Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Breeding Biology of the Parakeet Auklet (Cyclorrhynchus psittacula) on Talan Island (Northern Sea of Okhotsk)

  • Published:
Biology Bulletin Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The breeding biology of the parakeet auklet was studied in 1989–2012 on Talan Island, which is located in Tauiskaya Bay in the Sea of Okhotsk. In 2008, its population amounted to 3000–4000 individuals, and 70% of the birds nested on the western slope. In 2008, the average density of nesting on this part of the island was 0.018 pairs/m2. Most of nests were noted along the slope base (5–20 m a.s.l.), while the largest density in these sites was 0.035 pairs/m2. The time of egg laying varied from June 4 to June 14, and the longterm average annual date fell on June 8. The latest date of egg laying (June 12–14) was observed in 1995, 1999, and 2001, which was due to the time of ice crushing nearby the island. Hatching in different years started on July 9–19 and ended in late July–early August. The weight of hatchlings was 20–33 g (on average, 27.9 g). In different years, the maximum weight of 22-to 29-day-old nestlings was 173–263 g. By the time of fledging, their weight had decreased to 168–252 g, while the daily increase in weight for the periods of chicks staying in the nests was 4.06–6.47 g in different years. Young birds left the island in the period from the middle of August to the first ten-day period of September; the average age of fledglings was 31–35 days in different years. The reproductive success of the parakeet auklet varied from 0 to 83.3% (on average, 44.3%) and was mainly determined by the survival of chicks at different stages of their development. The main limiting factor of the reproductive success is the reduction of forage availability and abundance, which is largely due to unfavorable weather conditions (long cyclones with storm winds), as well as various hydrobiological changes in the environment. The influence of anxiety and predation was not significant with respect to adult birds, but these factors can cause death of clutches and chicks, and, being combined with unfavorable weather conditions, their effect increases.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andreev, A.V., Birds in the coastal zone of Taigonos Peninsula (Gizhigin Bay, Sea of Okhotsk), Vestn. Severo-Vost. Nauch. Tsentra Dal’nevost. Otd. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2012, no. 1, pp. 20–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andreev, A.V. and Van Pelt, T., Bird distribution and numbers in coastal waters of Shelikhov Gulf, Sea of Okhotsk, Vestn. Severo-Vost. Nauch. Tsentra Dal’nevost. Otd. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2007, no. 2, pp. 4–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andreev, A.V., Golubova, E.Yu., Zubakin, V.A., and Kharitonov, S.P., Seabird numbers in colonies on Talan Island: a 20-year trend, Vestn. Severo-Vost. Nauch. Tsentra Dal’nevost. Otd. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2010, no. 2, pp. 30–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andreev, A.V., Kharitonov, S.P., and Sleptsov, Yu.A., Seabird colonies on Iony Island, Sea of Okhotsk, Zool. Zh., 2012, vol. 91, no. 7, pp. 843–855.

