Nest and Chick Survival and Colony-Site Dynamics of Least Terns in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Lombard, Claudia D.; Collazo, Jaime A.; McNair, Douglas B.

doi:10.1525/cond.2010.090042

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Wind speeds and directions that increase evaporation and water stress, as well as poor nest cover, contribute to heat deaths. Third, we did not include eggs, which can be killed by rain [13] , [15] , [57] , [64] . Even storms that do not cause death are energetically costly to seabird chicks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Intense storms kill birds [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] and may affect colonial species more than others [4] . Single storms kill enough seabird chicks to affect reproductive output of colonies [9] , [10] , [13] , [14] , recruitment, and population size [15] . Increasing frequency of extreme heat [6] also reduces reproductive success [9] , [14] , [16] , [17] , causes adult mortality in birds [5] , [9] and increases stress from lack of water [18] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate Change Increases Reproductive Failure in Magellanic Penguins

2014

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Climate change is causing more frequent and intense storms, and climate models predict this trend will continue, potentially affecting wildlife populations. Since 1960 the number of days with >20 mm of rain increased near Punta Tombo, Argentina. Between 1983 and 2010 we followed 3496 known-age Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) chicks at Punta Tombo to determine how weather impacted their survival. In two years, rain was the most common cause of death killing 50% and 43% of chicks. In 26 years starvation killed the most chicks. Starvation and predation were present in all years. Chicks died in storms in 13 of 28 years and in 16 of 233 storms. Storm mortality was additive; there was no relationship between the number of chicks killed in storms and the numbers that starved (P = 0.75) or that were eaten (P = 0.39). However, when more chicks died in storms, fewer chicks fledged (P = 0.05, R 2 = 0.14). More chicks died when rainfall was higher and air temperature lower. Most chicks died from storms when they were 9–23 days old; the oldest chick killed in a storm was 41 days old. Storms with heavier rainfall killed older chicks as well as more chicks. Chicks up to 70 days old were killed by heat. Burrow nests mitigated storm mortality (N = 1063). The age span of chicks in the colony at any given time increased because the synchrony of egg laying decreased since 1983, lengthening the time when chicks are vulnerable to storms. Climate change that increases the frequency and intensity of storms results in more reproductive failure of Magellanic penguins, a pattern likely to apply to many species breeding in the region. Climate variability has already lowered reproductive success of Magellanic penguins and is likely undermining the resilience of many other species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change Increases Reproductive Failure in Magellanic Penguins

2014

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“…Forster's tern chick survival from hatching to fledging at 26 days of age was 0.22, which is considered low for chicks raised on islands. In comparison, survival of least terns ( Sternula antillarum ) from hatching to fledging was 0.45 on barrier islands in South Carolina (Brooks et al ), 0.30 in the United States Virgin Islands (Lombard et al ), 0.14–0.74 on beaches in Maine (Bailey and Servello ), and 0.43–0.62 on islands within the Mississippi River (Dugger et al ). Additionally, survival was 0.23–0.27 for black‐fronted tern ( Chlidonias albostriatus ) chicks on exposed gravel beds of the Tasman River in New Zealand (Cruz et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forster's tern chick survival in response to a managed relocation of predatory California gulls

et al. 2014

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Gull populations can severely limit the productivity of waterbirds. Relocating gull colonies may reduce their effects on nearby breeding waterbirds, but there are few examples of this management strategy. We examined gull predation and survival of Forster's tern (Sterna forsteri) chicks before (2010) and after (2011) the managed relocation of the largest California gull (Larus californicus) colony (24,000 adults) in San Francisco Bay, California. Overall, survival of radio‐marked Forster's tern chicks from hatching to fledging was 0.22 ± 0.03 (mean ± SE), and daily survival rates increased with age. Gulls were the predominant predator of tern chicks, potentially causing 54% of chick deaths. Prior to the gull colony relocation, 56% of radio‐marked and 20% of banded tern chicks from the nearest tern colony were recovered dead in the gull colony, compared to only 15% of radio‐marked and 4% of banded chicks recovered dead from all other tern colonies. The managed relocation of the gull colony substantially increased tern chick survival (by 900%) in the nearby (<1 km) colony from 0.04 ± 0.02 in 2010 to 0.40 ± 0.12 in 2011 but not at the more distant (>3.8 km) reference tern colony (0.29 ± 0.10 in 2010 and 0.25 ± 0.09 in 2011). Among 19 tern nesting islands, fledging success was higher when gull abundance was lower at nearby colonies and when gull colonies were farther from the tern colony. Our results indicate that the managed relocation of gull colonies away from preferred nesting areas of sensitive waterbirds can improve local reproductive success, but this conservation strategy may shift gull predation pressure to other areas or species. © 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

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“…In addition to increased adult survival, colonial breeding might also be associated with lower nest predation or increased offspring survival. Increased offspring survival or decreased nest predation have indeed been documented in larger colonies of some species (Wiklund & Andersson 1994, Brown et al 2003, Lombard et al 2010), but this is not universal (Møller 1987, Shields & Crook 1987, Brown & Brown 1996, Davis & Brown 1999. To fully address the adaptive value of colonial breeding in birds, future work on the fate of clutches, the number of clutches per season and offspring survival is needed across species with different breeding systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonial breeding birds show greater annual adult apparent survival globally

Beauchamp¹

2022

Ibis

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Colonial breeding is a common breeding system in many avian species. Its ubiquity suggests that in the evolutionary past various benefits associated with colonial breeding often outweighed the potential costs. I have investigated the association between one fitness component, namely annual adult survival, and colonial breeding. Using a global dataset of survival probabilities (2431 survival estimates from 1170 species including 213 colonial species), I found that annual adult apparent survival was greater in colonial than in solitary breeding species in both hemispheres after including phylogeny and considering potential ecological confounders such as body mass and latitude. Excluding Procellariiformes, a clade of birds with unique features (all marine colonial species laying single‐egg clutches), did not alter the conclusions. This was also the case when excluding species living year‐long on islands, which are typically non‐colonial and long‐lived, and when excluding studies where survival estimates did not account for recapture/resighting probabilities, which might differ according to breeding system. Greater annual adult apparent survival is therefore a robust feature of colonial breeding in birds, which sheds light on the evolution of this common breeding system. Future studies are needed across species to determine whether the survival advantage of colonial breeding extends to nestlings and juveniles.

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Nest and Chick Survival and Colony-Site Dynamics of Least Terns in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Cited by 17 publications

References 24 publications

Climate Change Increases Reproductive Failure in Magellanic Penguins

Climate Change Increases Reproductive Failure in Magellanic Penguins

Forster's tern chick survival in response to a managed relocation of predatory California gulls

Colonial breeding birds show greater annual adult apparent survival globally

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