At‐sea behaviour and habitat use by tropicbirds in the eastern Pacific

Spear, Larry B.; Ainley, David G.

doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.2005.00418.x

Cited by 18 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Some solitary tropical seabirds associate with predatory fish and dolphins but avoid large interspecific feeding frenzies. This is the case with tropicbirds, in which two of the three Pacific species avoid interspecific foraging flocks (Phaethon aethereus and P. rubricauda) and the third (P. lepturus) is only observed foraging in very small foraging flocks; these species plunge dive from considerable height (up to 40 m, through half that height in the case of P. lepturus), and on this basis Spear and Ainley (2005) attribute their solitary feeding to interference when in flocks.…”

Section: Tropical Oceansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive Interactions among Foraging Seabirds, Marine Mammals and Fishes and Implications for Their Conservation

Veit

Harrison

2017

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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There is increasing recognition of the importance of "positive interactions" among species in structuring communities. For seabirds, an important kind of positive interaction is the use of birds of the same species, birds of other species, and other marine predators such as cetaceans, seals and fishes as cues to the presence of prey. The process by which a single bird uses, say, a feeding flock of birds as a cue to the presence of prey is called "local enhancement" or "facilitation." There are subtly different uses of each of these terms, but the issue we address here is the ubiquity of positive interactions between seabirds and other marine predators when foraging at sea, and whether as a result of their associations the feeding success, and therefore presumably the fitness, of individual seabirds is increased. If this contention is true, then it implies that conservation of any one species of seabird must take into consideration the status and possible conservation of those species that the focal species uses as a cue while foraging. For example, conservation of great shearwaters (Ardenna gravis), which often feed over tuna (e.g., Thunnus) schools, should take in to consideration conservation of tuna. Ecosystem management depends on understanding the importance of such processes; the loss of biodiversity, and the consequent threat to foraging success, may be a substantial threat to the stability of marine ecosystems.

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Section: Tropical Oceansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive Interactions among Foraging Seabirds, Marine Mammals and Fishes and Implications for Their Conservation

Veit

Harrison

2017

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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“…On the other hand, food resources in tropical oceans are scarcer and more patchily distributed (Ashmole 1971, Weimerskirch 2007, which might impose high foraging costs, either by increasing the proportion of time spent searching or in prey patches, or an extension of the prospected area. For example, dispersal of tropicbirds (Phaethon lepturus and P. aethereus) outside the breeding season is usually multidirectional (Spear & Ainley 2005). Assuming this is representative of other tropical seabirds, it suggests that their migrations are to some extent less predictable than those of many temperate or polar seabirds, where most or all of the population moves to 1 or more distant wintering areas , 2006, 2007, Shaffer et al 2006.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Movements, at-sea distribution and behaviour of a tropical pelagic seabird: the wedge-tailed shearwater in the western Indian Ocean

Catry

Ramos

Corre

et al. 2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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This is the first study using geolocators (global location sensing, GLS) to track the movements of a pelagic tropical seabird. We used GLS to describe at-sea distribution and activity patterns of wedge-tailed shearwaters Puffinus pacificus breeding on Aride Island, Seychelles, in the late chick-rearing, non-breeding and pre-breeding periods. During late chick-rearing and pre-breeding periods, shearwaters foraged relatively close to the colony. In the non-breeding period, shearwaters were found on a west -east gradient along the equator, between 5°N and 10°S. Some of the tracked individuals showed little dispersion, staying as close as 1000 km to Aride Island, while others travelled 3500 km to the Central Indian Ocean Basin. Individual core areas of activity showed little overlap. Overall, wedge-tailed shearwaters showed short-distance movements and exploited relatively unproductive oceanic waters. At-sea distribution largely matched that of yellowfin and skipjack tunas, emphasising the importance of the association with subsurface predators rather than associations with physical oceanographic features that enhance primary productivity. During the non-breeding period, the feeding activity of shearwaters was mainly concentrated in the daylight period, when tunas also forage. A different behaviour, characterised by a much lower proportion of the night sitting on the sea surface, was recorded in the pre-laying exodus of 1 female to more productive waters, suggesting a different feeding strategy and/or targeting of different prey. Knowledge of the at-sea distribution of wedge-tailed shearwaters allows quantification of the overlap with industrial fisheries, which will be crucial to devise fisheries policies for the Indian Ocean with important implications for the conservation of this species.

