Dispersal decisions: common terns, Sterna hirundo, choose between colonies during prospecting

Dittmann, Tobias; Zinsmeister, Daniela; Becker, Peter

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.09.015

Cited by 71 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Other studies suggest that the sex ratio in Common Tern colonies is equal or even slightly female biased (Ezard et al 2006). Later in the season, when young nonbreeding prospectors visit the colony, the sex ratio may shift toward a male bias, since male prospectors visit the colony more intensively than do females (Dittmann et al 2005). However, we found that toward the end of the breeding season, the male bias among the wind turbine fatalities disappeared.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

Sex-Biased Mortality of Common Terns in Wind Farm Collisions

Stienen

Courtens

Everaert

et al. 2008

Condor

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Abstract. We studied sex differences in collision mortality in adult Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) at a wind farm in the direct vicinity of a breeding site in Zeebrugge, Belgium in 2005-2007. In total, 64 fatalities were collected and sexed, of which 64% were males. Uneven sex ratio among these birds was most pronounced during the period of incubation and early chick feeding (15 May-15 June), when 78% of the 28 mortalities were male. During prelaying and feeding of young, the sex ratio of mortalities did not differ from equality. We argue that sex-biased collision mortality in Common Terns does not result from morphological differences between the sexes, but rather reflects differences in foraging frequency between males and females during egg-laying and incubation.Key words: Belgium, Common Tern, mortality, sex differences, Sterna hirundo, wind turbine. Mortalidad Diferencial entre Sexos de Sterna hirundo por Colisiones en Fincas de Producción de Energía EólicaResumen. Estudiamos las diferencias entre sexos en la mortalidad por colisión en adultos de Sterna hirundo en una finca de producción de energía eólica vecina a un sitio de cría en Zeebrugge, Bélgica entre 2005 y 2007. En total, colectamos y determinamos el sexo de 64 individuos muertos, de los cuales el 64% eran machos. El desequilibrio en el cociente de sexos en estas aves fue más pronunciado durante el período de incubación y durante el inicio de la alimentación de los pichones (15 Mayo-15 Junio), cuando el 78% de los 28 individuos colectados fueron machos. Durante el período previo a la puesta de los huevos y el período de alimentación de los pichones, el cociente de sexos de los individuos muertos fue parejo. Argumentamos que el sesgo dado por la mortalidad diferencial entre sexos de los individuos que murieron por colisión en S. hirundo no resulta de las diferencias morfológicas entre los sexos, sino más bien refleja diferencias en la frecuencia de forrajeo entre los machos y las hembras durante la puesta de los huevos y la incubación.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

Sex-Biased Mortality of Common Terns in Wind Farm Collisions

Stienen

Courtens

Everaert

et al. 2008

Condor

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“…Higher dispersal among females is typical for most bird species, in contrast to mammal species (Greenwood 1980). This is because the individuals of the more territorial sex are more closely tied to a site and do not readily disperse (Dittman et al 2005). The Feral Pigeon male is more aggressive than the female (Castoro & Guhl 1958).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Various animal species exhibit dispersion asymmetry within their populations, which means that dispersion varies significantly with respect to sex (Pärt & Gustafsson 1989, Double et al 2005, Chernetsov et al 2006 and/or between individuals from different age groups (Holenweg 2001). According to Dittman et al (2005), less territorial individuals are more inclined to disperse. Among those mammals that live in groups, it is generally the males that migrate (Greenwood & Harvey 1982, Lefebvre et al 2003, Jack & Fedigan 2004, while in the case of birds, it is most often the females (Greenwood 1980, Greenwood & Harvey 1982, Plissner & Gowaty 1996, Green & Cockburn 2001.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dispersion Asymmetry within a Feral PigeonColumba liviaPopulation

Hetmański¹

2007

Acta Ornithologica

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“…Birds are unable to start up a growing population after they leave the port area because the newly created habitat patches are small in dimension and are located near the edge of the metapopulation. The Common Tern favors the company of congeners (Dittmann et al 2005). Their populations have relatively low per capita growth rates at low densities due to increased predation of chicks (Krebs and Davies 1978;Becker 1984;Cavanagh and Griffin 1993;Whittam and Leonard 2000;Becker and Ludwigs 2004;Serrano et al 2005), and smaller colonies means less effective foraging (Buckley 1997).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seabird metapopulations: searching for alternative breeding habitats

et al. 2009

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Today, many seabird species nest in port areas, which are also necessary for human economic activity. In this paper, we evaluate, using a metapopulation model, the possibilities for creating alternative breeding sites for the Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) in the Rhine-MeuseScheldt estuary. We explore 22 scenarios that differ with respect to (1) loss of breeding habitat in port areas, (2) location and size of newly created habitat, and (3) coexistence of old and new habitat. Results indicate that loss of port area habitats results in a serious 41% decline in the breeding population. When the loss in ports is compensated for within the ports, the decline was negligible. Fourteen scenarios result in an increase of the Common Tern metapopulation. In these, extra breeding habitat is created outside the ports in fish-rich waters, resulting in a potential metapopulation increase of 25%. However, the period of overlap between lost and newly created habitat strongly affects the results. A gap between the removal of old and the creation of new breeding areas might cause a drop in the metapopulation level of 30%. The population recovery from this drop might take more than 100 years due to slow recolonization. Our results suggest that conservation of seabird species should be evaluated on a metapopulation scale and that the creation of new habitat may help to compensate for habitat loss in other areas. Furthermore, the results indicate that overlap between the existence of old and newly created breeding habitats is crucial for the success of compensation efforts. However, new locations should be carefully selected, because not only is the suitability of the breeding grounds important, but ample fish availability nearby is also key.

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Dispersal decisions: common terns, Sterna hirundo, choose between colonies during prospecting

Cited by 71 publications

References 58 publications

Sex-Biased Mortality of Common Terns in Wind Farm Collisions

Sex-Biased Mortality of Common Terns in Wind Farm Collisions

Dispersion Asymmetry within a Feral PigeonColumba liviaPopulation

Seabird metapopulations: searching for alternative breeding habitats

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