Alaska's oceans are constantly changing with the seasons and from year to year. The 150 million seabirds that call these waters home for at least part of the year are forced to adapt to these changes for their survival. "Marine birds are dependent upon the ocean to make a living," said David Irons of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Their behavior, their diet and productivity, and their survival change in response to the ocean." Seabirds are strong indicators of major ocean changes, and can be used to forecast major shifts in the ocean climate.
Nearly 80% of the seabirds in the United States spend time in Alaska, and 36 of the 274 species breed in Alaska. They live in large colonies, sometimes with as many as 1 million birds at one nesting site, and have long lives and slow maturation. Because of their stability and long lives seabird populations do not often change drastically. And when they do, their fluctuations in populations can often be directly correlated to physical factors in the environment.
Murres, one of the more common seabirds in Alaska waters, suffer large population drops at their breeding sites if the temperature shifts by as little at one degree in either direction, according to Irons. The colony will only grow as long as the temperature is stable from year to year. Seabird behavior also give clues about the status of the other animals in their ecosystem. Black-legged Kittiwakes are known to love young herring as part of their diet. There is a correlation between the percentage of juvenile herring in the Kittiwakes diet and the number of adult herring that return three years later to spawn.
When a disaster strikes, seabirds suffer drastically. After the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989, bald eagles, oystercatchers, and most diving bird populations dropped dramatically. Many of the diving bird species are still suffering 15 years later. However, there are still many unexplained occurrences that leave researchers wishing for more information. Since 1970, fish-eating seabirds have been steadily declining by 4% each year. Scientists do not have enough information to link this occurrence to any specific cause.
It is this type of problem that highlights the importance of extensive long-term data. Real-time data of seabird behaviors is currently only possible through personal observation. However, real-time physical data sets allow for strong comparisons to be drawn between seabird behaviors and the environments in which seabirds live. The real time data sets of the physical properties of Prince William Sound that are being provided by the PWSOS can hopefully shed light on the environments in which the birds live, and give researchers a better idea of how these environments dictate the birds' behaviors.
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