Prey consumption and energy transfer by marine birds in the Gulf of Alaska

Hunt, George L.; Drew, Gary S.; Jahncke, Jaime; Piatt, John F.

doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2004.12.024

Cited by 28 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Although we were unable to discern breeders from non‐breeders, previous studies have shown that breeding birds from Tern Island (French Frigate Shoals) commuted to the West Coast of the U.S. and foraged within the study area (Hyrenbach et al ., ). During the post‐breeding season, BFAL are known to disperse broadly across the north Pacific, when they range from the Gulf of Alaska to Japan (Springer et al ., ; Hunt et al ., ; Hyrenbach, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Relative influence of static and dynamic features on black‐footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) habitat use in central California Sanctuaries

Michael

Jahncke

Hyrenbach

2013

Fisheries Oceanography

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Effective conservation of highly mobile species requires an understanding of the factors that influence their habitat use patterns, locally and within a large‐scale oceanographic context. We characterized the seasonal (chick‐rearing, post‐breeding) and inter‐annual (2004–2008) distribution and abundance of black‐footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes; BFAL) along the central California continental shelf/slope using standardized vessel‐based surveys. We used a hypothesis‐based information‐theoretic approach to quantify the relative influence of environmental conditions on BFAL occurrence and abundance by assessing their association with: (i) local static bathymetric features, (ii) local and regional dynamic oceanographic processes, and (iii) seasonal and inter‐annual basin‐wide variability. While the presence/absence models yielded stronger results than the abundance models, both revealed that static and dynamic features influence BFAL habitat use. Specifically, occurrence was greatest near the shelf‐break, particularly in months with strong upwelling. High BFAL densities were associated with Rittenburg Bank, especially during the chick‐rearing season, periods of positive North Pacific Gyre Oscillation index and large northern monthly upwelling, evidenced by cool, salty waters in the study area. BFAL aggregation intensity was greatest onshore of the shelf‐break (200 m isobath). Behavioral observations reinforced the notion that transiting BFAL are widely dispersed near the shelf‐break and concentrate in large flocks of birds sitting on the water farther onshore. These results underscore the need to consider oceanographic processes at multiple spatial scales when interpreting changes in BFAL dispersion within marine sanctuaries, and highlight the feasibility of implementing bathymetrically defined protected areas targeting predictable BFAL aggregations within these larger management jurisdictions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Relative influence of static and dynamic features on black‐footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) habitat use in central California Sanctuaries

Michael

Jahncke

Hyrenbach

2013

Fisheries Oceanography

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“…( Table 1). Based on Hunt et al (2005), the mean body mass for these taxa was set to 3.2, 1.1, 0.4 and 0.9 kg respectively. They were grouped in two categories according to feeding strategies: "surface feeders" for gulls and kittiwakes and "plunge and pursuit divers" for gannets and auks.…”

Section: Defining the Model Compartmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their diet regime was assumed to be composed mostly of energy-rich pelagic species and large zooplankton crustaceans (Hunt et al, 2005;Certain et al, 2011). Some marine birds are also well-known to feed largely on fisheries discards (Arcos, 2001).…”

Section: Defining the Model Compartmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lower trophic levels and detrital biomass control the Bay of Biscay continental shelf food web: Implications for ecosystem management

Lassalle

Lobry

Loc’h

et al. 2011

Progress in Oceanography

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International audienceThe Bay of Biscay (North-East Atlantic) has long been subjected to intense direct and indirect human activities that lead to the excessive degradation and sometimes overexploitation of natural resources. Fisheries management is gradually moving away from single-species assessments to more holistic, multi-species approaches that better respond to the reality of ecosystem processes. Quantitative modelling methods such as Ecopath with Ecosim can be useful tools for planning, implementing and evaluating ecosystem-based fisheries management strategies. The aim of this study was therefore to model the energy fluxes within the food web of this highly pressured ecosystem and to extract practical information required in the diagnosis of ecosystem state/health. A well-described model comprising 30 living and two non-living compartments was successfully constructed with data of local origin, for the Bay of Biscay continental shelf. The same level of aggregation was applied to primary producers, mid-trophic-levels and top-predators boxes. The model was even more general as it encompassed the entire continuum of marine habitats, from benthic to pelagic domains. Output values for most ecosystem attributes indicated a relatively mature and stable ecosystem, with a large proportion of its energy flow originating from detritus. Ecological network analysis also provided evidence that bottom-up processes play a significant role in the population dynamics of upper-trophic-levels and in the global structuring of this marine ecosystem. Finally, a novel metric based on ecosystem production depicted an ecosystem not far from being overexploited. This finding being not entirely consistent over indicators, further analyses based on dynamic simulations are required

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“…Fish length was converted to wet weight using allometric relationships established from fish in hand (using linear regressions of logtransformed values; α < 0.05; see Supplement S1) and/or literature values (Haynes & Wigley 1969, Froese & Pauly 2010, and total energy was calculated by multiplying wet weight by a single estimate of energy density for each taxonomic group. Energy densities were either determined by bomb calorimetry (Parr 1425 semimicro calorimeter) or obtained from literature sources (Haynes & Wigley 1969, Van Pelt et al 1997, Anthony et al 2000, Hunt et al 2005, Froese & Pauly 2010; see Supplements S1, S2 & S3 for the list of sources and parameters for each species). Fish pro-cessed for calorimetric analysis were first oven-dried at 70°C until weight remained constant.…”

Section: Calculation Of Total Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade-offs in prey quality and quantity revealed through the behavioral compensation of breeding seabirds

Schrimpf¹,

Parrish²,

Pearson³

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Many productive ocean ecosystems are also highly variable, resulting in complex trophic interactions. We analyzed interannual patterns in the diet of a seabird, the common murre Uria aalge, in a region of high oceanographic productivity, the northern California Current, to investigate how these top predators adjust their chick provisioning to cope with environmental variability. Murres relied chiefly on Pacific herring Clupea harengus pallasi and surf smelt Hypomesus pretiosus to provision chicks, although they regularly returned 8 other fish taxa. Provisioning success was measured by the energy return rate to chicks, which in turn was disarticulated into energy per meal (quality) and meal delivery rate (quantity). Parents exhibited 'compensation' during 2 years in which smaller, low quality prey were returned more quickly than in years with normal (i.e. 'good') provisioning. Despite the increased delivery rate, energy return rates were still lower in 'compensation' vs. 'good' years. The lowest energy return rates occurred in 3 'poor' years, during which ocean productivity was also depressed. Our results suggest that murres in this system have the ability to shift provisioning strategies to deal with some variability in prey resources, but not when limited by exceptionally poor environmental conditions.

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Prey consumption and energy transfer by marine birds in the Gulf of Alaska

Cited by 28 publications

References 13 publications

Relative influence of static and dynamic features on black‐footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) habitat use in central California Sanctuaries

Relative influence of static and dynamic features on black‐footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) habitat use in central California Sanctuaries

Lower trophic levels and detrital biomass control the Bay of Biscay continental shelf food web: Implications for ecosystem management

Trade-offs in prey quality and quantity revealed through the behavioral compensation of breeding seabirds

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