    Google Scholar 

  • Artyukhin, Yu.B., Cadaster of seabird colonies of the Commander Islands, in Biologiya i okhrana ptits Kamchatki (The Biology and Conservation of the Birds of Kamchatka), Moscow: Dialog-MGU, 1999, vol. 1, pp. 25–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Artyukhin, Yu.B., Burkanov, V.N., and Vyatkin, P.S., Accidental death of seabirds in drift nets during Pacific salmon fishing by Japanese vessels in the exclusive economic zone of Russia in 1993 to 1998, in Biologiya i okhrana ptits Kamchatki (The Biology and Conservation of the Birds of Kamchatka), Moscow: Dialog-MGU, 1999, vol. 1, pp. 93–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Artyukhin, Yu.B., Burkanov, V.N., Zaochnyi, A.N., and Nikulin, V.S., Seabird mortality in drift nets during Japanese salmon fishing in Russia’s waters of the Bering Sea in 1993 to 1999, in Biologiya i okhrana ptits Kamchatki (The Biology and Conservation of the Birds of Kamchatka), Moscow: Tipogr. Ross. S.-kh. Akad., 2000, vol. 2, pp. 110–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Artyukhin, Yu.B., Trukhin, A.M., Kornev, S.I., and Purtov, S.Yu., Cadaster of seabird colonies of the Kurile Islands, in Biologiya i okhrana ptits Kamchatki (The Biology and Conservation of the Birds of Kamchatka), Moscow: Izd. Tsentra Okhrany Dikoi Prirody, 2001, vol. 3, pp. 3–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Artyukhin, Yu.B., Zaochnyi, A.N., Kornev, S.I., Nikulin, V.S., and Testin, A.I., Seabird mortality in drift nets during Japanese salmon fishing in Russia’s waters of the Bering Sea in 2000 and 2001, in Biologiya i okhrana ptits Kamchatki (The Biology and Conservation of the Birds of Kamchatka), Moscow: Izd. Tsentra Okhrany Dikoi Prirody, 2001a, vol. 3, pp. 81–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Artyukhin, Yu.B. and Vyatkin, P.S., The Parakeet Auklet, in Krasnaya kniga Kamchatki (The Red Data Book of the Kamchatka Peninsula), vol. 1: Zhivotnye (Animals), Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky: Kamchatsky Pechatny Dvor, 2006, pp. 202–203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bedard, J., The nesting of the crested, least and parakeet auklets on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, Condor, 1969, vol. 71, pp. 386–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bedard, J., Feeding of the least, crested and parakeet auklets around St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, Can. J. Zool., 1969a, vol. 47, pp. 1025–1050.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catalogue of Alaskan Seabird Colonies: Computer Archives, Anchorage, AK: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2006.

