Seabird Predation on Fishes in the Columbia River Plume

A project of Pacific Procellariid Research Consortium in conjunction with the partners and sponsors detailed below.

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Introduction

Fisheries scientists who want to understand fish survival need to know about the habitat use and feeding patterns of fish predators. During May through September, sooty shearwaters migrate from sub-Antarctic breeding colonies off New Zealand, Tasmania, and Chile to their feeding grounds off the west coast of North America. Sooty shearwaters occur in very large feeding flocks near the mouth of the Columbia River. Flocks frequently exceed 20,000 individuals, making them the most conspicuous and abundant piscivourous seabird predators in the region. Large flocks are often observed feeding at the turbulent boundary between fresh river water and salty ocean water (the ?plume front?). Young salmon migrating out of the Columbia River must successfully pass through this boundary to begin their ocean phase of life. To develop an understanding of how feeding flocks and young salmon interact in the plume environment, this project uses satellite tags and ship-based ocean surveys to gather information about shearwater habitat use, diet, and residency time in the Columbia River region.

Sooty shearwaters are good indicators not only of where high concentrations of schooling fish are located, but also of where other animals such as marine mammals and predatory fishes are likely to be found. Following the ecosystem links among birds, fish, and marine habitats is helping scientists determine why some areas of the ocean are more biologically productive than others. It is also shedding light on why shearwaters and other marine animals make such long-distance migrations between their breeding grounds and their wintering grounds.

Project Partners

This program involves scientists from NOAA Fisheries, Point Adams Research Station (Dr. Jen Zamon and Troy Guy), USGS Western Ecological Research Center (Josh Adams), Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (Dr. James Harvey), and Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge (Hannah Nevins). Technical & logistical support for the at-sea tagging is provided by

Point Adams Research Station and the Marine and Environmental Research Training Station at Clatsop Community College. Duke Marine Laboratory,

(Dr. K. David Hyrenbach) is providing science support and licensed Argos satellite frequencies. The Claremont University Consortium (Dr. Cheryl L. Baduini)is providing support for shearwater molecular sex determination and population genetic analyses.

Project Sponsors

This project is funded by the Bonneville Power Administration through a contract to the Estuarine and Ocean Ecology Program, NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center. This research was approved by the San Jose State University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (#807), and it is conducted under a USFWS Migratory Bird Permit Scientific Collecting Permit, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Scientific Collection Permit (#05-500), and an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Scientific Taking Permit (#069-05).

** These satellite tracks are preliminary data. Please do not cite or distribute without permission from the authors.

• The presentation of data here does not constitute publication. All data remain copyright of the project partners. Maps or data on this website may not be used or referenced without explicit written consent.
• For more information please visit the project website.
• If you have questions or would like to request the use of maps or data for this project please contact jen.zamon@noaa.gov, josh_adams@usgs.gov.

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