Determining hatch dates for skuas: an egg density calibration curve

Aldará, Jón; Hammer, Sjúrður; Thorup, Kasper; Snell, Katherine

doi:10.61350/sbj.32.84

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 37 publications

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“…By establishing multinational long-term demographic studies across the range of species, we can better link population differences in migration strategies, routes and staging areas to specific aspects of demography (Harrison et al 2021). Integration of demography and phenology with tracking data can also help establish whether differences in migration connectivity and strategies occur among different demographic groups, for example associated with sex or age, which may have consequences on populations dynamics if specific groups experience different levels of risk during migration (Briedis & Bauer 2018, Aldará et al 2019.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross population comparison of complex migration strategies in a declining oceanic seabird

O'Hanlon,

van Bemmelen,

Snell

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Human-driven change is impacting ecosystems globally, with consequential declines in biodiversity. Long-distance migrants are particularly susceptible as they depend on conditions over large geographical scales and are more likely to experience a greater range of pressures. One long-distance migrant that has experienced substantial declines across the North-East Atlantic is the Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus however, little is known about their migratory behaviour or the routes they undertake. We used geolocators with salt-water switches to track Arctic Skuas from four breeding populations. To investigate migration strategies, we developed a Hidden Markov Model approach that used saltwater immersion data to classify stopovers and transit flights. We found that the skuas used several discrete staging areas during their south and northbound migrations with an area of apparent high marine productivity in the mid-North Atlantic being of high importance. Extensive overlap of individuals from different breeding populations occurred in staging areas, resulting in weak spatial connectivity between breeding and staging areas, further emphasizing their importance. At the population-level, variation in migration strategies was driven by individuals from Svalbard, which is declining less than the other populations tracked. Relative location of wintering areas also influenced migration strategies, with individuals migrating further spending a smaller proportion of their migration at stopovers compared to those wintering closer, and instead employed a fly-and-forage strategy. Identifying the complex non-breeding distribution, weak migratory connectivity and highly conserved migration strategies of Arctic Skuas is a vital step to link how conditions experienced during migration influences population dynamics and to prioritise future research and conservation actions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross population comparison of complex migration strategies in a declining oceanic seabird

O'Hanlon,

van Bemmelen,

Snell

et al. 2023

Preprint

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show abstract

Saving our seabirds: variable breeding success of Red-tailed Tropicbirds in the Great Barrier Reef reveals the need for robust monitoring

Richardson,

Fuller,

Stewart

et al. 2023

Emu - Austral Ornithology

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Atlantic populations of a declining oceanic seabird have complex migrations and weak migratory connectivity to staging areas

O’Hanlon,

van Bemmelen,

Snell

et al. 2024

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Anthropogenic change is impacting ecosystems globally, causing declines in biodiversity. Long-distance migrants are particularly susceptible, as they depend on conditions over large geographical scales and are likely to experience a greater range of pressures. One long-distance migrant that has experienced substantial declines across the North-East Atlantic is the Arctic skua Stercorarius parasiticus. However, little is known about their migratory routes or strategies. We tracked 131 Arctic skuas from Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Norway and Svalbard between 2009 and 2019 using geolocators. To investigate migration strategies, we applied a hidden Markov model, using saltwater immersion data to infer stopovers and transit flights. Skuas used several discrete staging areas during migration, with an area of high marine productivity in the mid-North Atlantic being of high importance. Individuals from the different breeding populations overlapped extensively in staging areas, resulting in weak spatial connectivity between breeding and staging areas during southbound (rM = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.09-0.42; 0 = weak connectivity, 1 = strong connectivity) and northbound (rM = 0.16, 95% CI = -0.02 to 0.33) migration. Variation in migration strategies was driven by individuals from Svalbard, which belong to a population that is declining less than the other populations tracked. The relative location of wintering areas also influenced migration strategies. Individuals migrating further spent a smaller proportion of their migration at stopovers than those wintering closer. Identifying the non-breeding distribution, migration strategies and weak migratory connectivity of Arctic skuas provides a vital step towards linking conditions during migration to population dynamics and prioritising future research and conservation actions.

show abstract

Determining hatch dates for skuas: an egg density calibration curve

Cited by 3 publications

References 37 publications

Cross population comparison of complex migration strategies in a declining oceanic seabird

Cross population comparison of complex migration strategies in a declining oceanic seabird

Saving our seabirds: variable breeding success of Red-tailed Tropicbirds in the Great Barrier Reef reveals the need for robust monitoring

Atlantic populations of a declining oceanic seabird have complex migrations and weak migratory connectivity to staging areas

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