Resource partitioning within a tropical seabird community: new information from stable isotopes

Cherel, Yves; Corre, Matthieu Le; Jaquemet, Sébastien; Ménard, Frédéric; Richard, Pierre; Weimerskirch, Henri

doi:10.3354/meps07587

Cited by 151 publications

(123 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…In marine food chains, body size of a fish is correlated with its d 15 N value and this correlation is particularly strong in flying fish . Flying fish are a major component of frigatebird diet (Diamond 1975, Harrison et al 1983, Cherel et al 2008), a feature confirmed by regurgitation samples obtained here (Appendix Table 2). Therefore, Great Frigatebirds, with their larger body size, may have captured a larger proportion of large-bodied, high d 15 N prey items leading to their comparatively high d 15 N value.…”

Section: Year-round Trophic Differencessupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Although it is important to consider that the time frame over which isotopic information is integrated into feathers differs from red blood cells and plasma, large isotopic niche width during the nonbreeding period occurs in other tropical, and polar, seabird assemblages , Cherel et al 2008. Species including Light-mantled Albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata), Common Diving-Petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix), and Wilson's Storm-Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) can have large isotopic variation in feather samples indicative of broad geographical ranges during the nonbreeding period (Cherel et al 2006.…”

Section: Nonbreeding Season Foraging Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Large numbers of nonbreeding birds are not present at this colony during the breeding season (Clarke and Herrod 2014), suggesting post-breeding dispersal from the colony. Migration is a strategy to cope with seasonal variation (Cohen 1967) and post-breeding movements are undertaken by tropical seabirds, including Barau's Petrels (Pterodroma baraui), Cape Verde Shearwaters (Calonectris edwardsii), and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) (Catry et al 2009, González-Solís et al 2009, Pinet et al 2011). Cherel et al (2008 found no difference between the sexes in d 13 C value at any stage of the breeding cycle for Great Frigatebirds at Europa Island.…”

Section: Nonbreeding Season Foraging Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Central-place Foraging in an Arctic Seabird Provides Evidence for Storer-Ashmole's Halo

Elliott

Woo

Gaston

et al. 2009

The Auk

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Section: Year-round Trophic Differencessupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Nonbreeding Season Foraging Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nonbreeding Season Foraging Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Central-place Foraging in an Arctic Seabird Provides Evidence for Storer-Ashmole's Halo

Elliott

Woo

Gaston

et al. 2009

The Auk

133

114

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“…Therefore, the use of stable isotopes can help identify the utilization of different habitats by species (Das et al 2003, Capelli et al 2008, Gross et al 2009, Newsome et al 2010, Pinela et al 2010. Additionally, by using this technique, it can be possible to determine if sympatric species explore the same resources and occupy the same trophic level (Cherel et al 2008, Newsome et al 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to study the feeding ecology of small coastal cetacean populations in southern Brazil

et al. 2013

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of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to study the feeding ecology of small coastal cetacean populations in southern Brazil. Biota Neotrop. 13(4): http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v13n4/en/abstract?article+bn01413042013Abstract: Samples from individuals of the populations of Sotalia guianensis (Guiana) and Pontoporia blainvillei (Franciscana) dolphins living in the Babitonga Bay estuary (26° 28' S/48° 50' W), and samples from individuals of a second population of P. blainvillei from a nearshore area (26° 38' S/48° 41' W), were collected and analyzed along with their prey between 2000 and 2006, to determine the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios and to verify differences in their feeding ecology. No differences were found in the median ð 15 N values of Guiana (15.2‰) and Franciscana (15.9‰) dolphins living in Babitonga Bay, nor of nearshore Franciscana (15.0‰) individuals, suggesting no variation in the trophic level of these populations. However, the lack of more information on the isotopic compositions of their putative prey in the nearshore areas prevents the ability to draw definitive conclusions on this issue. The estuarine Franciscana and Guiana dolphin populations presented mean ð 13 C values of approximately -15.7‰, which were not statistically different from nearshore Franciscana individuals (-14.8‰). Based on stomach content analyses of these species from a previous study, it was reported that there was little overlap in the diet of estuarine Franciscanas and Guiana dolphins. However, based on the similarity of the ð 13 C values between these two species and of their putative prey, it appears that in fact there is an overlap in the diet of these two species. Based solely on stable isotope analysis, it was not possible to differentiate between estuarine and nearshore Franciscana populations, making it difficult to conclude whether captured nearshore specimens were indeed yearlong residents of these areas. Finally, this study suggests that Franciscana and Guiana dolphin populations are sharing the same resources, mostly L. brevis, D. rhombeus, and S. rastrifer. Therefore, the combination of resource sharing and commercial exploitation of their prey makes these two cetacean species vulnerable. Keywords: Pontoporia blainvillei, Sotalia guianensis, Babitonga Bay, feeding ecology, trophic level.HARDT, F.A.S., CREMER, M.J., TONELLO JUNIOR, A.J., BELLANTE, A., BUFFA, G., BUSCAINO, G., MAZZOLA, S., BARRETO, A.S., MARTINELLI, L.A. & ZUPPI, G.M. O uso dos isótopos estáveis de carbono e nitrogênio para o estudo da ecologia de populações de pequenos cetáceos costeiros no sul do Brasil. Biota Neotrop. 13(4): http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v13n4/pt/abstract?article+bn01413042013Resumo: Amostras de tecido de indivíduos pertencentes às populações de Sotalia guianensis (boto-cinza) e Pontoporia blainvillei (toninha) que vivem no estuário da Baía da Babitonga (26° 28' S/48° 50' W) e de uma segunda população de P. blainvillei da área costeira (26° 38' S/48° 41' W) foram coletadas entre os anos 2000 e 2006 para ...

