
	Where results make sense

Topic: Auklets

In the News (Mon 28 May 12)

EXECUTIVE POWER

Iran

ANALYSIS

Pakistan

Family compact

	Hinterland Who's Who - Cassin's Auklet
		Cassin’s Auklet Ptychoramphus aleuticus is a member of a large successful family of seabirds, the auks (Alcidae), that inhabits the north Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans.
		Cassin’s Auklet burrows are distinguished from those of other seabirds by purple spatters among the droppings at the mouth of the burrow.
		Cassin’s Auklets are sensitive to three particular forms of humanmade stress: petroleum spills, introduced predators, and disturbance on the colony.
	www.hww.ca /hww2.asp?id=37 (2171 words)

	Auk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Although not to the extent of penguins, auks have to a large extent sacrificed flight, and also mobility on land, in exchange for swimming; their wings are a compromise between the best possible design for diving and the bare minimum needed for flying.
		This varies by subfamily, the Uria guillemots (including the Razorbill) and murrelets being the most efficient under the water, whereas the puffins and auklets are better adapted for flying and walking.
		Many nesting sites are attended nocturnally, in some cases as the adults are likely to fall victim to kleptoparasitism (such as the Rhinoceros Auklet) or because the adults themselves are likely prey items (like the Cassin's Auklet).
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Auk (975 words)

	Seacology - California Farallon Islands project
		Rhinoceros Auklets are a crevice/burrow nesting marine bird that was once plentiful in California, but most of the breeding population had disappeared by the late 1800s.
		Rhino Auklets are designated as a "species of special concern" by the state of California and a "species of high priority management need" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
		Pairs of Rhinoceros Auklets and Cassin’s Auklets that were new to the boxes in 2002 have now returned two years in a row to breed on the Farallon Islands and on Año Nuevo Island.
	www.seacology.org /projects/individualprojects/CALIFORNIA_farallones.htm (228 words)

	Conservation Biology of Rhinoceros Auklets
		Rhinoceros Auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata) were once plentiful in California, but presently only three offshore islands, Castle Rock, the Farallon Islands, and Año Nuevo Island, provide nesting habitat for approximately 95 percent of the California breeding population of Rhinoceros Auklets, which totals no more than 2,000 birds.
		Rhinoceros Auklets on ANI have predominantly relied on northern anchovies (Engraulis mordax) to rear their chicks; in years of high anchovy abundance we have observed both high chick growth rates, fledging weights, and overall productivity.
		We plan on continued Rhinoceros Auklet population monitoring, development of a habitat restoration/stabilization program to minimize erosion of auklet nesting areas, and development of a population viability analysis to look at the long-term progress for the population.
	www.umich.edu /~esupdate/mayjun2000/thayer.htm (368 words)

	27/5/2003 -- Smell May Play Role in Bird Courtship, Study Finds (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Auklet courtship proceeds with cackling vocalizations, and mutual burying of bills in nape and neck feathers, otherwise known as the "ruff-sniff display," said auklet behavior expert Ian Jones, who is with the Atlantic Cooperative Wildlife Ecology Research Network at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, in St.
		A total of 174 temporarily captive wild auklets had a choice of paths that led them to either naturally fragranced auklet plumage, or the unscented plumage of a related species, the parakeet auklet.
		Crested auklets already display other traits such as bright beaks, which are used, like the peacocks' tail, to attract mates or advertise status.
	forests.org /articles/reader.asp?linkid=23068 (1224 words)

	NatureWorks - Least Auklet (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		The least auklet is the smallest species in the Alcid family.
		The least auklet leaves the open ocean in June to return to its breeding grounds.
		The least auklet carries food for its chick back to the colony in a special throat pouch.
	www.nhptv.org /natureworks/leastauk.htm (186 words)

	Guardian Unlimited \| Life \| Auklet smell is a tangerine dream
		The crested auklet is the first bird found to send fragrant signals.
		The researchers discovered that auklets prefer smelly feathers, or wool soaked in the same chemicals, to other mixes, such as animal musk or an odourless control.
		Oil from the auklets' preen ing gland is odourless, but bacteria on the feathers might break it down into something smellier.
	www.guardian.co.uk /life/dispatch/story/0,12978,960758,00.html (314 words)

