excellent in 1974 with at least 1.5 young per nest, 

 no nest desertion and no excessive losses of young. 

 In the Gulf of Cahfomia only about 60% of 

 adults came to colonies to breed in 1974. Adults 

 that did come failed to establish nests and left. 

 In some areas, nest desertion approached 100%. 

 Ultimate production was about 0.80 young per 

 nest, and less than one half of adults established 

 nests. Unusually poor food conditions were 

 thought responsible. In recent years, severe and 

 widespread failures in Gulf of California produc- 

 tion has occurred during periods of food scarcity. 

 However, it is possible that the DDE known to be 

 present has aggravated the situation. Experiments 

 have shown that minor restrictions of food supply 

 seriously impair reproduction and that presence 

 of DDE in birds increases the effect of food de- 

 privation on reproductive condition(U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, Denver Wildlife Research Center 

 1974;Keith 1978). 



An asynchronous nesting pattern on Anacapa 

 and Santa Cruz Islands in 1975 made estimates of 

 production difficult. Production was: Anacapa - 

 212 nests, 182 young produced; Santa Cruz - 80 

 nests, 74 young produced, or 0.88 young per nest 

 for both islands. This compares with 0.73 in 1974, 

 0.14 in 1973, 0.22 in 1972 and 0.007 in period 

 1969-71 for the same colonies. Neither DDE con- 

 centrations nor eggshell thickness differed signif- 

 icantly between 1974 and 1975, although the 

 concentration of the chief food fish (anchovies) 

 dropped. Pelican productivity is still 10% to 50% 

 below the level necessary to maintain long-term 

 population stability (Anderson et al. 1975; An- 

 derson and Anderson 1976; Anderson et al. 1977). 



MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION 



State, Federal, and private cooperative research 

 has been directed toward analysis of brown peli- 

 can eggshell conditions and the resulting repro- 

 ductive failure. Waste discharge from pesticide 

 manufacturing plants is being corrected. Popula- 

 tion surveys have been conducted by the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service. Continued research on the effects 

 of environmental pollution and on life history and 

 reproductive biology are recommended, but visits 

 to nests should be kept to a minimum; strict reg- 

 ulation of the use of persistent chemical pesticides 

 and discharge of wastes from plants that manu- 

 facture those products should be encouraged and 

 all forms of pollution that degrade the pelican's 

 environment should be eliminated. Sanctuary 



status should be recorded for all areas with 

 nesting colonies (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 1973). 



Many eastern colonies are protected on Fed- 

 eral and State refuges and in National Audubon 

 Society sanctuaries. 



A recovery team for the eastern brown peli- 

 can has been appointed by the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service to draft a recovery plan for re- 

 establishing this species throughout its former 

 range (Williams et al. 1976). The recovery outline 

 includes restoring the pelican in vacant breeding 

 habitat by identifying historic distribution, iden- 

 tifying or creating suitable breeding habitat and 

 stocking selected sites. 



In order to restock historic or depleted 

 colonies, stocking methods must be developed 

 and sources of birds located. The success of new 

 colonies should be monitored for survival, repro- 

 duction, and limiting factors. Natural and restored 

 colonies should be maintained at self-sustaining 

 levels. Plans for monitoring populations and 

 pertinent environmental factors vary from area 

 to area and are outlined in Williams et al. (1976). 



AUTHORITIES 



Eastern subspecies 



Lawrence J. Blus (Recovery Team) 

 U.S. Fish and Wildhfe Service 

 Patuxent Wildlife Research Center 

 Laurel, MD 20810 



Kirke A. King (Recovery Team) 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 P.O. Box 2506 

 Victoria, TX 77901 



Larry L. McNease (Recovery Team) 

 Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission 

 Route l,Box 25 

 Grand Chenier, LA 70643 



Burkett S. Neely (Recovery Team) 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 Division of Wildlife Refuges 

 Washington, D.C. 20240 



Stephen A. Nesbitt (Recovery Team) 

 Florida Game and Freshwater Fish 



Commission 

 4005 South Main Street 

 Gainesville, FL 32601 



Ralph W. Schreiber (Recovery Team) 

 Natural History Museum 

 Los Angeles, CA 90007 



13 



