwo-sideddatasheetusedinthisprojectforstandardizedrecordkeepingbetweenobservers:
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AssociateddatasheetsremainonfileattheNRAR.
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AppendixB:DataCollectionProtocolsUsed
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SouthPugetSoundandNisquallyReachAquaticReservePigeonGuillemotBreedingSurveys2016-2018MonitoringReport
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SouthPugetSoundandNisquallyReachAquaticReservePigeonGuillemotBreedingSurveys2016-2018MonitoringReport
AppendixC:QualityAssuranceProjectPlan(QAPP)Thequalityassuranceprojectplanwaswrittenin2016andhasbeenusedasthebasisformonitoringconductedfrom2016to2018.Thatplancanbefoundatthislink:https://www.aquaticreserves.org/wp-content/uploads/2016-Pigeon-Guillemot_QAPP-NRNC-FINAL_0201UPDATE.pdf