Survival and recruitment of Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima dresseri) in the Gulf of Maine

Project Number: 14

Year Funded: 2006

Lead Institution(s): USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Project Lead: Daniel McAuley

Email:

Collaborator(s): R. Bradford Allen (UDIFW), Patrick Corr (USGS PWRC), Andy Weik (MDIFW), Brian Benedict (PM NWR), Linda Welch (PM NWR)

Location: Maine

Focal Species: Common Eider (Somateria mollissima)

Project Description: Banding efforts for common eiders have not been constant over time. Survival and recovery rates are only available for adult females and there is a need for information on the other agesex classes. During the 1970s to mid- 1980s there was an effort to band female eiders on a few islands in Maine. Numbers of adult females banded per year ranged from 120 to 609. Since then, 0-50 birds have been banded each year. Krementz et al. (1996) analyzed banding data for the Atlantic coast population of eiders and only had sufficient data for the years 1976-1986 for Maine. He found recovery rates were low and survival was high. Because these estimates are more than 15 years old, harvest has been increasing, and recruitment rate is likely declining, there is a need to obtain better estimates of survival and recovery rates for eiders.