Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Enabling Actions Report: Ornithological Cumulative Impact Assessment Framework
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Birds of Centre Island 105
BIRDSs-OFCENTRE ISLAND By W. J. COOPER Centre Island lies in Foveaux Strait 7 km south of the South Island, 40 km west-southwest of Invercargill and 16 km southwest of Riverton, at 46O27' 30' ' S, 167O50' 30' ' E (Figure 1). The island is about 89 ha and rises FIGURE 1 - Centre Island Most of the island is covered with exotic pasture grasses, club rush (Scirpus nodosus), water-fern (Histiopteris incisa), Carex appressa, and bush lawyer (Rubus cissoides) in varying quantities with clumps of gorse (Ulex europaeus), especially on the northern slopes, and at the eastern end, flax (Phormium colensoi). Some scattered, stunted, wind-shorn macrocarpa trees (Cupressus macrocarpa) are near the houses. The steeper slopes to the south and west have an interesting mat of saltmarsh vegetation with Selleria radicans, Samolus repens, the shore gentian (Gentiana saxosa), Scirpus cemuus, native celery (Apium prostraturn), and Crassula moschata as predominant species. The cliffs, drier soils and rock outcrops feature the blue shore tussock (Poa astonii), Hebe elliptica, and scattered muttonbird scrub (Senecw reirwldii) as dominant species. Some taupata (Coprosma repens) is on coastal banks. 104 COOPER NOTORNIS 38 The dunes backing the beaches to the north and east are dominated by marram (Ammophila arenaria). Pingao (Desmoschoenus spiralis) dominates a small part of the dunes on the northern shore. The island was reserved as "a site for a lighthouse and Premises connected therewith" in 1875 and was occupied by lighthouse keepers from 1878 until 1989, when the lighthouse was automated. Known scientific visits have been few and brief. Maida and Olga Sansom visited Kuru-kuru, a rocky pinnacle below the lighthouse, on 21 November 1955 (Sansom M.L. -
Recent Establishments and Extinctions of Northern Gannet Morus Bassanus Colonies in North Norway, 1995-2008
Recent establishments and extinctions of Northern Gannet Morus bassanus colonies in North Norway, 1995-2008 Robert T. Barrett Barrett, R.T. 2008. Recent establishments and extinctions of Northern Gannet Morus bassanus colonies in North Norway, 1995-2008. – Ornis Norvegica 31: 172-182. Since the last published review of the development of the Northern Gannet Morus bassanus population in Norway (Barrett & Folkestad 1996), there has been a general increase in numbers breeding in North Norway from ca. 2200 occupied nests in 1995 to ca. 2700 in 2008. In Lofoten and Vesterålen, however, numbers have decreased from 1500 occupied nests in 1989 to 500 in 2008, and what were the two largest colonies on Skarvklakken and Hovsflesa have been abandoned. Small colonies have, in the meantime, been established in the region, but these are all characteristically unstable. A new colony established in Troms in 2001 increased to 400 occupied sites in 2007, but the population dropped to 326 in 2008. Harassment by White-tailed eagles Haliaeetus albicilla is mooted as the main cause of the decline in Lofoten and Vesterålen. Robert T. Barrett, Dept. of Natural Science, Tromsø University Museum, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway. INTRODUCTION the well-established colonies, Skarvklakken and Hovsflesa in the north of the country, there were Apart from perhaps the Great Skua Catharacta even signs of declines between 1991 and 1995. skua, there is no species whose establishment as a This paper documents the subsequent fate of the breeding bird in Norway and subsequent popula- North Norwegian colonies, including the extinc- tion development has been so well documented tion of some and the establishment of others. -
How Seabirds Plunge-Dive Without Injuries
