Post‐colony swimming migration in the genus Uria
Seabirds within the Alcini subfamily have a unique breeding strategy, with their offspring leaving the colony flightless, at only a quarter of adult body size, accompanied by the father and fledge (become independent) out at sea. In this study we test several hypotheses about this elusive second par...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Avian Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.03153 |
| _version_ | 1797360967130021888 |
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| author | Benjamin Merkel Hallvard Strøm |
| author_facet | Benjamin Merkel Hallvard Strøm |
| author_sort | Benjamin Merkel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Seabirds within the Alcini subfamily have a unique breeding strategy, with their offspring leaving the colony flightless, at only a quarter of adult body size, accompanied by the father and fledge (become independent) out at sea. In this study we test several hypotheses about this elusive second part of the breeding season, termed swimming migration, for common guillemots Uria aalge and Brünnich's guillemots Uria lomvia by tracking 34 chicks (of which 17 transmitted data) equipped with satellite linked Argos PTTs (Platform Transmitter Terminals) at Bjørnøya, a major colony in the European Arctic. All chicks, presumably accompanied by their fathers, swam actively towards species‐specific autumn staging areas, rather than passively drifted away from the colony with a swim speed generally twice that observed of surrounding surface currents. They swam fastest during the first two days after departure. This coincides with the only time they actively crossed a current and the time needed to leave the area of prey depletion around the colony. They otherwise took advantage of available currents, while still swimming actively during the remainder of their migration towards species‐specific autumn staging areas. These staging areas corresponded to areas used by breeding adults during their moulting period (as confirmed by complementary light‐level logger tracking of adults), rather than being specific nursery areas. Migration duration correlated with distance resulting in species‐specific migration periods that were only a fraction of previously reported fledging periods out at sea, indicating that not only the swimming migration, but also known adult autumn staging regions constitute in effect breeding areas. This work has important implications for our understanding of population dynamics within the Alcini subfamily and the management of these species under multiple threats, while providing the foundation to investigate swimming migrations across their distributional range. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:47:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cdae7fbe5bd54de685782fe9e43f56b2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0908-8857 1600-048X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:47:09Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Avian Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-cdae7fbe5bd54de685782fe9e43f56b22024-01-09T11:04:47ZengWileyJournal of Avian Biology0908-88571600-048X2024-01-0120241-2n/an/a10.1111/jav.03153Post‐colony swimming migration in the genus UriaBenjamin Merkel0Hallvard Strøm1Akvaplan‐niva As, Fram Centre, Langnes Tromsø NorwayNorwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Stakkevollan Tromsø NorwaySeabirds within the Alcini subfamily have a unique breeding strategy, with their offspring leaving the colony flightless, at only a quarter of adult body size, accompanied by the father and fledge (become independent) out at sea. In this study we test several hypotheses about this elusive second part of the breeding season, termed swimming migration, for common guillemots Uria aalge and Brünnich's guillemots Uria lomvia by tracking 34 chicks (of which 17 transmitted data) equipped with satellite linked Argos PTTs (Platform Transmitter Terminals) at Bjørnøya, a major colony in the European Arctic. All chicks, presumably accompanied by their fathers, swam actively towards species‐specific autumn staging areas, rather than passively drifted away from the colony with a swim speed generally twice that observed of surrounding surface currents. They swam fastest during the first two days after departure. This coincides with the only time they actively crossed a current and the time needed to leave the area of prey depletion around the colony. They otherwise took advantage of available currents, while still swimming actively during the remainder of their migration towards species‐specific autumn staging areas. These staging areas corresponded to areas used by breeding adults during their moulting period (as confirmed by complementary light‐level logger tracking of adults), rather than being specific nursery areas. Migration duration correlated with distance resulting in species‐specific migration periods that were only a fraction of previously reported fledging periods out at sea, indicating that not only the swimming migration, but also known adult autumn staging regions constitute in effect breeding areas. This work has important implications for our understanding of population dynamics within the Alcini subfamily and the management of these species under multiple threats, while providing the foundation to investigate swimming migrations across their distributional range.https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.03153Brünnich's guillemotcommon guillemotcommon murresthick-billed murreUria aalgeUria lomvia |
| spellingShingle | Benjamin Merkel Hallvard Strøm Post‐colony swimming migration in the genus Uria Journal of Avian Biology Brünnich's guillemot common guillemot common murres thick-billed murre Uria aalge Uria lomvia |
| title | Post‐colony swimming migration in the genus Uria |
| title_full | Post‐colony swimming migration in the genus Uria |
| title_fullStr | Post‐colony swimming migration in the genus Uria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Post‐colony swimming migration in the genus Uria |
| title_short | Post‐colony swimming migration in the genus Uria |
| title_sort | post colony swimming migration in the genus uria |
| topic | Brünnich's guillemot common guillemot common murres thick-billed murre Uria aalge Uria lomvia |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.03153 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT benjaminmerkel postcolonyswimmingmigrationinthegenusuria AT hallvardstrøm postcolonyswimmingmigrationinthegenusuria |