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Present-Day Assemblage of Birds and Mammals in the Islands of Four Mountains, Eastern Aleutians, Alaska

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2018

Nora A. Rojek  and
Jeffrey C. Williams
Nora A. Rojek*
Affiliation:
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Homer, Alaska 99603, USA
Jeffrey C. Williams
Affiliation:
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Homer, Alaska 99603, USA
*
*Corresponding author at: Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, 95 Sterling Highway, Suite 1, Homer, Alaska 99603, USA. E-mail address: nora_rojek@fws.gov (Nora A. Rojek).
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Abstract

We compiled present-day observations and survey data of the avian and mammal fauna in the Islands of Four Mountains, Alaska, which primarily consist of marine-adapted species, to provide insight into the prehistoric fauna found in the archaeological record. We documented 63 bird species, mainly seabirds (67%). The majority (71%) of the estimated number of breeding birds are ledge nesters, predominately murres, and most (68%) spend the majority of their lives in the offshore environment. We lack good estimates for burrow and crevice nesters, which were impacted by and are still recovering from a period of arctic fox farming in the twentieth century. Marine mammals, predominately Steller sea lion, harbor seal, and sea otter, primarily use accessible land as haul-outs and are found in low numbers compared with the rest of the Aleutians. Red fox, the only land mammal, presently only reside on Chuginadak Island. While the present-day fauna is similar to the fauna recorded in the archaeological record, we found no indication of nesting by ancient murrelets and northern fulmars in the Island of Four Mountains, whereas both species were present in midden sites on Carlisle and Chuginadak Islands, with the possibility of prehistoric breeding colonies on Carlisle Island.

Keywords

Aleutian IslandsAleutsAvifaunaIslands of Four MountainsMarine mammalsSeabirds
Type
Aleutians Special Issue
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 91 , Issue 3 , May 2019 , pp. 1059 - 1074
Creative Commons
This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States.
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2018

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