Stable isotope analysis reveals sexual and environmental variability and individual consistency in foraging of thin-billed prions

Quillfeldt, Petra; McGill, Rona A. R.; Masello, Juan F.; Weiss, Felix; Strange, Ian J.; Brickle, Paul; Furness, Robert W.

doi:10.3354/meps07751

Cited by 61 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(51 reference statements)

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“…The model is re-evaluated on the permuted data, and the resulting drop in training AUC is shown in the the South Atlantic Ocean [10] versus Indian Ocean (this study) similar patterns were found: observed and predicted wintering sites for Antarctic prions are at lower latitudes than for thin-billed prions, and the most important oceanographic parameters identified by the models were sea surface temperature and mean chlorophyll a concentration. Stable isotope values of feathers grown during the non-breeding period [11][12][13] support these niche differences for multiple years. Antarctic and sub-Antarctic latitudes are characterized by a small number of dominant swarming crustacean species-krill and hyperiid amphipods-which is consistent with the small range in d…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cool, cold or colder? Spatial segregation of prions and blue petrels is explained by differences in preferred sea surface temperatures

et al. 2015

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The Southern Ocean provides one of the largest environmental gradients on Earth that lacks geographical barriers, and small but highly mobile petrels living there may offer fine models of evolution of diversity along environmental gradients. Using geolocation devices, we investigated the winter distribution of closely related petrel species breeding sympatrically in the southern Indian Ocean, and applied ecological niche models to compare environmental conditions in the habitat used. We show that thin-billed prions (Pachyptila belcheri), Antarctic prions (Pachyptila desolata) and blue petrels (Halobaena caerulea) from the Kerguelen archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean segregate latitudinally, sea surface temperature being the most important variable separating the distribution of the species. Antarctic prions spent the winter north of the Polar Front in temperate waters, whereas blue petrels were found south of the Polar Front in Antarctic waters. Thin-billed prions preferred intermediate latitudes and temperatures. Stable isotope values of feathers reflected this near complete niche separation across an ecological gradient that spans large scales, and suggest evolutionary isolation by environment. In pelagic seabirds that exploit large areas of ocean, spatial niche partitioning may not only facilitate coexistence among ecologically similar species, but may also have driven their evolution in the absence of geographical barriers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the southwest Atlantic Ocean, thin-billed and Antarctic prions had divergent patterns of migration, resulting in nearly complete spatial segregation (0-5% overlap by month, [10]). Consistent foraging in different water masses during the non-breeding period has, furthermore, been inferred from feather stable isotope ratios [11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cool, cold or colder? Spatial segregation of prions and blue petrels is explained by differences in preferred sea surface temperatures

et al. 2015

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“…Some studies have investigated seabird diet across seasons using stable isotopes on different tissues (e.g. Cherel et al 2008, Quillfeldt et al 2008b), while others have compared different populations during a specific period (e.g. Cherel et al 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic and seasonal variability in the isotopic niche of little auks

Fort¹,

Cherel²,

Harding³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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International audienceThe non-breeding season of seabirds is extremely challenging to study because it isoften spent offshore under harsh environmental conditions. We used stable isotope analysis to investigatelittle auk Alle alle feeding ecology throughout the annual cycle. The geographic distribution oflittle auks in the Arctic covers a wide range of oceanographic conditions. We sampled birds from 5different colonies located in the most important breeding areas (Greenland and Spitsbergen) toexamine how individuals breeding in contrasting marine environments differ in their trophic nichethroughout the year. We found differences in summer δ15N values among the colonies, suggestingdifferent target species despite low overall δ15N values in blood, which indicates a diet that is primarilycomposed of copepods. A rise in δ15N values between summer and autumn indicated that adultschanged their trophic status to feed at a higher trophic level. During autumn, a large overlap infeather δ13C values between colonies suggests a common moulting area off Northeast Greenland.During winter, the isotopic signatures show that the trophic status of Greenland and Spitsbergenbirds differed, with birds from Greenland feeding at low trophic levels (probably mostly on copepods),and birds from Spitsbergen maintaining a higher trophic level. These findings highlight contrastingseasonal and regional diet in little auk populations, and reveal possible population overlapsduring the autumn moult. We found substantial trophic variability in little auks, which may indicateunsuspected capabilities to adapt to current, drastic environmental change in the North Atlantic

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“…Large-scale changes in latitude (e.g. Quillfeldt et al 2005Quillfeldt et al , 2008 can be superimposed on smaller-scale changes like nearshore vs. offshore habitats or benthic vs. pelagic food webs. Furthermore, a change in δ 13 C can indicate a switch be tween isotopically distinctive prey types that can migrate to a foraging habitat.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible foraging behaviour of a sexually dimorphic seabird: large males do not always dive deep

Quillfeldt¹,

Schroff²,

Noordwijk³

et al. 2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Sex differences in foraging behaviour have been explained by size dimorphism and/or avoidance of inter-sexual competition for depletable resources. To distinguish between these 2 hypotheses, we examined how intrinsic factors (sex-related differences) and extrinsic factors (year differences) shape the foraging behaviour of size-dimorphic imperial shags Phalacrocorax atriceps albiventer breeding at New Island, Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas. We deployed time-depth and compass loggers to male and female imperial shags over 3 consecutive chick-feeding seasons. Males and females partly overlapped in coastal foraging areas, which were used mainly for benthic diving. Males additionally used offshore areas over deep water for shallow pelagic diving, suggesting that spatial segregation is involved in the avoidance of inter-sexual competition for food. Stable isotope data suggested differences in prey composition between the sexes, with consistently higher trophic levels in males, as expected for their larger size. Males were 27% heavier than females and reached greater maximum dive depths (98.9 ± 5.3 m) than females (54.1 ± 2.9 m). However, contrary to predictions based on body size dimorphism, the median dive depths of males were similar to those of females. While females used mainly benthic diving, males were more flexible in their benthic and pelagic foraging behaviour. Females also carried out more dives per day in all years, and deeper and longer dives than males in one year. As dive parameters differed strongly among the years, our results suggest that body size dimorphism and the avoidance of inter-sexual competition for food are involved in the evolution of sex-related differences in foraging in this species.

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Stable isotope analysis reveals sexual and environmental variability and individual consistency in foraging of thin-billed prions

Cited by 61 publications

References 33 publications

Cool, cold or colder? Spatial segregation of prions and blue petrels is explained by differences in preferred sea surface temperatures

Cool, cold or colder? Spatial segregation of prions and blue petrels is explained by differences in preferred sea surface temperatures

Geographic and seasonal variability in the isotopic niche of little auks

Flexible foraging behaviour of a sexually dimorphic seabird: large males do not always dive deep

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