Indicators of seabird reproductive performance demonstrate the impact of commercial fisheries on seabird populations in the North Sea

Cook, Aonghais S.C.P.; Dadam, Daria; Mitchell, Ian; Ross‐Smith, Viola H.; Robinson, Robert A.

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2013.10.027

Cited by 37 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 57 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…For migratory seabirds, conditions in the marine environment are most limiting (Schreiber 2001;Cook et al 2014), especially through the long-and short-term fluctuations of fish stocks (Montevecchi 1993;Gröger et al 2010;Dänhardt and Becker 2011a). Hunting of fish can be impeded by adverse weather, such as storms, wind and rain (Finney et al 1999;Daunt et al 2006), while food availability is influenced by local weather conditions (Misund et al 1997(Misund et al , 1998.…”

Section: Communicated By Scott Mcwilliamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival and local recruitment are driven by environmental carry-over effects from the wintering area in a migratory seabird

Szostek

Becker

2015

Oecologia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We estimated annual apparent survival rates, as well as local recruitment rates in different age groups and for different breeding status in the common tern Sterna hirundo using mark-recapture analysis on a long-term individual-based dataset from a breeding colony in Germany. Strong inter-annual variability in survival rates became apparent, especially in prospectors. Local recruitment also varied strongly between years and age groups. To explain these fluctuations, we linked survival and recruitment estimates to several environmental covariates expected to be limiting during the wintering period and migration, including the global climate indices of North Atlantic Oscillation and Southern Oscillation, fish abundance indices, and marine primary productivity in the West African wintering area. Contrary to expectations, global indices did not seem to be linked strongly to vital rates. Results showed that primary productivity had the strongest effect on annual survival, especially in young and inexperienced individuals. Primary productivity in the wintering area was also strongly associated with the probability of recruitment in the following breeding season, indicating that conditions during winter can have carry-over effects on the life cycle of individuals.

show abstract

Section: Communicated By Scott Mcwilliamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival and local recruitment are driven by environmental carry-over effects from the wintering area in a migratory seabird

Szostek

Becker

2015

Oecologia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Correlations between climate covariates and population fluctuations are also analyzed either with time lags or without lagged associations. In the former case, researchers assume that those covariates influence mainly fertility and the effects on population numbers are reflected some years later, owing that seabirds do not reach sexual maturity for several years until recruitment (Cook et al, 2014). In some other cases, climate covariates of the previous year were tested, and researchers assume that conditions prior to breeding were more important by influencing adult survival, breeding propensity and immigration (Jenouvrier et al, 2003;Frederiksen et al, 2008;Irons et al, 2008;Devney et al, 2009;Lauria et al, 2012).…”

Section: The Mechanisms Linking Climate Variation To Seabird Populatimentioning

confidence: 99%

Seabirds and climate: knowledge, pitfalls, and opportunities

Oró

2014

Front. Ecol. Evol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As a physical driver of ecosystem functioning, it is not surprising that climate influences seabird demography and population dynamics, generally by affecting food availability. However, if we zoom in ecologically, seabirds are in fact very heterogeneous, ranging in size from very small to very large species (with a difference of more than two orders of magnitude in body weight), from planktivorous forms to predators of large fish and squid, from benthic to pelagic, from species with small foraging ranges to species feeding throughout the whole circumpolar region, and from resident species (at a spatial mesoscale) to trans-equatorial migrating seabirds that travel large distances across several oceanographic systems. Due to this high variability and the difficulty in obtaining direct reliable estimates of long-term food availability, global climatic indices have been extensively used in studying seabird demography and population dynamics. However, the use made by researchers of these indices has certain conceptual and methodological pitfalls, which I shall address in this review. Other factors, such as anthropogenic impacts (including oil-spills and interaction with fisheries), may further alter or confound the association between climate and seabird demography. These pitfalls and environmental noise, together with the inability to incorporate resilience, may bias our predictions regarding the future impact of global warming on seabirds, many of which have vulnerable populations.Keywords: predictive models, resilience, methodological bias, evolution, global change, climate, seabirds HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDA search performed in June 2014 using the words "climate & seabird" in the ISI Web of Science resulted in 946 items. Even though some of those items dealt with other marine organisms or were focused on some related issues (such as oceanographic processes), that result represents a large number of scientific contributions on the topic of how climate may influence seabird ecology. The influence of climate on marine organisms has been extensively studied in seabirds because, compared to most other species (except some marine mammals such as seals and sealions), their demography and population dynamics can be easily monitored in breeding colonies.Up to the 90s, the changes in demographic parameters and population size in seabirds were explored mostly in relation to intrinsic features of the colonies such as their size or the presence of predators (Hunt et al., 1986). The effects of climate (mostly in the form of oceanographic indices) on seabird ecology were seldom analyzed in those years (Myres, 1979), and research efforts were addressed mostly to determining the distribution of seabirds at sea (Abrams, 1985). The influence of oceanographic features was outlined especially when extreme and anomalous events occurred (such as cyclones or El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) years (e.g., Blomqvist and Peterz, 1984;Graybill and Hodder, 1985), whereas some pioneering studies dealt with the relationship between climatic ev...

show abstract

“…We consider the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla, hereafter 114 "kittiwake"), as it is a sensitive indicator of environmental conditions (Wanless et al 2007, 115 Cook et al 2014). We focus on the UK and Ireland, which support around 14% of the 116 biogeographic kittiwake population and for which population data are routinely collected 117 (JNCC 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of sea temperature and stratification changes on seabird breeding success

Carroll¹,

Butler²,

Owen³

et al. 2015

Clim. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Contact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner. conditions. We use mixed models to consider how SST, the potential energy anomaly 47 (indicating density stratification strength) and the timing of seasonal stratification influence 48 kittiwake productivity. Across all colonies, higher breeding success was associated with 49 weaker stratification before breeding and lower SSTs during the breeding season. Eight 50 colonies with sufficient data were modelled individually: higher productivity was associated 51 with later stratification at three colonies, weaker stratification at two, and lower SSTs at one, 52 whilst two colonies showed no significant relationships. Hence, key drivers of productivity 53 varied among colonies. Climate change projections, made using fitted models, indicated that 54 breeding success could decline by 21 -43% between 1961-90 and 2070-99. Climate change 55 therefore poses a longer-term threat to kittiwakes, but as this will be mediated via availability 56 of key prey species, other marine apex predators could also face similar threats. 57 58 4 INTRODUCTION 59Ecological impacts of climate change are increasingly well-understood, with changes in 60 species' ranges and phenology predicted and observed in both terrestrial and marine 61

show abstract

Indicators of seabird reproductive performance demonstrate the impact of commercial fisheries on seabird populations in the North Sea

Cited by 37 publications

References 57 publications

Survival and local recruitment are driven by environmental carry-over effects from the wintering area in a migratory seabird

Survival and local recruitment are driven by environmental carry-over effects from the wintering area in a migratory seabird

Seabirds and climate: knowledge, pitfalls, and opportunities

Effects of sea temperature and stratification changes on seabird breeding success

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About