Annual variation in laying date and breeding success of Brown Noddies on Aride Island, Seychelles

Ramos, Jaime A.; Maul, A.; Bowler, John; Wood, Louisa; Threadgold, Rob; Johnson, Sharon; Birch, Darryl; Walker, Susan

doi:10.1071/mu05023

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Our results also suggest that negative values of the MEI had a detrimental effect on roseate tern productivity. Breeding failures of brown noddies during La Niña years have been previously reported for Aride (Ramos et al 2006). …”

Section: Effects Of Ocean Indicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of annual changes in primary productivity and ocean indices on breeding performance of tropical roseate terns in the western Indian Ocean

Monticelli¹,

Ramos²,

Quartly³

2007

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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We assessed the influence of inter-annual changes in primary productivity and local, regional and large scale ocean indices on the breeding parameters of roseate terns Sterna dougallii on Aride Island, Seychelles, western Indian Ocean. Productivity (chicks per breeding pair), timing of breeding and clutch and egg sizes were monitored annually for 8 yr and correlated with local ocean productivity (denoted by Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor, SeaWiFS, estimates of chlorophyll concentration, CC), sea surface temperature and indices recording the status of the Indian Ocean Dipole and of El Niño. The rate of increase in CC between mean laying date and CC peak value was positively related to roseate tern productivity and mean clutch size over the 1998 to 2005 study period. Colony productivity seemed also to be influenced by the Multivariate El Niño Index. In most years, the breeding phenology of roseate terns corresponded to the local increase in CC around Aride, and failure to adjust timing of reproduction to the timing of the phytopankton bloom decreased the probability of breeding success. This is the first study showing that a tropical seabird species is sensitive to inter-annual variations in the intensity and timing of the phytoplankton bloom, which should be connected to annual variations in the availability of its main fish prey (juvenile goatfishes). Overall, these patterns indicate that the reproduction of this top marine predator is dictated by the temporal variability in oceanographic conditions. We suggest that CC data available over the world's oceans may be a useful tool to develop models predicting the fate of colonies of inshore feeding seabirds when other, more conventional, monitoring methods cannot be used.

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Section: Effects Of Ocean Indicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of annual changes in primary productivity and ocean indices on breeding performance of tropical roseate terns in the western Indian Ocean

Monticelli¹,

Ramos²,

Quartly³

2007

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Large-and local-scale climate processes, including El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and sea surface temperature (SST), have been shown to influence seabird reproduction, distribution, phenology and survival in many regions of the globe. For example, breeding of seabirds in the northern Japan Sea is delayed when air and sea temperatures are lower, as a result of the influence of temperature on access to breeding sites and prey availability (Watanuki and Ito 2012), and a multivariate index of ENSO partly explained variations in tropical seabird breeding in the Seychelles (Ramos et al 2002(Ramos et al , 2006.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate as a driver of phenological change in southern seabirds

et al. 2013

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Seabirds are one of the most threatened groups of birds globally and, overall, their conservation status is deteriorating rapidly. Southern hemisphere countries are overrepresented in the number of species of conservation concern yet long-term phenological data on seabirds in the southern hemisphere is limited. A better understanding of the implications of changes in the marine and terrestrial environments to seabird species is required in order to improve their management and conservation status. Here we conducted a meta-analysis of the phenological drivers and trends among southern hemisphere seabirds. Overall there was a general trend towards later phenological events over time (34 % of all data series, N = 47; 67 % of all significant trends), though this varied by taxa and location. The strongest trends towards later events were for seabirds breeding in Australia, the Laridae (gulls, noddies, terns) and migratory southern polar seabirds. In contrast, earlier phenologies were more often observed for the Spheniscidae (penguins) and for other seabirds breeding in the Antarctic and subantarctic. Phenological changes were most often associated with changes in oceanographic conditions, with sea-ice playing an important role for more southerly species.For some species in some locations, such as the Little Penguin Eudyptula minor in southeastern Australia, warmer oceans projected under various climate change scenarios are expected to correspond to increased seabird productivity, manifested through earlier breeding, heavier chicks, an increased chance of double brooding, at least in the short-term.

