Jaimi Butler; Ashley Kijowski; Claire Prasad, Westminster College
Every year, nearly 20,000 American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) raise young on Gunnison Island in the North arm of the Great Salt Lake. The Gunnison Island pelican colony is the second largest in the Western United States, and is crucial to the maintenance and viability of the species. Pelicans in Utah are increasing in number, which is a conservation success story, but larger numbers of the birds means a higher likelihood of range extension in search of resources. As a result, serious concerns have been raised about pelican resource use, including eating game fish from reservoirs and colliding with airplanes. To specifically address some of these concerns and to understand basic population ecology, The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) outfits adult pelicans with solar-powered transmitter backpacks and bands around 500 juvenile pelicans annually. In general, only large-bodied fledgling birds, which are chosen based on sight alone, are selected to be banded, with smaller birds being released. The primary goal of this research project was to correlate and make recommendations for reliable morphometrics that could quickly and quantitatively be used to select pelicans for banding. To do so we collected morphometric data from both banded and nonbanded fledgling pelicans during the annual UDWR event. Measurements included beak length, weight, tarsal-metatarsal diameter, tarsal-phalanges diameter, and parasite load. Our findings suggested that beak length correlated most strongly with pelican weight, and would therefore be the most reliable morphometric to use. Our secondary goal was to understand the effects of banding on fledgling survival. This process included a tag sweep of Gunnison Island prior to pelican arrival and right after departure. Later research will determine survival rates for each size group. This research will help answer the question of whether or not the current banding system impacts pelican survival. Additionally, increasing our understanding of population dynamics will help conservation managers construct plans that ease tensions between the natural resource (pelicans) and other land-use shareholders.