DOCSLIB.ORG

Conservation of Audubon's Shearwater in the Bahamas

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Conservation of Audubon's Shearwater in the Bahamas CONSERVATION OF AUDUBON’S SHEARWATER IN THE BAHAMAS: STATUS, THREATS, AND PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS William A. Mackin Biology Department, Elon University 2625 Campus Box Elon, NC 27244 ABSTRACT 2000 years (Lee, 2000; Steadman et al.1984). These long-lived seabirds lay a single egg per Populations of Audubon‟s Shearwater nesting attempt and have protracted juvenile pe- (Puffinus lherminieri) are a fraction of previous riods of five or more years. Survival in adults of levels and continue to decline. In this paper, I dis- this species and other closely related populations cuss the status, threats, and solutions to the de- has been estimated at over 90% per season cline. Measurements of survival of adults in the (Mackin, 2004; Lee and Haney, 1996). Shearwa- field range from 79.9% by mark and recapture to ters show high site-fidelity, and formerly large 89%-94% using the rate of replacement of mates populations have gone extinct or been decimated in breeding pairs. Using estimates of reproductive in the last century. Documented cases include success of 30%-50%, standard demographic mod- those at Bermuda, Mona Island off Puerto Rico, els indicate that adult survival needs to be around and Tintamarre island near St. Martin. This spe- 95% to achieve population growth (net reproduc- cies is sensitive to the presence of introduced rats tive rates (R) > 1). There are 39 islands in the Ba- (Rattus rattus and Rattus norveigicus; Lee 2000) hamas where shearwaters have been reported to and other mammals. breed, but 7 are known to have introduced preda- Traditional methods of building life-tables tors and 20 others have not been surveyed. I are difficult for shearwaters. Tracking cohorts trapped small mammals at 16 seabird colonies in throughout life requires decades, and there are no the Exumas. Rats (Rattus rattus and Rattus Nor- morphological traits (such as annual growth rings) veigicus) were detected on 5 cays and mice (Mus that provide information about age. Thus, each of Musculans) on one. I also measured death rates of the life history variables must be estimated indivi- shearwaters on the cay that has mice, Allan‟s Cay, dually to approximate the demographic trajectory and another without mice, Long Cay. Death rates of a population. Such methods are the only way to were 0.008 birds /m2 on Allan‟s Cay and 0.004 determine whether seemingly healthy colonies at birds /m2 on Long Cay. The increased mortality protected locations are replacing themselves or appears to be from Barn Owls that are attracted to slowly dwindling due to external population pres- the mice. Four practical measures for conservation sures. include surveying and formally protecting the re- The largest known shearwater colony re- maining islands, eradicating introduced mammals maining in the West Indies is at Long Cay, Exuma where possible, immediately controlling intro- Cays Land and Sea Park, The Bahamas. Between duced mammals by trapping near breeding sites, 800 and 1200 pairs breed there (Mackin, 2004), and constructing additional nest sites at predator- which represents as much at 40% of the remaining free locations breeding pairs in the West Indies (Lee, 2000) There are at least 10 other sites where shearwaters INTRODUCTION nest within the Park and the northern Exuma Cays, making it the last known area where this Populations of Audubon‟s Shearwater formerly widespread species occurs in abundance. (Puffinus lherminieri) have crashed since humans The second largest known colony in the reached the islands of the West Indies in the last Bahamas was Allan‟s Cay, to the north of the Ex- 1 The 11th Symposium on the Natural History of the Bahamas uma Park. This island is about one-third smaller Birds were banded and nests were marked than Long Cay and had a similar density of birds at Long Cay between 1999 and 2006 (see descrip- (1.5-2.5 pairs / 100 m2) to that on Long Cay as tion in Mackin, 2004). Survivorship of adults was recently as the year 2000. That population, how- estimated in two ways. First, pairs in which both ever, has been experiencing mysterious die-offs of members were banded were monitored in succes- birds with hundreds reported dead in some sea- sive years to see if either member of the pair was sons. In May 2003, I saw a house mouse (Mus replaced. Second, the survival of the overall popu- musculus) and found many dead shearwaters with lation was estimated using the Jolly-Seber method barn owl feathers near the carcasses. While the (Greenwood, 1996). The model estimates popula- mice probably do not cause shearwater nests to tion size and survival by tracking whether indi- fail often, they appear to be attracting Barn Owls viduals were new captures or recaptures and in- to the cay. cludes information about the last time the individ- I have visited approximately half of the ual was captured. One important assumption of remaining shearwater colonies in the Bahamas the model is that individuals that have been cap- and searched for undiscovered populations tured do not leave the area or become better at throughout the Exumas. In all cases, the birds avoiding capture in future occasions. have been found in rocky shore habitat where The reproductive success of active breed- there are abundant, natural cavities in the limes- ing pairs was taken from Mackin (2004), where tone. Wherever I have found rocky shore with nests were monitored in May and June and it was Morning Glory (Ipomea indica) and the capertree assumed that large, healthy chicks left at the end (Capparis flexuosa), I have invariably found of the field study each year would successfully shearwaters nesting. This habitat is restricted to fledge. Since recent work (Mackin, unpublished the coastal areas of cays, and, consistent with that data) indicates that Barn Owls take a heavy toll on fact, most of the important shearwater cays are young shearwaters before fledging, I decreased long, thin islands that have large amounts of coas- the estimate by one-half as a best guess of the re- tline. If it can be determined that an island is free productive success until quantitative estimates can of introduced mammals, it should be possible to be made. get an estimate of how many shearwater pairs can From these estimates, I built a spreadsheet nest at a colony simply by the amount of coastal that modeled the population given the parameters habitat that exists there. using demographic methods. I found the sum of In this paper, I analyze 7 years of banding survival and reproduction at each age class (Σlxbx) data to estimate the survival and reproduction of to find the Net Reproductive Rate (R0) and gener- Audubon‟s Shearwater in The Bahamas and esti- ation time (T = Σ(xlxbx)/R0). From this basic ta- mate survivorship curves and reproductive rates ble, I substituted different parameters into the for this population. Using this model and the 39 model to determine how sensitive the model is to locations where Shearwaters are reported to breed changes in reproduction and survival. in The Bahamas, I quantify the remaining habitat, assess the threats posed to the population by in- Area and Coastline of Remaining Colonies troduced mammals and Barn Owls (Tyto alba), and explore how eradicating introduced mammals To identify the remaining habitat for the and building artificial nest sites could halt the de- species in the Bahamas, I used the West Indies cline of this species. Seabird Geographic Information System (Mackin, 2007) to find all locations where Audubon‟s Shearwaters have been reported to breed in the METHODS modern times. I then used Google Earth software to locate and measure the area and coastline of Estimates of Survival and Reproduction each cay. 2 The 11th Symposium on the Natural History of the Bahamas Presence of Rats and Mice ported them back to Elon University. With the help of C. Campbell and J. Goshen, I inspected I assessed the presence of introduced them for juvenile characteristics including dark, mammals on cays in the Exumas by setting sher- unworn plumage, wing chords less than 190 mm man style traps (3” x 3.75” x 9” or 4” x 4.5” x in length, or remaining down. 12”) baited with peanut butter or rodent bait. Work was assisted by C. Cambell and Z. Ewart Additional Nest Sites from Elon Univesity. Focal cays included Allan‟s, Long, Warderick Wells, Narrow Water, Tessa Shearwaters nest in any cavity that is large Roberts, Radar, and Hog. Traps were placed in enough for two adult birds to sit comfortably and randomly aligned transects stratified across the protected from heat and rain. New sites were long axis of each cay or the breeding area of larg- created at 3 small colonies near the Exuma Park er cays (Warderick Wells). Each transect con- Headquarters to see if new