How seabirds plunge-dive without injuries Brian Changa,1, Matthew Crosona,1, Lorian Strakerb,c,1, Sean Garta, Carla Doveb, John Gerwind, and Sunghwan Junga,2 aDepartment of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061; bNational Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560; cSetor de Ornitologia, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro RJ 20940-040, Brazil; and dNorth Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27601 Edited by David A. Weitz, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and approved August 30, 2016 (received for review May 27, 2016) In nature, several seabirds (e.g., gannets and boobies) dive into wa- From a mechanics standpoint, an axial force acting on a slender ter at up to 24 m/s as a hunting mechanism; furthermore, gannets body may lead to mechanical failure on the body, otherwise known and boobies have a slender neck, which is potentially the weakest as buckling. Therefore, under compressive loads, the neck is po- part of the body under compression during high-speed impact. In tentially the weakest part of the northern gannet due to its long this work, we investigate the stability of the bird’s neck during and slender geometry. Still, northern gannets impact the water at plunge-diving by understanding the interaction between the fluid up to 24 m/s without injuries (18) (see SI Appendix, Table S1 for forces acting on the head and the flexibility of the neck. First, we estimated speeds). The only reported injuries from plunge-diving use a salvaged bird to identify plunge-diving phases. -
The Behaviour of the Gannet by J
The behaviour of the Gannet By J. B. Nelson (Concluded from page 2 88) EGG LAYING THE ECOLOGY OF the egg laying of the Gannet Sula bassana (effect of density, age and nest position on the onset and synchronisation of laying) is discussed elsewhere (Nelson 1964a and in preparation). The act of deposition was observed on five occasions on all of which the tail was depressed and guided the egg into the nest—important in view of the Gannet's poorly developed retrieving ability. The one accurately timed laying took two minutes. Eggs may be laid at any time of day, and possibly also at night. INCUBATION Gannets (and apparently all Sulidae) lack brood patches and incubate their single egg beneath their webs, which become highly vascularised and hot during incubation. Non-breeding birds caught during the breeding season had cool webs, but no known breeders were caught off the nest, so it was not known whether webs remain hot. Howell and Bartholomew (1962) showed that the mean internal temperature of incubated eggs of the Red-footed Booby S. sula was 36° C. and the foot temperature 3 5.8° C, and suggested that the feet do not provide the main source of heat for incubation. They were vague in their alternative and the difference in the temperatures they recorded would seem too small to disprove the conventional view. The egg tempera ture achieved by this method compares favourably with that of brood- spot incubation (e.g. 36.6° C. for the surface temperature of Herring Gulls' eggs: Baerends 1959). -
First Atlantic Records of the Red-Footed Booby Sula Sula and Brown Booby S. Leucogaster in Southern Africa
36 FIRST ATLANTIC RECORDS OF THE RED-FOOTED BOOBY SULA SULA AND BROWN BOOBY S. LEUCOGASTER IN SOUTHERN AFRICA B.M. DYER1 & Y. CHESSELET2 1Marine and Coastal Management, Private Bag X2, Roggebaai 8012, South Africa ([email protected]) 2Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, PO Box 394, Lüderitz, Namibia Received 31 August 2000, accepted 18 April 2002 The Red-footed Booby Sula sula and the Brown Booby S. taken to the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of leucogaster occur in most tropical seas (Harrison 1983). Both Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) rescue station for treatment, but died species have been recorded previously in the southern African three days later. The corpse was then sent for necropsy to the region (Maclean 1993, Hockey et al. 1992, 1996). Three addi- Regional Veterinary Laboratory, Stellenbosch. Enterobacter coli tional records are reported here for the Red-footed Booby and one and other Enterobacteriae were identified but were considered (the third) for the Brown Booby in southern Africa, all from the unlikely to have caused death. The stomach was empty. The speci- Atlantic coast. men (the first for South Africa) is in the South African Museum (SAM ZO58494). Morphometric details are culmen 79.9 mm, tarsus 237.5 mm, wing 372 mm, and tail 192 mm. RED-FOOTED BOOBY The three records published here are the first for the Atlantic coast A white-morph Red-footed Booby was observed at Ichaboe Island of southern Africa although several records exist for the eastern (26°17'S, 14°56'E) by Y.C., c. 30 km north of Lüderitz, Namibia coast, all from Mozambique (Hockey et al. -
