Marine bird and sea otter population abundance of Prince william sound, Alaska: Trends following the t/v Exxon Valdez oil spill, 1989-93. Restoration project 93045. Exxon Valdez oil spill restoration project final report
We conducted small boat surveys to estimate marine bird and sea otter (Enhdra lutris) populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska during March and July 1993, using methods developed for the 1989-91 surveys (Klosiewski and Laing 1994). During 1993, we recorded 65 birds and 13 mammal species. We estimated that 402,760 + or - 167,697 marine birds were in the Sound during March 1993, an increase of >200,000 birds over 1990 and 1991. To examine trends in our marine bird population estimates from 1989-93, we assumed that in the absence of oil spill effects, population estimates in the oiled zone would change at the same rate as those in the unoiled zone. For Prince William Sound as a whole, we examined population trends from 1989-1993, using regression analyses. We also examined the relative abundance of the species groups seen in Prince William Sound from 1972 to 1993. Sea otter populations in 1993 were estimated at 6,813 + or - 1,861 for March and 8,216 + or - 2,435 for July. We found no difference in the rate of change between the oiled and unoiled zones from 1989-93 for either the March or July population estimates. There was no significant trend in the total number of sea otters in Prince William Sound from 1989-93.
- Research Organization:
- Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, AK (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 371071
- Report Number(s):
- PB-96-194873/XAB; TRN: 62392968
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: May 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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