Changes in Marine Bird and Mammal Populations on an Active Volcano in Alaska

Byrd, G. Vernon; Divoky, George J.; Bailey, Edgar P.

doi:10.2307/3535034

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…The eruption of Kasatochi volcano in 2008 had significant effects, both direct and indirect, on local marine wildlife. Set in a broader context, however, this disturbance event took place within the volcanically active Aleutian Islands ecosystem and is illustrative of the type of disturbance that wildlife in the region have responded to for millennia (Byrd et al, 1980). Our surveys one year after the eruption suggest that wildlife was affected by and responded to the eruption in different ways based on differences in life-history traits and habitat requirements.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…At Kiska Island, for example, crested and least auklets colonized a new lava flow and numbered in the millions just 10 years after the eruption (Day et al, 1979;Major et al, 2006). Seabird populations at Bogoslof Island responded similarly to changes in nesting habitat following eruptive events (Byrd et al, 1980). Given that seabirds are generally long-lived and faithful to breeding sites, it is likely that former breeders will continue to return to Kasatochi in the near future, ready to use habitat as soon as it becomes available.…”

Section: The Future For Wildlife On Kasatochimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Initial Effects of the August 2008 Volcanic Eruption on Breeding Birds and Marine Mammals at Kasatochi Island, Alaska

Williams

Drummond

Buxton

2010

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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Kasatochi Island, home to a rich community of largely marine-dependent fauna, erupted with little warning on 7-8 August 2008 and buried the island under up to 30 m of tephra. We visited the island during the summer of 2009 to examine the effects of the eruption on local wildlife. The abundance of sea lions and many seabird species in 2009 was comparable to pre-eruption estimates, suggesting that adult mortality was low for these species. In contrast, shorebirds and passerines formerly breeding on the island were not observed in 2009 and probably perished in the eruption. The largest direct effect of the eruption to individual animals was probably mortality of chicks, with an estimated total 20,000-40,000 young birds lost. Indirect effects on wildlife consisted of loss of foraging habitat for species that relied on former terrestrial, intertidal, or nearshore-subtidal habitat and the near-total destruction of all former nesting habitats for most species. Although several species attempted to breed in 2009, all except Steller's sea lions failed due to lack of suitable breeding sites. The recovery of wildlife at Kasatochi will depend on erosion of the tephra layer blanketing the island to re-expose former breeding habitat.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: The Future For Wildlife On Kasatochimentioning

confidence: 99%

Initial Effects of the August 2008 Volcanic Eruption on Breeding Birds and Marine Mammals at Kasatochi Island, Alaska

Williams

Drummond

Buxton

2010

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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“…For the Aleutian Islands, vegetation maps exist for Bogoslof I. (Byrd et al 1980), Buldir I. (Byrd 1984), Amchitka I.…”

Section: Status Of Vegetation Mappingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a new arctic vegetation map: a review of existing maps

Walker

Bay

Daniëls

et al. 1995

J Vegetation Science

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“…The ashfall and pyroclastic flows from the eruption eliminated nesting habitat for all of the birds on the island including a minimum of 100,000 crested auklets and 150,000 least auklets (see Williams et al, 2010 [this issue]). Bogoslof Island, which last erupted in 1992, is the only site in the Aleutians where the response of marine birds to a volcanic eruption has been studied, but it is a much smaller island with a different complement of nesting species that does not include auklets (Byrd et al, 1980). In general, recovery of marine birds at Bogoslof was relatively quick, but that may have been due to the smaller scale of the eruption and, unlike Kasatochi, only part of the island was affected, leaving some nesting areas usable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

At-sea Observations of Marine Birds and Their Habitats before and after the 2008 Eruption of Kasatochi Volcano, Alaska

Drew

Dragoo

Renner

et al. 2010

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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Kasatochi volcano, an island volcano in the Aleutian chain, erupted on 7-8 August 2008. The resulting ash and pyroclastic flows blanketed the island, covering terrestrial habitats. We surveyed the marine environment surrounding Kasatochi Island in June and July of 2009 to document changes in abundance or distribution of nutrients, fish, and marine birds near the island when compared to patterns observed on earlier surveys conducted in 1996 and 2003. Analysis of SeaWiFS satellite imagery indicated that a large chlorophyll-a anomaly may have been the result of ash fertilization during the eruption. We found no evidence of continuing marine fertilization from terrestrial runoff 10 months after the eruption. At-sea surveys in June 2009 established that the most common species of seabirds at Kasatochi prior to the eruption, namely crested auklets (Aethia cristatella) and least auklets (Aethia pusilla) had returned to Kasatochi in relatively high numbers. Densities from more extensive surveys in July 2009 were compared with pre-eruption densities around Kasatochi and neighboring Ulak and Koniuji islands, but we found no evidence of an eruption effect. Crested and least auklet populations were not significantly reduced by the initial explosion and they returned to attempt breeding in 2009, even though nesting habitat had been rendered unusable. Maps of pre-and post-eruption seabird distribution anomalies indicated considerable variation, but we found no evidence that observed distributions were affected by the 2008 eruption.

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Changes in Marine Bird and Mammal Populations on an Active Volcano in Alaska

Cited by 13 publications

References 10 publications

Initial Effects of the August 2008 Volcanic Eruption on Breeding Birds and Marine Mammals at Kasatochi Island, Alaska

Initial Effects of the August 2008 Volcanic Eruption on Breeding Birds and Marine Mammals at Kasatochi Island, Alaska

Toward a new arctic vegetation map: a review of existing maps

At-sea Observations of Marine Birds and Their Habitats before and after the 2008 Eruption of Kasatochi Volcano, Alaska

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