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A night-lighting technique for at-sea capture of Xantus' Murrelets

Darrell L. Whitworth·John Y. Takekawa·Harry R. Carter·W.R. McIver
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Abstract

We captured 575 Xantus' Murrelets ( Synthliboramphus hypoleucus ) with spotlights and dip nets at 3 islands in the Southern California Channel Islands during April and May of 1995-1997. Working at night (2100-0500 h), 3-person teams in inflatable boats located murrelets with a spotlight and captured them in dip nets from the waters near known breeding colonies at Santa Barbara, Anacapa, and San Clemente Islands. Our average capture rate was 4.7 murrelets hr -1 , but we captured up to 12.3 murrelets hr -1 . We recaptured 34 murrelets or 6% of the capture total. We recommend this simple, inexpensive, safe and effective night-lighting capture technique for Xantus' Murrelets and other seabirds.

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Darrell L. Whitworth, John Y. Takekawa, Harry R. Carter, W.R. McIver. 1997. A night-lighting technique for at-sea capture of Xantus' Murrelets. https://doi.org/10.2307/1521603

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