Uria lomvia
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Thick-billed Murre
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
© Cameron Johnson; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
© Phillip Edwards; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
© Nathan Goldberg; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
© Dubi Shapiro; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
© Christoph Moning; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
© Lucas Bobay; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, https://www.usa.gov/government-works
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100797
Element CodeABNNN02020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyAlcidae
GenusUria
Other Common Names
Brünnich's Murre (EN) Guillemot de Brünnich (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
An analysis of genetic relationships using amplified DNA revealed two clades, one in the Pacific and one in the Atlantic; there was no apparent genetic divergence among several populations in the western and eastern Atlantic (Birt-Friesen et al. 1992).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-10
Change Date1996-11-27
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Range Extent Comments
BREEDS: islands, coasts in Arctic of North America and Eurasia. In North America south to Aleutian and Kodiak islands, Hudson Bay, and Gulf of St. Lawrence. WINTERS: Newfoundland waters comprise the most important wintering area in the western Atlantic. In North America south to southeastern Alaska and southern New England (AOU 1983).
Threat Impact Comments
Possibly declined at Digges Sound and perhaps at Akpatok Island between the 1950s and 1980s, perhaps due to overharvest and mortality in nets. Major declines that have occurred over past few decades in Greenland were due mainly to overhunting and mortality in the gill-net fishery (Evans 1984). On islands off Labrador, colonizing arctic foxes eliminated breeding populations of thick-billed murres (Birkhead and Nettleship 1995). Many are killed in the Japanese gill-net fishery in the North Pacific (Lensink 1984, King 1984).
Ecology & Habitat
Habitat
Nonbreeding: mostly pelagic, less frequently along rocky coasts (AOU 1983). Tends to occupy deeper waters and areas farther offshore than does common murre (Johnsgard 1987).
Nests on narrow ledges or, less often, in crevices and caves, on steep sea cliffs and offshore islands (Harris and Birkhead 1985); generally more abundant on islands than on mainland coasts (Johnsgard 1987). Usually uses same nest site in successive yrs.
Nests on narrow ledges or, less often, in crevices and caves, on steep sea cliffs and offshore islands (Harris and Birkhead 1985); generally more abundant on islands than on mainland coasts (Johnsgard 1987). Usually uses same nest site in successive yrs.
Ecology
Annual adult survival was estimated at 91% in northeastern Canada (Hudson 1985), 86-90% at Coats Island, Northwest Territories; the latter population was subject to heavy hunting in the wintering area; survival rate of young from departure to age three years was estimated at 52% (Gaston et al. 1994).
Reproduction
Egg dates vary with location and ice conditions (mean laying date in mid-June in western Gulf of Alaska). Both sexes incubate 1 egg for 25-40 days (mode about 32-34). Young is fed at the nest by both sexes for 16-35 days (average 23), then goes to sea, tended by adult (frequently the male) for a few weeks. First breeds usually at an age of 3-6 years (Gaston et al. 1994). At Coats Island, Northwest Territories, reproductive success increased with age to at least nine years (Gaston et al. 1994).
Terrestrial Habitats
Cliff
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5B,N5N
| Province | Rank | Native |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | SUM | Yes |
| North Carolina | SNA | Yes |
| Washington | SNA | Yes |
| Alaska | S4 | Yes |
| Rhode Island | SNA | Yes |
| Massachusetts | S2N | Yes |
| Delaware | S2N | Yes |
| New York | SNRN | Yes |
| Maine | S1N | Yes |
| District of Columbia | SHN | Yes |
| New Hampshire | SNA | Yes |
CanadaN5B,N5N
| Province | Rank | Native |
|---|---|---|
| Nunavut | S4B,S4N | Yes |
| Nova Scotia | S5N | Yes |
| Labrador | S3B | Yes |
| Quebec | S4B | Yes |
| Prince Edward Island | SNA | Yes |
| Yukon Territory | S1M | Yes |
| New Brunswick | S3N,S3M | Yes |
| Northwest Territories | S2 | Yes |
| British Columbia | S1B,SUN | Yes |
| Island of Newfoundland | S4B | Yes |
Threat Assessments
| Threat | Scope | Severity | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 - Climate change & severe weather | Pervasive (71-100%) | Unknown | High (continuing) |
| 11.1 - Habitat shifting & alteration | Pervasive (71-100%) | Unknown | Low (long-term) |
| 11.3 - Temperature extremes | Unknown | Unknown | High (continuing) |
Roadless Areas (15)
Alaska (15)
| Area | Forest | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| College Fiord | Chugach National Forest | 1,130,818 |
| College Fiord | Chugach National Forest | 1,130,818 |
| Copper River Wetlands | Chugach National Forest | 85,972 |
| Fidalgo-Gravina | Chugach National Forest | 257,968 |
| Fidalgo-Gravina | Chugach National Forest | 257,968 |
| Hoonah Sound | Tongass National Forest | 79,764 |
| Kenai Mountains | Chugach National Forest | 306,600 |
| Kenai Mountains | Chugach National Forest | 306,600 |
| Nellie Juan | Chugach National Forest | 713,697 |
| Nellie Juan | Chugach National Forest | 713,697 |
| North Baranof | Tongass National Forest | 314,089 |
| Redoubt | Tongass National Forest | 68,347 |
| South Kruzof | Tongass National Forest | 55,193 |
| Twenty Mile | Chugach National Forest | 198,775 |
| Twenty Mile | Chugach National Forest | 198,775 |
References (35)
- American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
- American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
- Birkhead, T. R., and D. N. Nettleship. 1995. Arctic fox influence on a seabird community in Labrador: a natural experiment. Wilson Bulletin 107:397-412.
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- Birt-Friesen, V. L., et al. 1992. Genetic structure of thick-billed murre (URIA LOMVIA) populations examined using direct sequence analysis of amplified DNA. Evolution 46:267-272.
- Bradstreet, M. S. W., and R. G. B. Brown. 1985. Feeding ecology of the Atlantic Alcidae. Pages 263-318 in Nettleship, D. N., and T. R. Birkhead, eds. The Atlantic Alcidae. Academic Press, N.Y.
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- Evans, P. G. H. 1984a. The seabirds of Greenland: their status and conservation. Pages 49-84 in Croxall et al., eds. Status and conservation of the world's seabirds. ICBP Tech. Pub. No. 2.
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