File:The Canadian field-naturalist (1973) (20333722199).jpg

Title: The Canadian field-naturalist
Identifier: canadianfieldnat1973otta (find matches)
Year: 1973 (1970s)
Authors: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
Subjects:
Publisher: Ottawa, Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
Contributing Library: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library

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1973 Brown et al.: Bird Mortality from Oil Slicks 231 1°W, during 10-min watches from moving ships; the data were collected during three cruises by Brown and four by other PIROP observers, none of them, unfortunately, in 1970. It appears that in February and March, murres are rather scarce off Nova Scotia; they are concentrated on the Grand Bank, and also close to their colonies on the Newfoundland coast. Dovekie distribution during this period is similar to that of the murres. Both of these alcids are abundant, and we doubt whether the estimated loss in the relatively unimportant part of their winter range off Nova Scotia would affect them very much. (However, we note that Thick-billed Murres are under severe pres- sure from hunting and salmon-netting off west Greenland (Tull et al. 1972), and further losses off eastern Canada could have serious consequences.) Unpublished PIROP data show that Fulmars are generally scarce in Nova Scotian waters, and the numbers killed by Slick A were supris- ingly high. In February and March Fulmars, like murres and Dovekies, are commonest on the Grand Bank Fisher 1952). Fulmars are extremely abundant and their numbers and range, at least in the eastern Atlantic, are rapidly expanding. We doubt whether the mortality caused by this slick will have much effect on the Fulmar population as a whole, though the cumulative effect of many kills of this size could, of course, be serious. (c) Burin Peninsula and St. Shotts The Burin Peninsula shoreline is mostly too inaccessible for standard beach counts; in his investigations, Gillespie relied on a combination of beach counts and observations from low-
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FiGURE 3. The average numbers of murres per 10-min transect seen in each Vi°N X 1°W block off Nova Scotia and southern Newfoundland in February and March.

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