Threatened Eiders of North America

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Threatened Eiders of North America

• Byram L. Feltner
• Bio 586

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Eiders of North America(4 species)

• Common Eider
• King Eider
• Spectacled Eider (Threatened)
• Stellers Eider (Threatened)

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Eider Characteristics

• Large diving ducks (some can dive to depths of
  180 feet)
• Feed mainly on mollusks and invertebrates. Some
  diets can consist of some plant matter (rarely
  exceeds 5).
• Found in extreme northern habitats. (Some spend
  the winter in openings of the sea ice.)

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Nesting

• Typically line nest w/ down feathers
• Usually nest near rocky areas above water.

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Classification

• Kingdom Animalia
• Phylum Chordata
• Class Aves
• Order Anseriformes
• Suborder Anseres
• Family Anatidae
• Subfamily Anatinae
• Tribe Mergini

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Common EiderSomateria mollissima

• Largest duck in North America (Length 17,
  Wingspan 41)
• Feed primarily on mollusks
• Population 1-1.5 million

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Common Eider Range
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King EiderSomateria spectabilis

• Large Duck (Length 16, Wingspan 37)
• Feeds primarily on mollusks
• Population lt1 million

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King Eider Range
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Spectacled EiderSomateria fischeri

• Threatened Species
• Large Duck (Length 15, Wingspan 36)
• Diet varies according to time of year.
• Population lt100,000

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Spectacled Eider Identification

• Identification Tip
• Bill feathered to nostril
• Adult male
• Pale green head with large
• white patch around eye
• Yellow bill
• Black underparts
• White upperparts
• Adult female
• Dark brown plumage with fine
• black barring
• Pale brown patch around eye
• Similar species
• The male is very distinctive. The female may be
  mistaken for another eider female, but the eye
  patch and extensive feather on the bill sets it
  apart.

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Spectacled Eider Diet

• Breeding/Growth Season
• Insects and Vegetation
• Rest of Season
• Mollusks and Vegetation

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Threatened Listing

• Effective Date June 9, 1993
• Populations had declined by 94-98 within the
  principle breeding range.
• Alaskas population declined 14 the following
  year (1994).

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Stellers EiderPolysticta stelleri

• Threatened Species
• Smallest of Eiders (Length 12, Wingspan 29)
• Feeds mainly on crustaceans (amphipods, isopods,
  and barnacles)
• Population 150,000 200,000

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Stellers Eider Identification

• Identification Tips
• Gray unfeathered bill
• Squarish head
• Long tail
• Adult male alternate
• White head and flanks
• Black on throat and back
• Black around eye
• Greenish patch on lores and rear of head
• Black spot on breast
• Black and white scapulars
• Brownish belly
• Adult female
• Dark brown plumage
• Pale eyering
• Square head
• Similar species
• Male is distinct. The female could be
  missidentified as another eider. The female
  Stellers has and unfeathered bill, squarer head,
  longer tail, and is smaller in size.

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Stellers Eider Diet

• Throughout Year
• Mainly on various crustaceans (amphipods,
  isopods, barnacles)

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Threatened Listing

• Effective Date 1997
• Alaskan breeding populations has nearly
  disappeared.
• Estimates range from hundreds to low thousands.
• Problem not well understood.

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Cause for Listing(Stellers and Spectacled)

1. Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment of
   Habitat or Range
2. Over utilization for Commercial, Recreational,
   Scientific, or Educational Purposes
3. Disease or Predation
4. Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms
5. Other Natural or Manmade Factors

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Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment of
Habitat

• Destruction of habitat is low.
• Many areas unaltered and uninhabited
• Alaskan North Slope
• Altered by oil and gas development
• Only small portion of breeding range
• Marine habitat still poorly understood
• Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Elevated
  concentrations of many trace elements, noticeably
  cadmium, selenium, and copper, but these were
  below levels associated with toxicological risk
  to marine birds.

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2. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational,
Scietific, or Educational Purposes

• Were traditionally harvested during migration
• Alaskan and Siberian natives
• Take eggs and birds for food
• Skin and feathers used for clothing.
• Bones used for household purposes
• Feathers were used in fans for tourists
• Spring harvest supplied traditional source of
  meat to coastal communities.
• Illegal harvest for taxidermy trade
• Magnitude unknown

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3. Disease and Predation

• Increases in fox and common raven populations.
• Never proven to have affected populations.
• Gull (glaucous-winged) populations increased due
  to fish processing wastes.
• Prey on chicks
• Parasites (acanthocephalans)
• Lowering reproduction/survival.
• Not affected in good habitat.

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4. Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms

• Harvest was regulated under authority of the
  Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-711).
• Hunting has been closed since 1991
• Historically hunted in Russia
• Estimates for harvest is high
• No records of harvest was recorded in Russia
• Hunting was not regulated strictly despite the
  M.B.T. (Prohibited hunting between March 10 and
  September 1)
• This was due to the fact that many residents
  historically and traditionally took eiders for
  food.

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5. Natural or Manmade Factors

• Oil Spills
• Oil Fields
• Low nesting numbers in active fields
• Pollution
• From offshore oil development and fishery vessels
• Fishing Nets
• Lead shot
• Very few cases
• Severe weather
• Natural die off

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Conservation Measures Taken

1. Recognition
2. Recovery Actions
3. Requirements for Federal Protection
4. Prohibition against certain practices

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Recognition

• Encourages and results in conservation actions by
  Federal, State, and local governments and private
  agencies, groups and individuals.

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2. Recovery Actions

• Act provides for possible land acquisition and
  cooperation with the states and requires that
  recovery actions be carried out for all listed
  species.
• Land isnt always secured!
• The spectacled eider is one of the many migratory
  species that depend on the globally unique
  habitat at Teshekpuk Lake inside the National
  Petroleum Reserve-Alaska along Alaska's western
  Arctic coast. The area is also critical to
  Pacific black brant, yellow-billed loons, tundra
  swans, king eiders, and northern pintails. But
  the Bush administration wants to lease the lands
  along Teshekpuk Lake to the oil and gas industry.

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3. Requirements for Federal Protection

• Prohibits taking and harm of the listed species.
• Provided habitat protection rather than just
  species protection that was covered in the M.B.A.

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4. Prohibition against certain practices

• Scientific studies
• Permit system
• Zoological exhibition, educational purposes
• Permit system
• No threatened species on exhibit

Como Zoo, MN
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Importance

• Balance
• Keystone species
• Specific niche

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Ten Most Wanted

1. Spectacled Eider
2. Rosss Gull
3. Ivory Gull
4. White morph Gyrfalcon
5. Snowy Owl
6. Albatross
7. White-tailed Tropicbird
8. Atlantic Puffin
9. Trogon
10. Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Most Wanted