populations can be es- tained 6 traps spaced at 10 m intervals. tablished or enhanced at these protected sites. I also trapped other islands with fewer Nests were constructed by moving rocks to create seabirds by quickly placing a single transect with covered openings with similar properties to 6 to 8 traps in accessible areas. These islands in- shearwater nests at Long Cay. Cement was used cluded Norman‟s, Shroud, Elbow, Hawksbill, Lit- to hold rocks in place wherever necessary. tle Cistern, Hall‟s Pond, O‟Briens, Cambridge, North Rocky Dundas, and South Rocky Dundas RESULTS Cays. When mammals were captured, they were Estimates of Survival and Reproductive Success killed individually by transferring to a pillow case and administering a quick blow to the head or by In nests that were monitored in multiple drowning within the trap.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Puffinus Gravis (Great Shearwater)
    Maine 2015 Wildlife Action Plan Revision Report Date: January 13, 2016 Puffinus gravis (Great Shearwater) Priority 3 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) Class: Aves (Birds) Order: Procellariiformes (Tubenoses) Family: Procellariidae (Fulmers, Petrels, And Shearwaters) General comments: Status seems secure though limited data Species Conservation Range Maps for Great Shearwater: Town Map: Puffinus gravis_Towns.pdf Subwatershed Map: Puffinus gravis_HUC12.pdf SGCN Priority Ranking - Designation Criteria: Risk of Extirpation: NA State Special Concern or NMFS Species of Concern: NA Recent Significant Declines: NA Regional Endemic: NA High Regional Conservation Priority: North American Waterbird Conservation Plan: High Concern United States Birds of Conservation Concern: Bird of Conservation Concern in Bird Conservation Regions 14 and/or 30: Yes High Climate Change Vulnerability: NA Understudied rare taxa: NA Historical: NA Culturally Significant: NA Habitats Assigned to Great Shearwater: Formation Name Cliff & Rock Macrogroup Name Rocky Coast Formation Name Subtidal Macrogroup Name Subtidal Pelagic (Water Column) Habitat System Name: Offshore **Primary Habitat** Stressors Assigned to Great Shearwater: No Stressors Currently Assigned to Great Shearwater or other Priority 3 SGCN. Species Level Conservation Actions Assigned to Great Shearwater: No Species Specific Conservation Actions Currently Assigned to Great Shearwater or other Priority 3 SGCN. Guild Level Conservation Actions: This Species is currently not attributed to a guild.
    [Show full text]
  • Behavior and Attendance Patterns of the Fork-Tailed Storm-Petrel
    BEHAVIOR AND ATTENDANCE PATTERNS OF THE FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL THEODORE R. SIMONS Wildlife Science Group, Collegeof Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 USA ABSTRACT.--Behavior and attendance patterns of breeding Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels (Ocea- nodromafurcata) were monitored over two nesting seasonson the Barren Islands, Alaska. The asynchrony of egg laying and hatching shown by these birds apparently reflects the influence of severalfactors, including snow conditionson the breedinggrounds, egg neglectduring incubation, and food availability. Communication between breeding birds was characterized by auditory and tactile signals.Two distinct vocalizationswere identified, one of which appearsto be a sex-specific call given by males during pair formation. Generally, both adults were present in the burrow on the night of egg laying, and the male took the first incubation shift. Incubation shiftsranged from 1 to 5 days, with 2- and 3-day shifts being the most common. Growth parameters of the chicks, reproductive success, and breeding chronology varied considerably between years; this pre- sumably relates to a difference in conditions affecting the availability of food. Adults apparently responded to changes in food availability during incubation by altering their attendance patterns. When conditionswere good, incubation shifts were shorter, egg neglectwas reduced, and chicks were brooded longer and were fed more frequently. Adults assistedthe chick in emerging from the shell. Chicks became active late in the nestling stage and began to venture from the burrow severaldays prior to fledging. Adults continuedto visit the chick during that time but may have reducedthe amountof fooddelivered. Chicks exhibiteda distinctprefledging weight loss.Received 18 September1979, accepted26 July 1980.
