Chapter 2 



The Asian Race of the Marbled Murrelet 



Nikolai B. KonyukhoV 



Alexander S. Krtaysky 2 



Abstract: We present here an overview of the ecology, abun- 

 dance, and distribution of the subspecies of the Marbled Murrelet 

 inhabiting the coasts of Asia. In most regards, the species is similar 

 to the North American race with respect to its feeding, breeding, 

 molt, and habitat ecology. It is, however, a migratory species, 

 moving into southern parts of its range in the Sea of Okhotsk 

 during the winter. The population has not been censused. but may 

 number in the tens of thousands. Populations in Asia are threat- 

 ened by logging of breeding habitat, oil pollution, and gill nets. 



During the last two decades, the attention of ornithologists 

 has turned to the North American subspecies of the Marbled 

 Murrelet, Brochyromphus marmorotus marmoratus (Gemlin), 

 and they have gathered many data on the status and distribution 

 of this poorly-known bird. On the other hand, relatively little 

 information is available on the Asian subspecies of the 

 Marbled Murrelet, B. m. perdix (Pallas). Recent work has 

 suggested that this subspecies may actually be a separate 

 species, the Long-billed Murrelet (B. perJur)(Friesen and 

 others 1994a, Piatt and others 1994). This paucity of data is 

 due in large pan to the difficulty in reaching the remote 

 areas where the species breeds. This information gap could 

 also be partially explained by the sparsity of marine 

 ornithologists working within the large territory of the Far 

 Eastern region of Asia. In virtually all areas where 

 ornithological studies have been conducted, Marbled 

 Murrelets have been recorded. 



Most data on the species comes from work on Sakhalin 

 Island, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Low Amur River 

 region. In most coastal areas of the Sea of Okhotsk (except 

 for some small areas), ornithological studies have never 

 been carried out 



The broad outline of the breeding range can be designated 

 quite clearly (fig . 1), although the status of the species in the 

 Koryak uplands is not clear. In the north part of its breeding 

 range, most Marbled Murrelet records coincide with the borders 

 of boreal coniferous forest, as establi hed by Kistchinsky 

 (1968b). The Asian subspecies, in contrast to the North 

 American subspecies, is a migratory bird and leaves almost 

 all of its breeding range in winter. It returns in early May to 

 the southern parts of its breeding range (Nechaev 1986) and 

 into northern parts at the end of May (Lobkov 1986). 



breeding 



o possibly breeding 



MUSEUM SKINS 

 Moscow 

 St. Petersburg 



Russia \ \ >-^ 



Peninsula \ 4 V 



Sea of 

 Japan 



'Research Fellow. Laboratory of Bird Ecology, Institute of Animal 

 Evolutionary Morphology and Ecology. Leninsky pr., 33, Moscow 1 17071, 

 Russia 



2 Ph.D. Candidate, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, 

 University of California-Irvine, Irvine CA 92717 



Figure 1 Distribution of the Asian race of the Marbled Murrelet 

 (Brachyramphus marmoratus perdix) according to data obtained from 

 literature and museum coflections. Triangular symbols indicate collec- 

 tion locales of museum skins now in Moscow and St Petersburg. 



Methods 



In order to collect data on the distribution of the Marbled 

 Murrelet in the Russian Far East, the senior author has 

 examined 36 specimens in collections of Zoological Museums, 

 both of Moscow University (ZMMU) and Zoological Institute, 

 St. Petersburg (ZMZI). We also have investigated the biology 

 of this species by examining all available literature, and 

 through field observations in the Sea of Okhotsk. 



USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PS W- 152. 1995. 



23 



