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Home/Species/ Cassin's Auklet

Ptychoramphus aleuticus

(Pallas, 1811)

Cassin's Auklet

G4Apparently Secure Found in 21 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Near threatenedIUCN
Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus). © Ryan Sanderson; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Ryan Sanderson; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus). © Greg Harrington; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Greg Harrington; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus). © Yousif Attia; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Yousif Attia; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus). © Blair Dudeck; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Blair Dudeck; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus). © mario balitbit; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© mario balitbit; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus). © Kent Forward; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Kent Forward; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus). Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Public Domain (U.S. Government Work), via ECOS.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, https://www.usa.gov/government-works
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104487
Element CodeABNNN08010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNNear threatened
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyAlcidae
GenusPtychoramphus
Other Common Names
Alcuela Oscura (ES) Starique de Cassin (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/.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-09
Change Date1996-11-27
Edition Date1995-09-05
Edition AuthorsCannings, S. G., & G. Hammerson
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Rank Reasons
Abundant and widespread breeder, but has declined significantly from past numbers. Much of the population is concentrated in a few colonies off the British Columbia coast. Large colonies may be extirpated when predatory mammals are introduced. Remaining colonies are still vulnerable to introduction of rats, raccoons and foxes. Oil spills remain a threat.
Range Extent Comments
BREEDS: locally on coastal islands from southern Alaska (Aleutian Islands) south to southern Baja California. Most (80%) of the population breeds along the coast of British Columbia. WINTERS: along the Pacific coast from southern British Columbia, rarely from southern Alaska, south to southern Baja California. One of the most abundant and widely distributed small alcids off the Pacific coast (Terres 1980). Casual in Washington and Oregon (AOU 1983).
Occurrences Comments
Sixty-six colonies with more than 500 breeding birds are listed in Manuwal and Thoresen (1993). An estimated 70-80 colonies exist in British Columbia alone (British Columbia Conservation Data Centre).
Threat Impact Comments
Introduced arctic foxes caused declines on some Alaska islands, but may be recovering with foxes now gone from many islands (see Johnsgard 1987, Lensink 1984). Raccoon predation a threat to 80% of British Columbia occurrences, representing 20% of the population (B.C. Conservation Data Centre). Long-term oceanographic changes and consequent declines in the California Current zooplankton populations are thought to be the cause of the decline on the Farallon Islands, California, and a probable decline at Triangle Island, British Columbia, the world's largest Cassin's Auklet colony (Bertram et al. 2000). Oil spills are a significant threat (Burger 1992). In Mexico, livestock grazing causes burrow destruction and erosion in colonies. Walking in colonies causes burrows to collapse and may crush birds; disturbance at burrow may cause abandonment of the egg (Manuwal and Thoresen 1993).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Nonbreeding: mostly pelagic, less frequently along rocky seacoasts (AOU 1983). Nests on offshore islands, mostly in areas with low vegetation (also under trees in some areas (e.g., southeastern Alaska, Washington), on both flat and sloping terrain, sometimes several hundred m from coast (Johnsgard 1987). Nests in burrow dug in ground or under rock; sometimes among driftwood or debris; usually uses same site in successive years. See Spendelow and Patton (1988) for further details.

Ecology

Adult annual survival rate normally is between 0.8 and 0.9 (see Condor 94:1019-1021). Significant predators in various areas include arctic fox, rat, western gull.

