Diet of Common Murres in California Current, during breeding (April-August) and non-breeding (September-March), and El Niño versus La Niña.
Region
Central California
Northern California
Oregon
Washington
Monterey Bay Summer/winter, Ad 1974-1987a
Monterey Bay Summer/winter, Ad 1999-2000j
Gulf of Farallones Summer/Winter, Adult 1985-1988b
SE Farallon I. El Niño/La Niña, Chick 1979-1983, 2009-2015h,i
SE Farallon I. Chick 1993-2008h,j
Castle Rock Chick 2007-2017e
Coos Bay Summer/Winter, Ad 1979-1982c
Yaquina Head Chick 2007-2017f
Newport Summer/Winter, Ad 1972-1982c,d
Columbia River Summer 1982c,e
Tatoosh I. Chick 1996-2009g
Fish
Sandlance
2
5/18
15
2/2
1
9
Herring
-/4
-/3
1
2/13
15
16/23
2
38
Embiotocidae
-/2
<1/3
<1/5
Anchovy
21/35
22/47
9/25
62/10
65
3
3/24
2/16
47
Tom cod
2
18/-
10/21
30
Hake
-/4
1/-
5/-
Greenling
<1/-
7/-
Smelt
2/-
2/8
8/2
10
59
12/29
50
6/-
10
40
Pleuronectidae
-/11
2/<1
4/-
4/1
1
5/<1
4
<1/–
Salmonidae
1/-
5
2/1
11/3
2
2
Rockfish
31/30
23/3
46/7
19/86
15
23
19/4
5
2/8
2
4
Invertebrates
Euphausiid
26/23
12/-
17/-
Market squid
35/19
45/23
3/10
3/1
2
14/-
8/6
<1
Octopus
<1/5
-/7
Other/unid. Fish
11/8
6/18
5/10
10
2
7/-
10
22/6
2
7
Percent of diet by number
a652
Baltz, D. M., and V. G. Morejohn (1977). Food habits and niche overlap of seabirds wintering on Monterey Bay, California. Auk 94:526–543.
; 653
Croll, D. A. (1988). Distribution, abundance, and diet of the Common Murre in Monterey Bay, California: physical and biological determinants. Master's Thesis, Moss Landing Mar. Lab., Moss Landing, CA.
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Croll, D. A. (1990). Physical and biological determinants of the abundance, distribution and diet of the Common Murre in Monterey Bay, California. Studies in Avian Biology 14:139-148.
b112
Ainley, D. G., L. B. Spear, S. G. Allen, and C. A. Ribic (1996). Temporal and spatial patterns in the diet of the Common Murre in California waters. Condor 98:691-705.
c654
Matthews, D. R. (1983a). Feeding ecology of the Common Murre, Uria aalge, off the Oregon coast. Master's Thesis, Univ. of Oregon, Corvallis.
d208
Scott, J. M. (1973). Resource allocation in four syntopic species of marine diving birds. Ph.D. dissertation, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
, 261
Scott, J. M. (1990). Offshore distributional patterns, feeding habits, and adult-chick interactions of the Common Murre in Oregon. Studies in Avian Biology 14:103-108.
e232
Schneider, S. R. (2018). Reproductive performance, foraging effort, and diet of an apex predator, the Common Murre, at one of the largest nesting colonies in the California Current System. M.Sc. thesis, San Jose State University, CA, USA.
f85
Suryan, R., S. Loredo, J. Dolliver, A. Medina de Roman, J. Porquez, R. Orben, and I. Justinia (2017). Yaquina Head Seabird Colony Monitoring 2017 Season Summary. Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR, USA.
g655
Schrimpf, M. B., J. K. Parrish, and S. F. Pearson (2012). Trade-offs in prey quality and quantity revealed through the behavioral compensation of breeding seabirds. Marine Ecology Progress Series 460:247-259
h82
Ainley, D. G., J. A. Santora, P. J. Capitolo, J. C. Field, J. N. Beck, R. D. Carle, E. Donnelly-Greenan, G. J. McChesney, M. Elliott, R. W. Bradley, K. Lindquist, P. Nelson, J. Roletto, P. Warzybok, M. Hester, and J. Jahncke (2018). Ecosystem-based management affecting Brandt’s Cormorant resources and populations in the central California Current region. Biological Conservation 217:407-418.
i83
Warzybok, P., J. A. Santora, D. G. Ainley, R. W. Bradley, J. C. Field, P. J. Capitolo, R. D. Carle, M. Elliott, J. N. Beck, G. J. McChesney, M. M. Hester, and J. Jahncke (2018). Prey switching and consumption by seabirds in the central California Current upwelling ecosystem: Implications for forage fish management. Journal of Marine Systems 185:25-39.
j199
Nevins, H. M. (2004). Diet, Demography, and Diving Behavior of the Common Murre (Uria aalge) in Central California. M.Sc. thesis, California State University, San Francisco, CA, USA.