[SEMCO] SEANET and Common eider die-offs

[Cynthia Franklin]

				SEANET and Common Eider Die-offs

This fall, as in years past, the bodies of dead Common Eider, large
black and white sea ducks, can be found littering the tide line of local
beaches. This phenomenon has been recorded since the 1950s, but
scientists are only recently starting to study and understand the
factors behind these deaths. While Common Eider populations are still
considered high, there is some evidence that their numbers are dropping.
It is unknown if these annual die-offs reflect a larger problem.

Much of this work has been done through The Seabird Ecological
Assessment Network (SEANET), based at the Tufts Cummings School of
Veterinary Medicine. SEANET is an ongoing project assessing seabird
mortality along the eastern seaboard of the United States. Its goals are
to pinpoint threats to marine bird populations, work collaboratively to
alleviate those threats, engage the public in ocean research and
conservation, and understand what seabirds can tell us about the state
of our oceans. SEANET depends on a network of volunteers along the
Atlantic coast; over 100 citizen scientists volunteer to walk an
assigned stretch of beach once or twice a month, record environmental
data and report both dead and live birds seen on the beach. New
volunteers are always welcomed.  For more information on SEANET, see
http://seanetters.wordpress.com/

Drs. Julie Ellis and Sarah Courchesne from SEANET will be at Mass
Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on Saturday, December 5, at
2:00pm to talk about the SEANET program, meet current and prospective
Cape volunteers, and present their latest findings on the eider
die-offs.  This program is FREE and open to the public.  

At 1:00pm that same afternoon there will be a special showing of the
film The Dark Side of the Loon, which 

highlights issues facing loons on their coastal wintering grounds. As
part of Wellfleet Bay's Winter Lecture 

Series, the film is free with sanctuary admission. Call 508-349-2615 for
more information



Cynthia Franklin
Volunteer Coordinator
 
Mass Audubon/Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
PO Box 236
South Wellfleet, MA 02663
508-349-2615 x 101; fax 508-349-2632
email: cfranklin at massaudubon.org
website: www.massaudubon.org
news blog: http://massaudubonblogs.typepad.com/wellfleetbaynews/
Protecting the Nature of Massachusetts


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