    [Show full text]
  • Sooty Shearwater Puffinus Griseus Few Changes in Bird Distribution
    110 Petrels and Shearwaters — Family Procellariidae Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus birds are picked up regularly on the county’s beaches. Few changes in bird distribution have been as sud- Winter: From December to March the Sooty Shearwater den and dramatic as the Sooty Shearwater’s deser- is rare—currently much scarcer than the Short-tailed tion of the ocean off southern California. Before the Shearwater. Before 1982, winter counts ranged up to 20 1980s, this visitor from the southern hemisphere off San Diego 18 January 1969 (AFN 23:519, 1969). Since was the most abundant seabird on the ocean off San 1987, the highest winter count has been of three between San Diego and Los Coronados Islands 6 January 1995 (G. Diego in summer. After El Niño hit in 1982–83 and McCaskie). the ocean remained at an elevated temperature for the next 20 years, the shearwater’s numbers dropped Conservation: The decline of the Sooty Shearwater by 90% (Veit et al. 1996). A comparison confined followed quickly on the heels of the decline in ocean to the ocean near San Diego County’s coast would productivity off southern California that began in the likely show a decline even steeper. late 1970s: a decrease in zooplankton of 80% from 1951 to 1993 (Roemich and McGowan 1995, McGowan et al. Migration: The Sooty Shearwater begins arriving in April, 1998). The shearwater’s declines were especially steep in peaks in May (Briggs et al. 1987), remains (or remained) years of El Niño, and from 1990 on there was no recov- common through September, and then decreases in ery even when the oceanographic pendulum swung the number through December.
    [Show full text]
  • The Taxonomy of the Procellariiformes Has Been Proposed from Various Approaches
    山 階 鳥 研 報(J. Yamashina Inst. Ornithol.),22:114-23,1990 Genetic Divergence and Relationships in Fifteen Species of Procellariiformes Nagahisa Kuroda*, Ryozo Kakizawa* and Masayoshi Watada** Abstract The genetic analysis of 23 protein loci in 15 species of Procellariiformes was made The genetic distancesbetween the specieswas calculatedand a dendrogram was formulated of the group. The separation of Hydrobatidae from all other taxa including Diomedeidae agrees with other precedent works. The resultsof the present study support the basic Procellariidclassification system. However, two points stillneed further study. The firstpoint is that Fulmarus diverged earlier from the Procellariidsthan did the Diomedeidae. The second point is the position of Puffinuspacificus which appears more closely related to the Pterodroma petrels than to other Puffinus species. These points are discussed. Introduction The taxonomy of the Procellariiformes has been proposed from various approaches. The earliest study by Forbes (1882) was made by appendicular myology. Godman (1906) and Loomis (1918) studied this group from a morphological point of view. The taxonomy of the Procellariiformes by functional osteology and appendicular myology was studied by Kuroda (1954, 1983) and Klemm (1969), The results of the various studies agreed in proposing four families of Procellariiformes: Diomedeidae, Procellariidae, Hydrobatidae, and Pelecanoididae. They also pointed out that the Procellariidae was a heterogenous group among them. Timmermann (1958) found the parallel evolution of mallophaga and their hosts in Procellariiformes. Recently, electrophoretical studies have been made on the Procellariiformes. Harper (1978) found different patterns of the electromorph among the families. Bar- rowclough et al. (1981) studied genetic differentiation among 12 species of Procellari- iformes at 16 loci, and discussed the genetic distances among the taxa but with no consideration of their phylogenetic relationships.
    [Show full text]
  • First Record, and Recovery of Wedge-Tailed Shearwater Ardenna Pacifica from the Andaman Islands, India S
    RAJESHKUMAR ET AL.: Wedge-tailed Shearwater 113 First record, and recovery of Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica from the Andaman Islands, India S. Rajeshkumar, C. Raghunathan & N. P. Abdul Aziz Rajeshkumar, S., Raghunathan, C., & Aziz, N. P. A., 2015. First record, and recovery of Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica from the Andaman Islands, India. Indian BIRDS. 10 (5): 113–114. S. Rajeshkumar, Zoological Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre, Port Blair 744102, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author.] C. Raghunathan, Zoological Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre, Port Blair 744102, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. E-mail: [email protected] N. P. Abdul Aziz, Department of Environment and Forests, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. E-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received on 25 May 2015. edge-tailed Shearwaters Ardenna pacifica are widely Indonesia (Poole et al. 2011). distributed, and breed throughout the tropical Pacific-, We report here the recovery of a live Wedge-tailed Shearwater Wand Indian Oceans (BirdLife International 2015). Two [93] on the Andaman Islands, in May 2015; that it later died in races are recognised: A. p. pacifica breeds in the south-eastern captivity. This is the first specimen recorded for India. Remarkably, part of the northern Pacific Ocean, andA. p. chlororhyncha breeds all the previously documented records from India were also from in the tropical, and sub-tropical Indian-, and Pacific- Oceans (del May. It could be assumed that this species is a spring passage Hoyo et al. 2014). Large breeding colonies of the species exist migrant across the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and in the on oceanic islands between latitudes 35°N and 35°S, such as Indian Ocean.
