De Santo and Nelson 



Chapter3 



Reproductive Ecology of Auks 



hand, reproduction of the Marbled Murrelet is not likely to 

 exceed that of other alcids with comparable reproductive 

 traits. See Beissinger (this volume) for a discussion on the 

 possible reproductive rates of Marbled Murrelets using general 

 reproductive parameters. 



If the Marbled Murrelet does have a low rate of 

 reproduction, then it is quite possible that this species will 

 have difficulty recovering from significant population 

 declines, and steps should be taken to minimize the impact 

 of human activity on the production of murrelet young. To 

 completely address this issue, however, thorough study of 

 the reproductive biology of this species is needed. Long- 

 term studies of individually marked, nesting Marbled 

 Murrelets and their young need are required. Effects of 

 natural and human-induced perturbations on the reproductive 

 ecology of this species can then be better understood. 



Acknowledgments 



George Divoky, Harry Carter, Steve Singer, Barney 

 Dunning, and Scott Hatch assisted us in locating information 

 and references for this review. We thank Bob Peck, Dave 

 D'Amore, George Divoky, Jeff Grenier, Scott Hatch, and 

 George Hunt for reviewing earlier drafts of this manuscript. 

 Support for preparation of this manuscript was provided by 

 the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, USDA 

 Forest Service, USDI Bureau of Land Management, and 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Support for preparation of 

 this manuscript was provided by the Oregon Department of 

 Fish and Wildlife, USDA Forest Service, USDI Bureau of 

 Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

 This is Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment 

 Station Technical Paper number 10,539. 



USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-152. 1995. 



47 



