Feeding and foraging ecology of Trindade petrels Pterodroma arminjoniana during the breeding period in the South Atlantic Ocean

Leal, Gustavo R.; Furness, Robert W.; McGill, Rona A. R.; Santos, Roberta Aguiar dos; Bugoni, Leandro

doi:10.1007/s00227-017-3240-8

Cited by 26 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…One explanation could be that adult petrels feed their chicks with highly nutritive fish and cephalopods, while they feed themselves mainly with crustaceans (and some cephalopods). This hypothesis is highly consistent with the significant loss of weight in adult seabirds during the breeding season, while their chicks experience rapid growth (Ainley, 1990; Barrett et al, 1985; Leal et al, 2017). In this case, the choice of prey items by adults may be influenced by the developmental stage and the needs of the chicks.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Metabarcoding faecal samples to investigate spatiotemporal variation in the diet of the endangered Westland petrel (Procellaria westlandica)

Querejeta

Lefort

Bretagnolle

et al. 2020

Preprint

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As top predators, seabirds are directly impacted by any changes in marine communities, whether they are linked to climate change or caused by commercial fishing activities. However, their high mobility allows them to adapt to changing conditions. For example, seabirds can adapt their foraging behaviour according to the resources available at different seasons. This capacity of adaptation comes to light through the study of their diet. Traditionally, the diet of seabirds is assessed through the morphological identification of prey remains in regurgitates, a method that is invasive for the bird and limited in terms of resolution. However, the recent optimization of DNA-based approaches is now providing a non-invasive and more comprehensive and accurate characterization of animals' diet. Here, we used a non-invasive metabarcoding approach to characterize the diet of the Westland petrel (Procellaria westlandica), an endangered burrowing species, endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. We collected 99 fresh faecal samples at two different seasons and in two different sub-colonies. Besides from describing the diet of the Westland petrel, our aim was to account for seasonal and geographical variations in the diet of the petrel and assess potential links with the fishery industry in New Zealand. We found that amphipods were the most common prey, or secondary prey, followed by cephalopods and fish, suggesting a close link between the composition of prey items and New Zealand's commercial fishing activities but, also, some level of natural predation. Our results show significant differences in diet between seasons (before hatching vs chick rearing season) and between sampling sites (two sub-colonies 1.5 km apart), which suggests variability and adaptability in the foraging strategy of the Westland petrel. Due to its non-invasive nature, the method used here can be applied on a great number of samples to draw a comprehensive picture of the diet dynamic in seabirds and unravel their adaptability or ecological requirements. This work demonstrates how environmental DNA can inform the conservation of an endangered species with elusive foraging behaviour, providing, in this case, valuable information regarding the diet preferences of an iconic species within New Zealand's biodiversity. Introduction

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Metabarcoding faecal samples to investigate spatiotemporal variation in the diet of the endangered Westland petrel (Procellaria westlandica)

Querejeta

Lefort

Bretagnolle

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Existing studies have dealt with staging behaviour and most of them have estimated habitat zones by applying kernel density estimation (KDE) on a scatter of lightderived positions [56,57]. They have tempted to distinguish travelling from resting periods by xing empirical thresholds on distance to the colony [58] or on change in longitude [59]. Nevertheless, all insisted to be cautious when interpreting such data.…”

Section: Gls Data and Resident Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Did the animal move? A cross-wavelet approach to geolocation data reveals year-round whereabouts of a resident seabird