Bird Checklist for St. Johns County Florida (As of January 2019)
Bird Checklist for St. Johns County Florida (as of January 2019) DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS Mourning Dove Black-bellied Whistling-Duck CUCKOOS Snow Goose Yellow-billed Cuckoo Ross's Goose Black-billed Cuckoo Brant NIGHTJARS Canada Goose Common Nighthawk Mute Swan Chuck-will's-widow Tundra Swan Eastern Whip-poor-will Muscovy Duck SWIFTS Wood Duck Chimney Swift Blue-winged Teal HUMMINGBIRDS Cinnamon Teal Ruby-throated Hummingbird Northern Shoveler Rufous Hummingbird Gadwall RAILS, CRANES, and ALLIES American Wigeon King Rail Mallard Virginia Rail Mottled Duck Clapper Rail Northern Pintail Sora Green-winged Teal Common Gallinule Canvasback American Coot Redhead Purple Gallinule Ring-necked Duck Limpkin Greater Scaup Sandhill Crane Lesser Scaup Whooping Crane (2000) Common Eider SHOREBIRDS Surf Scoter Black-necked Stilt White-winged Scoter American Avocet Black Scoter American Oystercatcher Long-tailed Duck Black-bellied Plover Bufflehead American Golden-Plover Common Goldeneye Wilson's Plover Hooded Merganser Semipalmated Plover Red-breasted Merganser Piping Plover Ruddy Duck Killdeer GROUSE, QUAIL, and ALLIES Upland Sandpiper Northern Bobwhite Whimbrel Wild Turkey Long-billed Curlew GREBES Hudsonian Godwit Pied-billed Grebe Marbled Godwit Horned Grebe Ruddy Turnstone FLAMINGOS Red Knot American Flamingo (2004) Ruff PIGEONS and DOVES Stilt Sandpiper Rock Pigeon Sanderling Eurasian Collared-Dove Dunlin Common Ground-Dove Purple Sandpiper White-winged Dove Baird's Sandpiper St. Johns County is a special place for birds – celebrate it! Bird Checklist -
Flight Patterns and Energy Budget of the Cape Gannet
Energy Budget and foraging behaviour of the Cape gannet Morus capensis during the breeding season René Alfredo Navarro-Cañas BSc. Biology - MSc. Zoology Universidad Austral de Chile Thesis presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Zoology University of Cape Town 2010 Supervised by: Professor L.G. Underhill Co-supervised by: Dr. R.J.M. Crawford 2 Declaration I hereby declare that all of the work presented in this thesis, titled “Energy Budget and foraging behaviour of the Cape gannet, Morus capensis, during the breeding season”, is my own, except where otherwise stated in the text. This thesis has not been submitted in whole or in part for a degree at any other university. Signed in Cape Town in July 2010, René Alfredo Navarro-Cañas Date of graduation: December 16th, 2010 3 4 To Henk Visser Whose vision and enthusiasm lead to this project, it’s funding and its beginnings. I am grateful for the trust and opportunity he gave me to conduct this piece of research “Supiste que vencer o ser vencido son caras de un azar indiferente, que no hay otra virtud que ser valiente.” Did you know that to win or to be defeated are faces of an indifferent fate that there is no other virtue that being brave Jorge Luis Borges 5 6 Contents Chapter 1 General introduction 19 Chapter 2 The growth of Cape gannet chicks: intra- and inter- 31 seasonal comparisons of growth performance in relation to adults foraging effort and prey availability Chapter 3 Energy expenditure of free-ranging chicks of the 57 Cape gannet Chapter 4 Water everywhere but not a drop to drink: water flux 89 and water economy of free-ranging Cape gannets Chapter 5 A new look at track sinuosity: using distance-ratio 105 scale for the analysis of animal movement Chapter 6 Unpredictable resources and foraging strategies in 129 Cape gannets Chapter 7 Energy expenditure Cape gannets in relation to 157 foraging behaviour Chapter 8 Synthesis. -
Rearing Northern Gannets Sula Bassana: a Case Studv in Shetland
