The role of wind fetch in structuring Antarctic seabird breeding occupancy

Schrimpf, Michael B.; Lynch, Heather J.

doi:10.1111/ibi.12910

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Overall, therefore, our results show that CFD can be used to predict occupancy directly or combined with other approaches, such as the use of orientation or wind fetch (Schrimpf and Lynch 2021), to provide insight into the mechanisms underpinning habitat selection. The approach we have developed in this study is therefore likely to be applicable to a range of seabirds, in terms of assessing drivers of habitat selection and the tradeoffs that some animals face.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Wind regimes are changing in terms of the mean strength and the frequency of extreme weather events ( Young et al 2011 , Young and Ribal 2019 ). Yet most research on how wind affects seabirds has focused on their at-sea behaviour (though see Weimerskirch et al 2012 , Newell et al 2015 , Schrimpf and Lynch 2021 ). We modelled the airflows around our study site to test the role of different wind characteristics in breeding habitat selection and showed that a simple model of airflows and slope angle performed very well for common guillemots, even when applied to the separate island of Skokholm.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Airflow modelling predicts seabird breeding habitat across islands

et al. 2021

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Wind is fundamentally related to shelter and flight performance: two factors that are critical for birds at their nest sites. Despite this, airflows have never been fully integrated into models of breeding habitat selection, even for well-studied seabirds. Here, we use computational fluid dynamics to provide the first assessment of whether flow characteristics (including wind speed and turbulence) predict the distribution of seabird colonies, taking common guillemots Uria aalge breeding on Skomer Island as our study system. This demonstrates that occupancy is driven by the need to shelter from both wind and rain/wave action, rather than airflow characteristics alone. Models of airflows and cliff orientation both performed well in predicting high-quality habitat in our study site, identifying 80% of colonies and 93% of avoided sites, as well as 73% of the largest colonies on a neighbouring island. This suggests generality in the mechanisms driving breeding distributions and provides an approach for identifying habitat for seabird reintroductions considering current and projected wind speeds and directions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airflow modelling predicts seabird breeding habitat across islands

et al. 2021

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“…Other surface‐nesting seabirds that breed in the sub‐Antarctic, such as giant petrels (Ryan & Bester 2008), are likely to show similar patterns and experience analogous changes to suitable nesting locations in future. More generally, several other seabird species, for example skuas, shags, gulls and terns, all construct nests on the ground surface and occur in environments where wind speeds are relatively high (because of being close to the open ocean, Possner & Caldeira 2017, Schrimpf & Lynch 2021). Therefore, these results could provide insights into where surface‐nesting seabirds nest in general, and how the availability of these sites will be affected by future climatic changes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors determining nest‐site selection of surface‐nesting seabirds: a case study on the world's largest pelagic bird, the Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans)

Momberg

Ryan

Hedding

et al. 2022

Ibis

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Several factors may drive bird nest-site selection, including predation risk, resource availability, weather conditions and interaction with other individuals. Understanding the drivers affecting where birds nest is important for conservation planning, especially where environmental change may alter the distribution of suitable nest-sites. This study investigates which environmental variables affect nest-site selection by the Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans, the world's largest pelagic bird. Here, wind characteristics are quantitatively investigated as a driver of nest-site selection in surface-nesting birds, in addition to several topographical variables, vegetation and geological characteristics. Nest locations from three different breeding seasons on sub-Antarctic Marion Island were modelled to assess which environmental factors affect nest-site selection. Elevation was the most important determinant of nest-site selection, with Wandering Albatrosses only nesting at low elevations. Distance from the coast and terrain roughness were also important predictors, with nests more generally found close to the coast and in flatter terrain, followed by wind velocity, which showed a hump-shaped relationship with the probability of nest occurrence. Nests occurred more frequently on coastal vegetation types, and were absent from polar desert vegetation (generally above c. 500 m elevation). Of the variables that influence Wandering Albatross nest location, both vegetation type and wind characteristics are likely to be influenced by climate change, and have already changed over the last 50 years. As a result, the availability of suitable nest-sites needs to be considered in light of future climate change, in addition to the impacts that these changes will have on foraging patterns and prey distribution. More broadly, these results provide insights into how a wide range of environmental variables, including wind, can affect nest-site selection of surface-nesting seabirds.

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“…Overall therefore, our results show that CFD can be used to predict occupancy directly, or combined with other approaches, such as the use of orientation, or wind fetch (Schrimpf and Lynch, 2020), to provide insight into the mechanisms underpinning habitat selection. The approach we have developed in this study is therefore likely to be applicable to a range of seabirds, in terms of assessing drivers of habitat selection and the trade-offs that some animals face.…”

Section: Predicting Colony Distribution On Skokholmmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…4 Wind regimes are changing, in terms of the mean strength, and the frequency of extreme weather events (Young et al, 2011, Young andRibal, 2019). Yet most research on how wind affects seabirds has focused on their at-sea behaviour (though see (Weimerskirch et al, 2012, Schrimpf andLynch, 2020). We modelled the airflows around our study site to test the role of different wind characteristics in breeding habitat selection, and showed that a simple model of airflows and slope angle performed very well for common guillemots, even when applied to the separate island of Skokholm.…”

Section: Predicting Colony Distribution On Skokholmmentioning

confidence: 94%

The implications of costly airflows for space-use and movement decisions in birds

Lempidakis¹

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The behavioural ecology of flight has largely considered how birds respond to mean flow conditions, but it is the gusty or extreme airflows that are likely to be particularly challenging. This thesis addresses this, examining the strategies birds use to negotiate turbulence over land, and exceedingly strong winds at sea. I first develop a method for sensing turbulence at fine scales using data collected onboard the animals themselves, taking homing pigeons (Columba livia) as model flapping fliers. Fine scale variation in the flight altitude and body displacement emerged as effective proxies of turbulence. I then assess the impact of freestream turbulence on flapping fliers and find that pigeons adapted their wingbeat kinematics (frequency and amplitude) to increase their flight stability in response to turbulence, but did so without a clear increase in flight effort. In my final two chapters I examine the responses of two seabird species to strong winds, first at sea, and then on land. Specifically, I investigate how streaked shearwaters (Calonectris leucomelas) respond to tropical cyclones, and how common guillemots (Uria aalge) select their breeding cliffs in relation to airflow conditions. I find that shearwaters fly towards the eye of the storm. This tendency increases with cyclone intensity and may enable birds to avoid strong onshore winds and reduce the associated risks of forced landings and/ or injury. Finally, computational fluid dynamics models reveal that guillemots select breeding cliffs that are sheltered from wind and storm conditions, rather than from the mean wind alone, or heat stress. This model of habitat selection could also predict habitat use across islands. Overall, this highlights the varied and sometimes surprising capacities of birds to cope with extreme and variable airflows and operate in areas that are, as yet, inaccessible to aircraft.

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The role of wind fetch in structuring Antarctic seabird breeding occupancy

Cited by 4 publications

References 35 publications

Airflow modelling predicts seabird breeding habitat across islands

Airflow modelling predicts seabird breeding habitat across islands

Factors determining nest‐site selection of surface‐nesting seabirds: a case study on the world's largest pelagic bird, the Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans)

The implications of costly airflows for space-use and movement decisions in birds

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