Abstract
The Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan is a Procellariiform endemic to the Mediterranean Basin, recently categorised as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. We need to identify the threats it faces, which are particularly poorly understood when at sea. Specifically, very little is known about the Yelkouan Shearwater feeding strategy and how it is related to potential threats at sea, such as contaminants which deserve particular attention regarding this shearwater, as the Mediterranean Basin is overall highly contaminated. Here, we analysed Yelkouan Shearwater diet, as well as metal (lead, cadmium, mercury, selenium) and organic contamination. The diet analysis revealed the predominance of fish prey, particularly Clupeids, Engraulids and Scombrids, both in terms of relative occurrence (84.6%) and relative biomass (99.7%). Crustaceans (Euphasiacea and Decapoda) were the major prey type during the pre-laying period (relative number: 88.8%) but contributed little to the biomass ingested. The metal levels we found in contour feathers were below the known adverse effect threshold for seabirds. Organic contamination in livers was also low but we found two eggs with levels of concern of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) compounds.
Zusammenfassung
Der Mittelmeer-Sturmtaucher Puffinus yelkouan ist eine im Mittelmeerraum endemische Röhrennase und wurde kürzlich auf die Vorwarnliste der Roten Liste des IUCN gesetzt. Wir müssen die Bedrohungen, denen diese Art ausgesetzt ist und die insbesondere auf See nur schlecht verstanden sind, ermitteln. Besonders wenig ist über die Nahrungserwerbsstrategie des Mittelmeer-Sturmtauchers bekannt, während diese mit potenziellen Bedrohungen auf See, wie Schadstoffen, in Zusammenhang steht. Schadstoffe verdienen in Bezug auf diesen Sturmtaucher besondere Beachtung, denn der Mittelmeerraum ist insgesamt stark belastet. Hier haben wir die Nahrung des Mittelmeer-Sturmtauchers sowie seine Belastung mit Metallen (Blei, Cadmium, Quecksilber, Selen) und organischen Schadstoffen analysiert. Die Nahrungsanalyse zeigte, dass Fischbeute, vor allem Heringe, Sardellen, Makrelen und Tunfische, überwiegt, sowohl hinsichtlich der relativen Häufigkeit (84,6%) als auch der relativen Biomasse (99,7%). Krebstiere (Leuchtkrebse und Zehnfußkrebse) waren die Hauptbeute in der Zeit vor der Eiablage (relativer Anteil: 88.8%), trugen jedoch nur wenig zur aufgenommenen Biomasse bei. Der von uns in den Konturfedern gemessene Metallgehalt lag unter dem bekannten gesundheitsschädigenden Schwellenwert für Seevögel. Die Belastung der Leber mit organischen Schadstoffen war ebenfalls niedrig, jedoch fanden wir zwei Eier mit einem besorgniserregend hohen Gehalt an polychlorierten Biphenylen (PCB) und Dichlordiphenyltrichlorethan (DDT).
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Acknowledgements
Funds and support were provided by the EU and DIREN PACA through the granting of a Life Nature project to LPO PACA (LIFE03NAT/F000105), and by the Conseil Régional PACA (2007-20865). We are very grateful to the director and managers of Port-Cros National Park for granting permission and providing support to conduct this research. We thank J. Cartes (Institute of Marine Science, ICM-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain) for crustacean identification. We are grateful to M. Sweetko for improving the English of the manuscript, to E. Bonnaud for helping to perform statistical analyses and to two anonymous referees for their valuable comments on the manuscript. Licences and permissions were granted by the prefecture of the Var region (authorisation no.7/2004) and CRBPO (National Museum of Natural History, Paris) for shearwater capturing and handling.
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Communicated by P. H. Becker.
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Bourgeois, K., Vorenger, J., Faulquier, L. et al. Diet and contamination of the Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan in the Hyères archipelago, Mediterranean Basin, France. J Ornithol 152, 947–953 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0677-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0677-2