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“…In the western Indian Ocean, the colony productivity of roseate terns Sterna dougallii on Aride Island was related to intensity and timing of phytoplankton blooms during breeding (Monticelli et al 2007), SST (Ramos et al 2002) and the Multivariate El Niño Index (Ramos et al 2002, Monticelli et al 2007. ENSO events and severe La Niña years were found to have a strong influence upon brown noddies in the western Indian Ocean, where there was evidence of strong variation in food availability with poor breeding success (Ramos et al 2006). Breeding phenology of sooty tern colonies coincided with a large monthly change in SST (an indicator of the annual phytoplankton bloom) just before the beginning of reproduction in the southwestern Indian Ocean (Jaquemet et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, in the western Indian Ocean a roseate tern colony was found to be sensitive to inter-annual variations in the intensity and timing of a localised phytoplankton bloom (Monticelli et al 2007). Breeding phenology and performance of tropical seabird species breeding in the eastern Indian Ocean (Dunlop et al 2002, Surman & Nicholson 2009a and western Indian Ocean (Ramos et al 2006) were influenced by the largescale oceanographic cues associated with ENSO events. At least 2 other studies of tropical seabird species, one at the Great Barrier Reef, north-eastern Australia, and the other in the Seychelles, western Indian Ocean, found that breeding success was influenced by both large-scale (ENSO) and localised (SST) oceanographic conditions (Ramos et al 2002, Peck et al 2004.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, seabird breeding parameters (e.g. phenology, participation rates and breeding success) are often affected by large-scale atmospheric climate phenomena, such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO; Dunlop et al 2002, Ramos et al 2006, Surman & Nicholson 2009a and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO; Frederiksen et al 2004, Wanless et al 2009), as well as localised weather conditions such as wind speed and sea-surface temperature (SST; Ramos et al 2002, Smithers et al 2003, Peck et al 2004, Frederiksen et al 2004, Jaquemet et al 2007) that may limit the abilities of seabirds to adapt to changes in prey availability. Marine ecosystems are changing and are predicted to change substantially in response to climate change, with subsequent impacts to biodiversity and productivity (Polo czanska et al 2007, Burrows et al 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of climate variability on breeding phenology and performance of tropical seabirds in the eastern Indian Ocean

Surman¹,

Nicholson²,

Santora³

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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We compared 20 yr of seabird breeding data with oceanographic variables (sea level, sea-surface temperature) and a climate index (Southern Oscillation Index; SOI) for the lesser noddy Anous tenuirostris, brown noddy A. stolidus, sooty tern Onychoprion fuscata and wedgetailed shearwater Ardenna pacifica at the Houtman Abrolhos, eastern Indian Ocean. We found that timing of breeding and performance of these species is related to climate variability, mediated by oceanographic conditions within the eastern boundary Leeuwin Current (LC). The 3 migratory species have breeding parameters which are correlated with sea level and the SOI, while the first egg date of the resident lesser noddy is correlated with SST during their pre-breeding phase. There was poor breeding performance for each species during El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions; moreover, poor breeding success was recorded for all species outside of ENSO events in the latter years of the study. In addition, breeding was delayed for all species during the time of the present study. The environmental conditions contributing to this appear to be fewer years of strong LC flow with associated high sea levels, warmer SSTs, stronger eddy energy and increased productivity. Migratory seabird species breeding at this location appear less able to respond to climate variability -and its influence upon prey availability -than the resident species. It is suggested that the resident lesser noddy may have an advantage due to its response to a localised environmental cue, SST, in the pre-breeding phase, which may be correlated with prey availability in the waters surrounding the Houtman Abrolhos.

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Annual variation in laying date and breeding success of Brown Noddies on Aride Island, Seychelles

Cited by 21 publications

References 18 publications

Effects of annual changes in primary productivity and ocean indices on breeding performance of tropical roseate terns in the western Indian Ocean

Effects of annual changes in primary productivity and ocean indices on breeding performance of tropical roseate terns in the western Indian Ocean

Climate as a driver of phenological change in southern seabirds

Effects of climate variability on breeding phenology and performance of tropical seabirds in the eastern Indian Ocean

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