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Foraging behaviour and habitat use of chick-rearing Australasian Gannets in New Zealand

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Abstract

Patchily distributed marine pelagic prey present considerable challenges to predatory seabirds, including Gannets (Morus spp.) departing from large breeding colonies. Here, for the first time, we used GPS data loggers to provide detailed spatial, temporal, and habitat metrics of chick-rearing Australasian Gannets (Morus serrator) foraging behaviours from two distant colonies in New Zealand. Our goal was to examine the extent to which Gannet foraging tactics vary across disparate habitats, and determine whether the observed differences are consistent with predictions derived from foraging studies of other gannet species. Foraging trip performance was highly consistent between colonies, and sexes, and no significant differences in any of the variables analyzed were observed. However, Gannets from Farewell Spit (FS) dove in shallower waters (0–50 m) than birds from Cape Kidnappers (CK, >50 m), which is consistent with previous dietary studies suggesting that FS Gannets feed mainly on coastal prey, whereas CK birds feed on species with a more oceanic distribution. Diving frequencies were similar in the two colonies suggesting that Gannets were foraging in habitats with similar levels of food availability. Further studies are needed to understand the relationship between prey availability, oceanography and geographic features, to better interpret foraging tactics of Australasian Gannets.

Zusammenfassung

Nahrungssuchverhalten und Habitatnutzung Australischer Tölpel während der Jungenaufzucht in Neuseeland

Lückenhaft verbreitete pelagische Beute stellt eine beträchtliche Herausforderung für nahrungssuchende Seevögel dar. Das gilt auch für Tölpel (Morus spp.), die aus großen Brutkolonien zur Nahrungssuche auf See abfliegen. In zwei weit voneinander entfernt liegenden Kolonien Australischer Tölpel (Morus serrator) in Neuseeland wurden nun zum ersten Mal GPS-Datenlogger eingesetzt, um während der Jungenaufzucht detaillierte Raum-Zeit-Daten sowie Informationen zur Habitatnutzung nahrungssuchender Tölpel zu erhalten. Ziel war es zum einen zu untersuchen, in welchem Ausmaß die Nahrungssuchstrategien der Tölpel variieren zwischen verschiedenen Habitaten. Zum anderen wurde bestimmt, ob die beobachteten Unterschiede konsistent sind mit Vorhersagen aus Studien zur Nahrungssuche anderer Tölpelarten. Die Nahrungsflug-Leistung war einheitlich zwischen den Kolonien und Geschlechtern. Es konnten keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen den weiteren analysierten Variablen nachgewiesen werden. Allerdings tauchten Tölpel der Farewell Spit Kolonie (FS) in flacheren Gewässern (0–50 m) als Vögel aus der Cape Kidnappers Kolonie (CK, >50 m). Frühere Nahrungsstudien bestätigen dies und deuten darauf hin, dass FS Tölpel hauptsächlich küstennahe Beute fressen, wohingegen CK Tölpel mehr ozeanisch verbreitete Nahrung aufnehmen. Die Tauchfrequenzen waren ähnlich in beiden Kolonien, was darauf schließen lässt, dass Tölpel in Habitaten mit ähnlichen Beuteverfügbarkeiten auf Nahrungssuche gehen. Weiterführende Untersuchungen zur Beziehung zwischen Beuteverfügbarkeit, Ozeanografie und geografischen Eigenschaften sind nötig, um die Strategien der Nahrungssuche Australischer Tölpel besser zu verstehen und interpretieren zu können.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge T. Fettermann, S. Clements, A. Boyer, L. Meynier, L. van Zonneveld, T. Greenawalt, E. Martínez, K. and S. Machovsky, J. Melville and S. Ismar for assistance in the field. We also thank the Napier Department of Conservation office for the permission to use the ranger’s house during field work and the Cape Kidnappers landowners and farm managers for access to their property. The Department of Conservation, Golden Bay kindly allowed use of their house at Farewell Spit and transport was provided by Paddy Gillooly of Farewell Spit Ecotours. We thank E. Martínez, S. Dwyer, R. Mullers, P. Battley, J. Waas, C. Moseley, L. Pichegru and F. Bairlein for helpful comments on early versions of the manuscript. This research was funded by National Geographic Waitt Grant, Massey University and Faculty of Veterinary Science Research Funds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Veterinary Science, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Biological Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Gabriel E. Machovsky-Capuska & David Raubenheimer

  2. Coastal-Marine Research Group, Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

    Gabriel E. Machovsky-Capuska

  3. Department of Psychology, Hunter College, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Mark E. Hauber

  4. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata‐CONICET, Funes 3350 (7600), Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Mariela Dassis

  5. New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study, Institute of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 102 904 North Shore MSC, Auckland, New Zealand

    Eric Libby

  6. Max-Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany

    Martin C. Wikelski

  7. Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany

    Martin C. Wikelski

  8. Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Nelson, New Zealand

    Rob Schuckard, David S. Melville & Willie Cook

  9. Equine Parentage and Animal Genetics Service Centre, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

    Michelle Houston

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  1. Gabriel E. Machovsky-Capuska
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  9. Michelle Houston
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  10. David Raubenheimer
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Correspondence to Gabriel E. Machovsky-Capuska.

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Communicated by C. Barbraud.

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Machovsky-Capuska, G.E., Hauber, M.E., Dassis, M. et al. Foraging behaviour and habitat use of chick-rearing Australasian Gannets in New Zealand. J Ornithol 155, 379–387 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-013-1018-4

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