Seasonal and spatial trends of marine birds along support vessel transects and at oil platforms on the Grand Banks

Abstract

Excerpted from the Abstract: “Twenty-one surveys, including the first winter surveys to platforms, were conducted from 1999 through 2003. Oiled murres and dovekies, the species most susceptible to oil pollution, were recorded at the Hibernia platform during February and November when the risk of mortality due to thermal stress is greatest. Roosting gulls were recorded feeding at night on fish, apparently attracted by platform illumination. Marine mammals were observed at offshore platforms. Humpbackand minke whales were the most common mammals and were seen within 5–10 meters of the Hibernia platform. The abundance of storm-petrels and shearwaters near Hibernia was highest during fall and spring migratory periods, when millions of these species move onto the shelf. These are critical for potential mortality from flaring, oiling, and collisions. It is environmentally and ethically essential to continue independent, scientifically rigorous surveys of seabirds in relation to ongoing hydrocarbon activities…”