    [Show full text]
  • Status and Occurrence of Flesh-Footed Shearwater (Ardenna Carneipes) in British Columbia
    Status and Occurrence of Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes) in British Columbia. By Rick Toochin and Louis Haviland. Revised: January 2017. Introduction and Distribution The Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes) is a trans-equatorial migrant that breeds in the Southern Hemisphere on St Paul Island in the French Southern Territories, Lord Howe Island off Australia, islands off south-west mainland Australia, South Australia at two isolated colonies, and islands off North and South Islands of New Zealand (Onley and Scofield 2007). This species is active on eggs at their nesting colonies during the months of November and December (Onley and Scofield 2007). The Flesh-footed Shearwater mainly occurs in the subtropics over continental shelves and slopes, and occasionally in inshore waters (Onley and Scofield). Individuals also pass through the tropics and over deeper waters when on migration to the North Pacific and Indian Oceans (Brooke 2004). The majority of the population migrates to the Northern Hemisphere between May and September and returns to the Southern Hemisphere in August (Onley and Scofield 2007). Individuals have been recorded over waters of 12.9–22.9°C in the south-western Pacific Ocean (Reid et al. 2002) and over waters of 11–16°C in the northern Pacific Ocean (Reid 2010, Reid et al. 2013b). Pairs breed on islands in burrows on sloping ground in coastal forest, scrubland, or grassland (Powell et al. 2007). Nests consist of enlarged chambers at the end of burrows of 1-3 metres in length, with the entrance often covered by plant material (Waugh et al. 2014). Brooke (2004) estimated the global population to number > c.
    [Show full text]
  • FEEDING ECOLOGY of the CAPE VERDEAN SHEARWATER (Calonectris Edwardsii) POPULATION of RASO ISLET, CAPE VERDE (P1-B-11)
    2nd World Seabird Conference “Seabirds: Global Ocean Sentinels” 26-30 October 2015 Cape Town, South Africa FEEDING ECOLOGY OF THE CAPE VERDEAN SHEARWATER (Calonectris edwardsii) POPULATION OF RASO ISLET, CAPE VERDE (P1-B-11) Isabel Rodrigues1,3; Nuno Oliveira 2 Rui Freitas 3 Tommy Melo1 Pedro Geraldes 2 1Biosfera I, Cabo Verde, www.biosfera1.com; 2SPEA, Portugal, www.spea.pt, 3 Universidade de Cabo Verde, www.unicv.edu.cv Raso Islet with only 5.76 km2, is an area of great importance to Cape Verdean Shearwaters as we find one of the largest colonies of the species there. The great biological value of this islet is even more remarkable for hosting very large populations of other species, such as the Brown Booby, Red-billed Tropicalbird and even the endemic Raso Lark, among others. Along with Branco Islet, also included in the Nature Reserve, both populations constitute about 75% of the nesting population of the Cape Verde islands (Fig. 1). The Cape Verde Shearwater (Procellariiformes, Procellariidae) (Fig. 2) is an endemic species of Cape Verde and has recently been separated from Calonectris diomedea species, due to their morphological and genetic differences, and pelagic habits; feeding mostly on the open sea (Hazevoet 1995). METHODOLOGY RESULTS The samples were collected between 14 October and 12 November, in two In total, 80 regurgitations from juvenile Cape Verde Shearwaters were collected; consecutive years, 2012 and 2013. We randomly obtained 80 samples of juvenile including 50 individuals sampled in 2012, and 30 individuals in 2013. regurgitation. Each juvenile was sampled only once. During or after handling, Based on knowledge of local fish populations and according to the current juveniles tend to regurgitate stomach contents without the need to resort to the description, the identified prey of Cape Verde shearwaters belonged to 5 species induced regurgitation method.
