Ruth Boettcher
November 28, 2018
• Formed in 2005 to identify marine bird conservation needs
& develop collective actions for birds at-sea in the NW
Atlantic.
• Accomplishments:
Atlantic Marine Bird Cooperative (AMBC)
- NW Atlantic Seabird Catalog
- Fisheries Bycatch Reduction Business Plan
- Surveying, tracking, modelling research to
inform offshore energy development
- Oil spill damage assessment mapping
- Incorporation of seabird diet information in fisheries mangt. plans
2016 Waterbird Society Conference
PURPOSE: Determine future objectives & structure
EXPANDED SCOPE: 1. Inclusion of breeding colonies
2. Inclusion of Gulf of Mexico for species that occur in the
Gulf and the NW Atlantic.
WHY:To merge breeding information with at-sea
information → full life cycle conservation
& management approach.
AMBC Reset
SCAW-WG
Announcing the birth of the SCAW-WG!
DOB: February 17, 2017
SCAW-WG Mission
Monitor, manage & conserve seabird
breeding colonies, habitats and prey species
along the North American Atlantic coast &
U.S. Gulf coast using collaborative,
consistent and science-based approaches.
SCAW-WG
Geographic Scope
Five Regional Sub-groups
Southeast:
North Carolina
– Atlantic coast
of Florida
Gulf of Mexico: Gulf coast
of Florida - Mexico
Mid-Atlantic:
New Jersey -
Virginia
Lower Northeast:
Rhode Island – New
York
Gulf of Maine:
Atlantic Canada
- Massachusetts
SCAW-WG Organizational
Structure
SCAW-WG Steering Committee: Regional sub-groups leads
Lower Northeast:
RI- NY
Mid-Atlantic: NJ - VA
Southeast: NC - FL
Gulf Coast: FL - TX
Atlantic Marine Bird Cooperative: ≥ 2 Steering Committee
members represent the SCAW-WG at AMBC meetings
Gulf of Maine: Atlantic CAN - MA
SCAW-WG Focal Species
Black skimmerLeast tern
Common tern
Laughing gull Double-crested cormorant
Key SCAW-WG Long-
term Goals
1. Provide accurate seabird breeding population estimates.
2. Coordinate and facilitate historical and current seabird
breeding data storage, sharing and analyses.
3. Within each region, facilitate the development and
implementation of coordinated seabird colony
management.
4. Develop and implement regional and coast-wide research
and monitoring objectives.
5. Facilitate linking breeding population trends to offshore
abundance and distribution.
Key SCAW-WG Short-
term Goals
1. Obtain information from states & provinces to identify
commonalities within and across regions.
• Seabird breeding monitoring efforts/methods;
• Existing seabird breeding data and data gaps;
• Key threats affecting seabird breeding success;
• Existing management and outreach efforts.
2. Develop regional (and multi-regional) seabird breeding
survey plans → 2018 Colonial Waterbird Survey!
States will:
1. Support/participate in 2018 CWB survey to the greatest
extent possible.
2. Contribute historical, recent, and future CWB data.
3. Develop a shared CWB data management system with
mapping tools.
4. Establish regular coordinated CWB surveys by 2023.
Colonial Waterbird (CWB)
Recommendations adopted by the Atlantic
Flyway Council September 2017 & February 2018
Atlantic Coast CWB Staff
Interviews
RESULTS:
• Contacted 13 of 14 Atlantic coast states.
• 3/13 states – complete coast-wide seabird survey
in 2018.
• All states - complete surveys of one or more
SCAW-WG focal species in 2018.
• All states agreed to provide past & current data.
Resurrected the USGS CWB website: https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/cwb/
Inventoried existing USGS CWBD contents.
Updated CWB data entry spreadsheet in prep for 2018 data and posted it
on the USGS CWB website.
Made a formal request to states and provinces for 2018 data as well as
past CWB survey data.
• 2018-2020 (funded in August 2018)
• USGS Maine Coop Unit (Cyndy Loftin & Zachary Loman)
• Goal: Update and improve the USGS CWB database (CWBD)
• Completed tasks:
USGS - USFWS Science Support Program
Project: Laying the groundwork for science-based
management of CWB
Laying the groundwork for science-based
management of CWB: additional key
tasks
1. Compile and enter all data received into the USGS
CWBD and prepare the CWBD for future incorporation
into the Avian Knowledge Network (AKN) platform.
2. Develop and evaluate population trends for SCAW-WG
focal species using all available data, and graphically
display trend data on the USGS CWB website.
Looking into the future…
Upload CWBD into the AKN; test analytical &
mapping tools.
Explore the feasibility of uploading the AKN CWB
node into an on-line data warehouse that can store and
integrate large, disparate datasets for storage, analyses
and mapping → Big Data Hub.
Planning the 2023 SCAW-WG CWB survey – stay
tuned!