Aves |
Charadriiformes |
Alcidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Others; depth range 0 - 45 m (Ref. 60377), usually 15 - 20 m (Ref. 60377). Temperate; 71°N - 32°N, 145°E - 116°W
Eastern Pacific and the Arctic: Alaska to California. Temperate to subtropical.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 8812); max. published weight: 487.00 g (Ref. 356)
Culmen: 4.39 cm; wing: 1.88 cm.
Total Length: 30 to 35 cm (Ref. 8812). A large species (Ref. 87784). Common depth of 15 to 20 m is foraging depth most preferred by species (Ref. 60377). Nearshore feeder (Ref. 87784). Pursuit diver; coastal; <15 km; water <20m deep (Ref. 356). Based on stable isotope analysis (SIA) diet study of egg albumin, belongs to higher N signature group (based on ratios of stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon): piscivorous with pelagic foraging range. Aquatic courtship display such as calling and wing-raising, head dipping below the sea surface, and flipping below the sea surface or skittering. Typically nests in crevices. On the Farallon Islands, this species usurps nests of smaller Cassin's Auklet by destroying eggs or chicks thereby effectively lowering its habitat competitor's reproductive success. Severely affected by El Niño events by abandoning nesting attempts in the Farallon Islands in central California. Vulnerable to oil spill as a diving species; population still depressed, with over 50% decline, 9 years after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound as an effect of persistent trace oil in the water that caused a decline in forage fish abundance (Ref. 87784).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
SAUP Database 2006 SAUP Database. www.seaaroundus.org. (Ref. 356)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
| FishSource |
Tools
More information
Population dynamicsGrowthMax. ages / sizesLength-weight rel.Length-length rel.Length-frequenciesMass conversionAbundance Life cycleReproduction
Maturity
Fecundity
Spawning
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 4.9 - 11.2, mean 8.5 (based on 412 cells).
Fishing Vulnerability
Low vulnerability (25 of 100).
Price category
Unknown.
