Demographic Processes and Population Dynamic Models of Seabirds

Abstract

Seabirds, like many taxa of birds in the 19905, face numerous conservation challenges. The primary challenge is to maintain or restore populations in the face of destruction of habitat, introduction of non-native predators, human disturbance (including hunting and collecting),.oil spills, and the like. The low reproductive rates and deferred maturity of seabirds exacerbate the problems (Buckley and Downer, 1992; Croxall and Rothery, 1991), which makes recovery from catastrophic events difficult or even impossible. Seen in this light, nearly all seabird populations can be categorized as “vulnerable,” if not “threatened” or “endangered”; hardly any can be categorized as “not vulnerable” (cf. Mace and Lande, 1991). Over the past decade a multitude of disturbances has affected seabirds, including several major oil spills, of which the Exxon Valdez oil spill is surely the most prominent (Rice et al., 1996; Piatt et al.,1990). Events such as these oil spills have focused the attention of the public, government agencies, and the scientific community on the doubled-headed question: What are the long-term effects of such disturbance, and can seabirds recover from the assault? Interest in answering questions like these is heightened by concern about major oceanographic perturbations, including El Nino events, and activities of commercial fisheries, which could very well undermine the prey base for many seabirds.