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Fortune telling seabirds: sooty shearwaters (Puffinus griseus) predict shifts in Pacific climate

Marine Biology volume 164, Article number: 150 (2017) Cite this article

Abstract

Indices calculated from “muttonbirding” diaries collected by the Rakiura Māori of New Zealand were correlated with future values of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) from 1957 to 2010. Spearman correlations showed that La Niña events tended to occur after those harvest seasons with relatively high success and chick size, whereas El Niño events tended to occur after harvest seasons with relatively low success and chick size. Generalized boosted regression models show that chick size alone is able to predict shifts in SOI from 0 to 12 months after the harvest. A model that included chick size, 2-year average PDO (prior to the harvest), and one year averages of SOI (prior to the harvest), was able to predict shifts in SOI 13–20 months after the harvest. It is likely that sooty shearwater adults (and therefore chick size and quantity) are being affected by oceanographic conditions that are also precursors to shifts in SOI, and that there is a complex interaction between PDO prior to the harvest, the harvest indices and SOI. The location and timing of adult birds at the time they are provisioning chicks could lead to potential mechanisms and requires further study.

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Acknowledgements

Due to contractual agreements and cultural sensitivities, data used to perform this study are unable to be shared. Additional support for analysis and edits on the manuscript were given by J. Overton, F. Huettmann, C. Strobl, T. Hawthorne, W. Sydeman, J. Elith and S. Oppel. We would also like to thank Axios Review for their help in preparing the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Black Bawks Data Science, Fort Augustus, PH32 4DR, UK

    Grant R. W. Humphries

  2. Center for Sustainability, Agriculture, Food, Energy and Environment, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand

    Henrik Möller

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  1. Grant R. W. Humphries
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Correspondence to Grant R. W. Humphries.

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This research was funded by the Department of Zoology at the University of Otago and by National Geographic Grant# WGS249-12 on behalf of the Waitt foundation.

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G. R. W. Humphries declares that he has no conflict of interest. H. Moller declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Responsible Editor: V. Paiva.

Reviewed by L. Krüger and R. Nager.

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Humphries, G.R.W., Möller, H. Fortune telling seabirds: sooty shearwaters (Puffinus griseus) predict shifts in Pacific climate. Mar Biol 164, 150 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3182-1

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