Escaping the oligotrophic gyre? The year-round movements, foraging behaviour and habitat preferences of Murphy’s petrels

Clay, Thomas A.; Phillips, R. A.; Manica, Andrea; Jackson, Hazel A.; Brooke, M. de L.

doi:10.3354/meps12244

Cited by 31 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 84 publications

(101 reference statements)

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“…1, Clay et al 2017), we also calculated the bearing of this point from the colony as a simple proxy for trip type. We calculated the repeatability ( r , a measure ranging from 0 = low to 1 = high) of the trip duration, cumulative travel distance and maximum distance from the colony, their associated standard errors and p values in the rptR package (Nakagawa and Schielzeth 2010), to test the null hypothesis that between-individual variance in each metric was equal to the within-individual variance.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of the longest incubation trips known are undertaken by Murphy’s Petrels Pterodroma ultima from Henderson Island (24°20′S, 128°20′W) in the central South Pacific Ocean (Brooke 1995; Oppel et al 2018). Indeed, a recent study found that adults spend c. 95% of their time in flight and travel remarkable distances to find food, with trip durations of up to 29 days and a maximum range of almost 5000 km, likely due to the low productivity of marine habitats around the breeding colony (Clay et al 2017). Two distinct foraging trip types were identified: looping trips ranging c. 3800 km to the north-east, or more directed trips ranging c. 2000 km to the south or south-west of Henderson Island.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two distinct foraging trip types were identified: looping trips ranging c. 3800 km to the north-east, or more directed trips ranging c. 2000 km to the south or south-west of Henderson Island. Murphy’s petrels are monomorphic and unlike many species with sexual size dimorphism (Shaffer et al 2001a; Phillips et al 2004), differences in foraging strategies among individuals appear to be unrelated to sex (Clay et al 2017). Murphy’s petrels have a low rate of mass loss (relative to body size) while incubating the egg (Brooke 1995), which may extend their threshold for egg desertion beyond that of other species (Johnstone and Davis 1990; Chaurand and Weimerskirch 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Divergent foraging strategies during incubation of an unusually wide-ranging seabird, the Murphy’s petrel

et al. 2018

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Divergent foraging strategies may emerge within a population due to a combination of physiological and environmental factors; yet to persist, neither strategy should offer a consistent selective advantage over the alternative in the long term. Murphy’s petrels Pterodroma ultima from Henderson Island (24°20′S, 128°20′W) in the South Pacific Ocean are highly vagile, and exhibit two distinct foraging trip types during incubation; similar proportions of birds undertake either looping trips around the South Pacific Gyre to waters off Peru (hereafter “East”) or trips south-west of the colony towards the Subtropical Front (“South”) (mean maximum ranges of c. 3800 or 2000 km from the colony, respectively). However, the relative benefits of the distinct trip types remain unclear. Through tracking birds with GPS and salt-water immersion loggers in 2015, the fine-scale foraging behaviour was examined for East (trip durations: 14.1–19.8 days, maximum ranges 2387–4823 km) and South trips (12.9–25.8 days, 1565–1991 km). Data on behaviour classified from GPS tracks, the number of wet bouts per hour (a proxy for landing rates) and wind speeds, were used to distinguish two distinct foraging modes: birds on East trips spent more time in directed movement, whereas those on South trips spent a greater proportion of time in area-restricted search (ARS) behaviour. East trips were associated with higher overall mass gain, and wet bouts occurred in equal proportions during directed movement and ARS behaviour. This suggests that in unproductive marine environments, it may be more profitable to maximise area covered to increase the chances of encountering prey. Analysis of lower-resolution geolocator data (collected from 2011 to 2014) indicated that individuals were largely consistent in trip type between years. Since birds that conducted East trips were 19% lighter on departure from the colony and experienced more frequent tailwinds on foraging trips, we speculate that these birds may benefit from reduced movement costs, whilst also experiencing reduced competition for foraging opportunities.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00227-018-3451-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Divergent foraging strategies during incubation of an unusually wide-ranging seabird, the Murphy’s petrel

et al. 2018

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“…In other cases, animals may migrate to even broader regions. For example, seabirds, such as albatrosses and shearwaters, and marine mammals including many seals, may range widely over many tens of thousands of km as part of their migrations (Clay, Phillips, Manica, Jackson, & Brooke, ; Dias, Granadeiro, Phillips, Hany, & Paulo, ; Sztukowski et al, ). Given this range of migration patterns, assessing the costs and benefits of migration strategies remains a key question in movement ecology (Hays et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fidelity to foraging sites after long migrations