    [Show full text]
  • Albatross Or Mōlī (Phoebastria Immutabilis) Black-Footed Albatross Or Ka’Upu (Phoebastria Nigripes) Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria Albatrus)
    Hawaiian Bird Conservation Action Plan Focal Species: Laysan Albatross or Mōlī (Phoebastria immutabilis) Black-footed Albatross or Ka’upu (Phoebastria nigripes) Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) Synopsis: These three North Pacific albatrosses are demographically similar, share vast oceanic ranges, and face similar threats. Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses nest primarily in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, while the Short-tailed Albatross nests mainly on islands near Japan but forages extensively in U.S. waters. The Short-tailed Albatross was once thought to be extinct but its population has been growing steadily since it was rediscovered in 1951 and now numbers over 3,000 birds. The Laysan is the most numerous albatross species in the world with a population over 1.5 million, but its trend has been hard to determine because of fluctuations in number of breeding pairs. The Black-footed Albatross is one-tenth as numerous as the Laysan and its trend also has been difficult to determine. Fisheries bycatch caused unsustainable mortality of adults in all three species but has been greatly reduced in the past 10-20 years. Climate change and sea level rise are perhaps the greatest long-term threat to Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses because their largest colonies are on low-lying atolls. Protecting and creating colonies on higher islands and managing non-native predators and human conflicts may become keys to their survival. Laysan, Black-footed, and Short-tailed Albatrosses (left to right), Midway. Photos Eric VanderWerf Status
    [Show full text]
  • First Two Cases of Melanism in Cory's Shearwater Calonectris Diomedea
    Bried et al.: Melanism in Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea 19 FIRST TWO CASES OF MELANISM IN CORY’S SHEARWATER CALONECTRIS DIOMEDEA JOËL BRIED1, HELDER FRAGA2, PASCUAL CALABUIG-MIRANDA3 & VERÓNICA C. NEVES4 1 Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas, Centro do IMAR da Universidade dos Açores, 9901-862 Horta, Açores, Portugal ([email protected], [email protected]) 2 Secretaria Regional do Ambiente, Rua Cônsul Dabney, 9900-014 Horta, Açores, Portugal 3 Centro de Recuperación de Fauna Silvestre de Tafira, Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Spain 4 Ornithology Unit, IBLS, University of Glasgow, Graham Kerr Building, G12 8QQ, Glasgow, Scotland, UK Received 19 November 2004, accepted 8 April 2005 SUMMARY BRIED, J., FRAGA, H., CALABUIG-MIRANDA, P. & NEVES, V.C. 2005. First two cases of melanism in Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea. Marine Ornithology 33: 19-22. Although aberrant colourations occur in a great variety of animal species, their frequency of occurrence is low. Here, we report the first two observations of melanistic Cory’s Shearwaters Calonectris diomedea, in the Azores archipelago and on the Canary Islands. Because dark plumages may be associated with subordinate status within petrel flocks and with increased conspicuousness, melanistic individuals would have increased difficulties in obtaining food compared with their normally coloured conspecifics. This phenomenon might explain why melanism seems to occur less frequently than other aberrant colour patterns in this group. Key words: Melanism, Cory’s Shearwater, Calonectris diomedea, Procellariiformes INTRODUCTION individuals were found in 2003. The first individual was found near a pier at San Andrés on 30 October. The second observation Aberrant colourations have a low frequency of occurrence in occurred in a street of Horta on 21 November.