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES Published August 20 Mar Ecol Prog Ser 1 At-sea-activity and foraging efficiency in chick- rearing northern gannets Sula bassana: a case studv in Shetland Stefan Garthell*,David Gremilletl.**, Robert W. ~urness~ 'Institut für Meereskunde, Abteilung Meereszoologie, Düsternbrooker Weg 20. D-24105 Kiel. Germany 20rnithology Group, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 800,United Kingdom ABSTRACT Chick-reanng northern gannets Sula bassana from Hermaness, Shetland (UK), were equipped with both stomach temperature loggers and external temperature loggers (attached to the leg). Detrirnental device effects on the birds could not be detected. Three complete data Sets covenng several foraging tnps by 3 birds showed that the logger-equipped birds spent 39 to 49% of their time in the colony. 22 to 30% flying and 22 to 34 % swimming. Foraging trips lasted between 2 h 45 min and 27 h 08 min. with a mean length of 13 h. Maximum foraging range was estimated to be 128 km. Dives lasted between 1 s and 7.5 s, with a mean of 4.4 s. Median food quantity swallowed per feeding event was 101 g (n = 32), with 745 g being the maximum. No foraging activity occurred at night. Catch per unit effort was assessed to range between 0.9 and 2.8 g fish min-' flying and between 0.5 and 1.3 g fish rnin-' at sea. Foraging efficiency vaned between 0.6 (negative energy budget) and 1.5 (positive energy budget). More data on foraging efficiency, preferably from different colonies and different years, could show how efficiently this top predator utilises food resources. -
Phylogenetic Patterns of Size and Shape of the Nasal Gland Depression in Phalacrocoracidae
PHYLOGENETIC PATTERNS OF SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE NASAL GLAND DEPRESSION IN PHALACROCORACIDAE DOUGLAS SIEGEL-CAUSEY Museumof NaturalHistory and Department of Systematicsand Ecology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-2454 USA ABSTRACT.--Nasalglands in Pelecaniformesare situatedwithin the orbit in closelyfitting depressions.Generally, the depressionsare bilobedand small,but in Phalacrocoracidaethey are more diversein shapeand size. Cormorants(Phalacrocoracinae) have small depressions typical of the order; shags(Leucocarboninae) have large, single-lobeddepressions that extend almost the entire length of the frontal. In all PhalacrocoracidaeI examined, shape of the nasalgland depressiondid not vary betweenfreshwater and marine populations.A general linear model detectedstrongly significant effectsof speciesidentity and gender on size of the gland depression.The effectof habitat on size was complexand was detectedonly as a higher-ordereffect. Age had no effecton size or shapeof the nasalgland depression.I believe that habitat and diet are proximateeffects. The ultimate factorthat determinessize and shape of the nasalgland within Phalacrocoracidaeis phylogenetichistory. Received 28 February1989, accepted1 August1989. THE FIRSTinvestigations of the nasal glands mon (e.g.Technau 1936, Zaks and Sokolova1961, of water birds indicated that theseglands were Thomson and Morley 1966), and only a few more developed in species living in marine studies have focused on the cranial structure habitats than in species living in freshwater associatedwith the nasal gland (Marpies 1932; habitats (Heinroth and Heinroth 1927, Marpies Bock 1958, 1963; Staaland 1967; Watson and Di- 1932). Schildmacher (1932), Technau (1936), and voky 1971; Lavery 1972). othersshowed that the degree of development Unlike most other birds, Pelecaniformes have among specieswas associatedwith habitat. Lat- nasal glands situated in depressionsfound in er experimental studies (reviewed by Holmes the anteromedialroof of the orbit (Siegel-Cau- and Phillips 1985) established the role of the sey 1988). -
The Foraging Behaviour of Seabirds: Defining and Predicting Home Range Areas
The foraging behaviour of seabirds: defining and predicting home range areas Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy Louise Mary Soanes August 2013 Abstract In recent years, seabird tracking studies have become ever more popular as a means of informing and evaluating the effectiveness of marine protected areas and offshore energy developments as well as in understanding the ecology and behaviour of seabirds. This study uses tracking data collected from the European shag, Black- legged kittiwake, Northern gannet and Brown booby to identify important foraging areas around four seabird colonies located in the UK, Channel Islands and Anguilla and examines the impact of offshore renewable energy developments in the Channel Islands. As well as