Tracking variations in wetland use by breeding flamingos using stable isotope signatures of feather and blood

Yohannes, Elizabeth; Arnaud, Antoine; Béchet, Arnaud

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2013.11.010

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Here, isotopic signatures suggest temporal changes in diet concomitant with the geographic spread of gull colonies along the French Mediterranean coast. The decreasing δ 13 C values also suggest that birds tended to feed in less saline waters over years (Yohannes et al, 2014), which is in accordance with the spread of French colonies from saltpans to lagoons and more brackish habitats. The temporal trend of δ 15 N is in accordance with the change of habitats since prey composition differs between saltpans and less salty habitats.…”

Section: Spatiotemporal Diet Variation Despite Isotopic Niche Widthsupporting

confidence: 66%

“…Yet, despite the changes in diet detected, we found no significant change in niche width (SEAc). Only lower δ 13 C, associated with less saline waters (Ramirez et al, 2012;Rendon, Rendon-Martos, Garrido, & Amat, 2011;Yohannes et al, 2014), translated in improvement of colony breeding success suggesting possible provisioning constraints in saltpans.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used F I G U R E 1 Geographic distribution of the Slender-billed gulls breeding sites between 1967 and 2013 along the French Mediterranean coast dual-stable isotopes signatures (carbon δ 13 C and nitrogen δ 15 N) of feathers sampled from 331 chicks as proxies to (a) assess prey nutrient sources (Mizutani, 1990) and to (b) detect possible spatiotemporal variations in the diet and foraging niche of slender-billed gulls during their range expansion. We then evaluated if chicks body condition was related to variations in stable isotope values and the corresponding isotopic niche width while taking into account (a) habitat type (lagoon vs. saltpans) since the diversity of prey is relatively reduced in saltpans (Britton & Johnson, 1987), (b) seasonal phenology (date of colony settlement) since the availability of prey can vary along the breeding season (Yohannes, Arnaud, & Béchet, 2014), (c) the location of the colony, inside or outside the Camargue, since the protection of the Rhône delta-a Natural Regional Park-may provide resources in higher density, and (d) colony size since it can influence either favorably or negatively the capacity of parental provision to chicks and the number of chicks per pair (Gonzalez-Solis, Oro, Jover, Ruiz, & Pedrocchi, 1997;Ward & Zahavi, 1973).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Foraging niche shift maintains breeding parameters of a colonial waterbird during range expansion

Francesiaz

Yohannes

Besnard

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Relating the effects of foraging niche variation to reproductive dynamics is critical to understand species response to environmental change. We examined foraging niche variations of the slender‐billed gull (Chroicocephalus genei), a nomadic colonial waterbird species during its range expansion along the French Mediterranean coast over a 16‐year period (1998–2013). We investigated whether range expansion was associated with a change in chick diet, breeding success, and chicks body condition. We also examined whether breeding success and chicks body condition were explained by diet and colonial characteristics (number of pairs, laying phenology, habitat, and locality). Diet was characterized using dual‐stable isotopic proxies (δ13C and δ15N) of feather keratin from 331 individuals subsampled from a total of 4,154 chicks ringed and measured at 18 different colonies. δ13C decreased and δ15N increased significantly during range expansion suggesting that chicks were fed from preys of increasing trophic level found in the less salty habitat colonized by the end of the study period. Niche shift occurred without significant change of niche width which did not vary among periods, habitats, or localities either. Breeding success and chick body condition showed no consistent trends over years. Breeding success tended to increase with decreasing δ13C at the colony level while there was no relationship between stable isotope signatures and chick body condition. Overall, our results suggest that even if range expansion is associated with foraging niche shift toward the colonization of less salty and more brackish habitats, the shift had marginal effect on the breeding parameters of the Slender‐billed gull. Niche width appears as an asset of this species, which likely explains its ability to rapidly colonize new locations.

