The Kittlitz’s murrelet (KIMU) is one of the rarest and least known seabirds in the world. This species was first discovered nesting within the boundaries of Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge in 2006 when a botanist working on a remote mountain stumbled upon a large downy chick in a nest. The nest was little more than a shallow depression in a small patch of moss and lichens on the side of a rocky ridge above an alpine lake at 900m (2953ft). After discovery of the nest, Kodiak Refuge partnered with the USGS Alaska Science Center, the USFWS Endangered Species Division, Southern Illinois University, and Oregon State University to systematically study the nesting ecology of this species. Funding for the research has been provided by several sources including the Kodiak Refuge biological program, USGS-USFWS Science Support Partnership Program, USFWS Endangered Species Division, USGS Alaska Science Center, and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Alaska Fish and Wildlife Fund and Pacific Seabird Fund.
The KIMU is a species of conservation concern: the world population was recently estimated to be less than 57,000 birds, and surveyed populations in Alaska declined 30 percent annually between 1989-2000. Because so little is known about the biology of KIMU the collection of basic biological information about the species is a necessity to understand possible reasons for the decline.
A dedicated effort to find nests on Kodiak Island began in 2008 as part of a larger effort to better understand the species. Since initiation of the study, motion sensitive cameras placed at nest sites have produced thousands of camera images revealing new information about the bird’s nesting biology, and greatly expanding our knowledge of feeding and growth of KIMU chicks, nest attendance rates, and causes of nest failure. 2016 was the final year of consecutive study at the Kodiak Refuge nest sites.