Flexible foraging strategies in a diving seabird with high flight cost

Shoji, Akiko; Owen, Ellie; Bolton, Mark; Dean, Ben; Kirk, Holly; Fayet, Annette L.; Boyle, Dave; Freeman, Robin; Perrins, C. M.; Aris‐Brosou, Stéphane; Guilford, Tim

doi:10.1007/s00227-014-2492-9

Cited by 15 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…SST in May negatively affected razorbills' reproductive success, but this relationship would be concentrated on adults before hatch; this suggests that razorbill success is determined primarily from their pre-breeding condition. Razorbills may travel longer distances to forage as SST increases (Shoji et al (2014); longer foraging trips would be energetically expensive and likely indicate local food short-age. For murres, where only chick condition was examined, July SST had a positive relationship with condition, in contrast to the other alcids.…”

Section: Environmental Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Varied breeding responses of seabirds to a regime shift in prey base in the Gulf of Maine

Scopel¹,

Diamond²,

Kress³

et al. 2019

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Seabirds consume forage fish, which are keystone species in many marine ecosystems. The Junk Food Hypothesis proposes that high-lipid prey should produce better reproductive performance by seabirds. In the Gulf of Maine, changes in the forage fish community followed rapid warming post-2005 and included a decline in high-lipid Atlantic herring Clupea harengus. We studied 3 species of alcid (Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica, razorbill Alca torda, common murre Uria aalge) over 23 yr at 3 colonies to assess changes in chick diet and its relationships with reproductive success. Puffin and razorbill chick diet changed over time; puffin diet was highly variable taxonomically, whereas razorbill diets were more consistent, showing proportional changes within fewer taxa. For puffins and razorbills, herring was replaced by sand lance Ammo dytes spp. and other taxa with lower energy density. Puffins did not require high-lipid fish to breed successfully, but diet -reproduction relationships became unpredictable following ex tremely warm winters (2013 and 2016). Razorbills and murres provisioning with low-lipid fish showed reduced chick condition and breeding success. We concluded that razorbills and murres need higher-quality diets than puffins, which more frequently exploited lower-lipid food during food shortages. However, puffin reproductive output was much more vulnerable to ocean warming owing to their longer breeding season and more varied diet. Different responses of closely-related species to changes in prey are driven by differences in chick-development strategies with clear implications for using seabirds as environmental indicators.

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Section: Environmental Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Varied breeding responses of seabirds to a regime shift in prey base in the Gulf of Maine

Scopel¹,

Diamond²,

Kress³

et al. 2019

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…That there was some advantage was supported by the males from these territories being prepared to fly further to collect materials for building. Nesting Razorbills (Alca torca) will also trade off flight costs, albeit with prey patch quality rather than nest-site desirability, as they fly further to better food sources (Shoji et al 2014). That it was costly for male weavers to fly to the locations at which they collected the materials is supported by the observation that males collect material from the closest locations to their nest with suitable materials.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest-building males trade off material collection costs with territory value

Bailey

Morgan

Oschadleus

et al. 2016

Emu - Austral Ornithology

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Abstract. Building a structurally robust nest is crucial for reproductive success in many birds. However, we know little about the criteria birds use to select material or where they go to collect it. Here we observed the material collection of male Cape Weavers (Ploceus capensis). Males typically selected long, strong material to build their nests and each male collected material from different locations. Males that built more nests nested in a different area of the colony and flew further to collect nest material than did males that built fewer nests. As these males that flew further to collect material had longer tails and wings and attracted more females to their territories than did males that flew shorter distances, they may have traded off the travel costs of collecting nest materials with benefits gained from holding a territory in a more 'desirable' part of the colony. Nest construction, then, appears to be a multi-dimensional task whereby birds take into account material's structural properties, material proximity to the nest site and territory quality. Males that do this effectively both attract more mates and provide structurally sound nests for their young.

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“…Some populations of seabirds and pinnipeds have been indeed negatively impacted by a collapse of fat and energy-rich prey associated with an increase of low quality prey biomass (Österblom et al 2008;Kadin et al, 2012). The role of prey energy density was mainly investigated on high trophic-level species such as marine mammals or seabirds (Shoji et al, 2014;Spitz et al, 2012). Hence, the quality of prey such as forage fish, cephalopods or crustaceans is relatively well-known (e.g., Spitz, et al, 2010;Spitz & Jouma'a, 2013;Schrimpf et al, 2012), however the variability of energy density among lower trophic levels, such as mesozooplankton, remains largely unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%