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Section: Spatiotemporal Diet Variation Despite Isotopic Niche Widthsupporting

confidence: 66%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Foraging niche shift maintains breeding parameters of a colonial waterbird during range expansion

Francesiaz

Yohannes

Besnard

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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“…The species feeds mostly on aquatic invertebrates, such as insects, crustaceans, molluscs, annelids, microalgae and plant material (Rodríguez-Pérez et al 2007). Despite its major feeding habitats being salt ponds and other hypersaline environments, tidal flats, freshwater wetlands and periodic wetlands are also exploited regularly (Yohannes et al 2014). The use of feeding habitats by the Greater Flamingo has been studied in detail at several Mediterranean wetlands (Tourenq et al 2001, Amat et al 2005, Béchet et al 2009, Hamza et al 2014, Yohannes et al 2014, Hamza & Selmi 2015, while data for the Adriatic wetlands are lacking completely.…”

Section: Environmental Characteristics Of Shallow Bottoms Used By Grementioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental characteristics of shallow bottoms used by Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus in a northern Adriatic lagoon

Scarton¹

2017

Acrocephalus

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Since the beginning of this century, Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseusflocks have been observed regularly when feeding in the large extensions of shallow bottoms in the Lagoon of Venice (NE Italy), the largest lagoon along the Mediterranean. Nowadays thousands of flamingos are present throughout the year. Between 2013 and 2017 I collected data on the environmental features of the shallow bottoms used by feeding flocks, along with measurements of flight initiation distance (FID) of Greater Flamingo in response to the approach of boats and pedestrians. Shallow bottoms were shown to be used when covered with approximately 10 to 60 cm of water. All the feeding sites were in open landscapes, with low occurrence of saltmarshes in a radius of 500 m. The bottoms were barely covered with seagrasses (<4% of the surface around the survey points) and were mostly silty. Feeding flocks were on average 1.2 km far from the nearest road or dyke, while the mean distance from channels that could be used by boats was about 420 m. The mean FID caused by boats or pedestrians was 241 m ± 117 m (N = 31, ± 1 SD) without significant differences between those for the two disturbance sources. The use of shallow bottoms by the Greater Flamingo appears governed primarily by the tidal cycle, but boat disturbance probably modifies this effect. According to FID values, a set-back distance of 465 m is suggested to reduce the disturbance caused by boats and pedestrians to the flamingo feeding flocks.

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“…Here, we focus on the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus Pallas 1811; hereafter 'flamingo'), a long-lived bird emblematic of Mediterranean wetlands. Flamingos are filter feeders (Jenkin, 1957) foraging on a diversified diet including aquatic invertebrates and seeds (Deville et al, 2013;Yohannes et al, 2013). The commercial saltpans of Salin-de-Giraud in the Camargue (southern France) are one of the most important flamingo breeding sites in the world, with an average of 10,500 pairs (Johnson and Cézilly, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of extreme climatic events on the energetics of long-lived vertebrates: the case of the greater flamingo facing cold spells in the Camargue

Deville

Labaude

Robin

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Most studies analyzing the effects of global warming on wild populations focus on gradual temperature changes, yet it is also important to understand the impact of extreme climatic events. Here we studied the effect of two cold spells (January 1985 and February 2012) on the energetics of greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) in the Camargue (southern France). To understand the cause of observed flamingo mass mortalities, we first assessed the energy stores of flamingos found dead in February 2012, and compared them with those found in other bird species exposed to cold spells and/or fasting. Second, we evaluated the monthly energy requirements of flamingos across 1980-2012 using the mechanistic model Niche Mapper TM . Our results show that the body lipids of flamingos found dead in 2012 corresponded to 2.6±0.3% of total body mass, which is close to results found in woodcocks (Scolopax rusticola) that died from starvation during a cold spell (1.7±0.1%), and much lower than in woodcocks which were fed throughout this same cold spell (13.0±2%). Further, Niche Mapper TM predicted that flamingo energy requirements were highest (+6-7%) during the 1985 and 2012 cold spells compared with 'normal' winters. This increase was primarily driven by cold air temperatures. Overall, our findings strongly suggest that flamingos starved to death during both cold spells. This study demonstrates the relevance of using mechanistic energetics modelling and body condition analyses to understand and predict the impact of extreme climatic events on animal energy balance and winter survival probabilities.

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Tracking variations in wetland use by breeding flamingos using stable isotope signatures of feather and blood

Cited by 15 publications

References 45 publications

Foraging niche shift maintains breeding parameters of a colonial waterbird during range expansion

Foraging niche shift maintains breeding parameters of a colonial waterbird during range expansion

Environmental characteristics of shallow bottoms used by Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus in a northern Adriatic lagoon

Impacts of extreme climatic events on the energetics of long-lived vertebrates: the case of the greater flamingo facing cold spells in the Camargue

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