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Foraging movements and habitat niche of two closely related seabirds breeding in sympatry

Marine Biology volume 161, pages 657–668 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

As central-place foragers, pelagic seabirds are constrained by spatiotemporal heterogeneity to find productive marine areas and compete for prey. We analysed 97 foraging trips to study the movement and oceanographic characteristics of foraging habitats of two different—yet closely related—species of shearwaters (Scopoli’s shearwater Calonectris diomedea and Cory’s shearwater C. borealis) breeding in sympatry in the Mediterranean. We combined various methodological approaches (GPS-tracking, species distribution modelling and stable isotope analysis) to explore the foraging strategies of these two species. Isotopic results suggested that trophic habits of both shearwater species were similar, mainly based on pelagic fish consumption. Foraging areas of both species were characterized by shallow waters near the colony. Both shearwater species exploited persistent productive marine areas. The foraging areas of the two species broadly overlapped during the incubation period, but during chick-rearing period, Scopoli’s shearwaters apparently foraged in different areas than Cory’s shearwaters.

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Acknowledgments

We thank J. Díaz, G. Martínez, Á. Sanz and F.J. López for their help during fieldwork and logistic support at Chafarinas Archipelago; J. Zapata and J.I. Montoya (OAPN) for their institutional support. R. Álvarez helped in the stable isotope analysis (LIE-EBD). N. Chatelain, M. Brucker and F. Crenner customized the GPS at the IPHC-DEPE. SEO/BirdLife provided economical support through the INDEMARES project (LIFE07NAT/E/000732). JN was supported by a postdoctoral contract of the Juan de la Cierva program (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness). FR was supported by a postdoctoral contract from FP7-REGPOT 2010-1 (Grant No. 264125 of EcoGenes project). LC was supported by a postdoctoral contract funded by CSIC, FGCSIC and Banco Santander (Steppeahead project). The authors declare that all animals were handled in strict accordance with good animal practice as defined by the current European legislation, and all the experiments comply with the current laws of the Spain country.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de SIG y Teledetección (LAST-EBD), Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), C/Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Isabel Afán

  2. Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    Joan Navarro

  3. Forest Sciences Center of Catalonia (CTFC), Crta. de Sant Llorenç de Morunys km 2, 25280, Solsona, Spain

    Laura Cardador

  4. Departamento de Biología de la Conservación, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), C/Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Francisco Ramírez & Manuela G. Forero

  5. SEO/BirdLife, Delegación de Canarias, C/Libertad 22, 38296, La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Spain

    Beneharo Rodríguez

  6. IPHC, Université de Strasbourg, 23 rue Becquerel, 67087, Strasbourg, France

    Akiko Kato & Yan Ropert-Coudert

  7. CNRS, UMR7178, 67037, Strasbourg, France

    Akiko Kato & Yan Ropert-Coudert

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  1. Isabel Afán
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  2. Joan Navarro
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  3. Laura Cardador
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  4. Francisco Ramírez
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  5. Akiko Kato
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  6. Beneharo Rodríguez
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  7. Yan Ropert-Coudert
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  8. Manuela G. Forero
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Correspondence to Isabel Afán.

Additional information

Communicated by S. Garthe.

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227_2013_2368_MOESM1_ESM.tif

Figure S1 Adjust of the threshold speed for resting locations, from the lower limit of the inferring bimodal distribution of the speed transformation (ln (speed + 1)). (TIFF 10603 kb)

227_2013_2368_MOESM2_ESM.tif

Figure S2 Exceptional Cory’s shearwater longest trip during incubation stage. Foraging areas were identified only up to 33°N. (TIFF 8036 kb)

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Afán, I., Navarro, J., Cardador, L. et al. Foraging movements and habitat niche of two closely related seabirds breeding in sympatry. Mar Biol 161, 657–668 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2368-4

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Keywords

  • Pelagic Fish
  • Trip Duration
  • Trip Distance
  • Breeding Stage
  • Alboran Basin