Description

Globally, seabirds are vulnerable to anthropogenic threats both at sea and on land. Seabirds typically nest colonially and show strong site fidelity; therefore, conservation strategies could benefit from an understanding of the population dynamics and vulnerability of breeding colonies to climate change. More than 350 atolls exist across the Pacific Ocean; while they provide nesting habitat for many seabirds, they are also vulnerable to sealevel rise. We used French Frigate Shoals, the largest atoll in the Hawaiian Archipelago, as a case study to explore seabird colony dynamics and the potential consequences of sealevel rise. We compiled a unique combination of data sets: historical observations of islands and seabirds, a 30year time series of population abundance, LiDAR light detection and ranging derived elevations, and satellite imagery. To model population dynamics for ten species at Tern Island from 1980 to 2009, we used the Gompertz model with parameters for the population growth rate, density dependence, process variation, and observation error. We used a Bayesian approach to estimate the parameters. All species increased in a pattern that provided evidence of density dependence. Density dependence may exacerbate the consequences of sealevel rise on seabirds because species that are already near the carrying capacity of the nesting habitat will be limited more than species that still have space for population growth. Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis, Great Frigatebird Fregata minor, Redtailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda, Masked Booby Sula dactylatra, Graybacked Tern Onychoprion lunatus, and White Tern Gygis alba are likely already at carrying capacity at Tern Island and therefore are most likely to be negatively impacted by sealevel rise. We project 12 of French Frigate Shoals excluding La Perouse Pinnacle will be inundated with 1.0 m sealevel rise or 32 with 2.0 m. Graybacked Terns that nest along the coastal perimeters of islands and shrubnesting species that are habitat limited are especially vulnerable to sealevel rise. However, at Tern Island, seawalls and habitat creation may mitigate projected seabird population declines due to habitat loss. We predict substantial losses in seabird nesting habitat across the lowlying Hawaiian Islands by 2100 and emphasize the need to restore higher elevation seabird colonies.

General Information

• This data is described at

  http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/dynamics-of-seabird-colonies-vulnerable-to-sea-level-rise-at-french-frigate-shoals-hawaii Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• This data is published by

  US Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

Legal Information

• The rights statement is at

  http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/dynamics-of-seabird-colonies-vulnerable-to-sea-level-rise-at-french-frigate-shoals-hawaii Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• Outside the US, this data is available under

  Creative Commons CCZero Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• There are

  yes, and the rights are all held by the same person or organisation Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The content is available under

  Creative Commons CCZero Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The rights statement includes data about

  its data licence Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• This data contains

  no data about individuals Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

Practical Information

• The data appears in this collection

  http://catalog.data.gov/organization/fws-gov Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The accuracy or relevance of this data will

  go out of date but it is timestamped Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The data is

  backed up offsite Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

Technical Information

• This data is published at

  http://ecos.fws.gov/ServCatFiles/reference/holding/16602?accessType=DOWNLOAD Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The format of this data is

  a standard open format Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

Social Information

• The documentation includes machine-readable data for

  title Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation includes machine-readable data for

  description Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation includes machine-readable data for

  identifier Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation includes machine-readable data for

  landing page Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation includes machine-readable data for

  publisher Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation includes machine-readable data for

  keyword(s) or tag(s) Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation includes machine-readable data for

  distribution(s) Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation includes machine-readable data for

  release date Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation includes machine-readable data for

  modification date Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation includes machine-readable data for

  temporal coverage Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation about each distribution includes machine-readable data for

  release date Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation about each distribution includes machine-readable data for

  a URL to access the data Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation about each distribution includes machine-readable data for

  a URL to download the dataset Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• The documentation about each distribution includes machine-readable data for

  type of download media Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• Find out how to contact someone about this data at

  http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/dynamics-of-seabird-colonies-vulnerable-to-sea-level-rise-at-french-frigate-shoals-hawaii Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know

• Find out how to suggest improvements to publication at

  http://www.data.gov/issue/?media_url=http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/dynamics-of-seabird-colonies-vulnerable-to-sea-level-rise-at-french-frigate-shoals-hawaii Do you think this data is incorrect? Let us know