Migratory routes and wintering locations of declining inland North American Common Terns

Bracey, Annie; Lisovski, Simeon; Moore, David; McKellar, Ann E.; Craig, Elizabeth; Matteson, Sumner W.; Strand, Fred; Costa, J. Pinto da; Pekarik, Cynthia; Curtis, Paul D.; Niemi, Gerald J.; Cuthbert, Francesca J.

doi:10.1642/auk-17-210.1

Cited by 24 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…As a result of long stopovers, post-breeding migration lasted more than four times longer than prenuptial migration. Similar results were found for inland Common Terns in North America (Bracey et al 2018). Faster spring migration is a general pattern among birds (Nilsson et al 2013), however in case of Common Terns the opposite was found for several individuals of a German North Sea population wintering along the West African coast (Becker et al 2016).…”

Section: Table 2 Summary Of Hungarian-and Croatian-related Recoveriessupporting

confidence: 77%

“…The period spent at stopover sites was much longer in inland European Common Terns than in German North Sea populations, in which the longest stay at stopover was less than 1 month (Becker et al 2016). Some inland North American Common Terns also have long stopovers: mean duration at stopovers was 21 and maximum 71 days (Bracey et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Previous geolocator studies on Common Terns were conducted on populations breeding along marine coasts of North America (Nisbet et al 2011) and Europe (Becker et al 2016), on the Azores (Neves et al 2015) and on North American lakes (Bracey et al 2018). Geolocator tracking of German North Sea populations already helped to describe the migration route, stopover locations and wintering sites along the coast of western Africa (Becker et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Apart from Israel, no other stopover site was known for inland populations (Cramp and Simmons 2006). In long-lived species as terns, population trends are more likely to be influenced by survival rates than annual changes in productivity (Bracey et al 2018), therefore identification of stopover and wintering sites is an important step in threat assessment. Here we present the results of two geolocator tracking projects of Central European inland Common Tern colonies; to our knowledge, this is the first geolocator study of an inland population of the species in Europe.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geolocator study reveals east African migration route of Central European Common Terns

et al. 2020

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Background: The majority of European Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) migrate south along the western coast of Europe and Africa, while birds from eastern regions are known to cross the Mediterranean Sea from east to west or migrate along the eastern African coast. The migration route of north European terns wintering along the coast of western Africa was already described using geolocator data, while knowledge about movements of the European inland populations is based only on relatively scarce recoveries of ringed birds. Methods: We used light-level geolocators in inland Common Tern colonies in Hungary and Croatia to study their migration route and to identify wintering areas along with stopover sites. Results revealed by geolocators were compared with recoveries of ringed birds. Results: All tracked birds used the east African migration route with autumn stopovers at Lower Nile and in the southern part of the Red Sea, and short spring stopover in Israel. Terns wintered along Kenyan coasts and in the southern Mozambique Channel. Autumn migration lasted four times longer than spring migration. Conclusions: This is the first geolocator study that describes the east African migration route of the Common Tern. Important stopover sites were identified. More studies of inland populations are needed to better elucidate tern winter movements.

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Section: Table 2 Summary Of Hungarian-and Croatian-related Recoveriessupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geolocator study reveals east African migration route of Central European Common Terns

et al. 2020

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“…Adult terns in my study initiated their replacement clutches at a later stage in the breeding season than in most other studies of renesting: from 30 June to 9 July, dates at which chicks are starting to fledge in normal years. They were still feeding unfledged chicks at the time of my last visit on 11 August, close to the average date at which adult female terns usually depart on long-distance migration (Nisbet et al 2011;Bracey et al 2018). Terns that renest late in the season must incur significant physiological, energetic and temporal costs, both from the demands of egg-laying and chick-rearing and from delay in entering the post-fledging period when they have to care for fledglings, molt, and prepare for migration (Nisbet et al 2011(Nisbet et al , 2017.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Consequences of Renesting in Common Terns (Sterna hirundo): Changes in Clutch Size, Egg Mass, and Productivity

Nisbet¹

2020

Waterbirds

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Foraging Ecology Differentiates Life Stages and Mercury Exposure in Common Terns (Sterna hirundo)

Bracey

Etterson

Strand

et al. 2020

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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Some populations of common terns (Sterna hirundo) breeding at inland lakes in North America are declining, including the Laurentian Great Lakes. Terns nesting at inland colonies forage in freshwater during the breeding season and primarily in coastal marine environments during the nonbreeding season. As piscivores, they are susceptible to dietary Hg exposure. To characterize patterns of Hg exposure in this population, we 1) quantified within and among season differences in total mercury (THg) concentrations (μg/g) in blood and feathers at 2 Lake Superior breeding colonies, and 2) documented spatial and temporal variation in exposure by studying adult foraging ecology using geospatial tracking devices and stable isotopes. We used general linear models to assess the relationship between isotopic composition and THg concentrations in bird tissues relative to sex, age, colony location, and season. The THg concentrations were lowest in winter‐grown feathers (geometric mean [95% confidence limits]): 1.32 (1.09–1.59) μg/g dw (n = 60), higher at the more industrially influenced colony (chick feathers: 4.95 [4.62–5.37] μg/g dw [n = 20]), and increased with a riverine‐based diet. During the breeding season, Hg exposure varied along a gradient from lake to river, with adult females having lower blood THg concentrations than males (females: 0.83 [0.67–1.03]) μg/g ww (n = 7); males: 1.15 (0.92–1.45) μg/g ww (n = 5). Stable isotope values suggested adults obtained 42 ± 12% (n = 12) of their diet from the river during incubation, which was validated with tracking data. During chick‐rearing, chicks obtained 68 ± 19% (n = 44) of their diet from the river. Our results indicate colony location, foraging behavior, and season influenced Hg exposure for these Lake Superior colonies and underscores the importance of local contamination with respect to exposure. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:398–410. © 2020 SETAC

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Migratory routes and wintering locations of declining inland North American Common Terns

Cited by 24 publications

References 39 publications

Geolocator study reveals east African migration route of Central European Common Terns

Geolocator study reveals east African migration route of Central European Common Terns

Consequences of Renesting in Common Terns (Sterna hirundo): Changes in Clutch Size, Egg Mass, and Productivity

Foraging Ecology Differentiates Life Stages and Mercury Exposure in Common Terns (Sterna hirundo)

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