1. Taking a tern for the worse? When do we raise a red flag for O. aleuticus? Photo: Martin Renner

2. Contributors Bering Sea: B. McCaffery, S. Savage, M. Swaim, R. MacDonald, A. Harding, K. Sowl, C. Gales, A. Kholsa, S. Minton, J. Schwarz Aleutian Islands: I. Helmericks, Attours, J. Puschock, M. Schwitters, L. Spitler, J. Williams, D. Rudis Chukchi Sea: R. Meyers, T. Moran, M. Johnson, S. Georgette Gulf of Alaska: S. Oehlers, E. Cooper, N. Catterson, M. Kissling, K. Kuletz, M. Renner, C. Field Kodiak: R. Corcoran, R. MacIntosh, S. Stephensen Synergistic: H. Renner, M. Romano, N. Rojek, M. Goldstein, S. Pyare, J. Frederick, M. Renner, R. Gill Data contributors: Photo: Martin Renner

3. Aleutian tern fast facts What’s in a name? Photo: Martin Renner

4. Aleutian tern fast facts Photo: Martin Renner Info gaps Distribution Colony characteristics Wintering location

5. Worldwide distribution Distribution map from BirdLife International / IUCN

6. Historic distribution in Alaska

7. Why are so few studying Aleutian terns? Photo: Martin Renner

8. A big exception – USFS/UAS study Geolocators Census methods Photos by Jeff Frederick

9. Yakutat Copper River Delta Kachemak Bay Gulf of Alaska Historic colonies (pre-1995)

10. Yakutat Copper River Delta Kachemak Bay Gulf of Alaska Red shows recent counts

11. 19803000 20081500 2009pres. through early June, abandoned by early July, no est. 2010500 2011500 (early abandonment, no successful breeding) 2012850 birds in mind June, no presence after mid June Black Sand Spit Colony Yakutat Area

12. Kodiak Historic colonies (pre-1995) Photo: Robin Corcoran / USFWS

13. Kodiak Red shows recent counts Photo: Robin Corcoran / USFWS Kodiak Red shows recent counts Photo: Robin Corcoran / USFWS

14. Aleutian Islands- Bering-Chukchi Historic colonies (pre-1995)

15. Aleutian Islands- Bering-Chukchi Red shows recent counts

16. Historic and recent Aleutian Tern colony counts Excluding areas not censused since 1995, mostly Bering Sea and Controller Bay *Yakutat accounts for 80% of Gulf of AK and 54% of AK total Recent count% totalchange since 1995 Chukchi Sea221-83% Bering Sea2008-79% Aleutian Islands25010-67% Kodiak41816-94% Gulf of AK1649*65-77% Total2539-85%

17. Current statewide status 85% decline!

18. Photo: Martin Renner So what’s up?

19. Status in Russia Sakhalin Island SW Kamchatka Peninsula Koryak Upland

20. Data from North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database Map /interpolation by M. Renner Aleutian Tern At-Sea Observations

21. Data from NPPSD Map by M. Renner Anomaly in at-sea observations by decade

22. Breeding grounds Wintering grounds Both apparently declining in AK Compare to Arctic tern Photo: Martin Renner

23. Photo: Jeff Frederick

24. Conclusions *Some evidence for 85% decline statewide Lots of caveats on the data Apparently increasing in Russia *Single statewide coast survey could answer many Q’s *Need for multi-agency support Photo: Martin Renner