Winter Foraging and Habitat conditions for Barrow’s Goldeneyes, USGS, US Fish and Wildlife, 1995-1997

Barrow’s Goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica) winter almost exclusively in coastal marine areas (Bellrose 1980), where they feed primarily on blue mussels (Mytilus trossulus) (Koehl et al. 1982, Vermeer 1982, D. Esler, unpubl. data). Although distributions of Barrow’s Goldeneyes have been described in relation to habitat and food resources during the breeding season (e.g., Einarsson 1988, 1990), factors related to winter densities have rarely been addressed (VermeerIn this study we evaluated Barrow’s Goldeneye densities in relation to a suite of physical habitat characteristics and blue mussel biomass to document environmental attributes important to wintering populations of this sea duck. We also assessed the effect of history of contamination from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, in which nearly 42 million liters of oil were leaked into Prince William Sound, Alaska. Immediate and direct mortality of birds following the oil spill was high and, within Prince William Sound, nearly a quarter of recovered carcasses were sea ducks