  • Dragoo, D.E., Renner, H.M., and Irons, D.B., Breeding Status and Population Trends of Seabirds in Alaska, 2012, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Report AMNWR 2013/05, Homer, Alaska, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, P.G.Y. and Nettleship, D.N., Conservation of the Atlantic Alcidae, in The Atlantic Alcidae, Orlando, FLL Academic Press, 1985, pp. 427–488.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaston, A.J. and Jones, I.L., Bird Families of the World, vol. 4: The Auks: Alcidae, New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golubova, E.Yu., Nesting success of the Alcidae and factors determining it on Talan Island, Sea of Okhotsk, Materialy 10-i Vses. ornitol. konf. Vitebsk, 17–20 sent. 1991 (Proc. 10th All-Union Ornithol. Conf., Vitebsk, September 17–20, 1991), Minsk: Navuka i Tekhnika, 1991, vol. 1, part 2, pp. 158–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golubova, E.Yu., Studies on reproductive success in the Alcidae, in Pribrezhnye ekosistemy severnogo Okhotomor’ya. Ostrov Talan (Coastal Ecosystems of the Northern Sea of Okhotsk: Talan Island), Magadan: Severo-Vost. Nauch. Tsentr Dal’nevost. Otd. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 1992, pp. 197–203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golubova, E.Yu., Reproduction monitoring of the Alcidae on Talan Island, the northern Sea of Okhotsk, in Biologicheskie osnovy ustoichivogo razvitiya pribrezhnykh morskikh ekosistem. Tezisy dokladov mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii, Murmansk, 25–28 apr. 2001 g. (Biological Bases of Sustainable Development of Coastal Marine Ecosystems: Anstr. Int. Conf., Murmansk, April 25–28, 2001), Apatity: Kol’sk. Nauch. Tsentr Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2001, pp. 59–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golubova, E.Yu., Colonial seabirds in the northern Sea of Okhotsk, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Vladivostok, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golubova, E.Yu., Population monitoring of the ancient murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus) in the northern Sea of Okhotsk, Zool. Zh., 2011, vol. 90, no. 10, pp. 1216–1229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golubova, E.Yu. and Pleshchenko, S.V., Seabird colonies in the northern Sea of Okhotsk, in Vidovoe raznoobrazie i sostoyanie populyatsii okolovodnykh ptits Severo-Vostoka Azii (Species Diversity and Population Status of Semiaquatic Birds in Northeastern Asia), Magadan: Severo-Vost. Nauch. Tsentr Dal’nevost. Otd. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 1997, pp. 141–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, N.M., Gelatinous zooplankton in the diet of the parakeet auklet: comparisons with other auklets, Stud. Avian Biol., 1990, vol. 14, pp. 114–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henschen, M.L., Soucie, B.C., and Rojek, N.A., Biological Monitoring at Chowiet Island, Alaska in 2013, U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. Rep. AMNWR 2013/11, Homer, Alaska, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hipfner, J.M. and Byrd, G.V., Breeding biology of the parakeet auklet compared to other crevice-nesting species at Buldir Island, Alaska, Colon. Waterbirds, 1993, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 128–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, G.L., Burgerson, B., and Sanger, G.A., Feeding ecology of seabirds of the eastern Bering Sea, in The Eastern Bering Sea Shelf: Oceanography and Resources, Seattle. Washington: Univ. of Washington Press, 1981, vol. 2, pp. 629–647.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J.L., Konyukhov, N.B., Williams, J.C., and Byrd, G.V., Parakeet Auklet (Aethia psittacula), in The Birds of North America Online, Ithaca: Cornell Lab. Ornithol., 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kartashev, N.N., Materials on the biology of alcids on the Commander Islands, Ornitologiya, 1979, no. 14, pp. 144–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kharitonov, S.P., Materials on the birds of Iony Island, Ornitologiya, 1980, no. 15, pp. 10–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitaysky, A.S., Bechavioral, physiological and reproductive responses of alcids (Alcidae) to variation in food availability, Ph.D. Thesis, IRVIWE: University of California, USA, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitaysky, A.S., Ecological relationships of the Alcidae on Talan Island, Sea of Okhotsk, Materialy 10-i Vses. ornitol. konf. Vitebsk, 17–20 sent. 1991 (Proc. 10th All-Union Ornithol. Conf., Vitebsk, September 17–20, 1991), Minsk: Navuka i Tekhnika, 1991, vol. 1, part 2, pp. 277–278.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitaysky, A.S., On the study of chick growth and development in the planktivorous Alcidae, in Izuchenie morskikh kolonial’nykh ptits v SSSR (Studies on Colonial Seabirds in the Soviet Union), Magadan: Inst. Biol. Probl. Severa Akad, Nauk SSSR, 1991a, pp. 37–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitaysky, A.S. and Golubova, E.G., Climate change causes contrasting trends in reproductive performance of planktivorous and piscivorous alcids, J. Anim. Ecol., 2000, vol. 69, pp. 248–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klenova, A.V. and Bakhturina, D.S., Specific features of seasonal activity and reproductive success of colonial alcids in Talan Island, Sea of Okhotsk, in 2013, Vestn. Severo-Vost. Nauch. Tsentra Dal’nevost. Otd. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2014, no. 3, pp. 83–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knudtson, E.R. and Byrd, G.V., Breeding biology of Crested, Least and Whiskered auklets in Buldir Island, Alaska, Condor, 1982, vol. 84, pp. 197–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohley, C.R. and Herman, R.W., Biological monitoring at Buldir Island, Alaska in 2013, U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. Rep. AMNWR 2014/02, Homer, Alaska, 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kondratyev, A.Ya., Zubakin, V.A., Golubova, E.Yu., Kondratyeva, L.F., Kharitonov, S.P., and Kitaysky, A.S., The fauna of terrestrial vertebrates on Talan Island, in Pribrezhnye ekosistemy severnogo Okhotomor’ya. Ostrov Talan (Coastal Ecosysyems of the Northern Sea of Okhotsk: Talan Island), Magadan: Severo-Vost. Nauch. Tsentr Dal’nevost. Otd. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 1992, pp. 72–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kondratyev, A.Ya., Zubakin, V.A., Kharitonov, S.P., and Tarkhov, S.V., Studies on bird colonies of Matykil and Kokontse islands (the Yam Islands) and Pyagin Peninsula, Byull. Mosk. O-va Ispyt. Prir., Otd. Biol., 1993, vol. 98, no. 5, pp. 21–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kondratyev, A.Ya., Litvinenko, N.M., Shibaev, Yu.V., Vyatkin, P.S., and Kondratyeva, L.F., The breeding seabirds of the Russian Far East, in Seabirds of the Russian Far East, Special Publication Canadian Wildlife Service, 2000, pp. 37–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kondratyeva, L.F., Specific features of summer diet of the slaty-backed gull Larus schistisagus Stejneger on Talan Island, Sea of Okhotsk, in in Biologiya i okhrana ptits Kamchatki (The Biology and Conservation of the Birds of Kamchatka), Moscow: Izd. Tsentra Okhrany Dikoi Prirody, 2004, no. 6, pp. 91–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konyukhov, N.B., The Parakeet Auklet, in Ptitsy SSSR. Chistikovye (Birds of the Soviet Union: The Alcidae), Moscow: Nauka, 1990, pp. 131–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konyukhov, N.B., Some specific biological features of crested auklets in colonies of the Chukchi Peninsula, in Izuchenie morskikh kolonial’nykh ptits v SSSR (Studies on Colonial Seabirds in the Soviet Union), Magadan: Inst. Biol. Poblem Severa Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1991, pp. 30–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konyukhov, N.B., Weather factors of breeding in alcids, Biol. Bull. (Moscow), 1997, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 177–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konyukhov, N.B., Bogoslovskaya, L.S., Zvonov, B.M., and Van Pelt, T.I., Seabirds of the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia, Arctic, 1998, vol. 51, no. 4, pp. 315–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leito, A., Myand, R., Oya, T., Paal, Ya., and Talvi, T., Issledovanie ekosistem poluostrova Koni (Magadanskii zapovednik) (Studies on Ecosystems of the Koni Peninsula, Magadan Nature Reserve), Tallinn: Akad. Nauk Estonii, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikhtar’yants, E.A., Activity rhythms of the parakeet auklet (Cyclorrhynchus psitacula) and tufted puffin (Lunda cirrhata) and regular fluctuations of their abundance related to these rhythms in nesting colonies, in Ekologiya i zoogeografiya nekotorykh pozvonochnykh sushi Dal’nego Vostoka (Ecology and Zoogeography of Some Terrestrial Vertebrates in the Far East), Vladivostok: Dal’nevost. Nauch. Tsentr Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1978, pp. 31–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikhtar’yants, E.A., The parakeet auklet, Cyclorrhynchus psitacula (Pall.): Distribution and biology, in Redkie ptitsy Dal’nego Vostoka (Rare Birds of the Far East), Vladivostok: Dal’nevost. Nauch. Tsentr Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1981, pp. 80–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nechaev, V.A., New data on seabirds of Sakhalin Island, in Morskie ptitsy Dal’nego Vostoka (Seabirds of the Far East), Vladivostok: Dal’nevost. Nauch. Tsentr Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1986, pp. 71–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peremitin, V.G., Reproductive success of the Alcidae on Talan Island in 1996, in Morskie ptitsy Beringi (Seabirds of Beringia), vol. 4, Magadan: Severo-Vost. Nauch. Tsentr Dal’nevost. Otd. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 1999, pp. 7–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piatt, J.F., Roberts, B.D., Lidster, W.W., Wells, J.L., and Hatch, S.A., Effects of human disturbance on breeding least and crested auklets at St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, Auk, 1990, vol. 107, pp. 342–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sealy, S.G., Influence of snow on egg-laying in auklets, Auk, 1975, vol. 92, pp. 528–538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sealy, S.G., Voles as a source of egg and nestling loss among nestling auklets, Murrelet, 1982, vol. 63, pp. 9–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sealy, S.G. and Bedard, J., Breeding biology of the parakeet auklet (Cyclorrhynchus psittacula) on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, Astarte, 1973, vol. 6, pp. 58–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuntov, V.P., Ptitsy dal’nevostochnykh morei Rossii (Birds of Russia’s Far Eastern Seas), Vladivostok: TINRO-Tsentr, 1998, vol. 1.

