Burger 



Chapter 29 



Marine Distribution, Abundance, Habitats in British Columbia 



Shoreline surveys in Alberni Canal (Sep 1987-Aug 1988) 



0.5 



Q Q ^^^^ 



Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 



& 



2 Deer Islands, Barkley Sound (1979) 



4 8 



(0 



E 



00 



ND ND ND ND 



8 



_ 



ND ND 



Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 



I 



g. 

 10 



i 

 CO 



10 

 8 

 6 

 4 

 2 

 



Deer Islands, Barkley Sound (1986-1988) 



ND ND 



ND 



Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 



8- 



I 

 m 



Ucluelet to Broken Group, Barkley Sound (1972 and 1973) 

 5 



3 



ND ND 1 



KIQ 



Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 



Figure 2 Monthly variations in densities of Marbled Murrelets measured in boat surveys in and near Barkley Sound. 

 Data are from shoreline surveys in the Alberni Canal (Vermeer and Morgan 1 992) , along fixed routes through the Deer 

 Islands in 1 979 (Porter 1 981 ) and 1 986-1 988 (Burger 1 994), and along a fixed route between Ucluelet and the Broken 

 Group islands (Hatler and others 1978). Numbers above columns show numbers of surveys; ND = no data. 



Data from the breeding season (generally 1 May through 

 31 July) in 82 sample areas (some overlapping) show marked 

 variations in density (fig. 4; appendix 7). At a very coarse 

 spatial scale (10-100 km), trends include: higher densities 

 on the more sheltered eastern shores of Moresby Island 

 than in the rest of the Queen Charlotte Islands; higher 

 densities off SW Vancouver Island than NW or NE 

 Vancouver Island; and, surprisingly, higher densities along 

 the exposed nearshore coast of western Graham, Moresby, 

 and Vancouver Islands than in the inlets off these coasts. 

 Major concentrations (>5 birds per linear kilometer on 

 average) were found in six regions: the outer west coast of 

 Moresby Island (1976 census); several inlets and bays with 

 many islands on the sheltered coast of Moresby Island 



(Long Inlet, Laskeek Bay, Skincuttle Inlet, Poole Inlet and 

 Collison Bay); Okeover Inlet in Desolation Sound on the 

 southern mainland; SE Clayoquot Sound and exposed shores 

 off Long Beach, SW Vancouver Island; several parts of 

 Barkley Sound, SW Vancouver Island; and exposed 

 nearshore water between Barkley Sound and Port San Juan, 

 SW Vancouver Island. This last area supported the highest 

 densities (average >12 birds/km in both 1991 and 1993) for 

 a large stretch of coast (65 km) in British Columbia. 



The fjords and sheltered waters of the central mainland 

 coast supported relatively low summer densities overall 

 (average 1.65/km in a 640-km traverse between 15 and 30 

 May 1990; Kaiser and others 1991), but there were some 

 dense patches (Sheep Passage, and Mussel and Kynoch inlets). 



298 



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



