IMIS

This information will play a critical role in the evaluation of offshore energy development for both conservation agencies and potential developers. While the conservation community is clearly supportive of green energy, we believe it is imperative that wildlife conservation must be considered during the planning and development of these projects. This research will help us guide the energy development into regions of the coast that are less likely to support large concentrations of pelagic seabirds.
The razorbills in this study were named for important leaders in environmental conservation. For more information please contact: Linda_Welch@fws.gov

Razorbills (Alca torda) are a stalky, crow-sized seabird which reside in arctic and subarctic marine waters from Maine to Northern Russia. As a member of the Auk family they are closely related to puffins, guillemots and murres. Razorbills prefer the open ocean, only coming ashore during the breeding season to lay one egg in a rock burrow or crevice. The male razorbill will escort the chick to sea 18-20 days after it hatches, remaining together for up to two months. Razorbills feed primarily on herring and hake and may dive more than 100 meters to catch these prey items. Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge and its partners have worked for the past 30 years to manage and restore seabird colonies along the coast of Maine. The Refuge currently supports 90% of the Atlantic puffins and 85% of the razorbills breeding in the United States. While we have extensive data on size, species composition, and distribution of breeding colonies, very little data has been collected regarding the movements away from the colony. The small number of breeding colonies and the limited geographic distribution of the managed colonies increases the need to maintain suitable foraging habitat within commuting range of the breeding colonies. Adult razorbills must find enough food to feed themselves and their growing chick. The location of foraging habitat is highly dynamic, and may vary depending on water temperature, current, or forage fish availability. The Gulf of Maine supports a tremendous diversity of pelagic seabirds that rely on these cold, productive waters during a portion of their annual life cycle. For species such as Atlantic puffin and razorbills, the Gulf of Maine represents the southern limit of their breeding distribution in the United States. As with any species at the fringe of their distribution, these birds are likely to be highly sensitive to changes in habitat and prey availability resulting from global climate change. Managers are concerned that increasing sea surface temperatures, changes in commercial harvest rates of key forage species, and potential offshore energy development could now threaten the ability of this region to support pelagic seabirds.