Jacqueline Lindsey1, Emily Kelsey2, Corinne Gibble 3, Erica Donnelly-Greenan1,4, Hannah Nevins5, Scott Benson6, Robert McMorran7, James T. Harvey1, and BeachCOMBERS volunteers

Background Effort-based surveys detect major die-off events

BeachCOMBERS reflections on seabird mortality events

NAME DATES GROSS FINDINGS AGE CLASS NO. EXAMINED

Common Murre 2015 Aug-Jan Emaciation, potential HAB interaction (tests pending) After hatch year majority 41*

Brandt’s Cormorant 2015 Aug-Sep Emaciation Young of the year 10

Cassin’s Auklet 2014 Oct-Dec Emaciation Hatch year/ immature majority 32

Northern Fulmar 2010 Nov Emaciation, plastics Hatch year 34

Brandt’s Cormorant 2009 Apr-Jul Emaciation Adults majority 54

Common Murre 2007 Mar Emaciation Immature majority 44

Do oiled beaches always lead to oiled birds?

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BeachCOMBERS (Coastal Ocean Mammal and Bird Education and Research Surveys) conducts standardized monthly surveys of beachcast marine birds and mammals in Central and Southern California to assess trends in deposition and assist in the early detection of natural and anthropogenic mortality events.

113 trained volunteers survey 112 km of beaches between Santa Cruz and Los Angeles, CA (see map below). Methods: • Volunteers survey in pairs, once each month • They record data on each bird or mammal they

encounter, including: • Species, sex, age, oiling • External findings suggesting cause of death • Number of encounters (beach retention)

• Fresh carcasses are collected for necropsy at the Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center (MWVCRC) in Santa Cruz

• In 2013 South Coast region joined the program • Natural oil seeps are more common in this

region • Oil sampling and notation of oil on beach

segments began in 2013

Major funding and support:

• Oiled birds have been recorded since 1997 • Oil is noted as a suspected contributing factor to cause of death when birds

appear to have been floating alive (upright) in oil • More oiled birds are found during winter surveys

• Tarballs have been recorded on surveys since 2013 Take-away: Oiled birds are not found more frequently when more tarballs are reported

• Gross finding of emaciation can indicate limited prey abundance, increased competition for food, or a failure at seabird breeding colonies

• Harmful algal bloom toxin level detection can indicate that additional health factors contributed to the decline and eventual mortality of seabirds

Take-away: Post-survey necropsy results link each die-off to base causes

Fig. 1: Time series of oiled birds recorded each month (grey), oiled birds where the cause of death was thought to be linked to oil (purple), and tarballs recorded since 2013 (dashed).

Fig. 2: Mean monthly deposition per km for four species that experienced major mortality events in the last seven years: Common Murre, Brandt’s Cormorant, Cassin’s Auklet, and Northern Fulmar. Separate bars are depicted for the long-term average (with standard deviation) and years with a mortality event. Threshold for a die-off event (dashed line) is twice the standard deviation.

Table 1: Major findings of the necropsies of seabirds collected during major die-offs. Colors (yellow, red, blue, and green) link necropsy findings to species in Fig. 2. *Necropsy assistance by USGS National Wildlife Health Center.

1. Online visualization of monthly data trends will allow anyone timely access to detection of major die-offs. 2. Continued collaboration with MWVCRC will continue to improve our understanding of the causes of die-offs. 3. Expansion of standardized oil monitoring on beach surveys will provide baseline comparison for surveys conducted during oil spills, particularly on southern California beaches where natural oil seeps are common.

What’s next for BeachCOMBERS?

Collaboration with Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center

1BeachCOMBERS, 8272 Moss Landing Rd, Moss Landing, CA 95039, jackieklindsey@gmail.com; 2U.S. Geological Survey, 400 Natural Bridges Drive Santa Cruz, CA 95060; 3California Department of Fish and Wildlife/Office of Spill Prevention and Response, 1451 Shaffer Road Santa Cruz, CA 95060; 4Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge, 151 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060; 5American Bird Conservancy, P.O. Box 249 4249 Loudoun Ave. The Plains, VA 20198; 6National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 7544 Sandholdt Rd, Moss Landing, CA 95039l 7U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Rd. Suite B Ventura, CA 93003

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Oil on birds

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