In marine environments, tropical and subtropical habitats are considered to be inherently less productive than more temperate systems. As such, foraging site fidelity among vertebrate predators occupying low-latitude marine systems is generally low as a response to an increased unpredictability of resources. We investigated the foraging movements of Masked Boobies breeding on Middle Cay, Jamaica using GPS loggers to examine if the presence of a nearby bathymetric feature influenced foraging site fidelity in a tropical system, the Caribbean Sea. According to the movements of tracked individuals, this population of boobies shows a high degree of spatial fidelity in foraging site selection, concentrated on the northern edge of Pedro Bank. We suggest this feature as an important location for marine conservation in the region and demonstrate its utility to foraging boobies via habitat modeling using a maximum entropy approach of relevant habitat variables. Finally, we place this study into the global context of Masked Booby foraging by examining the published literature of relevant tracking studies for population-level similarity in foraging metrics. According to hierarchical clustering of foraging effort, Masked Boobies demonstrate a density-dependent response to foraging effort regardless of colony origin or oceanic basin consistent with the principles of Ashmole's Halo.

No abstract

Between September 1999 and January 2002, banding was carried out at standardized mist net locations in extensive coastal mangroves at Two Sisters near Mitchell Town in the Portland Bight Protected Area, south-central Jamaica on 25 days as part of a base-line assessment of the avifauna. Captures included 427 birds of 31 species. There were 183 local recaptures and no international recaptures. Two Parulidae warbler species dominated, the Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis), a North American migrant that overwinters in Jamaica with 183 individuals banded of which 45 individuals (25%) were recaptured 71 times (mean = 1.6 times), and the resident subspecies of the Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) with 45 individuals banded of which 21 individuals (47%) were recaptured 64 times (mean = 3.0 times). The data on phenology and philopatry within and between years were compared for the two species, and the differences between resident and migrant species are discussed.

No abstract