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1 Funding for this work, including publication expenses, was provided by THE SOUTHWEST FISHERIES CENTER HONOLULULABORATORYOF THE NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NOAA and THE US. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 2 WILDLIFE MONOGRAPHS Roy L. Kirkpatrick, Editor Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061 Consulting Editors for this Issue: David G. Ainley, Point Reves Bird Observatory, Stint- son Beach, CA 94970 A. W. Diamond, Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Oxford OX1 3PS, United Kingdom Editorial Assistant: Thelma J. Kirkpatrick The Wildlife Society believes that increased awareness and appreciation of wildlife values is an important objective. Society publications are one means of doing this. Wildlife Monographs was begun in 195i to provide for longer papers than those normally accepted for The Journal of Wildlife ikfanagement. There is no set schedule for publication. Individual issues of Wildlife hionographs will be published as suitable manuscripts are accepted and processed and when financing has been arranged. Each Monograph is sponsored financially by organizations or institutions interested in publication of the information contained therein. Usually, the sponsor is the orga- nization that conducted the original research, but others interested in disseminating the information may assist in defraying Monograph costs. The sponsors pay for print- ing and distribution of each Monograph, and The Wildlife Society provides skilled editors to assist Monograph authors and assures wide distribution through its world- wide mailing list to a select group of knowledgeable wildlife scientists, libraries, and others, and to members and subscribers Lvho receive The Journal of Wildlife iMan- agemen t . There is a perpetual need for additional funds to sponsor publication of worthwhile manuscripts in Wildlife Monographs. Any contribution will be accepted with grati- tudc by The Wildlife Society. klemorial funds collected to honor and perpetuate the names of deceased members of the profession probabl!. could he put to no better use. ,G' The Wildlife Society, Inc. 1983 3 WILDLIFE MONOGRAPHS (ISSN 0084-0173) A Publication of The Wildlife Society HAWAIIAN SEABIRD FEEDING ECOLOGY by CRAIG S. HARRISON, THOMAS S. HIDA, AND MICHAEL P. SEKl OCTOBER 1983 NO. 85 4 FRONTISPIECE.White tern carrying flyingfish (Parexocoetus brachypterus). French Frigate Shoals. 5 HAWAIIAN SEABIRD FEEDING ECOLOGY CRAIG S. HARRISON’ US. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 50167, Honolulu, HI 96850 THOMAS S. HlDA Southwest Fisheries Center Honolulu Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, P.O. Box 3830, Honolulu, HI 9681 2 MICHAEL P. SEKl Southwest Fisheries Center Honolulu Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, P.O. Box 3830, Honolulu, HI 96812 .Abstract: The North\vestern Ha\vaiian Islands are the nesting grounds of about 10 millioii seabirds ot 18 species. Fisher! de\elopmeirt prop,osals for this area led to a need for food habit studies (if thrse hirtls to aid in their managemrnt. Food habits are divrrse. \\ itti 56 families of fish. 8 fanlilies of squid. and 11 groups of crustaceans identified Similar to ottitsr tropical seabird comninnities. this cornmunit) feeds largel! on flyingfishes and squids. 111 addition, hou e\er, this comnrnnit! consumes man! Ilacapterzis spp , juvenile goatfishes, juvenile lizardfishes. and mesopelagic fishe\ that rarrl? occur in the tfirts of tropical sealiirtls elsewhere. Albatrosses fed largely on squids and flyingfish eggs. They also ate niany mysids. isopods, leptos- tracans, and shrimps that occur in very deep \vater. Pelecaniforms ate large flyingfishes and Decapterus spp , many of \vhich \\ere more than 25 cm in length Squids, especiall) the wrface-tl\velling Onimastrephidae, \\ere consiimed frequentl! (:ertain booliies ate Pacific sauries. anchob ies. and juvenile goatfishes at some locations. The terns arid sheanvaters that usuall! feed in association \\it11 predator! fishes ate 2-8 cm pre), especially small omrnastrephid squids aiitl juveiiile forms of fl, ingtishes. goatfishes. lizardfishes, aid Decap- term spp. Small nocturnal-feeding procellariiforms ate man) 1-3 cm mesopelagic organisms such as lan- ternfishes, hatchetfishes, bristlemouths, and squids. Small terns ate primaril! juvenile tlyingfishes, goatfishes. lizardfishes, dolphin-fishes, and a cou fish In addition. the blue-gray nodd\ ate minute prty srich as wa- striders and copepeds. Most birds feed most of their )ourrg during the spring and summer Breeding in thr North\vtxstrrn Ha\\ aiian lslaritls is corrrlatetl \r ith and ma! be contrcilletl h! thr period (if inaxinruin a\ail- ability of food. Breeding seasons fcir seahirtls in tropical climates are generally less predictable compartd to seabird communities in temperate or cold \\ atrr regimes. The relative predictabilit) (if the breeding seasmi for tropical seabirds in the Ha\raiian Archipelago ma! he t~xplained13, the fact that most islands there art’ subtropical Many st&ircIs in Hawaii breed at the northmi cxtent (if their range. Some srabird species breed largely during \vinter. Several of these species are adapted for nocturnal feeding. Other \I inter brrt&ng species may be outcompeted for nesting sites during spring antl siimnicr by larger spccirs that have similar nesting requirements. Poor \\rather conditioirs clriring \\ inter may also encourage spring arrtl summer 1lree.d- irig for sonre species. .