Monitoring Ancient Murrelet Breeding Populations

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Abstract
We examined methods for monitoring changes in Ancient Murrelet populations. Physical examination of burrows, the normal procedure for determining occupancy in most burrow-nesting seabirds, was found to cause frequent desertions. As deserted burrows were less likely than successful burrows to be occupied in subsequent years, we do not consider this method suitable for long-term population monitoring. We suggest either (1) inspecting burrows after the chicks have departed, at which time the remain of egg membranes given an accurate indication of successful breeding, or (2) using knock-down tags to monitor occupancy and catching chicks en route to the sea to monitor productivity. We did not find counts of vocalizations or arrivals at the colony to have any value for monitoring because of the extreme night-to-night variation. Nor did we find an optic-fibrescope or a telethermometer to be of any value in determining burrow occupancy.

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