  • Springer, A.M., Kondratyev, A.Y., Ogi, H., Shibaev, Y.V., and Vliet, G.B., Status, ecology, and conservation of Synthliboramphus murrelet and auklets, in The Status, Ecology and Conservation of Marine Birds of the North Pacific, Ottawa: Can.Wildl. Serv. Spec. Publ., 1993, pp. 187–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trukhin, A.M. and Kuzin, A.E., Long-term dynamics of species composition and abundance of seabirds nesting on Tyuleny Island, Sea of Okhotsk, in Ptitsy presnykh vod i morskikh poberezhii yuga dal’nego Vostoka Rossii i ikh okhrana (Birds of Fresh Waters and Seashores of the Russian Far East and Their Protection), Vladivostok: Dal’nevost. Otd. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 1996, pp. 214–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ustinova, E.I., Sorokin, Yu.L., and Khen, G.V., Interannual variation of thermal conditions in the Sea of Okhotsk, Izv. Tikhookean. Inst. Rybov. Okeanogr., 2002, vol. 130, pp. 44–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Utekhina, I.G., Steller’s sea eagle, Haliaeetus pelagicus (Pallas, 1811), on the northern Sea of Okhotsk coast: Distribution, abundance, ecology, migrations, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Moscow: Moscow State Univ., 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  • Utekhina, I.G., On the distribution of seabird colonies on the northern Sea of Okhotsk coast, in Biologiya i okhrana ptits Kamchatki (The Biology and Conservation of the Birds of Kamchatka), Moscow: Izd. Tsentra Okhrany Dikoi Prirody, 2006, vol. 7, pp. 95–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vas’kovskii, A.P., New ornithological findings on the northern Sea of Okhotsk coast, Zool. Zh., 1956, vol. 35, no. 7, pp. 1051–1058.

