by
W. T. Munro
British Columbia Fish and Wildlife Branch
300-1019 Wharf Street
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 2Z1
and
R. Wayne Campbell
British Columbia Provincial Museum
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
British Columbia Provincial agencies are given authority for protecting marine birds and their habitats by the Provincial Wildlife Act, the Parks Act, and the Ecological Reserves Act. The Provincial Museum Act accommodates research on marine birds. The Fish and Wildlife branch has protected over 30,000 ha of intertidal estuarine habitat in the form of reserves and has conducted limited inventories of birds on the Queen Charlotte Islands and northern mainland coast. The Provincial Museum has conducted inventories and life-history studies of marine birds and maintains a repository for information on seabirds, including a catalog of colonies. Pollution from oil and chemicals, improper logging practices, and disturbance by boating recreationists are the most apparent threats to the well-being of birds. Additional inventories and the determination of seasonal distribution are among the information needed to better protect the marine birds of British Columbia.
Most marine-associated birds in Canada are covered by the Migratory Birds Convention Act and are therefore federally protected. In British Columbia additional protection is provided by the Provincial Wildlife Act. Several other provincial acts provide authorities related to seabirds. The Provincial Museum Act permits research related to natural history; the Parks Act and Ecological Reserves Act provide for the protection of habitat and prohibit harassment of wildlife within park and reserve boundaries; and the Firearms Act permits the closure of areas frequented by selected wildlife to the discharge of firearms. The fact that several authorities for the protection and conservation of marine birds are available does not mean that they have been used to full advantage.
British Columbia's irregular shores provide thousands of kilometers of coastline, much of which is used by marine birds for nesting and wintering as well as during migration. Through legislation of different types, some of the more ecologically important and unique sites have been protected. Twelve "ecological reserves," which are basically inviolate preserve areas, provide habitat for and protection to a number of major breeding colonies. Over 30,000 ha of intertidal estuarine habitat has been protected by the provincial Fish and Wildlife Branch in the form of reserves. Less than half of the total area is in Order-in-Council reserves (passed by the Provincial Cabinet), which afford strong protection; the rest is in departmental map reserves, which merely means other agencies must inform the branch before they disturb them; they are hardly secure. Provincial Parks Branch protects other areas used by marine birds by incorporating them within parks.
Research and conservation of seabirds in British Columbia have not been a high priority in the Fish and Wildlife Branch, basically because seabirds are not consumed by people. Our primary interest in seabirds has been in their role as a life support system for the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus). Most Fish and Wildlife Branch reserves have been established to protect estuarine habitat for fishes, waterfowl, and shorebirds rather than for true seabirds. That situation is not likely to change in the near future unless additional funds become available to the Branch. About the most we can expect to do is designate key areas as sanctuaries or wildlife management reserves. Under the folio and referral systems now operational among resource agencies in British Columbia, we have the opportunity to advise other disciplines against approving practices that would adversely affect wildlife. By those methods we are attempting to protect critical seabird habitat. It must be stressed, however, that we can only advise; we cannot force other agencies to follow procedures we suggest.
The only significant work relating to seabirds in which the Fish and Wildlife Branch is presently engaged involves inventory of specific sites on the Queen Charlotte Islands and the northwest mainland coast. Those areas are ones on which we expect to find seabird colonies and where applications for logging are pending. To enable us to advise the Forest Service on the wildlife values of those sites, we began field work in the summer of 1975.
The Federal Government, in comparison to what it has done on the east coast and in the north of Canada, has been negligent in its support of seabird conservation on the west coast. By far the most seabird research by a government agency in British Columbia has been accomplished by the staff at the Provincial Museum in Victoria. In the past, beginning in the 1940's, museum personnel (mainly C. J. Guiguet) explored and inventoried seabird colonies along the British Columbia coast. Most work then was exploratory, and little quantitative information was gathered. More recently, precise counts have been obtained of seabirds nesting in the Strait of Georgia, Juan de Fuca Strait, the central west coast of Vancouver Island, the northern mainland coast, and the east coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands. That information, along with quantitative data gathered in the summer of 1975, will be used to update the "Catalogue of British Columbia Seabird Colonies" published in 1961 by the museum.
The museum has a number of programs under way.
• A cooperative survey with Washington State of colonies of the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the Pacific Northwest. To limit disturbance, that survey is to be conducted at 5-year intervals beginning in the summer of 1975.
• A survey of all islands, whether or not they are supporting seabirds, in the Strait of Georgia and Juan de Fuca Strait in 1980, to detect changes in populations after 1974.
• Monitoring changes in seabird populations along the west coast of Vancouver Island, gathering data for all islands there. Permanent quadrats will be established on ecological reserves in the area to help detect such changes. As a result of such quadrats having been set up in 1967 on Cleland Island and being re-examined in 1974, we can document a significant decrease in Leach's storm-petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) and a corresponding increase in rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata).
• Mapping vegetation substrate as it relates to seabird populations on selected islands in the Province.
• Investigating differences in eggshell thickness between eggs within clutches of glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) near Victoria.
• A saturation banding program for cormorants (Phalacrocorax penicillatus, P. pelagicus, and P. auritus) on south-coast colonies.