	Tangerine-scented Birds may Repel Bugs, Attract Mates, Alaska Science Forum
		Crested auklets spend most of their lives in the water, but gather on land by the thousands to nest in rock crevices.
		The stronger a crested auklet smells, the more attractive it may be to a potential mate.
		If crested auklets smell like tangerines for the reasons Douglas thinks they do, the birds would be one of few breeds to produce its own chemical insect repellant.
	www.gi.alaska.edu /ScienceForum/ASF15/1571 (604 words)

	oikonos
		Rhinoceros Auklets are listed as a California Bird Species of Special Concern by the California Department of Fish and Game due to their small population size, high breeding concentration in a restricted range, vulnerable habitat and ongoing mortality due to oil contamination.
		In 1998, the last monitored Rhinoceros Auklet chicks fledged from burrows between 14 and 21 September, therefore, in addition to adults, hatch-year birds were potentially in the contaminated area.
		In the fall and winter, the Rhinoceros Auklets in waters off central California are a mixture of birds that reside in the region year round and northern populations that migrate south after the breeding season, although no studies have been conducted to evaluate colony or age-specific migration patterns.
	www.oikonos.org /projects/ano.htm (3767 words)

	Rats and birds clash on volcanic island, Alaska Science Forum
		The rats have thrived on Kiska, in part by feeding on three species of auklets, small seabirds that spend the winter on the high seas but return every spring to Kiska to nest in the crevices of a lava dome that rose from the ocean in the 1960s.
		The auklet colony at Kiska is one of the wonders of the bird world, with birds returning in chattering groups that look from afar like swirls of pepper above the ocean.
		In the first two years of his study on Kiska, Jones found that the rates at which auklet eggs endured to become successful fledglings were 12 percent and 10 percent, the lowest ever recorded for the species.
	www.gi.alaska.edu /ScienceForum/ASF17/1704.html (734 words)

	SIMoN -- Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Rhinoceros Auklets banded as chicks in nest boxes earlier in our project are now recruiting into the ANI breeding population, providing novel information on age-at-first-breeding, immigration and recruitment rates for this species worldwide.
		Auklet diet reveals a shift from an anchovy-based diet in the 1990s to rockfishbased diet in recent years, corresponding to a shift in ocean climate in 1998-1999.
		Population dynamics of Pelagic Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots and Cassin’s Auklets on Ano Nuevo Island, 1976-2003.
	www.mbnms-simon.org /sections/birds/project_info.php?pid=100251&sec=ss (725 words)

	RhinoAuklet
		Basically fl and white, their legs are set far back, so should you find them on land (during breeding season), they'll be walking upright.
		The rhinoceros auklet excavates a breeding burrow using its horn, which is part of its breeding plumage.
		While most rhino auklets have yellowish bills, some have bills that are reddish-orange.
	www.birdingamerica.com /California/pelagic/rhinoauklet.htm (187 words)

	1996 Sockeye and 1995 Chum Salmon Test Fisheries Final Report: Executive Summary (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		A total of 349 alcids were entangled: 260 common murres (75% of the total), 87 rhinoceros auklets, one pigeon guillemot, and one marbled murrelet.
		Rhinoceros auklets were the most abundant seabird (0.51 auklet sightings/set) but they were three times less abundant than in the 1995 sockeye and nine times less abundant than in 1996 sockeye test fisheries.
		In the 1996 sockeye test fishery, entanglement rates of common murres and rhinoceros auklets and catch rates of sockeye salmon varied significantly among the experimental gears, time-of-day categories, and locations tested; however, the patterns of variation among all these factors were species specific.
	www.wsg.washington.edu /outreach/mas/fisheries/sbexesum.html (1744 words)

	Photo Quiz 1 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Murres, razorbills, puffins, guillemots, and rhinoceros auklets have more obvious wings--longer, with a slight bend at the wrist, and rather rounded wing tips.
		All you have to do is look in your field guide for a small, gray, auklet with white flanks and pale sides to the rump.
		Cassin's Auklets must run a short distance and always fly into the wind to take off.
	thebirdguide.com /pelagics/photo_quiz_001.htm (584 words)