    Google Scholar 

  • Velizhanin, A.G., New data on seabirds of the Far East, Zool. Zh., 1977, vol. 56, no. 7, pp. 1077–1083.

    Google Scholar 

  • Velizhanin, A.G., Distribution and abundance status of seabird colonies in the Far East, in Aktual’nye voprosy okhrany prirody na Dal’nem Vostoke (Current Problems of Nature Conservation in the Far East), Vladivostok: Dal’nevost. Nauch. Tsentr Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1978, pp. 154–173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vyatkin, P.S., Cadaster of nesting sites for colonial seabirds on the Koryak Plateau and eastern Kamchatka coast, in Biologiya i okhrana ptits Kamchatki (The Biology and Conservation of the Birds of Kamchatka), Moscow: Izd. Tsentra Okhrany Dikoi Prirody, 2000, vol. 2, pp. 7–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yakhontov, V.D., Bird colonies in Penzhina Bay and their status, in Materialy VI vsesoyuzn. ornitol. konf. (Proc. VI All-Union Ornithol. Conf.), Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1974, part 2, pp. 251–252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yakhontov, V.D., Bird colonies in Penzhina Bay and their status, in Kolonial’nye gnezdov’ya okolovodnykh ptits i ikh okhrana. Materialy soveshchaniya (Colonial Nesting Sites of Semiaquatic Birds and Their Protection: Proc. Conf.), Moscow: Nauka, 1975, pp. 185–186.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zelenskaya, L.A., The time course of changes in the seabird colony on Umara Island, the northern Sea of Okhotsk, in Biologiya i okhrana ptits Kamchatki (The Biology and Conservation of the Birds of Kamchatka), Moscow: Izd. Tsentra Okhrany Dikoi Prirody, 2006, vol. 7, pp. 100–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zelenskaya, L.A., Abundance and distribution of seabirds on Matykil Island (the Yam Islands, Sea of Okhotsk), Zool. Zh., 2009, vol. 88, no. 5, pp. 546–555.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zelenskaya, L.A., Seabirds of Starichkov Island, Avachinsky Gulf, in Biologiya i okhrana ptits Kamchatki (The Biology and Conservation of the Birds of Kamchatka), Moscow: Izd. Tsentra Okhrany Dikoi Prirody, 2010, vol. 9, pp. 82–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zubakin, V.A. and Zubakina, E.V., Nesting conservatism, survival rate, and pair fidelity in four alcid species from the Sea of Okhotsk, Materialy 10-i Vses. ornitol. konf. Vitebsk, 17–20 sent. 1991 (Proc. 10th All-Union Ornithol. Conf., Vitebsk, September 17–20, 1991), Minsk: Navuka i Tekhnika, 1991, vol. 1, part 1, pp. 73–74.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biological Problems of the North, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan, 685000, Russia

    E. Yu. Golubova

Authors
  1. E. Yu. Golubova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. Yu. Golubova.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © E.Yu. Golubova, 2015, published in Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, 2015, Vol. 94, No. 7, pp. 832–847.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Golubova, E.Y. Breeding Biology of the Parakeet Auklet (Cyclorrhynchus psittacula) on Talan Island (Northern Sea of Okhotsk). Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 44, 735–750 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359017070081

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359017070081

Keywords

Search

Navigation