Changes in Wind Pattern Alter Albatross Distribution and Life-History Traits

Weimerskirch, Henri; Louzao, Maité; Grissac, Sophie de; Delord, Karine

doi:10.1126/science.1210270

Cited by 306 publications

(345 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The response of raptors to variation in environmental resources has also been found in golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) that change their flight strategy over the migratory season [59]. It has been shown in another specialized (dynamic) soaringgliding bird, the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans), that climate change resulted in changes in wind patterns that increased flight efficiency which, in turn, has increased their breeding success over the past 20 years [60]. Future studies should determine how soaring-gliding birds recognize changes in their environments, and whether or not they use them differently.…”

Section: (A) Comparison Of Decision-making Proxies Between Movement Pmentioning

confidence: 97%

Decision-making by a soaring bird: time, energy and risk considerations at different spatio-temporal scales

Harel

Duriez

Spiegel

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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One contribution of 17 to a theme issue 'Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight'. Natural selection theory suggests that mobile animals trade off time, energy and risk costs with food, safety and other pay-offs obtained by movement. We examined how birds make movement decisions by integrating aspects of flight biomechanics, movement ecology and behaviour in a hierarchical framework investigating flight track variation across several spatio-temporal scales. Using extensive global positioning system and accelerometer data from Eurasian griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) in Israel and France, we examined soaring-gliding decision-making by comparing inbound versus outbound flights (to or from a central roost, respectively), and these (and other) homerange foraging movements (up to 300 km) versus long-range movements (longer than 300 km). We found that long-range movements and inbound flights have similar features compared with their counterparts: individuals reduced journey time by performing more efficient soaring -gliding flight, reduced energy expenditure by flapping less and were more risk-prone by gliding more steeply between thermals. Age, breeding status, wind conditions and flight altitude (but not sex) affected time and energy prioritization during flights. We therefore suggest that individuals facing time, energy and risk trade-offs during movements make similar decisions across a broad range of ecological contexts and spatial scales, presumably owing to similarity in the uncertainty about movement outcomes.This article is part of the themed issue 'Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight'.

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Section: (A) Comparison Of Decision-making Proxies Between Movement Pmentioning

confidence: 97%

Decision-making by a soaring bird: time, energy and risk considerations at different spatio-temporal scales

Harel

Duriez

Spiegel

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…If thermal soaring is more energetically beneficial than orographic soaring and there is better availability of this uplift type in the Sandveld, then these differences could contribute to the significantly higher breeding productivity of eagles in the Sandveld than in the Cederberg, a finding which is not yet fully understood (Murgatroyd, Underhill, Rodrigues et al., 2016). Higher energy costs will require greater prey availability and food intakes for them to be energetically plausible (Wilson et al., 2011); otherwise, a negative effect on population demography or individual fitness would be expected (Weimerskirch et al., 2012). Further research examining the relationship between breeding performance and the energy landscape on a year‐by‐year and nest‐by‐nest basis may shed light on this.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At a broad scale, the energy landscape is likely to have implications for species distributions, and at a finer scale, it might impact on individual fitness or breeding performance (Shepard et al., 2011; Weimerskirch, Louzao, de Grissac, & Delord, 2012). Breeding performance has frequently been investigated in relation to factors such as food availability and meteorological conditions (Bosch, Martínez, Calvo, Zuberogoitia, & Jiménez‐Franco, 2014; McDonald, Olsen, & Cockburn, 2004; Millon, Arroyo, & Bretagnolle, 2008; Steenhof, Kochert, & Mcdonald, 1997), while links between the energy landscape and breeding performance have received little attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where eagles soar: Fine‐resolution tracking reveals the spatiotemporal use of differential soaring modes in a large raptor

Murgatroyd

Photopoulou

Underhill

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Unlike smaller raptors, which can readily use flapping flight, large raptors are mainly restricted to soaring flight due to energetic constraints. Soaring comprises of two main strategies: thermal and orographic soaring. These soaring strategies are driven by discrete uplift sources determined by the underlying topography and meteorological conditions in an area. High‐resolution GPS tracking of raptor flight allows the identification of these flight strategies and interpretation of the spatiotemporal occurrence of thermal and orographic soaring. In this study, we develop methods to identify soaring flight behaviors from high‐resolution GPS tracking data of Verreaux’s eagle Aquila verreauxii and analyze these data to understand the conditions that promote the use of thermal and orographic soaring. We use these findings to predict the use of soaring flight both spatially (across the landscape) and temporally (throughout the year) in two topographically contrasting regions in South Africa. We found that topography is important in determining the occurrence of soaring flight and that thermal soaring occurs in relatively flat areas which are likely to have good thermal uplift availability. The predicted use of orographic soaring was predominately determined by terrain slope. Contrary to our expectations, the topography and meteorology of eagle territories in the Sandveld promoted the use of soaring flight to a greater extent than in territories in the more mountainous Cederberg region. Spatiotemporal mapping of predicted flight behaviors can broaden our understanding of how large raptors like the Verreaux’s eagle use their habitat and how that links to energetics (as the preferential use of areas that maximize net energy gain is expected), reproductive success, and ultimately population dynamics. Understanding the fine‐scale landscape use and environmental drivers of raptor flight can also help to predict and mitigate potential detrimental effects of anthropogenic developments, such as mortality via collision with wind turbines.

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“…Seabirds show decreased ability to obtain food and spend more energy to survive in rough seas during stormy conditions [7, 11]. Reduced foraging success may lead these organisms to starvation and may, subsequently, increase the risk of mortality [89]. As a consequence of climate change, tropical storms are becoming more frequent and intense [87, 90, 91].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Predictors of Seabird Wrecks in a Tropical Coastal Area

2016

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Beached bird surveys have been widely used to monitor the impact of oil pollution in the oceans. However, separating the combined effects of oil pollution, environmental variables and methodological aspects of beach monitoring on seabird stranding patterns is a challenging task. The effects of a comprehensive set of oceanographic and climatic variables and oil pollution on seabird strandings in a tropical area of Brazil were investigated herein, using two robust and innovative methods: Generalized Linear Mixed Models and Structural Equation Modeling. We assessed strandings of four resident seabird species along 480 km of beaches divided into 11 sampling areas, between November 2010 and September 2013. We found that increasing the distance from the nearest breeding island reduce the seabird stranding events. Storm activity and biological productivity were the most important factors affecting the stranding events of brown boobies Sula leucogaster, Cabot’s terns Thalasseus acuflavidus and kelp gulls Larus dominicanus. These species are also indirectly affected by warm tropical waters, which reduce chlorophyll-a concentrations. Beach surveys are, thus, useful to investigate the mortality rates of resident species near breeding sites, where individuals are more abundant and exposed to local factors associated with at-sea mortality. In contrast, conservation actions and monitoring programs for far-ranging seabird species are needed in more distant foraging areas. Furthermore, beach monitoring programs investigating the impact of oil pollution on seabirds need to account for the effects of environmental factors on stranding patterns. The present study also demonstrated that seabirds inhabiting tropical coastal waters are sensitive to climate conditions such as adverse weather, which are expected to increase in frequency and intensity in next decades.

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Changes in Wind Pattern Alter Albatross Distribution and Life-History Traits

Cited by 306 publications

References 21 publications

Decision-making by a soaring bird: time, energy and risk considerations at different spatio-temporal scales

Decision-making by a soaring bird: time, energy and risk considerations at different spatio-temporal scales

Where eagles soar: Fine‐resolution tracking reveals the spatiotemporal use of differential soaring modes in a large raptor

Environmental Predictors of Seabird Wrecks in a Tropical Coastal Area

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