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“…WTTB breed all year around suggesting that the species does not rely on a unique peak of food availability (Stonehouse, 1962;Le Corre 2001;Catry et al, 2009). During the breeding period distance to the colony seems to be the more limitant factor to foraging, before oceanographic variables such as sea surface temperature, thermocline structure or salinity (Spear and Ainley, 2005). In Brazil the species is classified as Endangered (Brasil, 2014) and reproduces on two Archipelagos that are currently suffering from exotic species' introduction and increasing anthropogenic pressure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, seabirds need to develop strategies for coping with this highly oligotrophic environment, such as proficient flight, plunge diving (Ballance and Pitman, 1999), associations to fronts and high chlorophyll concentration areas (Thiers et al, 2014), "near-obligate commensalism" (Au and Pitman, 1989) or association with sub surface predators (Ballance et al, 1997, Jaquemet et al, 2004 and dual foraging (long and short foraging trips) strategies (Congdon et al, 2005;Shoji et al, 2015) Among tropical seabirds species, tropicbirds (order Phaethontiiformes) are characterized by their solitary feeding habits. White-Tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus (Daudin, 1802) (Hereinafter "WTTB") is the species more commonly seen in association with sub-surface predators (Spear and Ainley, 2005). WTTB breed all year around suggesting that the species does not rely on a unique peak of food availability (Stonehouse, 1962;Le Corre 2001;Catry et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging behavior and at-sea distribution of White-Tailed Tropicbirds in tropical ocean

et al. 2017

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We used miniaturized GPS loggers and site observations to access foraging patterns and nest behaviour of the White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus (WTTB), an endangered species at its South Atlantic breeding colony. Dual foraging pattern was observed with alternation between long and short foraging trips. Birds responsible for nest attendance engaged in short foraging trips with mean distance from colony of 25 ± 17 km, total distance covered of 79 ± 65 km and mean duration of 4.02 ± 5.28 hours. Birds flew by dawn and returned before dusk while partners were at sea for long foraging trips that ranged from four to 11 days, with mean maximum distance from colony of 105 ± 47.48 km. Chicks were usually left alone for hours and chick predation by Land Crab Johngartia lagostroma, egg consumption by Goniopsis cruentata and intra-specific competition are suspected to be responsible for high chick mortality rates.Keywords: Tropicbird, GPS, dual foraging, behavior. Comportamento de forrageio e distribuição no mar doRabo-de-palha-de-bico-laranja em oceano tropical ResumoUtilizamos aparelhos de GPS miniaturizados e observações de campo para determinar padrões de forrageio e comportamento em ninho da espécie ameaçada Rabos-de-palha-de-bico-laranja Phaethon lepturus em sua colônia reprodutiva do Atlântico Sul. Padrão dual de forrageio foi observado, com alternância entre viagens longas e curtas. Aves responsáveis por cuidado parental efetuaram viagens curtas de forrageio com em média 25 ± 17 km de distância da colônia, distância total percorrida média de 79 ± 65 km e duração média de 4.02 ± 5.28 horas. As aves saíram da colônia entre o amanhecer e o entardecer, enquanto seus parceiros estavam em alto-mar em viagens longas de quatro a 11 dias de duração, com média de distância máxima da colônia de 105 ± 47.48 km. Filhotes foram constantemente deixados sozinhos por várias horas, e predação por Johngartia lagostroma, consumo de ovos por Goniopsis cruentata e competição intra-específica possivelmente foram responsáveis por sua morte.Palavras-chave: Rabos-de-palha, GPS, estratégia dual de forrageio, comportamento.

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At‐sea behaviour and habitat use by tropicbirds in the eastern Pacific

Cited by 18 publications

References 17 publications

Positive Interactions among Foraging Seabirds, Marine Mammals and Fishes and Implications for Their Conservation

Positive Interactions among Foraging Seabirds, Marine Mammals and Fishes and Implications for Their Conservation

Movements, at-sea distribution and behaviour of a tropical pelagic seabird: the wedge-tailed shearwater in the western Indian Ocean

Foraging behavior and at-sea distribution of White-Tailed Tropicbirds in tropical ocean

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