Extreme philopatry and genetic diversification at unprecedented scales in a seabird

Danckwerts, D. K.; Humeau, Laurence; Pinet, Patrick; McQuaid, Christopher D.; Corre, Matthieu Le

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-86406-9

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Our results are coherent with high breeding and foraging site fidelity in colonial seabirds (Danckwerts et al, 2021), and contrary to the idea that gannets that have witnessed and survived mass mortality at their breeding colony modify their movement patterns as a consequence of the disease outbreak and maintain these changes several months after the event. Thus, it appears that the capacity for long-term enhanced HPAIV transmission throughout the metapopulation and potentially throughout the co-existing seabird populations is low for adult breeding gannets.…”

Section: Discussion -Epidemiologysupporting

confidence: 78%

Strong breeding colony fidelity in northern gannets following High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIV) outbreak

Grémillet

Ponchon

Provost³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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High pathogenicity avian influenza virus (HPAIV) caused the worst seabird mass-mortalities on record in Europe across 2021-2022. The northern gannet (Morus bassanus) was one of the most affected species, with tens of thousands of casualties in the northeast Atlantic between April-September 2022. Disease outbreaks can drastically modify the movement ecology of animals and diminish spatial consistency, thereby increasing the potential for disease transmission. To detect potential changes in movement behaviour, we GPS-tracked breeding adults following the initial HPAIV outbreak, at three of the largest gannet breeding colonies where major mortality of adults and chicks occurred (Bass Rock, Scotland, UK; Grassholm, Wales, UK; Rouzic island, Brittany, France). Crucially, GPS-tracked birds remained faithful to their breeding sites and did not prospect other breeding colonies. They performed regular foraging trips at sea, similar to their behaviour before the outbreak. Gannet foraging effort was nonetheless lower than in 2019, thus surviving birds may have benefited from reduced intra- and interspecific food competition. Breeding colony fidelity of adult northern gannets following HPAIV mass-mortalities suggests limited long-term capacity to virus spread, which may contrast with the behaviour of adults during the disease outbreak, or with that of younger individuals.

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Section: Discussion -Epidemiologysupporting

confidence: 78%

Strong breeding colony fidelity in northern gannets following High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIV) outbreak

Grémillet

Ponchon

Provost³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Genetic analyses have allowed us to describe the genetic diversity, estimate contemporary effective population size, and search for evidence of population bottleneck (Lopez et al 2021). Further genetic studies will look for potential genetic structures between colonies that will be used to identify adapted conservation units (Danckwerts et al 2021).…”

Section: Implications For Applied Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovery of the breeding colonies of a critically endangered and elusive seabird, the Mascarene Petrel (Pseudobulweria aterrima)

Juhasz¹,

Dubos²,

Pinet³

et al. 2022

JFO

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Seabirds are the most endangered group of birds and among them, the gadfly petrels (genera Pseudobulweria and Pterodroma) are the most threatened and least known. The Mascarene Petrel (Pseudobulweria aterrima) is endemic to Réunion Island and is one of the rarest birds in the world. This species was considered extinct in the mid-20th century but was rediscovered in 1970. The population is thought to be in decline because of predation by invasive predators, habitat destruction, and light-induced mortality. The first goal of this paper is to detail the methods that we used to discover the breeding colonies of this species and to determine the threats at these sites. The second goal is to present characteristics of the colonies we found, the threats occurring at these colonies, and the first conservation actions implemented at these sites. We first conducted an island-scale acoustic survey using autonomous recording units (ARUs) to locate the breeding colonies. We then used infrared thermal binoculars to precisely locate the places where birds displayed and landed. Because all discovered breeding sites were on vertical cliffs, we abseiled these cliffs to access the nests. Once burrows were discovered, we deployed infrared camera traps to determine the presence of alien predators or competitors (rats, cats, tenrecs) and to study the behaviors of the birds at the colony. The large-scale acoustic survey revealed the presence of 17 vocally active sites, 16 of which were investigated with infrared thermal binoculars. We observed petrel landings at five of these sites. Two of them were accessible and we abseiled to find the nests. We found 14 occupied burrows at one of these sites and eight at the other. Camera traps revealed the presence of rats and tenrecs at both sites, and cats were detected close to the colonies. The two colonies are on tall vertical cliffs covered with native vegetation, at elevations of 650 m a. s. l. and 1250 m a. s. l., respectively. These findings allowed us to implement conservation actions, such as invasive mammal control, and to start long-term monitoring and applied research for conservation. We are confident that the methods we developed could be used with great success at other places where finding colonies of a cryptic, rare, and nocturnal seabird is particularly challenging.RESUMEN. Las aves marinas son el grupo de aves más amenazado y entre ellas los géneros Pseudobulweria y Pterodroma son los más amenazados y poco conocidos. Pseudobulweria aterrima es endémica de la isla de Reunión y es una de las aves más raras del mundo. Esta especie fue considerada extinta a mediados del siglo 20 pero fue redescubierto en 1970. Se supone que la población está en disminución debido a la depredación por especies invasoras, destrucción del hábitat y la mortalidad inducida por la luz. El primer objetivo de este estudio es detallar los métodos que utilizamos para descubrir las colonias de reproducción de esta especie y determinar las amenazas en estos sitios. El segundo objetivo es presentar las caracter...

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“…tendency to return to the natal site to breed), despite their high mobility (Schreiber and Burger 2002;Friesen 2015). Due to the adaptation and specialization to conditions around colonies, seabirds can present population differentiation even between nearby colonies Danckwerts et al 2021). Therefore, the use of food resources available around breeding areas makes local adaptation a potential mechanism of population differentiation in the group (Friesen et al 2007;Friesen 2015), although historical aspects may also influence population structure (Lombal et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeographic variation on dietary aspects of a widely distributed seabird

et al. 2023

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The diet of widely distributed species is influenced by the availability of food resources, which can vary according to local conditions. Thus, heterogeneity in diet patterns can help understand population structure and illustrate biogeographic boundaries. In this study, published and unpublished datasets of regurgitated material and stable isotopes of carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) from whole blood of brown boobies (Sula leucogaster) in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean (27°51′S to 0°55′N) were used to assess dietary spatial patterns. The variations in prey composition and isotopic niche breadth were associated with colony location (coastal/oceanic), genetic population structure, and marine biogeographic zonings-Large Marine Ecosystems, Longhurst's Biogeochemical Provinces, and Spalding's Provinces and Ecoregions. Boobies from coastal and southern colonies showed higher diversity in their diet compared with boobies from oceanic and northern colonies, given the presence of demersal taxa associated with bottom trawling discards. The variation in prey composition from regurgitates and stable isotopes was well framed with genetic structure and biogeographic boundaries, although less fitting with Spalding's zoning. The brown booby showed trophic plasticity throughout the study area, suggesting that their diet is shaped by food resources available around the colonies, including those from fishery discards. These results demonstrate that highly mobile vertebrates are potentially useful samplers of the marine environment, able to indicate the diversity of prey organisms available in the foraging area through diet, and support biogeographic zonings. Furthermore, diet composition associated with population structure sheds light on local adaptation as a potential mechanism for promoting/disrupting gene flow in seabirds.

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Extreme philopatry and genetic diversification at unprecedented scales in a seabird

Cited by 15 publications

References 72 publications

Strong breeding colony fidelity in northern gannets following High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIV) outbreak

Strong breeding colony fidelity in northern gannets following High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIV) outbreak

Discovery of the breeding colonies of a critically endangered and elusive seabird, the Mascarene Petrel (Pseudobulweria aterrima)

Biogeographic variation on dietary aspects of a widely distributed seabird

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