Habitat constraints and spatial bias in seabird colony distributions

Forbes, L. Scott; Jajam, Martín; Kaiser, Gary W.

doi:10.1034/j.1600-0587.2000.230508.x

Cited by 24 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…Clearly, not all sites are appropriate for nesting [49] and birds must balance the advantages of nesting on a particular land mass with the costs of foraging around it [50]. Beyond that, however, the approach provides a framework to examine how the foraging costs of adjacent, potentially competing colonies might interact with density to limit bird distribution at sea [51].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Construction of energy landscapes can clarify the movement and distribution of foraging animals

2011

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Variation in the physical characteristics of the environment should impact the movement energetics of animals. Although cognizance of this may help interpret movement ecology, determination of the landscape-dependent energy expenditure of wild animals is problematic. We used accelerometers in animal-attached tags to derive energy expenditure in 54 free-living imperial cormorants Phalacrocorax atriceps and construct an energy landscape of the area around a breeding colony. Examination of the space use of a further 74 birds over 4 years showed that foraging areas selected varied considerably in distance from the colony and water depth, but were characterized by minimal power requirements compared with other areas in the available landscape. This accords with classic optimal foraging concepts, which state that animals should maximize net energy gain by minimizing costs where possible and show how deriving energy landscapes can help understand how and why animals distribute themselves in space.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Construction of energy landscapes can clarify the movement and distribution of foraging animals

2011

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“…In fact, food availability within the foraging range of seabirds may be an important factor determining the location of breeding colonies (e.g. Forbes et al, 2000), and ultimately the distribution of seabirds at sea.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographical patterns of seabird attendance to a research trawler along the Iberian Mediterranean coast

Abelló¹,

Arcos²,

Sola³

2003

Sci. Mar.

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SUMMARY: The attendance of seabirds to a research trawler along the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula was monitored during six demersal surveys (MEDITS project). Cruises were performed in late spring during the period 1994-1999. Twenty seabird species were recorded, including both breeders and migrants. The four most common species behind the boat were local breeders, namely the Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus, Cory's shearwater Calonectris diomedea, Audouin's gull Larus audouinii and the yellow-legged gull Larus cachinnans. Most seabirds made use of trawler discards to some extent, with the exception of the Puffin Fratercula arctica. Geographically consistent patterns were identified in the six years surveyed. Seabirds were most abundant along the eastern coast of Iberia, especially off the Ebro Delta and around the Columbretes Islands, coinciding with one of the major areas of primary productivity and one of the largest trawling fleets in the western Mediterranean. The location of the main seabird colonies also influenced the distribution of breeders.Key words: seabirds, distribution, trawl survey, western Mediterranean RESUMEN: PAUTAS GEOGRÁFICAS EN LA ASOCIACIÓN DE AVES MARINAS A UN ARRASTRERO DE INVESTIGACIÓN A LO LARGO DELAS COSTAS MEDITERRÁNEAS IBÉRICAS. -La atracción de aves marinas a un buque arrastrero de investigación fue estudiada durante seis campañas pesqueras demersales (proyecto MEDITS). Las campañas se realizaron a finales de primavera durante el periodo 1994-1999. Se registraron un total de veinte especies de aves marinas, incluyendo tanto especies reproductoras como migrantes. Las cuatro especies más comunes a popa del buque fueron especies reproductoras, concretamente la pardela balear Puffinus mauretanicus, la pardela cenicienta Calonectris diomedea, la gaviota de Audouin Larus audouinii y la gaviota patiamarilla Larus cachinnans. La mayor parte de las aves marinas usaron descartes pesqueros en mayor o menor grado, con la excepción del frailecillo Fratercula arctica. Se identificaron pautas geográficamente consistentes en los seis años muestreados. La mayor abundancia de aves marinas se registró a lo largo de las costas orientales de la península ibé-rica, especialmente en la zona del delta del Ebro y alrededor de las islas Columbretes, coincidiendo con una de las áreas más importantes de producción primaria y con una de las mayores flotas de arrastre en el Mediterráneo occidental. La localización de las principales colonias de cría también afectó a la distribución de las especies reproductoras en la zona.Palabras clave: aves marinas, distribución, campañas de arrastre, Mediterráneo occidental

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“…Field studies confirm that this is sometimes the case (Wanless & Harris 1993, Huin 2002). However, islands (and therefore potential breeding sites) are not evenly distributed; for geological reasons they often occur in clusters (Forbes et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Offshore diplomacy or how seabirds mitigate intra-specific competition: a case study based on GPS tracking of Cape gannets from neighbouring colonies

Grémillet¹,

Dell’Omo²,

Ryan³

et al. 2004

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

252

235

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How do seabirds deal with intra-specific competition for food? We addressed this question in a study of the foraging behaviour of 91 Cape gannets Morus capensis from 2 South African colonies, situated 110 km apart, using GPS and time-depth recorders. Theoretically birds should have widely overlapping foraging areas and comparable foraging characteristics. Surprisingly, the foraging areas only overlapped by 13 and 14%, and birds from the 2 colonies also showed marked differences in their foraging patterns. Birds from the larger colony foraged more intensively; their foraging trips lasted longer (22.6 vs 8.5 h), involving longer total flight time (7.8 vs 5.9 h), longer foraging path length (293 vs 228 km), and greater maximum distance from the breeding site (104 vs 67 km). They also travelled faster (50 vs 44 km h -1 ), and had a larger number of foraging locations during each trip (252 vs 121), with more sinuous foraging paths (1.4 vs 1.1). However, there were no significant differences in the number of dives per foraging trip (68 vs 66), the average maximum depth attained (3.4 vs 3.6 m), nor the average or total dive duration per foraging trip (4.3 vs 4.3 s and 5.7 vs 4.3 min, respectively). We conclude that gannets from these 2 colonies are spatially segregated and experience different foraging conditions. We speculate that wind patterns and group feeding could generate such foraging asymmetries. Foraging site fidelity and memory effects could consolidate these asymmetries, and generate 'cultural' differences in foraging patterns.

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Habitat constraints and spatial bias in seabird colony distributions

Cited by 24 publications

References 0 publications

Construction of energy landscapes can clarify the movement and distribution of foraging animals

Construction of energy landscapes can clarify the movement and distribution of foraging animals

Geographical patterns of seabird attendance to a research trawler along the Iberian Mediterranean coast

Offshore diplomacy or how seabirds mitigate intra-specific competition: a case study based on GPS tracking of Cape gannets from neighbouring colonies

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