	Auk, The: Breeding biology of the Whiskered Auklet (Aethia pygmaea) at Buldir Island, Alaska
		WHISKERED AUKLETS (Aethia pygmaea) are an enigmatic and intriguing member of the Alcidae, a distinctive family of seabirds comprising 23 extant species that exhibit a wide variety of behavioral, reproductive, and life-history strategies (Nettleship and Birkhead 1985, Ydenberg 1989, Nettleship 1996, Gaston and Jones 1998).
		Whiskered Auklets are of conservation concern because of their limited range and because of introductions of mammalian predators such as Arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) and Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) to many of their breeding islands (Bailey 1993).
		Whiskered Auklets have a "mew" contact call (Byrd and Williams 1993), and many crevices were found by locating adults that responsed to our imitations of that call.
	www.findarticles.com /p/articles/mi_qa3793/is_200210/ai_n9139584 (1377 words)

	Arctic Science Journeys Radio: Crested Auklets
		If you're a seabird like the crested auklet, finding a partner may be as simple as being good at keeping parasites off your body.
		Given that auklets live in massive colonies cramped onto steep, narrow ledges, such defenses would be a practical solution to the pitfalls of colonial living.
		He says auklets are first attracted to a prospective mate's crested head plumage, but discriminating auklets don't commit to a lasting relationship until they check out their partner's odor.
	www.uaf.edu /seagrant/NewsMedia/01ASJ/05.18.01auklets.html (639 words)

	Aquarium of the Pacific (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Crested Auklets are highly social, staying in large groups at sea, and nesting in large colonies.
		Silent at sea, these birds are the nosiest of the Auklets when in the breeding colonies, vocalizing with groans, low hoots, grunts, and barking calls.
		Crested Auklet populations are declining due to predation at nesting sites by introduced predators such as Arctic foxes, red foxes, and rats.
	www.aquariumofpacific.org /ANIMAL_DATABASE/ADBprint.asp?id=79 (691 words)

	NC Zoo™ - North Carolina Zoo : Parakeet auklet
		Characteristics: Parakeet auklets are small birds, measuring about 10 inches from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail.
		Consumption of contaminated fish and marine debris is also a threat to auklet populations.
		Protecting parakeet auklets means preserving the habitats in which they live.
	www.nczoo.org /animal_id/na_auklet.cfm (429 words)

	Research & Science - Reports (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Sirius Point is one of the largest auklet breeding colonies in the world, but rat predation may be causing populations declines.
		Objectives: To determine whether reproductive success and adult survival of auklets are sufficiently low to cause biologically significant population declines.
		Brief description of project: Reproductive success and adult survival of auklets are being studied at Sirius Point, Kiska, where evidence of predation by rats is evident.
	www.r7.fws.gov /science/project/seabird.htm (1323 words)

	SFOS News: Alaska seabird has natural mosquito defense
		"Interestingly, we found that the effectiveness of the auklet’s built-in chemical defense were similar to the mosquito repellents sold commercially" said Douglas.
		Crested auklets are small, highly social seabirds that live in large colonies in Alaska’s Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.
		Scientists theorize auklets developed the chemical defense to ward off parasites and other pests.
	www.sfos.uaf.edu /news/2005/0729seabirds.php (229 words)

	News briefs
		The Rhinoceros Auklet has not bred in California for more than 100 years and is listed as a "species of special concern" by the state of California.
		During the mid-nineteenth century, Rhinoceros Auklets were abundant on California's coastal beaches and offshore islands.
		In 1972, PRBO biologists discovered Rhinoceros Auklets breeding in the deep rock crevices and burrows of the Farallon Islands.
	www.ptreyeslight.com /stories/sep05/briefs.html (1402 words)

	Zoo brings arctic birds home to roost (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Thursday, it became the only zoo in the world to house a colony of whiskered auklets, small arctic birds that nest in crevices between boulders on Alaska's Aleutian and other islands.
		The chicks, ages 2 to 3 1/2 weeks, were collected on a 45-day expedition to Savoonga, an Eskimo village of 600 on St. Lawrence Island, and the Baby Islands, tiny dots of land at the southern end of the Aleutian chain.
		Schmid brought 20 whiskered auklets (along with 65 least auklets, 19 crested auklets, four parakeet auklets and two horned auklets) home by chartered flights that had her traveling 17 hours.
	www.enquirer.com /editions/1998/08/28/loc_chicks28.html (698 words)