providing examples of how seabird tracking data can be useful in informing marine spatial planning, this study also considers the impact that sample size and the sample composition may have on the foraging areas predicted for any colony. Small sample sizes are a common feature of tracking studies, often due to logistical and financial constraints, meaning that seabirds are often tracked over short spatial and temporal scales which may not fully represent the important foraging areas and behaviours of the colony or individual. This study therefore provides recommendations to improve the predictions of area use and foraging strategy for future tracking studies to ensure the most representative and useful data is collected -
Review of Evidence for Identified Seabird Aggregations
JNCC Report No: 537 Review of evidence for identified seabird aggregations Aonghais S.C.P. Cook, David A. Still, Elizabeth M. Humphreys, Lucy J. Wright June 2015 © JNCC, Peterborough 2015 ISSN 0963 8901 Please note: due to the age of this document, some of the links contained within the text may no longer function. For further information please contact: Joint Nature Conservation Committee Monkstone House City Road Peterborough PE1 1JY www.jncc.defra.gov.uk This report should be cited as: Cook, Aonghais S.C.P., Still, David A., Humphreys, Elizabeth M. & Wright, Lucy J. 2015. Review of evidence for identified seabird aggregations. JNCC Report No 537. JNCC, Peterborough. Summary As part of the process of identifying potential Marine Protected Areas, Kober et al (2010, 2012) undertook a detailed analysis of seabird data collected during surveys within the British Fishery Limit and stored within the European Seabirds At Sea (ESAS) database. These analyses identified 42 key seabird aggregations around the coast of the UK. The aim of this report is to review some of the important areas identified in light of other independent information, in order to give the most robust and complete evidence-base possible (given current knowledge) on which to base any future decisions about these areas. We consider a subset of 25 of the 42 aggregations identified by Kober et al (2010, 2012), which cover both breeding and wintering aggregations as well as two multi-species assemblages. The 25 areas are a shortlist of areas considered by the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies for designation as marine SPAs for seabirds (note: this list might not contain all areas under consideration, nor will all of these areas necessarily become SPAs in the future). -
The Genus Sula in the Carolinas: an Overview of the Phenology And
h Gn Sl n th Crln: An Ovrv f th hnl nd trbtn f Gnnt nd b n th Sth Atlnt ht DAVID S. LEE and J. CHRISTOPHER HANEY Five of the eight recognized species of the genus Sula are known from the southeastern United States. Of these only the Northern Gannet (Sula bassana) occurs regularly in the Carolinas, but both the Masked Booby (S. dactylatra), formerly Blue- faced, and the Brown Booby (S. leucogaster) have been reported from North and South Carolina. Of the two remaining species, the Red-footed Booby (S. sula) is generally restricted to the Caribbean and disperses northward into the Florida Keys and Gulf of Mexico, whereas the Blue-footed Booby (S. nebouxii) is an eastern Pacific species with one accidental and astonishing record from south Padre Island, Texas (5 October 1976, photograph Amer. Birds 31:349-351). Generally the records for locally occurring Sula, excluding wintering Northern Gannets, are less than adequate as conclusive evidence of seasonal or geographical occurrence. Most problems result from confusing plumages of the various species and the general lack of experience of North American bird students with boobies. An additional problem is the fact that until very recently most ornithologists believed that boobies occurred off the south Atlantic states, outside Florida, only as rare accidentals, causing many records to be viewed with excessive caution and skepticism. Potter et al. (1980), for example, associated all records of boobies in the Carolinas with storms. In recent years few groups of birds have caused as many interpretive problems for the Carolina Bird Club's North Carolina Records Committee as have the Sula.