"At this point we arent sure whats causing large numbers of murres to die," said Dr. Vivian Mendenhall, biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "We examined some of the bodies this morning, and weve sent some to the National Wildlife Health Laboratory in Wisconsin for further necropsy (examination)."
Dead murres have been seen and picked up in Sitka, Valdez and Seward. It appears as though the murre die off is widespread in the Gulf of Alaska. Biologists say its too early to estimate numbers, but have heard boat operators describe seeing "groups of 30 dead murres floating in the water."
Mendenhall says that although this phenomenon is not new, it is always puzzling. The largest murre die off on record took place in 1970 when more than 100,000 murres died along the north side of the Alaska Peninsula. Studies indicated that the birds died of starvation. 1970 was a particularly stormy year, and biologists speculate that due to ice and bad weather, the Bering Sea didnt provide good feeding conditions for the murres that winter.
During the summer Murres feed at sea, primarily on fish. They lay one egg a year. Sometimes described as looking like penguins, they have black heads, wings and backs, white undersides and pointed bills. Their legs and toes are black like much of their bodies, but the webs of their feet are lighter gray.
Murres nest in large colonies on the sides of rocky cliffs. Vulnerable to human disturbance, drowning in fish nets, pollution and competition with commercial fisheries, they contributed the greatest number of casualties to the toll of marine birds in the Exxon-Valdez oil spill. Biologists estimate that 300,000 murres died in the spill, and some believe that colonies in the spill area were reduced by half.
Two species of murres live in Alaska, the common murre and the thick-billed murre, and biologists consider them both abundant. Mendenhall says that according to the most recent figures more than six million of each species of murres live in Alaska.
"We will know more about this situation after examining the die-off area from the air," Mendenhall said. "Our biologists are doing that this afternoon."
According to Mendenhall, laboratory results sometimes take several weeks. "We wont be surprised if these murres are dying from a lack of food, as has been the case in past winter die offs," she added.
Mendenhall said that biologists have not found in the past that this kind of die off has significantly decreased the murre populations. Service biologists work in the field during the summer and plan to continue yearly studies on murres.
Photos and Video available
-FWS-