• Continued banding of select colonies of glaucous-winged gulls which began in the 1960's. Life tables, survivorship curves, and dispersal patterns should result.
The museum also acts as a repository for information on seabirds in British Columbia and maintains files on the history of seabird islands as well as references to literature published on all seabirds in the Province. The references include unpublished theses and reports. This information is easily retrievable—not a small contribution in today's paper-producing society.
Future programs planned by the Provincial Museum, in addition to the continuance of some of those already mentioned, include a system of monitoring colonies every 5 to 10 years, depending on the sensitivity of the species involved, to detect changes in population numbers and distribution. It is also hoped that the first complete provincial census, with cooperation from Federal and provincial agencies, naturalist groups, and the like, can be budgeted and arranged for in the summer of 1980. That census could conceivably be expanded to include the entire Pacific coast of North America.
Some research on the breeding biology of seabirds has been conducted by universities, notably the University of British Columbia under the guidance of R. H. Drent and M. Udvardy. We expect that graduates returning to coastal universities will continue that work. The section of government dealing with ecological reserves has just recently received funding to permit field studies on reserves harboring marine birds. J. B. Foster, Coordinator of Ecological Reserves, emphasizes that research by other agencies is encouraged under permit on ecological reserves.
There are a number of threats to seabirds in British Columbia. Along with the chemical pollutants in their environment and food, logging, and the specter of huge oil tankers plying the west coast, we are greatly concerned by the potential threat of boating enthusiasts and recreationists. Well-meaning but uninformed vacationers and boaters stopping to visit or picnic at seabird islands can do serious damage to nesting seabirds. The possibility of loss of habitat to seabirds from people searching for island summer homes poses a threat, and indeed some seabird islands have already been lost to speculators. With increased leisure time and travel the potential of unintentionally introducing predators, such as rats (Rattus spp.) and snakes, to seabird islands is great. Intentional or accidental introduction of mammals, such as mink (Mustella vison), rabbit (Sylvilagus spp.), fox (Vulpes fulva), and raccoon (Procyon lotor), to islands is another serious threat to the future existence of seabird populations. The recent unauthorized and apparently unsuccessful introduction of mink on the Queen Charlotte Islands could have resulted in the eventual devastation of seabird colonies there and on adjacent islands. The destruction of habitat by logging near colonies on large islands and complete logging on small offshore islands will no doubt adversely affect some seabird populations. Competition between increasing numbers of gulls (Larus spp.) and certain species of seabirds (e.g., storm-petrels and cormorants) may result in reduced numbers of the seabirds.
What types of programs are needed? About 80% of all known seabird colonies in British Columbia have been investigated to date, and a modest program to monitor changes has been established. We do, however, require exploratory work along the west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands and northern mainland coast. We need to know more about the breeding biology and reproductive potential of each of the species nesting in the Province, as well as about their adaptability to different habitats. Will some burrow-nesting alcids use man-made tubes erected in otherwise marginal habitat? Can and should more man-made habitat be created for cormorants that have been displaced from ancestral breeding grounds?
Of immediate urgency is exploratory work involving seasonal distribution, abundance, and flight lanes of pelagic seabirds along the coast of British Columbia—especially the northern portion. We lack the base-line data which could help influence routes of oil tankers to lessen the potential danger of spills to marine birds. We know little about the winter distribution of marine birds, especially alcids.
As a general rule, offshore islands of less than 100 ha should be protected completely from logging, and the larger ones supporting major seabird colonies should have some protection from development. We must also consider the possibility of preserving some islands which may act as buffer areas and provide potential alternate habitat to seabirds.
Another concern is the effect of commercial and sport fishing in the Province on food supplies for seabirds, and what damage, if any, gillnetting may have on diving seabirds. Perhaps we should discourage fishing by nets in areas where large numbers of seabirds aggregate to feed.
We also need to know more about the effects of chemical pollutants on individual species and on their reproduction. Of paramount importance, and one which biologists tend to neglect, is communication among all disciplines interested in seabirds. For example, a comprehensive file of the history of seabird colonies in British Columbia is established at the Provincial Museum. It would be a waste of time and money to duplicate that file and have three or four scattered across the country. We would be better advised to tackle another phase of work yet to be accomplished. Communication assures that seabirds benefit and are not unduly harassed.
Annual meetings, both local and international, of persons interested in marine birds should be arranged so that problems relating to seabirds can be discussed. For example, populations of glaucous-winged gulls in British Columbia have increased exponentially in the past 10 years. If they are a threat to the existence of other seabirds (e.g., Leach's storm-petrel, double-crested cormorants), should they be controlled, and, if so, how? Such meetings would also help develop a pattern of universal census methods and techniques that could be put to use along the Pacific Coast to provide comparable data from different areas.
Finally, in today's world, natural resource agencies must operate on limited funding. How can one convince administrators to divert a significant portion of those funds to the investigation of species that are widely regarded as having little social importance?
A detailed bibliography of seabirds of British Columbia is available from either of us.
We thank D. F. Hatler, J. B. Foster, and A. L. Allen for comments on the manuscript.