Marine Birds The Black- Footed Albatross Brown Pelican Blue Footed Galapagos Constanza Arguelles Period 1

The Black – Footed Albatross

Basic Facts They live in the open ocean where there are steady winds. They are from the Northern Pacific Coast. The Black- Footed Albatross is an omnivore. This type of Albatross is the smaller kind of its family. Their wings are long and straight making it easy to glide above the sea closely.

Population In the late 1800s and early 1900s the population of the Black- Footed Albatross significantly declined because of feather and egg collecting. Since recent studies the Black- Footed Albatross is near threatened. Such studies suggest to predict a rapid population decline in this specific species in the next three generations, which is 56 years. Each year there is estimated to be about 64,000 breeding pairs. Three colonies of these birds have been monitored in Hawaii between 1991 to 2000 and showed that the population decreased by 9.6 percent.

Reproduction The Black- Footed Albatross only comes to land to nest. There breeding seasons are between the months of October through May. They have monogamous lifestyle. Its takes between 63 to 65 days for eggs to hatch. They leave the nest at the age of 5 to g months old. The breeding pair only produces one egg every year. FertilizationEgg is laidEgg HatchesAdolescentAdult

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The Brown Pelican

Basic Facts The Brown Pelican is a small pelican found in the Americas. They feed on mid-sized fish. They prefer shallow in shore waters. The Brown Pelican is a carnivore. There habitats may be located in the salt bays, beaches, and coastal cliffs.

Population In North America, the Brown Pelican almost disappeared between the late 1950s and early 1970s. In 2009 the U.S. Endangered Species List removed the Brown Pelican. Thanks to conservation efforts there is estimated to be an increased amount of breeding pairs between 191,600 to 193,700. It is estimated that 700 Brown Pelican die each year in Florida due to getting caught in fishing lines.

Reproduction FertilizationEgg is Laid Egg Hatches AdolescentAdult They prefer to nest on islands. The Brown Pelican breeds between the months of March and November. They preferably like nesting sites on landwards on small coastal islands. Females usually lay around 3 eggs. It takes 28 to 30 days for the egg to hatch.

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The Blue-Footed Booby

Basic Facts It is rare to see the Blue-Footed Booby on the west coast of the United States. Its bright blue webbed feet are there unique feature. The Blue-Footed Booby is also known as the Blue-Footed Galapagos. They are carnivores. The Blue-Footed Booby has an average life span of 17 years.

Population According to new studies done by Avian Conservation and Ecology numbers have decreased immensely. In Ecuador there were about 20,000 Blue-Footed Boobies in 1960 now there are about 6,400 left. There has been a shortage of breeding and sardines therefore, that has caused the population to decline.

Reproduction FertilizationEgg is Laid Egg Hatches AdolescentAdult Blue-Footed Boobies have a very specific mating ritual. They are monogamous but sometimes may be bigamous. Every 8 to 9 months is the breeding cycle. They lay 2 too 3 eggs. Incubation period is between 41 to 45 days. They don’t have a brooding patch, therefore, they use there feet to keep the eggs warm.

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Difference Between Marine Birds and Land Birds Marine birds and land birds may be birds in general but they are very different from each other. To start of both there feet are different from each others. A marine bird has webbed feet while a land bird has claws or referred as talons depending on the type of bird. In addition, marine birds have salt glands that acts as desalination. Finally, a major difference between these types of birds are there beaks.

Current Event auklet-california-animals-environment/ This current event is about the mass death of sea birds ever recorded. They are specifically talking about the Cassin’s Auklets which are small diving seabirds that are often related to a puffball. They were found by the hundreds in Twin Harbors State Park along the beach in Washington. Researchers and scientist were not very surprised by them dying but now the numbers are way to large. They are still trying to figure out the cause of this and they believe it has to do with the amount of food available and the climate changes.

Bibliographies Black-Footed Albatross "Black-footed Albatross Videos, Photos and Facts." ARKive. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May "Support the." Phoebastria Nigripes (Black-footed Albatross). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May "Species." Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May Brown Pelican "Olympic Coast - Brown Pelican." Olympic Coast - Brown Pelican. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May "Brown Pelican.", Life History, All About Birds. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May "Pelecanus Occidentalis (brown Pelican)." Animal Diversity Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May Blue–Footed Booby "Blue-footed Booby Videos, Photos and Facts." ARKive. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May "Blue-Footed Booby Threatened in the Galápagos." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 05 May "Blue-footed Booby." Animals. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May