A METHOD OF ASSESSING SEABIRD VULNERABILITY TO SURFACE POLLUTANTS

Substantial information on the offshore distribution of seabirds exist s for the North Sea and nearby areas. This information is extensive bu t is not easily applicable to management problems, such as oil polluti on incidents. A quantitative oil vulnerability index has been develope d, based on four easily scored factors, to assess the vulnerability of seabird species to surface pollution. The index has been applied to c alculate area vulnerability scores for 15' latitude x 30' longitude re ctangles in the North Sea by combining the species vulnerability score s with information on seabird densities. Maps of vulnerable concentrat ions of seabirds for each month of the year have been published with i nterpretative text. These maps can be used as a management tool, for e xample, in assessing potential risk or in the event of an oil pollutio n incident.