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The foraging range of Great Shearwaters (Ardenna gravis) breeding on Gough Island

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Abstract

Ardenna shearwaters have among the most extreme foraging trips of any central place forager, yet little is known about the foraging range of the largest member of the genus, the Great Shearwater (Ardenna gravis). GPS loggers were deployed on 20 Great Shearwaters (10 males and 10 females) nesting on Gough Island in the South Atlantic Ocean during the incubation and chick-rearing periods, recording a total of 25 foraging trips. Foraging trip characteristics were similar between sexes during incubation, but males tended to forage farther west than females. During chick-rearing, all tracked birds alternated long and short foraging trips. Long trips (20.2 ± 2.3 days) were similar in duration to incubation trips (22.2 ± 5.3 days), but the birds travelled greater distances during chick-rearing (9257 ± 3249 km) than during incubation (6863 ± 2521 km). Some commuting birds sustained speeds > 100 km/h, with one bird covering almost 1000 km in 10 h. During incubation, birds mainly travelled southeast towards the Antarctic Polar Front, whereas chick-rearing birds travelled more widely. Our study provides new information on the distribution of Great Shearwaters while breeding.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Tristan Conservation Department, Island Council and Administrator for permission to undertake research on Gough Island. Logistical and financial support was provided by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, through the South African National Antarctic Programme, the National Research Foundation and the University of Cape Town.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa

    Stefan Schoombie, Ben J. Dilley, Delia Davies & Peter G. Ryan

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  1. Stefan Schoombie
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  2. Ben J. Dilley
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  3. Delia Davies
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  4. Peter G. Ryan
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Correspondence to Stefan Schoombie.

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This research was carried out under the guidance of the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology and the methods used in this study were approved by the Science Faculty Animal Ethics Committee of the University of Cape Town.

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Schoombie, S., Dilley, B.J., Davies, D. et al. The foraging range of Great Shearwaters (Ardenna gravis) breeding on Gough Island. Polar Biol 41, 2451–2458 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2381-7

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