Interspecific and Local Variation in Tern Chick Diets Across Nesting Colonies in the Gulf of Maine

Yakola, Keenan; Jordaan, Adrian; Kress, Stephen W.; Shannon, Paula; Staudinger, Michelle D.

doi:10.1675/063.044.0402

Cited by 3 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…This specialist/generalist dynamic between roseate and common terns has also been observed in breeding colonies in other regions, including the Northeast Atlantic (Robertson et al 2014). Although their intrinsic foraging strategies are distinct, direct observations (Goyert 2015, Yakola et al 2022) and stable isotope analyses (Kimmons 2012) have indicated a high degree of similarity in the prey that the 2 tern species delivered to their chicks. In addition, both tern species have been observed foraging in mixed-species flocks on the same schools of fish (Duffy 1986, Goyert 2014.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…; Richards & Schew 1989, Safina 1990a, Safina et al 1990, Goyert 2015, Staudinger et al 2020, Yakola et al 2022. In comparison, common terns are resource generalists, using relatively more opportunistic foraging tactics and provisioning their chicks with a more diverse diet that includes a broad range of fishes and both marine and terrestrial inver-tebrates (Kirkham 1986, Safina 1990a, Tims et al 2004, Goyert 2015, Yakola et al 2022. This specialist/generalist dynamic between roseate and common terns has also been observed in breeding colonies in other regions, including the Northeast Atlantic (Robertson et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…During the breeding season, terns are central-place foragers, restricting their range to within 15 km around the colony as they maintain their nests and provision their young (Jessopp et al 2020, Pratte et al 2021. Previous studies on the foraging strategies of roseate and common terns in this region have largely focused on the chick-provisioning period, where the prey that adults deliver to chicks is directly viewed by observers stationed at the colonies (Richards & Schew 1989, Safina 1990a, Safina et al 1990, Goyert 2015, Yakola et al 2022. From these studies, roseate terns have been characterized as resource specialists.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), silversides (Menidia menidia), and anchovies (Anchoa sp. ; Richards & Schew 1989, Safina 1990a, Safina et al 1990, Goyert 2015, Staudinger et al 2020, Yakola et al 2022. In comparison, common terns are resource generalists, using relatively more opportunistic foraging tactics and provisioning their chicks with a more diverse diet that includes a broad range of fishes and both marine and terrestrial inver-tebrates (Kirkham 1986, Safina 1990a, Tims et al 2004, Goyert 2015, Yakola et al 2022.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the chick diet has been relatively well studied (e.g. Hall et al 2000, Yakola et al 2022, less is known about the diets of adult terns in the NWA region (USFWS 2010, 2020, Cabot & Nisbet 2013, Staudinger et al 2020). The quality of adult tern diets is critical for breeding success and recruitment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variation in isotopic niche partitioning between adult roseate and common terns in the Northwest Atlantic

Legett

Lucas

Craig

et al. 2023

Endang. Species. Res.

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Co-occurring species with similar resource requirements often partition ecological niches at different spatial and temporal scales. In the Northwest Atlantic (NWA), federally endangered roseate terns Sterna dougallii nest almost exclusively in coastal island colonies alongside common terns S. hirundo. Roseate terns are prey specialists compared to common terns, which are opportunistic generalists; however, the 2 species forage on similar resources during the breeding season. The degree to which these species overlap in their adult foraging ecologies is not well understood. We compared the isotopic niches of nesting adult roseate and common terns by analyzing stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes in eggshell membrane tissues collected in 2018 and 2019 from 10 colonies that span their NWA breeding range. Our aim was to characterize interspecific patterns in δ13C and δ15N values, isotopic niche breadth, and isotope niche overlap. We additionally examined interannual and subregional differences between ‘cold-water’ colonies in the Gulf of Maine and ‘warm-water’ colonies in Southern New England and Long Island Sound. At the range-wide scale, there was a high degree of overlap in the overall isotopic niches of the 2 species; however, more variable patterns were observed at the colony scale, ranging from nearly complete overlap to complete separation. The isotopic niches of roseate terns were generally narrower than those of common terns, consistent with their respective specialist/generalist tendencies. While the influence of isotopic baselines limits our interpretation of interannual and subregional differences, isotopic niche breadths and overlap suggest consistency of relative foraging ecologies across these scales.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variation in isotopic niche partitioning between adult roseate and common terns in the Northwest Atlantic

Legett

Lucas

Craig

et al. 2023

Endang. Species. Res.