    [Show full text]
  • Status and Occurrence of Manx Shearwater (Puffinus Puffinus) in British Columbia
    Status and Occurrence of Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) in British Columbia. By Rick Toochin and Louis Haviland. Introduction and Distribution The Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) is a small species of shearwater found year round along both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean (Onley and Scofield 2007). This species has breeding colonies in Iceland, France, Faeroe Island, Ireland, Scotland, England, Channel Islands, Azores Islands, Madeira Island, and the Canary Islands (Onley and Scofield 2007). In eastern North America, the Manx Shearwater breeds in Newfoundland and is found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Maine (Lee and Haney 1996). Some of these birds winter in the North Atlantic Ocean off North America from the Carolinas to Florida, but most birds are trans- equatorial migrants from July to March wintering in the South Atlantic Ocean off Brazil to Argentina and spread across the South Atlantic to South Africa (Lee and Haney 1996, Onley and Scofield 2007). The Manx Shearwater has been undergoing a somewhat mysterious range expansion over the past few decades with more and more birds turning up in the North Pacific Ocean (Roberson 1996, Mlodinow 2004). Though breeding is suspected it has yet to be proven (Mlodinow 2004). One bird was tape recorded at night in a nesting burrow on Triangle Island by Dr. Ian Jones in the summer of 1994 (Mlodinow 2004). The bird was never actually seen and the bird’s identity was left unidentified for many years (P. Jones Pers. Comm.). Another possible breeding record comes from Alaska on Middleton Island on May 12, 2005, when 2 birds were seen together possibly prospecting for a nest site (Gibson et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Influence of Migratory Behaviour on the Morphology and Breeding Biology of Puffinus Shearwaters
    Bull: Influence of migratory behaviour on Puffinus shearwaters 25 INFLUENCE OF MIGRATORY BEHAVIOUR ON THE MORPHOLOGY AND BREEDING BIOLOGY OF PUFFINUS SHEARWATERS LEIGH S. BULL School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand ([email protected]) Current address: Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Université Paris–Sud XI, Bâtiment 362, F-91405, Orsay cedex, France Received 28 November 2005, accepted 26 June 2006 SUMMARY BULL, L.S. 2006. Influence of migratory behaviour on the morphology and breeding biology of Puffinus shearwaters. Marine Ornithology 34: 25–31. Ecological, life-history, breeding biology and morphologic data were collected for 18 shearwater species Puffinus spp., and the relationships between these parameters and migratory behaviour were investigated. Intraspecific variation in relative wing length was associated with differences in migratory behaviour of the Little Shearwater Puffinus assimilis populations, but not the Wedge-tailed Shearwater P. pacificus. This study emphasises the need for long-term studies, which are generally lacking, to be able to estimate robust breeding and demographic parameters from populations of long-lived seabird species such as those in the Puffinus genus. Key words: Shearwaters, Puffinus spp., breeding biology, migration, morphology INTRODUCTION and Wedge-tailed Shearwater P. pacificus), for both of which migratory and non-migratory populations have been suggested Ecomorphology proposes that the association between morphology (Marchant & Higgins 1990); and species exhibiting sexual size and ecology represents the expression of the phenotype–environment dimorphism (Warham 1990, Bull et al. 2004). As such, this group interaction and that this association may be modified by variation is used to investigate the potential influence of migratory behaviour in behaviour or performance (Ricklefs & Miles 1994).
    [Show full text]
  • The Depth of Sooty Shearwater Ardenna Grisea Burrows Varies With
    Ibis (2019), 161, 192–197 doi: 10.1111/ibi.12631 Short communication than other substrates, indicating how vegetation restora- tion could aid the conservation of this species. The depth of Sooty Keywords: burrow dimensions, burrowing petrels, Falkland Islands, nest architecture, Puffinus griseus. Shearwater Ardenna grisea burrows varies with Many seabirds, including most small-medium Procellari- habitat and increases with iformes (hereafter ‘petrels’), as well as many alcids and some penguins, breed in burrows. Yet, burrows are ener- competition for space getically costly to build and can be subject to flooding, † TYLER J. CLARK,1, * ANNE-SOPHIE collapse and other disadvantages (Warham 1996). BONNET-LEBRUN,2,3 LETIZIA CAMPIONI,4 Therefore, the advantages of protection from predators PAULO CATRY4 & EWAN WAKEFIELD1 and climatic extremes must outweigh the costs of bur- 1Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health, and row nesting. Burrow nesting by seabirds can have wider Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Graham effects, such as modifying the structure and nutrient Kerr Building, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK content of island soils, which can then cascade to other 2Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, trophic levels (Bancroft et al. 2005). In other fossorial Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK animals, the impact of these processes depends in part 3Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive CEFE on the structure of the burrow systems (Laundre & Rey- UMR 5175, CNRS - Universite de Montpellier - nolds 1993). Some petrels, such as the White-chinned Universite Paul-Valery Montpellier – EPHE, 919 route Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis or the Flesh-footed de Mende 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France Shearwater Ardenna carneipes construct relatively simple 4MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, and straight burrows (Parker & Rexer-Huber 2015).
    [Show full text]