Interannual dietary changes and demographic consequences in breeding blue petrels from Kerguelen Islands

Connan, Maëlle; Mayzaud, Patrick; Trouvé, Colette; Barbraud, Christophe; Cherel, Yves

doi:10.3354/meps07723

Cited by 22 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(50 reference statements)

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“…In agreement with other sampled years (Cherel et al 2002b, Connan et al 2008, chick food in 2003 was dominated by crustaceans (61.7% by fresh mass), with fish ranking second (33.3%) and cephalopods third (4.0%). Owing to their small size and mass, crustaceans accounted for most of the prey by number (98.3%), with the main item being the hyperiid amphipod Themisto gaudichaudii (73.4%).…”

Section: Blue Petrel Halobaena Caeruleasupporting

confidence: 62%

“…7). The foraging behaviour of some individuals that fed almost exclusively on mesopelagic fish confirms the importance of myctophids in the nutrition of BP that was already pointed out for the period during chick-rearing (Connan et al 2007(Connan et al , 2008.…”

mentioning

confidence: 55%

“…Firstly, intra-year variations in feeding ecology were investigated at the species level to depict the various foraging strategies used by a given species. Chick food and feather isotopic values of BP, TBP and CDP were previously determined at the Kerguelen Islands (Bocher et al 2000a, Cherel et al 2002a,b, 2006, Connan et al 2008, but with no detailed isotopic baseline information over the whole annual cycle. Secondly, isotopic values of the 3 species were compared at each main successive breeding stage and during moult to highlight how closely related (BP and TBP) and unrelated (CDP) genera coexist in sympatry.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seabird year-round and historical feeding ecology: blood and feather δ13C and δ15N values document foraging plasticity of small sympatric petrels

Cherel¹,

Connan²,

Jaeger³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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International audienceThe foraging ecology of small seabirds remains poorly understood because of the difficulty of studying them at sea. Here, the extent to which 3 sympatric seabirds (blue petrel, thinbilled prion and common diving petrel) alter their foraging ecology across the annual cycle was investigated using stable isotopes. δ13C and δ15N values were used as proxies of the birds' foraging habitat and diet, respectively, and were measured in 3 tissues (plasma, blood cells and feathers) that record trophic information at different time scales. Long-term temporal changes were investigated by measuring feather isotopic values from museum specimens. The study was conducted at the subantarctic Kerguelen Islands and emphasizes 4 main features. (1) The 3 species highlight a strong connection between subantarctic and Antarctic pelagic ecosystems, because they all foraged in Antarctic waters at some stages of the annual cycle. (2) Foraging niches are stagedependent, with petrels shifting their feeding grounds during reproduction either from oceanic to productive coastal waters (common diving petrel) or from subantarctic to high-Antarctic waters where they fed primarily on crustaceans (blue petrel and thin-billed prion). (3) The common diving petrel segregated from the surface-feeders blue petrel and thin-billed prion by a coastal habitat and lower trophic level prey, while the blue petrel segregated from the thin-billed prion by foraging further south and including more fish in its diet. (4) Feather δ13C and δ15N values from historical and recent specimens of thin-billed prion depicted a pronounced temporal shift to higher latitudes in its main moulting ground, where it feeds on higher trophic level prey. The study contributes to growing evidence that seabirds exhibit considerable foraging plasticity and sheds new light on their flexibility at different time scales (from intra-seasonal to decadal)

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Section: Blue Petrel Halobaena Caeruleasupporting

confidence: 62%

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confidence: 55%

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confidence: 99%

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Seabird year-round and historical feeding ecology: blood and feather δ13C and δ15N values document foraging plasticity of small sympatric petrels

Cherel¹,

Connan²,

Jaeger³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Stomach oil gives information on petrels' diet during the few days before sampling (Connan et al 2008). D/T ratios and diene levels were higher in snow petrels that forage exclusively among ice floes in high-Antarctic waters (Ridoux & Offredo 1989), compared with blue petrels.…”

