Relative importance of local enhancement as a search strategy for breeding seabirds: an experimental approach

Bairos‐Novak, Kevin R.; Crook, Kevin A.; Davoren, Gail K.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.05.002

Cited by 22 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…In addition, despite some evidence suggesting Langmuir circulation cells are exploited by surface feeding seabirds in near-coastal regions (Goss et al, 1997;Ladd et al, 2005), the importance of these features further offshore is yet to be explored (Barstow, 1983). Distinguishing the way in which individuals perceive their environment via knowledge transfer (Machovsky-Capuska et al, 2014), learning and memory (Regular et al, 2013;Grecian et al, 2018), sight (Bodey et al, 2014;Tremblay et al, 2014;Bairos-Novak et al, 2015) and smell (Savoca and Nevitt, 2014) would also be beneficial, as would an increased knowledge of immature/juvenile foraging behaviours and how these develop through time (de Grissac et al, 2017;Votier et al, 2017;Grecian et al, 2018). Further inter-taxa research (e.g.…”

Section: Future Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oceanographic drivers of marine mammal and seabird habitat-use across shelf-seas: A guide to key features and recommendations for future research and conservation management

Cox

Embling

Hosegood

et al. 2018

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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Mid-latitude (~30-60 o) seasonally stratifying shelf-seas support a high abundance and diversity of marine predators such as marine mammals and seabirds. However, anthropogenic activities and climate change impacts are driving changes in the distributions and population dynamics of these animals, with negative consequences for ecosystem functioning. Across mid-latitude shelf-seas, marine mammals and seabirds are known to forage at a number of oceanographic habitats that structure the spatio-temporal distributions of prey. Knowledge of these and the bio-physical mechanisms driving such associations are needed to improve marine management and policy. Here, we provide a concise and easily accessible guide for both researchers and managers of marine systems on the predominant oceanographic habitats that are favoured for foraging by marine mammals and seabirds across mid-latitude shelf seas. We (1) identify and describe key discrete physical features present across the continental shelf, working inshore from the shelf-edge to the shore line, (2) provide an overview of findings relating to associations between these habitats and marine mammals and

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Section: Future Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oceanographic drivers of marine mammal and seabird habitat-use across shelf-seas: A guide to key features and recommendations for future research and conservation management

Cox

Embling

Hosegood

et al. 2018

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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“…Seabirds also may cue to the foraging activities of each other (i.e. local enhancement) to minimize energy expenditure while searching for prey (Silverman et al 2004, Thiebault et al 2014, Bairos-Novak et al 2015. In contrast, species might reduce access of other predator species to prey either through indirect interactions, such as reducing access to prey or prey density within a patch through exploitation, or direct interactions, such as food stealing, resulting in avoidance and, ultimately, spatial segregation (Hoffman et al 1981, Ballance et al 1997, Maniscalco et al 2001, Ainley et al 2003.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations of non-breeding shearwater species on the northeastern Newfoundland coast

Carvalho¹,

Davoren²

2019

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Prey aggregations are not uniformly distributed, driving predator species to aggregate in specific areas of high food availability. On the east coast of Newfoundland, capelin Mallotus villosus, a small forage fish, migrate inshore to spawn during the summer, providing an abundant food source for marine predators. During this period, non-breeding great shearwaters Ardenna gravis (GRSH) and sooty shearwaters A. grisea (SOSH), both long-distance migratory sea birds, aggregate in coastal Newfoundland, but it is unclear what drives their distributional patterns within this region. Using at-sea surveys, we investigated whether the density and distributional patterns of GRSH or SOSH were influenced by sea surface temperature, depth and fish (prey) density as well as the number of the other seabird species or other shearwater species (i.e. GRSH or SOSH). The presence and number of GRSH and SOSH were positively influenced by the density of the other sympatric shearwater species but were not influenced by the densities of other seabird species. These findings suggest that the benefits of foraging in close association may outweigh costs. Fish density was less important in explaining the presence and number of GRSH and SOSH than depth, as both species were mainly found together in shallow areas (< 50 m) along the coast. As fish density was primarily distributed in shallow areas, reflecting predictable locations of and migratory routes to capelin spawning sites, depth (or distance from shore) and the distribution of other shearwaters may provide important cues to locate regions of high prey availability in coastal Newfoundland.

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“…The flock is made up of scattered multiple lines of 10–50 birds flying in half‐V formations (an asymmetrical version of the V formation) often just above the water surface presumably in order to reduce flight expenditure (Tanida, ; Portugal et al., ; Figure c). It is probable these individual streams of birds scan different parts of the water surface and recruit other birds of the flock through local enhancement when food is discovered (Bairos‐Novak et al., ). In such a system, an individual's connectivity to others (social network) is likely to be a crucial part of the process of relaying information (Aplin, Farine, Morand‐Ferron, & Sheldon, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hence, in such species, important benefits are expected to compensate the costs of coloniality (e.g., competition for partners or breeding space, and transmission of disease) and of foraging (intraspecific competition for food). Benefits are thought to include increased knowledge about location and quality of foraging grounds, via public information and local enhancement (e.g., Buckley, ; Danchin & Wagner ; Bairos‐Novak, Crook, & Davoren, ), and increased success of prey capture, via depolarization of fish schools under the combined attack of many individuals (Wilson, Ryan, James, & Wilson, ). Group‐foraging seabird species, such as the Guanay cormorant ( Phalacrocorax bougainvillii , Weimerskirch, Bertrand, Silva, Bost, & Peraltilla, ) or the Cape cormorant ( Phalacrocorax capensis , Cook et al., ), tend to specialize on shoaling prey, usually small epipelagic fish, but also on krill, as in the case of the short‐tailed shearwater ( Puffinus tenuirostris , Hunt, Coyle, Hoffman, Decker, & Flint, ) or murres ( Uria spp., Hunt, Harrison, Hamner, & Obst, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

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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Relative importance of local enhancement as a search strategy for breeding seabirds: an experimental approach

Cited by 22 publications

References 40 publications

Oceanographic drivers of marine mammal and seabird habitat-use across shelf-seas: A guide to key features and recommendations for future research and conservation management

Oceanographic drivers of marine mammal and seabird habitat-use across shelf-seas: A guide to key features and recommendations for future research and conservation management

Associations of non-breeding shearwater species on the northeastern Newfoundland coast

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

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