Reproduction

Significant annual variation occurs in the timing of the breeding, even at a single site. Clutch size is 1. Incubation, by both sexes, lasts 37-42 days (average 38). Young are tended by both parents, fledge in 5-7 weeks (average 6). Sometimes double-brooded. Yearlings and 2-year-olds do not breed. Often in large colony (100,000s pairs, sometimes several thousand pairs/ha)
Terrestrial Habitats
Grassland/herbaceous
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
WashingtonS3Yes
OregonS2BYes
AlaskaS4Yes
CaliforniaS3Yes
CanadaN2B,N3N
ProvinceRankNative
British ColumbiaS2B,S3NYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
11 - Climate change & severe weatherUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)
11.3 - Temperature extremesUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (21)
Alaska (9)
AreaForestAcres
KekuTongass National Forest10,869
Kenai MountainsChugach National Forest306,600
Kenai MountainsChugach National Forest306,600
LindenbergTongass National Forest25,855
MontagueChugach National Forest204,875
MontagueChugach National Forest204,875
Port AlexanderTongass National Forest120,681
South KruzofTongass National Forest55,193
Windham-Port HoughtonTongass National Forest161,952
Oregon (10)
AreaForestAcres
TahkenitchSiuslaw National Forest5,799
TahkenitchSiuslaw National Forest5,799
TahkenitchSiuslaw National Forest5,799
TenmileSiuslaw National Forest10,818
TenmileSiuslaw National Forest10,818
TenmileSiuslaw National Forest10,818
Umpqua SpitSiuslaw National Forest2,090
Umpqua SpitSiuslaw National Forest2,090
WoahinkSiuslaw National Forest5,309
WoahinkSiuslaw National Forest5,309
Washington (2)
AreaForestAcres
Madison CreekOlympic National Forest1,223
Madison CreekOlympic National Forest1,223
References (30)
  1. Adams, J. 2008. Cassin’s Auklet Species Account in California Bird Species of Special Concern: A ranked assessment of species, subspecies, and distinct populations of birds of immediate conservation concern in California (W.D. Shuford and T. Gardali, editors). Studies of Western Birds 1. Western Field Ornithologists, Camarillo, California, and California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento.
  2. Ainley, D. G., and K. D. Hyrenbach. 2010. Top-down and bottom-up factors affecting seabird population trends in the California current system (1985-2006). Progress in Oceanography 84:242-254. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223835276_Top-down_and_bottom-up_factors_affecting_seabird_population_trends_in_the_California_Current_system_1985-2006
  3. Ainley, D. G., D. A. Manuwal, J. Adams, and A. C. Thoresen, 2020. Cassin's Auklet (<i>Ptychoramphus aleuticus</i>), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.casauk.01
  4. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  5. 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/.
  6. Bertram, D. F., I. L. Jones, E. G. Cooch, H. A. Knechtel, and F. Cooke. 2000. Survival rates of Cassin's and Rhinoceros Auklets at Triangle Island, British Columbia. Condor 102:155-162.
  7. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  8. Burger, A.E. 1992. The effects of oil pollution on seabirds off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Pages 120-128 in: K.Vermeer, R.W. Butler, and K.H. Morgan, eds. The ecology, status, and conservation of marine and shoreline birds on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Can. Wildl. Serv. Occ. Pap. No. 75.
  9. Carle, R.D., M.H. Hester, E. Coletta, and J.N. Beck. 2019. Cassin’s Auklet (<i>Ptychoramphus aleuticus</i>) Population Size, Reproduction, and Habitat Management on a Recently Colonized Island in California, USA. Waterbirds 42(4): 366-379. https://oikonos.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/carle-et-al.-2020-cassins.pdf
  10. Gaston, A. J., and J. M. Hipfner. 2000. Thick-billed Murre (<i>Uria lomvia</i>). No. 497 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  11. Gaston, A. J., et al. 1994. Population parameters of thick-billed murres at Coats Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Condor 96:935-948.
  12. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  13. Hatch, S. A., and M. A. Hatch. 1990. Breeding seasons of oceanic birds in a subarctic colony. Can. J. Zool. 68:1664-1679.
  14. Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
  15. Hyslop, C., and J. Kennedy, editors. 1992. Bird trends: a report on results of national ornithological surveys in Canada. Number 2, Autumn 1992. Migratory Birds Conservation Division, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario. 20 pp.
  16. Johnsgard, P. A. 1987. Diving birds of North America. Univ. Nebraska Press, Lincoln. xii + 292 pp.
  17. Lensink, C. J. 1984. The status and conservation of seabirds in Alaska. Pages 13-27 in Croxall et al., eds. Status and conservation of the world's seabirds. ICBP Tech. Publ. No. 2.
  18. Manuwal, D.A., and A.C. Thoresen. 1993. Cassin's Auklet (<i>Ptychoramphus aleuticus</i>). No. 50 in A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds. The Birds of North America. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia; Am. Ornithol. Union, Washington, D.C.
  19. Mostello, C. S., N. A. Palaia, and R. B. Clapp. 2000. Gray-backed Tern (Sterna lunata). No. 525 in A. Poole and F. Gill (editors). The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 28 pp.
  20. Nur, N., W. J. Sydeman, M. Hester, and P. Pyle. 1998. Survival in Cassin's Auklets on Southeast Farallon Island: temporal patterns, population viability, and the cost of double brooding. Pacific Seabirds 25:38. (Abstract).
  21. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  22. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  23. Rodway, M.S. 1991. Status and conservation of breeding seabirds in British Columbia. Pages 43-102 in: J.P. Croxall, ed. Seabird status and conservation: a supplement. Int. Counc. for Bird Preservation Tech. Publ. No. 11. Cambridge. U.K.
  24. Schreiber, E. A., R. W. Schreiber, and G. A. Schenk. 1996. Red-footed Booby (<i>Sula sula</i>). No. 241 in A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The Amerian Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC. 24 pp.
  25. Sealy, S. G., editor. 1990. Auks at sea. Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Studies in Avian Biology No. 14. vi + 180 pp.
  26. Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  27. Spendelow, J. A. and S. R. Patton. 1988. National Atlas of Coastal Waterbird Colonies in the Contiguous United States: 1976-1982. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Report 88(5). x + 326 pp.
  28. Springer, A., A. Kondratyev, H. Ogi, Y. Shibaev, and G. van Vliet. 1993. Status, ecology and conservation of <i>Synthliboramphus</i> murrelets and auklets. Pages 187-200 in: K. Vermeer, K. Briggs, K. Morgan, and D. Siegel-Causey, eds. The status, ecology and conservation of marine birds of the North Pacific. Can. Wildl. Serv. Spec. Publ., Ottawa.
  29. Sydeman, W. J., S. A. Thompson, and A. Kitaysky. 2012. Seabirds and climate change: roadmap for the future. Marine Ecology Progress Series 454: 107-117.
  30. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.