Food consumption patterns of the Vulnerable Socotra cormorant <i>Phalacrocorax nigrogularis</i> indicate minimal overlap with fisheries in the eastern Arabian Gulf

Muzaffar, Sabir Bin; Gubiani, Robert; Benjamin, Sonya; Alshihi, Rashid; Al-Romithi, Ahmad; Kaabi, Faisal Humaid Al

doi:10.1017/s0030605315000666

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Although it is known that Socotra Cormorant are important for the cycling of nutrients which is vital for the maintenance of pelagic communities including fish stock (Aspinall 1995), the public perception of the species as a competitor remains unchanged. The species is known to consume sardine Sardinella longiceps (Aspinall 1995) but recent studies from UAE has shown that seven species of fish that are consumed do not overlap with the commercial fisheries (Muzaffar et al 2015). Creating awareness of this misconception about the species being a competitor, and its importance in maintaining a healthy ecosystem and benefits for fisheries, is crucial.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does a recent surge in Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis nesting population and establishment of new breeding colonies ensure long term conservation? Pragmatic assessment of recent augmentation in Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE

Khan

Javed

Ahmed

et al. 2018

Bird Conservation International

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SummaryUnited Arab Emirates is an important range country for the ‘Vulnerable’ Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis and Abu Dhabi Emirate holds most of the remaining breeding colonies. Emirate-wide monitoring of all breeding colonies was undertaken annually for 11 breeding seasons from 2006–2007 to 2016–2017 to monitor the status of breeding colonies and estimate the nesting population. Breeding was recorded in 10 colonies that were used intermittently with an average of four (± 1.3 SD) colonies active each year. The highest number of eight active colonies was recorded in 2016–2017. Establishment of two new breeding colonies on Butinah and Digala in 2016–2017 and recolonisation of three previously inactive colonies during the monitoring period emphasised the ability of the species to relocate and colonise suitable sites. Continued threats at some breeding colonies caused abandonment and subsequent relocation, resulting in a gradual shift of breeding colonies to safer areas. Presently, most of the breeding sites (62%) with an increased number of breeding birds are found in colonies with restricted access. The Emirate-wide nesting population witnessed a 10-fold increase in the last decade; after an initial decline in 2006–2007 it increased from about 5,000 pairs in 2007–2008 to nearly 52,000 nesting pairs in 2016–2017. Combined with the nesting population from the Siniya colony, the overall UAE nesting population is estimated at 60,000 to 70,000 pairs, nearly half of the global breeding population. Further augmentation of the current breeding numbers is possible if breeding colonies remain safe from human disturbance and invasive predators. For long-term conservation of Socotra Cormorant, protection of all remaining colony sites, including inactive ones, is important in addition to minimising disturbance along with widespread public awareness to change the people’s perception of the species as a competitor to commercial fisheries.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does a recent surge in Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis nesting population and establishment of new breeding colonies ensure long term conservation? Pragmatic assessment of recent augmentation in Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE

Khan

Javed

Ahmed

et al. 2018

Bird Conservation International

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“…Socotra cormorants target anchovy, bluestripe herring, and African sailfin flying fish in the eastern Arabian Gulf (Muzaffar et al., ). Assuming they ate mainly anchovy (Muzaffar et al., ), the total fish consumption of Socotra cormorants from Siniya Island (including nonbreeders) during a breeding season amounted to 5,078 tonnes (range: 3,506–7,263 tonnes) or 47 tonnes per day on average (range: 33–68 tonnes) (Appendix S1). Considering the geographic consistency of the foraging area throughout the day, these results imply that the fish school (or schools) exploited by cormorants on a daily basis are of considerable size.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dietary analyses at the colony have shown that Socotra cormorants forage on shoaling fish, mainly anchovy ( Encrasicholina spp. ), bluestripe herring ( Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus ), and African sailfin flying fish ( Parexocoetus mento ), suggesting little overlap with local fisheries (Muzaffar et al., ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Group foraging in Socotra cormorants: A biologging approach to the study of a complex behavior

Cook

Gubiani

Ryan

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Group foraging contradicts classic ecological theory because intraspecific competition normally increases with aggregation. Hence, there should be evolutionary benefits to group foraging. The study of group foraging in the field remains challenging however, because of the large number of individuals involved and the remoteness of the interactions to the observer. Biologging represents a cost‐effective solution to these methodological issues. By deploying GPS and temperature–depth loggers on individuals over a period of several consecutive days, we investigated intraspecific foraging interactions in the Socotra cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis, a threatened colonial seabird endemic to the Arabian Peninsula. In particular, we examined how closely birds from the same colony associated with each other spatially when they were at sea at the same time and the distance between foraging dives at different periods of the day. Results show that the position of different birds overlapped substantially, all birds targeting the same general foraging grounds throughout the day, likely following the same school of fish. There were as many as 44,500 birds within the foraging flock at sea at any time (50% of the colony), and flocking density was high, with distance between birds ranging from 8 to 1,380 m. Birds adopted a diving strategy maximizing time spent underwater relative to surface time, resulting in up to 72% of birds underwater in potential contact with prey at all times while foraging. Our data suggest that the benefits of group foraging outweigh the costs of intense aggregation in this seabird. Prey detection and information transmission are facilitated in large groups. Once discovered, shoaling prey are concentrated under the effect of the multitude. Fish school cohesiveness is then disorganized by continuous attacks of diving birds to facilitate prey capture. Decreasing population size could pose a risk to the persistence of threatened seabirds where group size is important for foraging success.

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“…Being a social forager, carpet-like flocks of tens of thousands of birds move whilst fishing across the shallow parts of this region of the Gulf, perfectly timed so as to meet the congregations of pelagic fish here. The nearby Siniya Island is one of the strongholds of the population, with an estimated 40,000 breeding pairs (over 100,000 birds) that congregate on the ground (Muzaffar 2015).…”

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confidence: 99%

Sailing Down-Wind, a Breakwaters' Perspective on the Great Cormorant

2022

Ardea

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Food consumption patterns of the Vulnerable Socotra cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis indicate minimal overlap with fisheries in the eastern Arabian Gulf

Cited by 7 publications

References 31 publications

Does a recent surge in Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis nesting population and establishment of new breeding colonies ensure long term conservation? Pragmatic assessment of recent augmentation in Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE

Does a recent surge in Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis nesting population and establishment of new breeding colonies ensure long term conservation? Pragmatic assessment of recent augmentation in Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE

Group foraging in Socotra cormorants: A biologging approach to the study of a complex behavior

Sailing Down-Wind, a Breakwaters' Perspective on the Great Cormorant

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