Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS34 Trophic Dynamics

Date: Friday, February 16, 2001, Time: 12:15:00 PM

Location: Mesilla

Hurlbert, A, H, Dept Biology, Univ New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA, hurlbert@unm.edu

Sturm, K, , Canaan Valley Natl Wildl Refuge, US Fish Wildl Serv, Davis, WV, USA, ken_sturm@fws.gov

Hurlbert, S, H, Dept Biology and Center for Inland Waters, San Diego State Univ, San Diego, CA, USA, shurlbert@sunstroke.sdsu.edu

FISH-EATING BIRDS AT THE SALTON SEA: PAST TRENDS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Christmas Bird Count surveys and censuses of colonial nesting birds at the Salton Sea, California, show that fish-eating birds increased in numbers by two to four orders of magnitude during the 1970s, suffered a decline of less than an order of magnitude in the 1980s, and subsequently recovered to varying degrees during the 1990s. In contrast to piscivorous species, most non-piscivorous birds have not shown an upward trend since the 1960s. North American Breeding Bird Survey data indicate that fish-eating birds have increased throughout western North America from 1968-1996, but not to the same degree as they have at the Salton Sea. Likely causes of these trends are decline in organochlorine insecticide use, increased abundance of fish at the Salton Sea following introduction of tilapia, and fish-dieoffs caused by high salinity and cold weather in the late 80s. Future prospects of fish-eating birds at the Salton Sea are grim given continuing increase in salinity, now at about 43 g/l.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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