Fatal Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning in Kittlitz's Murrelet (<i>Brachyramphus brevirostris</i>) Nestlings, Alaska, USA

Shearn-Bochsler, Valerie I.; Lance, Ellen W.; Corcoran, Robin M.; Piatt, John F.; Bodenstein, Barbara; Frame, Elizabeth R.; Lawonn, James

doi:10.7589/2013-11-296

Cited by 23 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(10 reference statements)

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“…However, large die-offs have been rare. Per event, documented mortality has been relatively low in magnitude, ranging from <10 individuals (Shearn-Bochsler et al 2014) up to several thousand individuals in only a few cases (McKernan & Scheffer 1942, Sasner et al 1974. The 2007 MME in Monterey Bay, also a consequence of an A. sanguinea bloom, only resulted iñ 200 carcass recoveries and ~500 live impaired birds, and species-specific encounter rates that were 2 to 24 , with the number of individuals contributing toward that proportion illustrated by dot size.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass mortality of marine birds in the Northeast Pacific caused by Akashiwo sanguinea

Jones¹,

Parrish²,

Punt³

et al. 2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are dense concentrations of phytoplankton that can have deleterious effects on marine life. We documented two of the largest marine bird mortality events ever definitively ascribed to a single HAB, the cause of which was death resulting from plumage fouling by surfactant-like proteins produced by the dinoflagellate Akashiwo sanguinea. The two mortality events were observed along the coast of Washington State in September and October 2009, collectively representing an estimated deposition of 10 500 carcasses, of which the majority were surf scoters, white-winged scoters and common murres. Each mortality event was coincident in space and time with observed bloom landfall, with each event preceded by a similar chain of environmental conditions. Prior to each event, the presence of A. sanguinea and upwelling-favourable conditions likely led to bloom proliferation. In both cases, this period was followed by conditions that transported the senescent bloom into the nearshore environment, whereupon subsequent wave action lysed A. sanguinea cells, creating foam that contained surfactant-like compounds. This sequence of conditions, exacerbated by the presence of aggregations of marine birds in wing moult, appear to be the necessary requirements for marine bird mortality of this scale due to foam-induced plumage fouling. This mechanism of HAB-induced mortality may become more prevalent in the California Current System given the apparent increasing occurrence of HABs and the broad environmental tolerances exhibited by A. sanguinea.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass mortality of marine birds in the Northeast Pacific caused by Akashiwo sanguinea

Jones¹,

Parrish²,

Punt³

et al. 2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…We found 11 nestlings dead in their nests, accounting for 21% of total nest fates from 2008 to 2011. Subsequent analysis of a sample of dead nestlings found in 2011 (N = 5) and 2012 (N = 3) revealed that exposure to saxitoxin, a biotoxin associated with paralytic shellfish poisoning, was a primary cause of chick mortality (Shearn-Bochsler et al 2014). Seven of 52 eggs were abandoned during our study.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breeding ecology of Kittlitz's Murrelets on Kodiak Island, Alaska

et al. 2018

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Little is known about the breeding ecology of Kittlitz's Murrelets (Brachyramphus brevirostris), a species suspected to have experienced both local and regional population declines in recent years. We studied aspects of their breeding ecology on Kodiak Island, Alaska, to better understand this poorly described member of the family Alcidae. We found 53 nests of Kittlitz's Murrelets during our study (2008–2011) and placed nest cameras at 33 nests to collect data on parental nest attendance, nestling provisioning, and nest survival. Incubation shift exchanges by adults generally occurs either prior to sunrise or after sunset. Adults brooded nestlings for just one day after hatching and did not attend nests thereafter except during provisioning visits. Adults provisioned nestlings an average of 107 times during nestling periods, with a single fish delivered during each visit. Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus), a high‐lipid forage fish, accounted for 92% of fish delivered to nestlings. Nestlings grew rapidly, with a logistic growth rate constant (K) of 0.291, the highest rate yet documented among semiprecocial alcids. Young fledged an average of 25 d after hatching, when their body mass had reached an asymptote of 135.5 g, or 57% of adult body mass. Age at fledging and asymptotic nestling body mass (percent of adult mass) were low compared to other semiprecocial alcids. The mean number of young fledged per nest was 0.093, with 47% of nests predated, and nestlings dying prior to fledging at 21% of nests. The low number of parental provisioning visits, rapid nestling growth rates, and short nestling periods are consistent with adaptations to reduce the likelihood of nest predation and the energy expended by parents. The risk of nest predation and high energetic cost of breeding may make the reproductive success of Kittlitz's Murrelets more sensitive to declines in the availability and quality of their prey than most other alcids.

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“…Cloacal contents (4 birds) and stomach content samples (2 birds) were sent to the Wildlife Algal-toxins Research and Response Network (WARRN-West) to analyze for harmful algal toxins domoic acid and saxitoxin using an ELISA (Abraxis, Inc.). Remaining birds could not be tested for algal toxins due to insufficient stomach contents for diagnostic analyses, or decomposition state [50].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unusual mortality of Tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) in the eastern Bering Sea

Jones

Divine²,

Renner

et al. 2019

PLoS ONE

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Mass mortality events are increasing in frequency and magnitude, potentially linked with ongoing climate change. In October 2016 through January 2017, St. Paul Island, Bering Sea, Alaska, experienced a mortality event of alcids (family: Alcidae), with over 350 carcasses recovered. Almost three-quarters of the carcasses were unscavenged, a rate much higher than in baseline surveys (17%), suggesting ongoing deposition and elevated mortality around St Paul over a 2–3 month period. Based on the observation that carcasses were not observed on the neighboring island of St. George, we bounded the at-sea distribution of moribund birds, and estimated all species mortality at 3,150 to 8,800 birds. The event was particularly anomalous given the late fall/winter timing when low numbers of beached birds are typical. In addition, the predominance of Tufted puffins ( Fratercula cirrhata , 79% of carcass finds) and Crested auklets ( Aethia cristatella , 11% of carcass finds) was unusual, as these species are nearly absent from long-term baseline surveys. Collected specimens were severely emaciated, suggesting starvation as the ultimate cause of mortality. The majority (95%, N = 245) of Tufted puffins were adults regrowing flight feathers, indicating a potential contribution of molt stress. Immediately prior to this event, shifts in zooplankton community composition and in forage fish distribution and energy density were documented in the eastern Bering Sea following a period of elevated sea surface temperatures, evidence cumulatively suggestive of a bottom-up shift in seabird prey availability. We posit that shifts in prey composition and/or distribution, combined with the onset of molt, resulted in this mortality event.

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Fatal Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning in Kittlitz's Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) Nestlings, Alaska, USA

Cited by 23 publications

References 9 publications

Mass mortality of marine birds in the Northeast Pacific caused by Akashiwo sanguinea

Mass mortality of marine birds in the Northeast Pacific caused by Akashiwo sanguinea

Breeding ecology of Kittlitz's Murrelets on Kodiak Island, Alaska

Unusual mortality of Tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) in the eastern Bering Sea

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