	Science News: Seabird makes citrusy bug repellant - Alaskan crested auklets have a natural insect repellant - Brief ... (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Alaskan seabirds called crested auklets carry a citrus-smelling chemical in their feathers that could be one of the few examples ever found of a homegrown avian pest repellant.
		Crested auklets forage in far northern waters, their thick, bright orange beaks contrasting with gray feathers.
		Auklet feathers contain a potentially repellant cocktail of organic compounds, Douglas and his colleagues report in the August NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN.
	www.findarticles.com /p/articles/mi_m1200/is_10_160/ai_78681650 (283 words)

	Jones, I (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		We investigated patterns of variation of feather and bill ornaments of Crested Auklets Aethia cristatella, a monogamous seabird, based on 963 individuals measured in the years 1990 to 1998.
		Bilaterally symmetrical white auricular plumes of the sides of the head behind the eyes, averaging about 30 mm in length, and brightly coloured semi-circular rictal plates t the corners of the bill.
		Crested Auklet ornaments did not vary in concert with the ornaments of Whiskered Aethia pygmaea and Least Auklets Aethia pusilla during this period.
	www.oikos.ekol.lu.se /jab.31.2.abstracts/sid119.html (334 words)

	Untitled Document
		Model effects of current and recent oil spills to estimate impacts to Rhinoceros Auklets which are seldom recovered, and model impacts of potential spills to determine appropriate levels of rescue and restoration efforts.
		For example, populations of surface-nesting or roosting birds or pinnipeds should be monitored at important auklet colonies, such as Castle Rock, which would include assessments of soil erosion caused by these species and its affects on auklet nesting habitat.
		Grinnell, J. The evidence of the former breeding of the Rhinoceros Auklet in California.
	www.prbo.org /cms/static/RHAU_status.php (2076 words)

	Publications (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Inter-annual variation in the diet, provisioning and growth of Cassin's Auklets at Triangle Island, BC: response to variation in ocean climate.
		Predation on Rhinoceros Auklet eggs by a native population of Peromyscus.
		Blight, L. Egg neglect and its implications for egg predation in the Rhinoceros Auklet.
	www.sfu.ca /biology/wildberg/bertram/triangle/publications.htm (399 words)

	All About Birds
		The Parakeet Auklet has the widest distribution of all the Alaskan auklets, but it doesn't form large flocks like the others, either at sea or in breeding colonies.
		Parakeet Auklets frequently eat plastic pellets they find floating at sea.
		On land, Parakeet Auklets walk mostly on their legs and not their toes.
	birds.cornell.edu /programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Parakeet_Auklet_dtl.html (281 words)

	Effects of Radio Transmitters on the Reproductive Performance of Cassin’s Auklets (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		In addition, radio-marked auklets foraged in similar areas compared to unmarked auklets that were surveyed concurrently by aircraft at sea.
		Therefore, although attaching radio transmitters to Cassin’s auklet parents reduced their breeding success, transmitters did not appear to influence their foraging ranges and at-sea distributions.
		The authors suggest caution in using radio telemetry to evaluate the reproductive performance of small alcids, but the technique is still valuable to assess their at-sea movements and foraging ranges.
	www.werc.usgs.gov /pubbriefs/ackermanpbmar2005.html (478 words)

	Eradicating feral foxes in the Aleutians AP 78.03
		When no longer hungry, the rats cache more auklets for later, after the birds leave the island.
		Jones said he had found as many as 148 decomposing auklets stuffed into just one rat warren.
		In 2002 fledglings survived from only 10% of the least auklet eggs laid, Jones said.
	www.animalpeoplenews.org /03/7.8/eradicatingFox78.03.html (833 words)

	[No title]
		Other bird species include crested auklets, Siberian rubythroats, slaty-backed gulls, and Pallas’s warblers, with sightings of rufous-necked stints and narcissus flycatchers also possible.
		Iony is also home to whiskered auklets, often described as the Holy Grail of North Pacific birding.
		This small group of islands is home to many thousands of seabirds, including the largest colony of spectacled guillemots in the world.
	www.expeditioncruises.com /.docs/ship_id/10031/tour_id/10138/pg/ships.html (1162 words)

Try your search on: Qwika (all wikis)