Section: Hbi Differences Between Antarctic and Sub-antarctic Petrelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Petrels store oil from dietary origin in their stomach and the biochemical composition of oil has been used previously as an efficient tool in trophic studies using fatty acids and fatty alcohols (Connan et al 2008). Stomach oils were collected from 13 adult blue petrels in Mayes Island during chick rearing and from 45 snow petrels in Adélie Land during 4 breeding stages (N = 12 adults during the pre-laying period, 25 November 2011; N = 12 adults during the early incubation period, 25 December 2011; N = 12 adults during the late incubation period, 13 January 2012; N = 9 chicks during the chick-rearing period, 13 February 2012, Table 1).…”

Section: Study Site and Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Importance of ice algal production for top predators: new insights using sea-ice biomarkers

Goutte¹,

Charrassin²,

Cherel³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Antarctic seals and seabirds are strongly dependent on sea-ice cover to complete their life history. In polar ecosystems, sea ice provides a habitat for ice-associated diatoms that ensures a substantial production of organic matter. Recent studies have presented the potential of highly branched isoprenoids (HBIs) for tracing carbon flows from ice algae to higher-trophic-level organisms. However, to our knowledge, this new method has never been applied to sub-Antarctic species and Antarctic seals. Moreover, seasonal variations in HBI levels have never been investigated in Antarctic predators, despite a likely shift in food source from ice-derived to pelagic organic matter after sea-ice retreat. In the present study, we described HBI levels in a community of seabirds and seals breeding in Adélie Land, Antarctica. We then validated that sub-Antarctic seabirds had lower levels of diene, a HBI of sea-ice diatom origin, and higher levels of triene, a HBI of phytoplanktonic origin, compared with Antarctic seabirds. Finally, we explored temporal changes in HBI levels after the ice break up in summer. The level of diene relative to triene in Adélie penguin chicks increased and then declined during the breeding season, which was consistent with the short and intense proliferation of sea-ice algae in spring, followed by the pelagic phytoplankton bloom in summer. HBI biomarkers in Antarctic seabirds and seals thus indicate a shift from ice-algal derived organic matter to a pelagic carbon source during the summer breeding season.KEY WORDS: Ice proxy · Penguin · Petrel · Pinniped · Southern OceanResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

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Stable isotopes document the winter foraging ecology of king penguins and highlight connectivity between subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems

Cherel

Parenteau

Bustamante

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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The poorly known winter foraging ecology of the king penguin, a major Southern Ocean consumer, was investigated at the subantarctic Crozet Islands where the largest global population breeds. Blood δ13C and δ15N values were used as proxies of the birds’ foraging habitat and diet, respectively, and circulating prolactin levels helped in determining the birds’ reproductive status. Plasma prolactin concentrations showed that king penguin adults of unknown breeding status (n = 52) that were present at the colony in winter were in fact breeders and failed breeders, but were not non ‐breeders. Circulating prolactin was neither related to δ13C nor δ15N values, thus suggesting that both breeders and failed breeders used the same foraging habitats and fed on the same prey. Plasma and blood cell isotopic values depicted four new relevant biological features on the feeding strategies of king penguins during the critical winter period: (1) 42% of the birds foraged in the distant Antarctic Zone, but 58% fed primarily in subantarctic waters (δ13C), (2) they preyed upon myctophids in both zones (δ15N), (3) individuals were consistent in their foraging strategies over the winter months (δ13C and δ15N), and (4) a higher proportion of females (77%–80%) than males (27%–31%) favored feeding in distant Antarctic waters (δ13C). This study highlights trophic connectivity between subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems and hence the key role of energy export from Antarctic waters to sustain breeding populations of subantarctic predators, including during the Austral winter.

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Interannual dietary changes and demographic consequences in breeding blue petrels from Kerguelen Islands

Cited by 22 publications

References 44 publications

Seabird year-round and historical feeding ecology: blood and feather δ13C and δ15N values document foraging plasticity of small sympatric petrels

Seabird year-round and historical feeding ecology: blood and feather δ13C and δ15N values document foraging plasticity of small sympatric petrels

Importance of ice algal production for top predators: new insights using sea-ice biomarkers

Stable isotopes document the winter foraging ecology of king penguins and highlight connectivity between subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems

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