-\I1 seabirds \\.err (ipportunistic and fed on a \vide variet) of shoaling fish and squid Thvy apparently took air) organism of appropriate size that occurred in surface watrrs. \’ariation in dirt for most species was more correlated \\ ith season than \\ ith locatioii Some resource partitioning among species \vas evident both in the composition antl in the size of prr!. Difference5 in dirt ma) reflect tliffrrt,ncrs among species in morpholog! , feeding technique, time of clay that feeding occurs, srasoiialit) of Iiweding, or feeding location. The most tiitnier~ii~species in this community are tlrose that ate man! squid Tht. population differences among sprcies ins) tie merel! ancithrr e\pressi(in of the proposition that pelagic feeding seabirds are more nunieroris thati irrshort~frctling seabirds iri tropical \\aters. Man! tuntlamental questions concerning the tii(ilog> of tropical and srilltropical seal,irtls cannot be ans\veretl until bettear ~neth(itls of measuring the a\aiiabilit) of pre! art. de\e1oped Our results \vi11 ena~ile\\,ikllife d.rd fishrr) rnariagers to more accriratelv predict the effects of bnrious tisheries (in rnarine Iiirds WILDL. MONOGR. 85, 7-77 1 Present address Environment and Poh Center, The East-\\ est Center, 1777 East-west Road, IIonolulu, HI 96848 6 WILDLIFEMONOGRAPHS CONTENTS INTRODUCTION............................................................................. 6 Bonin Petrel ...................................................................... 37 Acknowledgments ........................................................... 7 Gra y-backed Tern ........................................................... 39 THE NORTHWESTERN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS ....... 8 White Tern (Fairy Tern)........................................... 40 METHODS ........................................................................................... 9 Black Noddy ...................................................................... 43 Field Collection of Food Samples ............................... 9 Bulwer’s Petrel ................................................................. 44 Laboratory Procedures.......................................................... 1 1 Sooty Storm-petrel ........................................................... 46 Prey Identification...................................................................... 13 Blue-gray Noddy .......................................................... 48 Data Analysis ........................................................................... 14 Prey Length Comparisons ............................................... 49 RESULTS ........................................................................................... 15 DISCUSSION.................................................................................. 50 Species Accounts...................................................................... 15 Albatrosses .............................................................................. 52 Black-footed Albatross ................................................. 15 Pelecaniformes ........................................................................... 55 Laysan Albatross ................................................................ 18 Terns and Shearwaters Associated with Preda- Masked Booby ...................................................................... 20 tory Fishes ............................................................................ 56 Great Frigatebird ......................................................... 22 Small Nocturnal Procellariiforms .................................... 58 Brown Booby ........................................................................ 23 Neuston Feeding Terns ......................................................... 59 Red-footed Booby ............................................................. 25 Timing of Breeding Season and Food Avail- Red-tailed Tropicbird ................................................. 27 ability ............................................................................................