Shimada

Limpus

Hamann

et al. 2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Patterns of animal movement associated with foraging lie at the heart of many ecological studies and often animals face decisions of staying in an environment they know versus relocating to new sites. The lack of knowledge of new foraging sites means there is risk associated with a decision to relocate (e.g. poor foraging) as well as a potential benefit (e.g. improved foraging). Using a unique long‐term satellite tracking dataset for several sea turtle species, combined with capture–mark–recapture data extending over 50 years, we show how, across species, individuals generally maintain tight fidelity to specific foraging sites after extended (up to almost 10,000 km) migration to and from distant breeding sites as well as across many decades. Migrating individuals often travelled through suitable foraging areas en route to their ‘home’ site and so extended their journeys to maintain foraging site fidelity. We explore the likely mechanistic underpinnings of this trait, which is also seen in some migrating birds, and suggest that individuals will forgo areas of suitable forage encountered en route during migration when they have poor knowledge of the long‐term suitability of those sites, making relocation to those sites risky.

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“…, Clay et al. ). However, we lack information about the foraging ranges and migratory movements of many seabirds in the order, particularly the smaller species.…”

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confidence: 99%

Year-round movements of sympatric Fork-tailed (Oceanodroma furcata ) and Leach's (O. leucorhoa ) storm-petrels

Halpin¹,

Pollet

Lee

et al. 2018

J. Field Ornithol.

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Long-distance movements are characteristic of most seabirds in the order Procellariiformes. However, little is known about the migration and foraging ranges of many of the smaller species in this order, especially storm-petrels (Hydrobatidae). We used Global Location Sensors to document the year-round movements of sympatrically breeding Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels (Oceanodroma furcata) and Leach's Storm-Petrels (O. leucorhoa) from the Gillam Islands located northwest of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In 2016, breeding Fork-tailed (N = 5) and Leach's (N = 2) storm-petrels traveled maximum distances of~1550-1600 km from their colony to a region that has a wide shelf with major canyons creating a highly productive foraging area. After the breeding season, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels (N = 2) traveled to similar areas west of the Gillam Islands, a maximum distance of~3600 km from the breeding colony, and remained in the North Pacific Ocean and north of the Subarctic Boundary for an average of 5.4 mo. Postbreeding Leach's Storm-Petrels (N = 2) moved south to the Eastern Tropical Pacific, west of central Mexico, Ecuador, and northern Peru, an estimated maximum distance of~6700 km from their breeding colony, and remained there for an average of 7.2 mo. Carbon (d 13 C) and nitrogen (d 15 N) stable isotope analyses of feathers revealed niche separation between Fork-tailed (N = 21) and Leach's (N = 53) storm-petrels. The wide range of d 15 N values in the feathers of Leach's Storm-Petrels (N = 53) suggests that they foraged at a variety of trophic levels during the non-breeding season. Our results demonstrate that storm-petrels have large core foraging areas and occupy vast oceanic areas in the Pacific during their annual cycle. However, given the coarse precision of Global Location Sensors, additional study is needed to identify the specific areas used by each species during both breeding and non-breeding periods.RESUMEN. Movimientos anuales de los simp atricos Pa ıño rabihorcado (Oceanodroma furcata) y Pa ıño boreal (O. leucorhoa) Los moviemientos a larga distancia son caracter ısticos de la mayor ıa de las aves marinas del orden Procellariiformes. Aun as ı, poco se sabe de la migraci on y los rangos de forrajeo de las especies m as pequeñas del orden, especialmente los petreles de las tormentas o pa ıños (Hydrobatidae). Usamos Sensores de Ubicaci on Global para documentar los movimientos durante todo el año de dos especies que cr ıan simp atricamente, el Pa ıño rabihorcado (Oceanodroma furcata) y el Pa ıño boreal (O. leucorhoa), desde las Islas Gillam ubicadas al noroeste de la Isla de Vancouver, Columbia Brit anica, Canad a. En 2016, los pa ıños rabihorcados (N = 5) y boreales (N = 2) reproductivamente activos viajaron distancias m aximas de~1550-1600 km desde su colonia a una regi on que tiene una placa ancha con grandes cañones que crean un area de forrajeo altamente productiva. Luego de la temporada reproductiva, los pa ıño rabihorcados (N = 2) viajaron a areas similares al oeste de las Islas Gillam, una dis...

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Escaping the oligotrophic gyre? The year-round movements, foraging behaviour and habitat preferences of Murphy’s petrels

Cited by 31 publications

References 84 publications

Divergent foraging strategies during incubation of an unusually wide-ranging seabird, the Murphy’s petrel

Divergent foraging strategies during incubation of an unusually wide-ranging seabird, the Murphy’s petrel

Fidelity to foraging sites after long migrations

Year-round movements of sympatric Fork-tailed (Oceanodroma furcata ) and Leach's (O. leucorhoa ) storm-petrels

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