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Forage Fish Species Prefer Habitat within Designated Offshore Wind Energy Areas in the U.S. Northeast Shelf Ecosystem

et al. 2023

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As the world develops sources of renewable energy, there is an intensifying interest in offshore wind energy production. The Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf (NES) ecosystem has favorable wind dynamics, with active development of wind energy. In this study, we present species distribution models that consider both occupancy and biomass responses for a broad spectrum of fish and macroinvertebrate taxa (n = 177). Building upon prior analyses, habitat was differentiated into overall and core habitats based on statistical distributions of habitat scores. Overall habitat was used to show each species' regional distribution based on fishery‐independent survey captures between 1976 and 2019, whereas core habitat represented where the focus of the species' abundance was located as a subset of overall habitat. Wind energy developments may modify the water column in ways that impact lower‐trophic‐level productivity; therefore, added attention was given to the response of forage species. Over 20% of species showed preferential use of putative and potential wind development areas, including a disproportionate number of forage taxa. Principal usage varied by season, with forage species like Atlantic Menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus and Atlantic Mackerel Scomber scombrus preferentially using the lease areas in spring and Round Herring Etrumeus teres and longfin inshore squid Doryteuthis pealeii using lease areas in autumn. For species with relatively low usage of the lease areas, there was a tendency for the usage related to overall habitat to be lower than usage for core habitat; in contrast, for species with high usage of the lease areas, that usage was higher for overall habitat than for core habitat. The area of habitat tended to have positive trends across species, with these positive trends being disproportionately higher among forage taxa. These results frame the importance of wind lease areas for species in the NES, particularly forage taxa that fulfill many important ecological functions.

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Patterns in tern trophic diversity in a region experiencing rapid climate change

Gownaris,

Welch,

Tengeres

2024

Preprint

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Foraging plasticity provides a mechanism for long-lived species to adapt to rapidly changing environments and, when individuals vary in their plasticity, can drive changes in trophic diversity. We use chick provisioning data and stable isotope values of blood cells and plasma to test for drivers of trophic diversity in the diet of common terns (Sterna hirundo) and Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea) breeding in the rapidly changing Gulf of Maine. We hypothesized that individual adult terns would differ in their response to reduced food availability, driving higher diversity in tern chick diet in lower-resource contexts, and that individual-level responses would influence fitness. We used the Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index as our measure of trophic diversity for provisioning data and the size of the two-dimensional isotope ellipse as our measure of trophic diversity for stable isotope data. We compared these measures of trophic diversity to proxies for food availability, including the occurrence of preferred prey (herring and hake) in tern chick diets and the average sea surface temperature in terns’ foraging range. Additionally, we compared shifts in isotope values across time for individually paired blood cell and plasma samples and, on one island and year, for individually paired plasma samples taken 10 days apart. Trophic diversity measured using provisioning and stable isotope data were correlated across contexts. Although both measures of trophic diversity were highly variable, neither was correlated with measures of food availability. Arctic tern chicks had less-enriched δ13C values, lower δ15N values, and were fed smaller prey than common tern chicks, but did not differ in their trophic diversity. Isotope measures of trophic diversity were greater for plasma samples, which tended to show higher δ15N values and more-enriched δ13C values, than for blood cell samples. For the paired plasma samples collected on one island, chicks shifted to higher δ15N values and less-enriched δ13C values later in the season. Chicks that shifted to relatively higher δ15N values also showed greater magnitude shifts to less-enriched δ13C values and, in Arctic terns, fledged at a smaller mass. Our study suggests trade-offs in individual-level foraging and diet plasticity in terns, with possible implications for fitness.

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Interspecific and Local Variation in Tern Chick Diets Across Nesting Colonies in the Gulf of Maine

Cited by 3 publications

References 57 publications

Variation in isotopic niche partitioning between adult roseate and common terns in the Northwest Atlantic

Variation in isotopic niche partitioning between adult roseate and common terns in the Northwest Atlantic

Forage Fish Species Prefer Habitat within Designated Offshore Wind Energy Areas in the U.S. Northeast Shelf Ecosystem

Patterns in tern trophic diversity in a region experiencing rapid climate change

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