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“…For example, because many sympatric colonial seabird assemblages have restricted foraging ranges during the breeding season they are often used as model assemblages to study mechanisms of interspecific and intra-specific niche partitioning in environments with limited resources (Lewis et al 2001, Wilson 2010. These studies have shown that competitive overlap may be reduced among sympatric competitors via segregation along the trophic axes of species' respective foraging niches (e.g., relying on different food resources; Croxall et al 1997, Cherel et al 2008). In addition, segregation in spatial (e.g., vertical or horizontal displacement) and temporal (e.g., shifts in peak resource or habitat use) niche axes can also effectively reduce competition between breeding seabirds (Wilson 2010, Connan et al 2014.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and isotopic niche partitioning during winter in chinstrap and Adélie penguins from the South Shetland Islands

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Closely related species with similar ecological requirements should exhibit segregation along spatial, temporal, or trophic niche axes to limit the degree of competitive overlap. For migratory marine organisms like seabirds, assessing such overlap during the non-breeding period is difficult because of longdistance dispersal to potentially diffuse foraging habitats. Miniaturization of geolocation devices and advances in stable isotope analysis (SIA), however, provide a robust toolset to quantitatively track the movements and foraging niches of wide ranging marine animals throughout much of their annual cycle. We used light-based geolocation tags and analyzed stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes from tail feathers to simultaneously characterize winter movements, habitat utilization, and overlap of spatial and isotopic niches of migratory chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarctica) and Adélie (P. adeliae) penguins during the austral winter of 2012. Chinstrap penguins exhibited a higher diversity of movements and occupied portions of the Southern Ocean from 1388 W to 308 W within a narrow latitudinal band centered on 608 S. In contrast, all tracked Adélie penguins exhibited smaller-scale movements into the Weddell Sea and then generally along a counter-clockwise path as winter advanced. Inter-specific overlap during the non-breeding season was low except during the months immediately adjacent to the summer breeding season. Intra-specific overlap by chinstraps from adjacent breeding colonies was higher throughout the winter. Spatial segregation appears to be the primary mechanism to maintain inter-and intra-specific niche separation during the nonbreeding season for chinstrap and Adélie penguins. Despite low spatial overlap, however, the data do suggest that a narrow pelagic corridor in the southern Scotia Sea hosted both chinstrap and Adélie penguins for most months of the year. Shared occupancy and similar isotopic signatures of the penguins in that region suggests that the potential for inter-specific competition persists during the winter months. Finally, we note that SIA was able to discriminate eastward versus westward migrations in penguins, suggesting that SIA of tail feathers may provide useful information on population-level distribution patterns for future studies.

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Resource partitioning within a tropical seabird community: new information from stable isotopes

Cited by 151 publications

References 50 publications

Central-place Foraging in an Arctic Seabird Provides Evidence for Storer-Ashmole's Halo

Central-place Foraging in an Arctic Seabird Provides Evidence for Storer-Ashmole's Halo

Use of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to study the feeding ecology of small coastal cetacean populations in southern Brazil

Spatial and isotopic niche partitioning during winter in chinstrap and Adélie penguins from the South Shetland Islands

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