et al. 2021

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Background: Considerable progress in our understanding of long-distance migration has been achieved thanks to the use of small lightweight geolocator devices. Such global location sensors (GLS) are particularly suitable for studying non-breeding movement and behaviour due to their small size and low energy consumption allowing multiyear deployment. Errors of geolocation are however important, dicult to estimate, have a complex structure leading to poor precision and accuracy. Therefore, understanding movement ecology of short-distance migrants or resident birds during extensive time periods remains challenging. We aimed at elucidating the sex-specic marine space uses of a resident tropical seabird, the masked booby (Sula dactylatra) over the full annual life cycle, including the breeding and non-breeding periods.Methods: A total of 34 GLS were deployed on male and female masked boobies at the Fernando de Noronha archipelago (Brazil), and 31 of them were recovered and provided year-round data. Error range of geographical positions and habitat use of masked boobies were estimated from light-derived positions and temperature data. Synchronicity between movement and saltwater immersion data was investigated through a wavelet analysis.Results: Masked boobies showed a resident behaviour over their entire annual cycle. We inferred from the wavelet analysis that birds traveled way and back from the colony on consecutive trips of short length (≈ 2-4 days) and short range (≈ 100-300 km) at the east of the colony. Trip duration and range depended on the sex of the individual and on the time of the year. Females had farther ranges than males during the pre-breeding period. Trip duration increased gradually from the end of the breeding period to the post-breeding period, probably due to the release of the central-place breeding constraints.Conclusions: Despite inherent limits of light-based geolocation, synchronicity analysis of geolocation data revealed year round whereabouts of a resident tropical seabird and sex-specic movement behaviour. Such an approach based on the estimation of synchronicity between light-based coordinates data and any other external data (behavioural or environmental) could be used more broadly to investigate resident or short-migrants animal movement based on GLS data.

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“…Due to the remote location of their breeding colonies, many aspects of gadfly petrels' ecology remain poorly known (Rodríguez et al 2019). Few novel studies have generally described their at-sea distribution, showing long-range movements across ocean basins (Rayner et al 2008, Jodice et al 2015, Krüger et al 2016, 2017, Clay et al 2017, Leal et al 2017.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial ecology, phenological variability and moulting patterns of the Endangered Atlantic petrel Pterodroma incerta

Pastor-Prieto¹,

Ramos²,

Zajková³

et al. 2019

Endang. Species. Res.

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Insights into the year-round movements and behaviour of seabirds are essential to better understand their ecology and to evaluate possible threats at sea. The Atlantic petrel Pterodroma incerta is an Endangered gadfly petrel endemic to the South Atlantic Ocean, with virtually the entire population breeding on Gough Island (Tristan da Cunha archipelago). We describe adult phenology, habitat preferences and at-sea activity patterns for each phenological phase of the annual cycle and refine current knowledge about its distribution, by using light-level geolocators on 13 adults over 1−3 consecutive years. We also ascertained moulting pattern through stable isotope analysis (SIA) of nitrogen and carbon in feathers from 8 carcasses. On average, adults started their post-breeding migration on 25 December, taking 10 d to reach their non-breeding areas on the South American shelf slope. The pre-breeding migration started around 11 April and took 5 d. From phenological data, we found evidence of carry-over effects between successive breeding periods. The year-round distribution generally coincided with the potential distribution obtained from habitat modelling, except during the non-breeding and pre-laying exodus periods, when birds only used the western areas of the South Atlantic. Moulting occurred during the nonbreeding period, when birds spent more time on the water, and results from SIA helped us to distinguish feathers grown around Gough Island from those grown in the non-breeding area. Overall, our results bring important new insights into the spatial ecology of this Endangered seabird, which should help improve conservation strategies in the South Atlantic Ocean.

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Feeding and foraging ecology of Trindade petrels Pterodroma arminjoniana during the breeding period in the South Atlantic Ocean

Cited by 26 publications

References 94 publications

Metabarcoding faecal samples to investigate spatiotemporal variation in the diet of the endangered Westland petrel (Procellaria westlandica)

Metabarcoding faecal samples to investigate spatiotemporal variation in the diet of the endangered Westland petrel (Procellaria westlandica)

Did the animal move? A cross-wavelet approach to geolocation data reveals year-round whereabouts of a resident seabird

Spatial ecology, phenological variability and moulting patterns of the Endangered Atlantic petrel Pterodroma incerta

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