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Issue Aquat. Living Resour.
Volume 17, Number 3, July-September 2004
The "Erika" Oil Spill: Environmental Contamination and Effects in the Bay of Biscay
Page(s) 353 - 360
DOI 10.1051/alr:2004044

Aquat. Living Resour. 17 (2004) 353-360
DOI: 10.1051/alr:2004044

Distribution maps and minimum abundance estimates for wintering auks in the Bay of Biscay, based on aerial surveys

Vincent Bretagnolle1, Grégoire Certain1, 2, Sylvie Houte1 and Michel Métais3

1  Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS, 79360 Beauvoir sur Niort, France
2  LBEM, Université de La Rochelle, 23 avenue Albert Einstein, 17071 La Rochelle Cedex 9, France
3  Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux, La Corderie Royale, 17305 Rochefort, France

(Received 9 January 2004; Accepted 20 September 2004 )

Abstract
The "Erika" oil spill has killed more seabirds than any before in Europe: nearly 70 000 guillemots (Uria aalge) were found dead or alive on beaches, and many more are thought to have been killed. This unexpectedly high number highlighted how poor our knowledge was on spatial and temporal patterns in seabird distribution in the Bay of Biscay. The purpose of our research project, "ERIKA-Avion", was to fill this gap, providing the first distribution maps and abundance estimates of seabirds wintering in the entire shelf of the Bay of Biscay. In particular, we analysed fine-grained distribution maps for the wintering auks, comparing their areas of highest density with the oil drift area, and proposing for the first time (although preliminarily) minimal abundance estimates for these birds in this area.


Résumé
La marée noire de l'"Erika" a tué davantage d'oiseaux marins que toutes les précédentes en Europe : presque 70 000 guillemots (Uria aalge) ont été retrouvés échoués (morts ou vivants) sur les plages, et il est probable que d'autres guillemots ont été tués. Ce nombre exceptionnellement élevé, inattendu, a révélé à quel point notre connaissance sur la distribution spatiale et temporelle des oiseaux marins dans le golfe de Gascogne était partielle. L'objectif de cette étude est de cartographier entièrement le golfe de Gascogne (100 000 km 2) du point de vue de la distribution et des estimations d'abondance des alcidés en hivernage. En particulier, nous analysons la distribution de ces guillemots (produisant des cartes selon une maille de 400 km 2), comparons leurs aires de répartition à celles des nappes de pétrole les plus denses, et proposons pour la première fois, bien que de manière préliminaire, des estimations minimales d'abondance pour cette région et ces oiseaux.


Key words: Oil spill / Seabirds / Uria aalge / Common guillemot / Distribution / Abundance / Kriging

Corresponding author: breta@cebc.cnrs.fr

© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD 2004


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